11 - Majors and Careers

Careers and the New Economy

Base your decisions about a college major and career path on:

• Information about yourself
• Long-term demands of the job market

Characteristics of today’s economy:

• Global
• Fast
• Disruptive
• Innovative
• No boundaries
• Customized
• Ever-changing
• Networked

Building a Professional Mindset for Life after College

• There are no guarantees
• You will need to take some risks
• Your first job is seldom your dream job

Working with an Academic Adviser

• Prepare for your first meeting
• Look at the course catalog
• Think about the available majors
• Make a list of majors that appeal to you
• Prepare materials to bring to the meeting
• Map out your time frame and goals
• Know the right questions to ask about your major
• How many credits must I take each term to graduate on time?
• What are the prerequisites and corequisites for my major?
• If I have any AP credits or dual enrollment credits, can I use them to fulfill some of my major’s requirements?
• Learn how to select your courses
• Most full-time students take four to six courses a term
• Register as early as possible
• Resist the temptation to cram all of your classes into one or two days
• Go for a mix of hard and easy classes
• Explore course options and pay attention to your grades
• Good grades show that you have a solid knowledge base and a strong work ethic
• Deal with a mismatch if present
• Talk to your college success instructor if you feel that you need to be assigned to a different adviser

Finding Career Resources on Your Campus

• Explore the career center website \n • Each term, engage in at least one event sponsored by the career center \n • Build your professional network daily \n ▫ Work to develop a mentor

Getting to Know Yourself

• Assess your career competencies
• Provide insights that provoke a conversation with yourself, your mentor, and/or your career adviser
• Clarify your personal and workplace values
• Personal values reflect your need for family, security, integrity, wealth, compassion, fairness, creativity, ambition, adaptability, and personal fulfillment
• Workplace values are the values held by a company or organization

Understand your skills, aptitudes, personality, and interests

• Personal, workplace, and transferable skills

Aptitudes:

• Acquired or natural ability for learning
• Proficiency in a particular area

Personality:

• Makes you who you are

• Should not be ignored when making career decisions

Interests:

• Shape and define our career paths
• Should be considered and related to your career choices

Using the Holland model:

• Organizes career fields into six general categories
• Groups career fields according to what is required and what rewards are provided

Holland’s Hexagonal Model of Career Fields

• realistic
• investigative
• conventional
• artistic
• enterprising
• social

Gaining Professional Experience

• Internships and other professional work experiences

Part-time work in college can:

• Support your college goals
• Provide you with the financial means to complete college
• Help you become a better time manager

Tech Tip: Join the Professional Community

To research a professional community that you’re interested in joining:

• Conduct industry and career research
• Do some research on yourself
• Get familiar with professional organizations
• Find ways to gain real experience
• Check with your college’s career center about internships
• Look online

Marketing Yourself and Putting it All Together

Branding “You, Inc.”:

• It begins the first day on campus
• If you don’t do it, no one else will
• Share your ideas
• Realize that it isn’t all about you
• Actions speak louder than words

\n Building a résumé:

• Choose between the chronological or skills-based formats
• Employers spend 7 to 10 seconds screening each résumé
• A single page is usually appropriate

Writing a cover letter:

• Address it to the right person
• Proofread carefully
• Explain how hiring you will benefit the organization
• Putting it all together