Summer: A Time to Focus on Career Exploration

Summertime is here! There are many ways to make the next 10-12 weeks of break fun, and also productive! With students having more time on their hands, summer is a great time for career exploration like exploring their interests, identifying their skills and researching potential professional development opportunities.

1. Exploring interests:

Sometimes students are unsure of what their interests are and this is where exploring their interests may provide an insight into what they like and what they don’t. Tools like the California Career Zone can be a great way to start exploring interests, values and work environments that align with students’ career paths. Exploring and identifying values and beliefs can help students understand what is important to them, chart their life and help them develop short and long term goals. All this can ultimately increase their satisfaction with their career path.

2. Identifying skills:

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) job outlook 2023 survey, problem solving skills are the top skill that employers value, followed by the ability to work in a team, strong work ethic, analytical skills, communication and technical skills. These top six skills and other skills can be developed and applied to resumes, cover letters and interviews. There are also transferable skills that students tend to develop through school, work and everyday experiences that can help enhance their professional development.

3. Researching:

“What can I do with my major?” Or “What jobs are there in my field?” These may be some of the questions that may cross student’s minds. While the online world provides us with an influx of information. It is important to be sure you are using  reliable resources like the Internship and Career Center Career Resource Manuel (CRM) to help with resume structuring. O*NET Occupational Information Network can provide job analysis that aligns with students’ interests along with categories of occupations to explore.

The Internship and Career Center (ICC) is a resource available to support students throughout the summer with remote and in person career advising appointments available. We have a playlist of short videos with career related content, resume review to provide feedback on application materials and our online job board – Handshake!  

These are just a few of the many career development resources available to your student this summer. Regardless of the season, the ICC is ready to assist your student!