CAREER ACTION PLAN FOR STUDENTS CHOOSING A MAJOR
Student Name: ______Year: ______
q Visit the Career Planning Page of the Office of Career Services web site
q Complete any registration form(s) in the Office of Career Services or on office web site
q Think about what you need to make a good career decision now: more information about yourself, more information about the world of work and/or more information about career decision making
Read about what helped others choose a major from the Career Services web site
q Create your very own Career Network: A list of at least 10 people you can talk with regarding your career: family, friends, your RA (Resident Assistant), upperclassmen, faculty members, coaches, academic advisors, career counselors, employers, UofS alumni, your high school alumni
q Meet with a career counselor, academic advisor, and/or a faculty member to discuss career options
q Meet with a career counselor to take the Self-Directed Search (SDS), a paper/pen career interest inventory. In about 3 appointments you can take the test, review the results and develop a plan of action for further research
q Take other career assessments via the Career Planning page of our office web site (skills, interests, work preferences, thinking style, personality, needs, values, career decision making, and goal setting are important to consider when choosing a major)
q From the results of your SDS and other assessments, you can research a more manageable number of career fields, industries, and occupations in the Occupational Outlook Handbook. http://stats.bls.gov/oco and other occupational information links found on our office web site
q You will see how various majors and minors relate to the industries, career fields, and occupations you are considering
q Develop a list of prospective career fields, majors, and possible minors
q A career counselor can teach you how to conduct an informational interview to ask questions about a career field of interest. You can also ask those who know you about their perceptions of a career field for you
q Identify upcoming job fairs and plan to attend to gather more information about employers and occupations (Ex: KSOM Recruiting Expo, Health Care Fair, Nonprofits Fair, Communication Fair, NPEC Annual Employment Fair)
q Search current job openings to learn more about job duties along with the specific qualifications and personal qualities employers are looking for in the career fields of interest to you (use job vacancy web sites, newspapers, employer web sites)
q Establish short term and long term goals and objectives
q Talk with an academic advisor who can suggest courses you can take to “test” some majors, minors, or career fields
q Attend the Volunteer Fair or visit the Community Outreach Office or their web site to learn about opportunities that will allow you to “test” some of your career interests while helping others in the local community
q Attend the Activities Fair or visit the Student Activities Office to learn more about clubs and activities that relate to the majors you are considering and begin to get involved to “test” our your interests
q Learn more about career experiences if you are seeking an internship. An internship, for credit or not, is an excellent way to “test” your career field with an actual employer.
q Request a copy of a recent graduate’s resume from Career Services. Ask for one in a major you are considering so you can see the graduate’s accomplishments, academic highlights, and activities that are career-related
q Create your own resume with your experiences to date or try to project into the future and create a resume that contains experiences and accomplishments you plan to have
q Follow up with thank-you letters, e-mails, or telephone calls to tell those who have helped you of your career decision (s) and your career plans
q Keep a record of your contacts with your career network that you can reference in the future
The University of Scranton Office of Career Services, 941-7640, Ciszek Hall