Professional Success Pathway – On Your Own Time
As the summer quickly approaches, now is the time to be applying to summer jobs, internships, and full-time positions! If you’re worried about getting hired, here are a few things you can do to help you be prepped and ready. They also happen to be things you can do on your own time that also fulfill experiences in the Professional Success Pathway, so after reading this pop over to DragonCentral to submit your progress!
Create and perfect your resume and DragonJobs profile
Resumes can be hard to create or know if you’re doing it right. Everyone seems to have a different idea of how resumes should turn out, but thankfully MSUM has a resource to help you through the process. MSUM’s Career Development Center does resume reviews and all you have to do is contact them – they’re even doing them virtually! To get started on your resume, the Career Development Center also has plenty of information you can look into. In terms of DragonJobs, creating a profile is easy! Everyone with a StarID has an account, it’s only a matter of improving it to help your job search. It’s a great place to find internships or positions that are looking for college students. See all the virtual options the Career Development Center has this spring.
Connect with professionals
This might seem harder to do while in quarantine, but we luckily have Zoom! If there’s a professional in the area or an employee at a business you want to work at, try contacting them and see if they’d be interested in a Zoom coffee date or meeting. After you intentionally connect with them, you’ll have crossed off one item in the Professional Success Pathway – to get credit, all you have to do is answer a few questions in DragonCentral. Another item is an informational interview, which is interviewing someone about their job. This can be done in the same way on Zoom. Afterwards, don’t forget to send a thank you note!
Take time to learn on your own
Besides the podcast about listening that you should totally go check out (find it here!) MSUM makes it possible for you to take the FOCUS2. This is a major and career exploration tool so you can figure out your dream major or career. To learn more about it, check it out on the Career Development page. Bonus! Taking the FOCUS2 also checks an item off on your Professional Success Pathway.
Here’s something extra fun: Choose-your-own adventure! The Professional Success Pathway has an item that is completely up to you. Is there a podcast that interests you as well as teaches you something new? A book? You could do just about anything with this item. For example, you have access to LinkedIn Learning through MSUM. LinkedIn Learning has lessons for every skill and you get a certificate when you complete them. Whatever it is you choose; it’ll be a valuable experience to take with you. In DragonCentral, simply answer a few questions about what you did and you’ll check off that item!
Need more help knowing what to do to build your professional skills? Connect with the Career Development Center at MSUM for one-on-one help, resources, and opportunities to meet employers.