Start my Career Journey

EXPLORE

Explore is all about getting to know yourself—your interests, values, strengths, and goals. This phase helps you reflect on who you are and begin discovering majors, careers, and opportunities that align with what matters to you.

• What am I curious about?
• What do I enjoy doing?
• What are my strengths?
• What kind of impact do I want to make?

Understanding your interests, values, and skills can help you choose a major, explore career options, or decide on your next steps.

✅ Take Focus2Career, our self-assessment tool that connects your personal strengths and interests with potential career paths.

🔎 What Can I Do With This Major? – a national resource that breaks down common career areas, employers, and strategies for over 90 majors.
📅 Schedule an appointment with a career counselor to review your results and explore options together.

👥 Attend career-related events like industry meet-ups, alumni panels, and career fairs to learn about different fields and make valuable connections. You’ll hear real stories, ask questions, and start building your network early.

PLAN

The plan is about setting intentional goals and creating a strategy for your college-to-career journey. In this phase, you begin connecting your interests with academic and co-curricular choices while identifying the skills and experiences you want to build.

– a quick guide to career milestones, actions, and opportunities each year
📍 Use it alongside the Career Compass to help you stay organized and confident

📅 Meet with a career counselor to talk through your ideas and create a personalized action plan

BUILD

Build focuses on gaining real-world experience and developing your professional toolkit. This includes internships, jobs, campus involvement, leadership, and skill development, as well as creating strong application materials like your resume and LinkedIn profile.

🔍 Explore internships, on-campus jobs, research roles, or volunteer work
🤝 Join clubs, lead a project, or get involved in service learning
💼 Use Handshake to search for jobs, internships, events, and resources

LAUNCH

Launch prepares you to take your next big step—whether that’s a job, internship, graduate school, or service opportunity. You’ll apply what you’ve learned, grow your network, practice interviewing, and move confidently toward your post-graduation goals.

👥 Attend career-related events like industry meet-ups, alumni panels, and career fairs to learn about different fields and make valuable connections. You’ll hear real stories, ask questions, and start building your network early.
📬 Reach out for informational interviews with professionals in your field
🎓 Consider your grad school timeline and application strategy (we can help!)

📅 Make an appointment to practice interviews, review applications, or talk through offers
🌐 Keep building your network through LinkedIn and other tools

We're Here to Help

No matter where you are in the Explore → Plan → Build → Launch journey, you’re not alone. The Career Center is here to support you at every step.

📅 Make an appointment through Handshake
📍 Check Handshake for drop-in hours and locations