Four-Year Timeline

The Bastian Center for Career and Pre-Professional Development Is Not Just for Seniors !

By exploring your interests, skills, and values early in your college career, you will be more prepared to choose a career field that fits best with your criteria, making the transition from college to "Life After Knox" easier.

First Year: Self-Assessment

• Begin career exploration to find out more about your aptitudes, interests, personality, and values that match the different kinds of work and graduate school programs.
• Begin to build skills and leadership through co-curricular and volunteer activities.
• Attend information sessions, career planning workshops, career fairs, and/or graduate school fairs hosted by the Bastian Center for Career & Pre-Professional Development to learn about potential ways to jump start your career.

Sophomore: Exploration

• Continue career planning with a greater emphasis toward understanding the profession and the needs of potential employers.
• Plan and develop your classes and your leadership/volunteer/internship experiences to this profile.
• Begin to talk with professors about their career ideas and set some short-term goals.
• Consider a term abroad or think about offering your services as a volunteer or an intern in a career field of your interest.
• Develop a relationship with the Bastian Center for Career & Pre-Professional Development by scheduling appointments to discuss preparation for your career interests.

Junior: Evaluation and Decision Making

• Gather information from internship, career, and graduate/professional school fairs.
• Develop relationships with professors in your major.
• Seek leadership roles with extracurricular activities.
• Target internship/volunteer opportunities and ensure application materials (resume/cover letter/references) are in order.
• Complete your Experiential Learning requirement, if you have not yet done so.
• Attend career planning workshops and information sessions to enhance job and graduate school search skills.
• Meet with the Career Center staff to refine your career development plans, if you have not yet done so.

Senior: Implementation

• Prepare to take any graduate/professional school entrance exams (GRE, GMAT, LSAT, etc.).
• Start your job search process early by developing final drafts of your resume/cover letter.
• Develop and activate your personal network, to further broaden your opportunities.
• Attend information sessions, workshops, and career development forums to expand your options.
• Think about letters of recommendation needed for graduate school or the workplace.