Explore these 7 tips to enhance your career development at Binghamton University.
- Start early
One of the best things you can do as a college student is to start thinking about your career early on. Preparing early allows you to develop a roadmap for success and ensures that you take advantage of the unique opportunities that college can offer you. Consider meeting with a career consultant at the Fleishman Center to explain your situation, take an online career assessment, and join a few career clusters that you may be interested in. Consultants can provide you with more advice and information about career resources to use throughout your career journey.
- Set goals
Setting goals is useful because it establishes something that you can work toward. Having a defined goal allows you to create a series of steps or mini-goals that can serve as milestones before reaching your goal. You may have a specific goal, such as working at a particular company, but even if you are not quite sure what you want to do, you can still create a defined goal such as completing an internship the summer of your junior year or finding a part-time job to build experience. Once you have a goal in mind, you can work on preparing yourself for success and taking the necessary steps to achieve your goal. Having a goal also gives you a sense of structure that can help you stay focused on your career development while keeping up with your busy schedule throughout college.
- Register for a career development course
With online course registration opening soon, undergraduate students may want to consider taking one of the Fleishman Center’s career courses: CDCI 200: Career Exploration Course or CDCI 476: Design Your Post-Graduation Plan. CDCI 200 helps students decide on a major through assessments, research, and networking, while CDCI is designed to assist upperclassmen with the creation of a post-graduation plan. Each of these courses builds students’ confidence and helps them develop a clearer understanding of their own unique career goals.
- Seek out opportunities
Binghamton University and the surrounding community offer a vast array of opportunities for students to build their experiences and skills during college. Whether you are interested in internships, jobs, research, volunteering, clubs, or leadership roles, there is something for everyone. Get involved with whatever interests you- each experience can offer you something different to enhance your transferable skills and expose you to different industries that you may want to pursue as a career. Consider joining a club, participating in a community service project, working a part-time job, or getting involved with a research project, etc. to make the most of the many experiences available to you as a college student.
- Update your career documents
When applying to any jobs or internships, it is critical to have a polished, up-to-date resume, cover letter, personal statement, etc., that stands out to employers and demonstrates your qualifications and personal brand. These documents should convey your educational background, work experience, leadership roles, accomplishments, and activity involvement that are unique to you. You should work to update your resume throughout college, as you may have more relevant information that makes more sense to include on your resume than older experiences. It is also important to cater each of your documents to whatever you are applying for, so continuous updates and edits are key.
- Grow your network
As a Binghamton student, you can connect with Binghamton’s extensive alumni network which is full of knowledgeable, experienced professionals. You can reach out to alumni through MentorMatch or LinkedIn to chat about their work experiences, career paths, and advice they have for current students. You can also reach out to your professors who have research and industry experience- they usually love connecting with eager students and sharing their wealth of knowledge. Networking can open the door to future opportunities, teach you valuable communication skills, and provide you with more knowledge about a particular company or career field. You never know how much a 15-minute conversation can impact you!
- Build your skill set
College is the perfect environment for learning new skills that can make you a better candidate for a job or internship and strengthen your expertise in an industry. Involvement in clubs and group projects can help you build soft skills such as effective communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and time management, all of which are beneficial in any workplace. For more specialized skills, there are a variety of in-person courses available to students. For example, Harpur Edge offers Crash Courses for skills such as SQL, Python, Tableau, R, and Excel that can provide you with a basic foundational knowledge of the skill. Professional clubs also offer workshops that can assist club members in building a variety of skills as well. Another resource for students is the Fleishman Center’s Skills Labs where students learn from an expert about a specific skill, program, or topic, giving them practical tips and insights. No matter which career you pursue, learning and strengthening skills are vital to your success!
Schedule an appointment with a Fleishman Center career consultant on Handshake to help you achieve your career goals!
