First Year
- Make an appointment with the Career Counselor for your specific school to talk about goals, aspirations, and how to best utilize the next four years.
- Start working on a resume. Keep a record of all accomplishments and activities.
- Get involved on campus. Join and participate in clubs, organizations, sports and/or community service.
- Work towards a great GPA. If you are having issues in a class, your first step should be talking with your professor and utilizing academic resources on campus.
- Visit the Career Center’s Life@ portal and website for events and updates.
- Make sure to keep your social media sites clean, professional, and set appropriate privacy settings (Instagram, Snapchat, or Twitter). Employers will Google you, so it is important to maintain a professional image online.
Sophomore Year
- Take one or all of the “self-assessment inventories” such as the Myers-Briggs, Strong Interest Inventory, or Strengths. These assessments are helpful if you’re not sure what career path to pursue.
- Participate in Sophomore Success, a weekly program where counselors review different career-related topics such as Resumes, LinkedIn, and the Internship/Job search process.
- Work toward a leadership role in a club or organization. Students could also consider a role such as a Resident Assistant, New Student Leader, Career Peer Advisor, or Eucharistic Minister.
- Start planning for internships. Career counselors can assist with this process as can professors.
- Attend a Stags4Hire Workshop. Stags4Hire is the Fairfield University job board where employers who want to hire Fairfield students post jobs and internships.
- Attend Career Center and school-specific career workshops, employer presentations, and alumni panels to start learning more about potential careers.
- Start networking. Create a LinkedIn profile. Meet with a Career Counselor to receive important networking tips.