Examining Personality, Skills, Interests, and Abilities
- Talk to your student about their values, interests, and abilities.
- Point out what your student does well.
- Point out your student’s transferable skills.
- Help your student think long term beyond “hot jobs.”
- Recognize your student’s passion instead of what you think would be good for him or her.
- Be realistic about the amount of time your student can study and work. Research suggests students can generally be full time if they work 20 hours or less per week.
Major Exploration
- Engage in major exploration talk about major options.
- Understand that changing majors is normal.
- Encourage your student to meet with a career counselor.
- Explore ONET together (http://online.onetcenter.org).
- Encourage your student to attend career events on campus (see http://events.iupui.edu).
Gaining Experience
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Ask your student about her or his classes.
- Connect what your student is learning in the classroom to prospective career fields.
- Encourage your student to try different jobs.
- Support your student doing an internship.
- Talk to your student about the jobs you have had and your experiences with work.
- Let your student make mistakes; that is where he or she will learn!
- Offer to ask your student practice interview questions.
- Edit your student’s resume.
- Tell your student to enjoy college and to get involved on campus and encourage your student to get a job on campus, where employers understand what it means to be a student.
Networking
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Share your network of family, friends, and co-workers so students can talk to them, shadow them, and conduct informational interviews.
- Encourage your student to talk to faculty. Encourage your student to meet with alumni to discuss their career paths.