Creating a Four Year Plan

First Year:  Self-Assessment & Career Planning 

• Meet with a Career Services staff member to learn how to develop and implement a personalized 4-year career plan.
• Assess your personal values, interests, skills and abilities through career self-assessment tools such as the Strong Interest Inventory and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
• Visit Career Services to research various career fileds and experiential learning opportunities such as summer jobs and internships.
• Visit the Career Services website at http://www.ithaca.edu/careers.
• Get involved on and off campus. Join a student organization, volunteer, and/or get an on-campus job.
• Get a summer job that will provide you with an opportunity to learn about a career field that interests you.
• Do your best work academically.

Sophomore Year:  Career Exploration & Leadership Development  

• Meet with a Career Services staff member to discuss your career plans and evaluate your 4-year career plan.
• Actively research career fields that interest you.
• Attend career related workshops to learn about the process of choosing a major or career path and attend programs featuring guest speakers from career fields that interest you.
• Conduct informational interviews with professionals to learn about a particular career field.     
• Take an active role in a student organization to develop your communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills.
• Develop a resume and have it critiqued by Career Services. Also complete a mock interview to prepare for your summer job or internship search.
• Secure an internship or summer employment related to your career goals.   

Junior Year:  Career Goal Setting, Gaining Experience & Graduate School Planning

• Meet with a Career Services staff member to formulate your job or graduate school search timeline and plans.
• Focus and set career goals. At this time, all the experience and information you have gathered should be crystallizing into solid career goals and plans.
• Join student chapters of professional organizations to gain career information and to start networking.
• Research graduate/professional school possibilities, the application procedures and deadlines. Register and prepare for admission tests such as the GRE, LSAT and MCAT or GMAT.
• Pick up a GRE, GMAT, LSAT or MCAT packet in Career Services.
• Participate in career fairs and career related events to explore your options and network with potential employers.
• Get to know alumni and actively network with professionals in your area of interest.
• Take on leadership roles on and off-campus. 
• Get professional experience through on-campus research, an internship, on-campus employment, volunteer work or a summer job.

Senior Year:  Implementation & Transition

• Meet with a Career Services staff member to design a job search strategy or finalize your graduate/professional school search timeline and plans. 
• Attend career related workshops targeted for seniors: Job and Internship Search, Resume Writing, Successful Interviewing, and more.
• Ask faculty and employers to be references for you.
• Research companies/organizations and the career opportunities they offer.
• Prepare for job interviews or graduate school with a mock interview in Career Services.
• Engage in an active job search starting in the Fall semester.
• Participate in career fairs and other related events to build your network of contacts in your field of interest.
• Revise and update your resume and draft a cover letter.
• For graduate school, complete your personal statement. Mail your applications to graduate schools.
• Complete an internship or career-related work experience if you haven’t already.
• Actively apply for positions. Attend networking events and make the connections for your job search.
• Formulate an alternate "Plan B" in case you need to make last minute career adjustments.