Next Steps

 

	At this point we encourage you to move forward and continue to explore the career choices available to you. Investigate academia and the world of work in greater depth, and narrow your general academic and occupational directions into more focused ones. This includes choosing a major, evaluating occupational choices, gaining practical experience through internships, relevant summer employment, volunteer work and campus activities, developing a job search strategy focused on how to market yourself to employers, or applying to graduate or professional schools.
	Review the steps below that relate to your academic level. Schedule an appointment with a career counselor at Career Services if you continue to experience confusion over your academic and career plans or if you want more help with implementing your plans. Also, please complete our online evaluation and help us make future improvements to this site.
	First-Year Students	Juniors
	Sophomores	Seniors

First Year Students: Next Steps
	Identify the areas in which you have done well, including academic and extracurricular activities.
	Develop and continuously update a portfolio of your achievements, including graded term papers, writing assignments, special awards, honors, letters of recommendation, grade reports and work experience.
	Develop the ability to set goals and develop an action plan to achieve them.
	Visit academic departments that seem interesting to you and talk to people in career interest fields.
	Choose and join one or more organizations which particularly interest you, preferably ones that are career-related.
	Find relevant summer work or volunteer experiences, such as undergraduate research projects, internships, and work/study positions in departments that interest you.
	Familiarize yourself with Career Services.
	Explore work and work-related values via informational interviewing.

Sophomores: Next Steps
	List your most important career-related skills, drawn from education, work and leisure activities.
	Be able to explain to yourself and others why you are choosing, or have chosen, a particular major.
	Identify the work and non-work activities you enjoy most.
	Attend career-related programs.
	Identify at least two career interest areas.
	Visit Career Services and relevant academic departments, to gather information about internship opportunities.
	Meet with two or three faculty members about majors, careers and internships.
	Arrange a "job shadowing" experience or conduct informational interviews with people employed in your field(s) of interest. Identify Rutgers alumni to contact through the Alumni Career Network.
	Plan for part-time employment, summer jobs or internships, volunteer experiences or independent research related to your career interests.
	List your responsibilities, what you have learned, and your contributions and accomplishments for each of your most important job-related experiences, and include them in your portfolio.
	Become knowledgeable about labor markets and future employment trends.

Juniors: Next Steps
	List at least three people with whom you have met and spoken, whose jobs are in an area that you are considering.
	Attend Career Days held at Rutgers.
	Seek related professional experience through formal internships and/or part-time employment. Register with InterviewTRAK to explore internship opportunities.
	List at least five position titles that might be appropriate for your interests and abilities.
	Identify the level of education and additional skills necessary to attain your career goals.
	Identify the types of organizations for which you might like to work.
	Understand the lifestyle and tradeoffs associated with your career choices.
	Understand the personality characteristics and type of work environments which you would enjoy.
	Determine if graduate level education is required or preferred for your career plans.
	Evaluate the likelihood of your admission to a graduate or professional program.
	Request, at the beginning of your junior year, application materials and information about deadlines for graduate or professional school admission.
	Maintain satisfactory academic work for entrance requirements.
	Talk to faculty members in your area of interest and have at least three strong references among your professors who know your work and your abilities.
	Identify the positive and negative features of the graduate program you are considering.
	Register with Interfolio to open your credentials file.
	Visit Career Services to learn more about the job search process.

Seniors: Next Steps
	Contact Career Services and make arrangements to attend resume writing, job search strategies, interview techniques, business dining etiquette, and dress for success workshops.
	Register for on-campus interviewing through InterviewTRAK.
	Attend company information sessions on campus.
	Register with Interfolio to open your credentials file.
	Obtain a schedule of career days being hosted by Career Services.
	Register online with MonsterTRAK/InterviewTRAK and check job listings regularly.