We love to stay connected with students throughout their time at Carleton and beyond. They all have great stories to tell about their journeys, skills developed, and aptitude for success. At the Career Center, we are in the business of helping them tell these stories in ways that are compelling to prospective employers and graduate schools, as well as authentic reflections of who they are as early-career professionals. This is the heart of what it means to be “ready to recruit.”
At the start of winter term, we began sharing tips for becoming ready to engage in recruiting activities through short articles in our Career Center Weekly News email. That email is distributed to students every Sunday evening, and our data suggests it is being received well. You can help take your student’s understanding of recruiting readiness to the next level by striking up a conversation with them about the topics we have been discussing in the Weekly News:
- How does your student build connections when having conversations with “strangers”?
- What does professional dress and presence look like for your student?
- What are some strategies for building professional networks during employer and graduate school events, such as info sessions?
- How does your student answer “tell me about yourself” in a way that honors their personal brand? What is their personal brand?
- Do they use auto-replies in their email and temporary voicemail greetings when they will be out of touch for more than 24 hours?
- What are some strategies for creating résumés that stand out?
As you may notice, we take a blended approach to coaching your students to become ready for recruiting: Encouraging them to embrace the value of a unique and personalized approach to professional presence and storytelling, while also grappling with some commonly-accepted practices and expectations in the professional world. Whenever possible, we also make note of the ways these practices may shift across different cultures, locations, and industries.
Would your student benefit from additional support from a career coach as they seek answers to these questions for themselves? Please encourage them to make appointments with coaches at the Carleton Career Center who are eager to support their development as early-career professionals.