Planning Your Future
Choosing a college is one of the earliest major decisions we have to make. In fact, many employment recruiters during a job interview will ask, "Why did you choose this college?" They are likely to be interested in HOW you made the decision - was it logically and carefully planned. Part of your consideration may be whether the college offers the program you are interested in studying. For many students, the program is not most important, because they have not yet decided what they want to study.
Eventually, however, most will have to declare a major. You may choose a major because you enjoyed a particular course and want to study more in that area. You may already know what career you want and choose the major best suited for it. Perhaps you still can't decide in your junior year and may become caught in the quandary - "How can I choose a major when I don't know what I want to do with my
life?"
Choosing a major is important but it rarely determines what you will do "with the rest of your life." People change careers many times, so the most you should worry about now is preparing for your
first career. In addition, most employers look for skills and achievements, rather than a specific college major. Therefore, you might want to choose the course of study in which you can achieve good grades, develop skills, and find enjoyment.
Don't forget that the University provides academic advisers and career counselors to help you make these decisions. Here at Adelphi University, we have developed a Career Portfolio, which students will maintain throughout their four years in college. Upon acceptance into the University, each student is invited to visit with his or her counselor at the Center for Career Development. Through individual counseling, we lead you to the appropriate current job and internship listings and volunteer opportunities, as well as research materials for your career exploration. The Center provides a library of materials in all career fields and a variety of individual career and educational self-assessment tests to help you decide on a major or career.
Planning your future goes beyond making decisions. It requires taking actions. Here at Adelphi, we stress
building a résumé long before you begin to write a résumé.
Building Your Résumé
When a good job is available, the employer usually gets buried in résumés, and each candidate wants his or her résumé to stand out from the crowd. A few will try neon colored paper, and others may try a glamorous photo. Indeed, these résumés will stand out, but most employers will regard either attempt as "tacky." To make your résumé the one that gets the reader's attention, you must present yourself clearly as the one who has the
qualifications the employer wants.
Think of a résumé as a written presentation of your education, skills, experience, achievements, and, where appropriate, a specific job target. Although you may not begin writing the document until you are ready to apply for a job or internship, you should be "building your résumé" throughout your high school and college years. The building blocks of a good résumé include:
- An education that allows you to develop the writing, communications, analytical, problem solving, and organizational skills sought by most employers.
- Technical skills that most employers value, such as computer literacy and fluency in foreign languages.
- Experience in communicating with people, managing your time, prioritizing tasks, working in teams, and leadership.
- Achievements demonstrating quantity and quality of your work.
- Career exploration and experience that will allow you to eventually narrow your job search to a clearly specified field and occupation.
As a student in high school or college, start building your résumé by choosing the right courses, class projects, hobbies, school clubs, sports, community service, part-time jobs, summer jobs, and internships. Working at the same job all through school may be valuable if you show increasing responsibilities and if the job relates to your chosen career. However, most students should try a variety of jobs in order to develop different skills and to test their interest in several career fields.
In many fields, employers look for candidates with specific skills, rather than specific college majors. For example, recruiters seeking excellent writing skills do not care if those skills were acquired as an English major, a history major, or a philosophy major. Regardless of major, many employers do consider your GPA in narrowing the field of candidates. They also choose résumés that show other achievements, leadership positions in organizations, or awards from schools or employers.
If you want your résumé to stand out from the crowd, start planning it now, get involved in a variety of activities - and in all you do, do your best!
To see how your résumé might look today, go to our Résumé Worksheet and fill in all the information requested. Think about what you might add to the résumé in the near future and develop a plan for doing it. This might mean taking a language course, volunteering in the community, or joining a club. Think about how your résumé will look if you have several summer jobs throughout college, as opposed to keeping the same job throughout. Ask yourself what skills you are developing in any job you consider.
