Path to Career Confidence and Clarity

The following components of the career exploration process are essential to making more informed decisions about pursuing a career. These components are not necessarily linear in nature, but all contribute to building students’ confidence and clarity in career decision making. 

Build self-awareness

The first step in the career exploration process is answering the question “Who Am I?”. This means students learn to identify their likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses and Values, Interests, Personality and Skills (VIPS). In our fast-paced society, it’s easy to overlook the importance of self-reflection, which is a fundamental career skill that requires practice. All other steps in the career exploration process will be assessed based on this foundational step of understanding “self”. 

Encourage students to:

  • Reflect on their Values, Interests, Personality and Skills by incorporating the following Research You assignment in your course.
  • Meet with a Fleishman career consultant for deeper self-reflection using the Career Exploration Guide.
  • B-Engaged on campus through clubs and student organizations and reflect on what they like and dislike about these experiences.
  • Begin thinking about their past experiences and identify what to include on their resume.
  • Register for a 2-credit Career Exploration Course, CDCI 200.
  • Have informal conversations or “informational interviews” with faculty, staff and peers about how they’ve navigated their career path. Or consider connecting with alumni through Mentor Match and learn from professionals in careers of interest.

This step correlates with the “Research You” step of the student Path to Career Confidence and Clarity.

Gather facts and information about careers

The next step is for students to gather facts and information about different careers and assess how they align with a person’s Values, Interests, Personality and Skills (VIPS). This is an important step because it allows students to make more informed choices based on facts, rather than on assumptions about various careers and encourages students to think more broadly and creatively about their options. As students learn about careers that are out there, they will assess how they relate and narrow down their options to a select few. 

Encourage Students to:

  • Meet with a career consultant to take our FOCUS 2 career self-assessment tool and gather facts about careers that may align with their VIPS.
  • Gather facts and information about careers using Job Market Insights
  • Sign up for one or more of our Career Clusters and receive weekly newsletters including industry related jobs, internships, events, blog posts, advice and more!
  • Meet with a career consultant to complete a Career Exploration Action Plan.
  • Watch pre-recorded videos of informational interviews with industry professionals by incorporating our CandidCareer Assignment in your course as extra credit. Use
  • Conduct an informational interview with alumni who share students’ career interests using Mentor Match.

This step correlates with the “Guided Exploration” step of the student Path to Career Confidence and Clarity.

Test it out! Gain experience

At this stage, students expand career knowledge by testing it out and gain relevant experience. Encourage students to gain experience through class assignments and team projects, relevant clubs and student organizations, volunteering/community engagement, internships, research or study abroad. Ideally, students at this stage would actively engage in one or more of these opportunities and reflect on their experiences. 

Encourage students to:

  • Meet with a career consultant to plan their internship, volunteer or shadowing search.
  • Do an internship for academic credit and have a built-in process for reflecting on their experience in an asynchronous or synchronous course in tandem with the internship.
  • Engage in volunteering through the Center for Civic Engagement and high impact practices such as: Research, Study Abroad, Community-Engaged Learning.
  • Gain leadership experience by pursuing a leadership position in a club or organization.
  • Analyze their ideal job or internship description and assess their skills and interest in the role by incorporating our Job Analysis and Exploration activity in your course.
  • Search for Student Employment and on and off-campus jobs and internships by creating an account on hireBING by Handshake, currently posting over 100,000 positions.
  • Meet with a career consultant to practice skill articulation and develop a resume and cover letter.
  • Take part in virtual work experiences using Forage. These 5-6 hour self-paced modules are offered by top companies with tasks similar to those in a traditional internship.

This step correlates with the “Expand and Reflect” step of the student Path to Career Confidence and Clarity.

Plan and dive deeper

Now that students have gained self-awareness, gathered facts and information about careers and tested out their career interests, they can plan and dive deeper.

Encourage students to: