APU Careers Careers & Learning

Ready for Graduation, But Ready for a Career?

By Shun McGhee
Contributor, Career Servicesjob-search-tips-recent-college-grads

During a class lecture, one of my college professors said that the worst thing we could do to our parents is to graduate without a job. While I can think of a great many things I could have done that would have been worse, I understood the gist of what my professor was saying: he wanted to impress upon us that we were in college to prepare for a career.

Of the many things my Alma Mater does to prepare their students for success, two really caught my attention: the checklist of things students are encouraged to bring to school and a week-long program called Access Orientation to help students become acclimated to life at the university. Most institutions of higher learning have similar resources, but I wonder how many have a checklist or program to prepare their students for the working world.

There are three really important things a student can do to set themselves up for career success after graduation:

Visit the Career Center
The career center can be a great place to find the various internships and positions employers are hiring for within your field of interest. For example, a History major can get assistance researching what kinds of positions are available in his or her field other than teaching. It is important to have specific questions to help you get the most out of the experience.

Intern
Interning is an outstanding method for gaining experience in your field of interest that can be placed on your resume. This is an extremely important step that should be completed by every student prior to graduating. There are quite a few advertised internships, but there are also volunteer positions and summer jobs that serve the similar purpose of helping students gain resume-building experience. Explore expressed internships, summer jobs, part-time positions, and volunteer opportunities as avenues to help you obtain experience that will make you attractive to employers.

Join a Society or Group that Transcends College Enrollment
In conjunction working with the career center and interning, join a group that can be used as a resource to make networking connections in your field of interest. Examples of these kinds of groups are the National Society of Black Engineers or the Future Business Leaders of America.

Ultimately, it is just as important to prepare for success after college as it is to prepare for success during college. By taking the suggestions offered above and doing some of your own research, you can place yourself in really good position to obtain gainful employment after graduation.

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