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OK, here's the drill. You go on a campus tour with your parents, check out each school, visit the dorms, classrooms, and yes, the bookstore. At some point, someone - usually mom or dad - asks the universal  

career

  question: "What percentage of students are employed upon graduation?" There's a focus on the end result of the higher education price tag - better known as employment in the "Real World." That's why we checked out what some schools are doing to go above and beyond to help you plan for your future right now...

At Lafayette College, Easton, PA, students get a foot in the door with their career service department's innovative Gateway Program. This four-step program of awareness, exploration, preparation, and implementation gets students thinking about future opportunities, and provides advisors and guidance from the very beginning of college to the end.

Translation: From day one, students are educated and are required to participate in two career services-related events each semester, whether it's meeting with their Gateway advisor, attending a networking dinner, or participating in a panel session related to their major. This unique program gets students involved even if they don't have a major or a chosen career path. They draft a resume their first year, and continue to revise and expand it over the years as they are encouraged to pursue internship, job, and leadership opportunities.

According to Susan Heard, Lafayette's associate director of career services, "We want students to take advantage of career services early and often so they're not overwhelmed when they're seniors. If you don't go to the career office until senior year, it's like cramming Algebra 1 and 2 into one week," she explains. "We look at it as a four-year preparation process, so senior year is the final step of preparation."

Mike Sciola, director of career services at Wesleyan University, Middlebury, CT, agrees. "It's so critical to stop by the career office when you're a first-year student. In fact, the best time to go there is when you're clueless. You don't need a job title in mind, just talk to a counselor to ask questions."

In other words, he says, be excited about the fact that you're undecided about the future. "The world is about to open up for you; do some self-assessment and career exploration to find what makes you happy." His staff downplays the career aspect - after all, that could be a scary word if students haven't even chosen a major yet. Instead, they focus on what students are passionate about, and connect them with alumni who can help them in their career journey.

The career office at Wesleyan also connects students with alumni and parents, in addition to providing interview preparation, job fairs, and conducting personality profiles. It also offers free access to helpful books and reference materials. And, similar to Lafayette, Wesleyan focuses on getting students involved in alumni panels, student receptions, and job-shadowing opportunities over winter break. They are even encouraged to apply for Wesleyan's popular mini-internships (a.k.a. "Road Trips to the Real World").

Students have gotten to shadow a plastic surgeon alum', scrubbing in and watching real-live tummy tucks! Sounds exciting, doesn't it?! Find out what your school offers, says Sciola, by stopping at the career office on a campus tour. Ask if counselors are easily accessible and if alumni are very involved. "It's important not only for students to develop networking skills, but to also utilize alumni by asking them to offer internships and job opportunities," he says.

Job opportunities are important, especially to find out more about the types of jobs available. According to Chrystal MacArthur, director of career services at the New Brunswick, NJ campus of Rutgers University, you can see what jobs are available for different majors, and ask alumni who studied your major what they're doing now. "It's not unusual to change direction two or three times. We are sensitive to students' backgrounds and parental influences, and we help students understand who they are and what's important. We try to find out what will energize them to make them successful," explains MacArthur.

Rutgers emphasizes its comprehensive Web-based job opportunity system so even first-year students can log on to see the types of jobs available. The bottom line? It's possible to create opportunities for your future. Whether you contemplate going on to graduate school or immersing yourself in the job market, it's important to develop the appropriate social skills. "I think the biggest challenge for employers is finding well-spoken and professional students who can interact well with their team," notes Liz DeRudder, career counselor at Queens College, Queens, NY.

The best advice is to interact with people, gain internship experience, research with grad' students or professors, take on special projects, network, and take advantage of your career services office. It's yours for the taking!

The Four-Part Career Plan
Career planning is a four-step process - and it's actually much simpler than it seems!

1. Begin your career planning with some useful self-assessment tools. Career counselors can help you identify what your interests are and what you're passionate about.

2. Explore your career options by investigating particular organizations and fields of interest.

3. Talk to neighbors, your best friend's parents, or anyone who does something cool that you'd be interested in exploring. Ask questions, find out what they studied in school, what their job experience was, and ask about the best and worst parts of their position. Read, read, read!

4. Research various career paths, continue networking, and embrace leadership and internship opportunities so you can ultimately decide what you want to pursue. Finally, the finish line! Through experiences, leadership opportunities, and the proper research and life-skills, you'll be ready for the "Real World!"


http://www.vickisalemi.com
Vicki Salemi is a frequent contributor to The CollegeBound Network. Learn more about finding a school that's right for you.

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