Degree Works allows you to examine requirements toward achieving your intended degree. This is an important step in planning timely degree achievement.

You should also use Degree Works to consider minors as well as cognates and "at-some-distance" courses. Specializing your education can help set you apart from other job and internship candidates.

Use the “What If” tab on Degree Works to test hypothetical degrees and minors. For expert assistance with Stockton's curriculum consider meeting with one of our outstanding academic advisors. 

Tip: Don't wait until the week before registration to plan your course selection.

To become a qualified candidate, you will need to know the qualifications employers seek for the positions that interests you and work hard to obtain them. 

• Start by articulating your target job: 
  
  
  1. Desired job function/title
  2. Industry or field of interest
  3. Preferred geographic region
     
     
• Then gather job market information using your job target as a guide. These tools will help:   
  
  
  • O*Net occupational profiler
  • Indeed or Handshake 
  • Informational interviews
  • LinkedIn alumni tool
  • On-campus employer events
    
    
• Finally, engage in activities that allow you to develop the requisite skills and knowledge. Consider: 
  
  
  • Job shadowing 
  • Volunteering 
  • Part-time work
  • Student leadership
  • Academic research 
  • Independent study
  • Personal projects
  • Internships
  • Study abroad
  • Service learning

Resumes and cover letters evolve from semester to semester and change with your career goals. It is not enough to have a resume or cover letter, you'll need to learn how to write each effectively and quickly. 

• For general tips and guidelines: 
  
  
  • Resume
  • Cover Letter
  • LinkedIn
    
    
• For tutorials and personalized assistance:
  
  
  • Access your advisor 

Whether your interviewing for a big job or sharing an elevator with the president of your dream employer, you'll benefit from being able to confidently respond to the question, "tell me about yourself?" 

• Start with your major, concentration, and minor
  
  
• Then, summarize your relevant experience or a relevant accomplishment.
  
  
• End with your immediate career interests and/or goals.

Great pitches should be well rehearsed and fluid enough to adapt to varying audiences and settings. Try to keep them to 30 seconds or less. 

Example: I am senior biology major with an excellent GPA, academic and research experience in freshwater ecology, and I have also served as the president of the table tennis club for 3 years. I am really interested in working in conservation and preservation at the state or federal level. 

Great interviews involve a lot more than smiles and charisma. Careful preparation and practice are key! Here are several resources to help you get ready for the big day. 

• Interview guide
  
  
• Access your advisor for: 
   
  • Comprehensive interview prep tutorials
  • Mock interviews 

The most effective job searches are focused on a defined goal (also known as a job target), are well organized and structured, and incorporate a large proportion of strategic networking. 

The following will help you get started with your job search:

• Job search guide

• Tutorials and advising

Job search boards are an important part of a well-organized job search but should not be relied upon solely. Here are two of the most useful job boards: 

• Handshake

• Indeed

Although the search process is the same, there are some important things to consider when preparing to find an internship. Learn more about internships here, and be sure to speak with Career Education and Development as well as relevant faculty and programmatic coordinators. 

Graduate school is a very big decision. You should carefully consider the necessity of a graduate degree for your career aspiration, the timing of a graduate degree, and the costs before committing. This takes time, so start early.

Applying to graduate school is also time consuming and a lot of work, and not just for you! Understand what you need to apply well in advance of deadlines and make sure you give your recommenders ample time to write letters. 

Here are some resources to help you start considering graduate education as well as how to do so when the time arrives: 

• Graduate school guide

• Detailed FAQs

• Advising

There is no set timeline for declaring a major, and many students will change majors at some point. The more exploration and planning you do earlier in your education, the sooner you'll be ready to declare. 

To declare a major, complete and submit this form to academic advising. 

If you are considering a major change and need assistance with the process: 

• Academic Advising can help with logistic. 
• Career Education and Development can help with choosing a new path.

OspreyHub is a great way to find and join student groups. 

If you don't find something that is for you, consider starting your own student organization. 

You might also consider a leadership role within your organization or run for Student Senate. 

Service Learning offers many opportunities to hone and develop marketable skills while gaining invaluable experiences.

• Enroll in a service-learning course. 

• Complete other service-oriented projects and programs and/or apply to be a Bonner Leader. 

These are two great ways to observe real-world work settings without making serious commitments. For example, a student interested in becoming a veterinarian might volunteer with an animal shelter, animal hospital, or veterinarian office. Career Education and Development can help teach you how to find these opportunities.

Most professions can be accessed and experienced through part-time work opportunities. For example, if you are interested in law enforcement try seasonal or year-round work in security or as class one or two police officer. Consider discussing this with Career Education and Development.

Internships, whether for-credit, not-for-credit, paid, or unpaid, are a great way to gain marketable experience. Not surprisingly, as many as 60% of internships lead to full-time job offers.

Professors are outstanding resources in your career development and may provide you with mentorship as well as connections to opportunities within a variety of industries and fields. 

Engage with your faculty for formal and informal projects as well as other academic opportunities like a Teaching Assistantship.

You can also apply for national opportunities through REU programs.

Career goals are specific in the near term and progressively fuzzier, or flexible, in the long term.

It might be helpful to think of career goals as near-term,  concrete objectives and career aspirations as more distant possibilities.

For instance, a great career aspiration is to become a neurosurgeon; however, it is a long road with a lot of ground to cover.  A great related career goal for an undergraduate student might be to obtain a biology degree with competitive grades leaving the door open for medical school as well as many other occupations. 

Try answering these questions to create your goals: 

1. Within the next year I will accomplish: __________
2. This will help me to accomplish my goal of __________ by graduation (or two to three years' time from now)
3. If I am successful, I am most excited about the possibility of becoming __________ in 10 years (or more)

Life happens. Sometimes we change, sometime life changes around us. It can be as simple as desiring a new role or employer, or as complicated as a complete career change. You could be lucky enough to hit the lottery or be unfortunate to get laid off for any number of reasons (like a recession, or even a global pandemic).

For whatever reason you might need to make a change in your career plans, be ready with ideas and possibilities.

• If I desire, or am required, to make a change in my career I could, or would be interested in, becoming: 
  1. __________
  2. __________
  3. __________
  4. __________
  5. __________

Tips: This is a great question to add to your goal statements above. This list is something that should remain fluid and evolve over time with your career.

Careers are both created and discovered. Just as we might desire or be required to change our careers, we also may be presented with unexpected chance opportunities. 

Constructing careers therefore requires you to be abe to make decisions. There are many ways to make decisions, but some tried and true ways to analyze our options are: 

• Pro vs. con list
• Values congruence analysis
• Skills congruence analysis 
• Strengths congruence analysis
• Informal and formal mentorship advising

Current students and recent graduates should consider meeting with an advisor in Career Education and Development.

Change is not something most people readily embrace. It takes time and energy and can also produce anxiety and fear (especially if it is undesired or unexpected change). However, it is also a natural part of life and career. Dealing with change and overcoming obstacles is a learned skill. 

These questions will help you to be prepared for changes and obstacles: 

• Who and what resources are available to help you?
• What changes, challenges, or obstacles have you overcome? 
  • What steps did you take? 
  • What personal characteristics or strengths did you rely on? 
  • How can you apply that to your current situation?
• What mistakes or failures have you experienced before?
  • What did you learn from those experiences?
  • How can you apply those lessons now?