First-year students often ask the Career Center, “Do I need to obtain an internship as a freshman?” We know that only one in five first-year students intern in their summer break. However, there are many more opportunities beyond an internship for students to foster their professional development. At the Career Center, we educate them on experiences they can explore and take on over the summer. For example, they can work a part-time job, research careers, volunteer, job shadow, network, and/or create an independent project. As a parent you may feel that you need to support your student through their career development. To that end, we in the Career Center would like to provide you with resources and guide you through that process.
One way to support your student is by assisting them to expand their understanding about the skills that they can apply in their work after Carleton. While there are many resources that can support this process, here are two that students can easily access for learning.
- How College Contributes to Workforce Success: Employer Views on What Matters Most presents the top 15 liberal art skills employers value and look for in candidates. These particular findings can help your student reflect, think critically and creatively about ways they want to develop liberal art skills and stand out. As an example, one skill they mentioned in the findings is digital literacy. A student may utilize their interest in photography to develop digital literacy skills by creating a photography portfolio which they can share through a website or social media. Students are likely to increase skill building engagement if they are able to expand their skills in ways that correlate with their values and interests.
- NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) generated their own list of career readiness competencies to prepare college students to thrive in the workforce. Professionalism is one of the eight career readiness competencies that they mention. There are students who have never had to ponder about their personal brand and how they may act in a professional setting due to the fact that they haven’t been placed in such situations. This competency may encourage a student to develop their understanding and knowledge on professionalism. Students can expose themselves to the world of work through job shadowing, working a part-time job, or volunteering. These experiences may teach them how professional expectations may differ across environments or industries.
One way to initiate this conversation with your student is by asking them what skills they are proficient in and which one or two skills they would like to improve or develop over the summer. You can use the resources above to provide both you and your student a better understanding of how to prepare and be successful in the workforce. Continuing this practice will help your student reflect and think critically about their skill building throughout their career progression. To this day, I continue to ask myself these same questions. I want to empower students and encourage them to do the same; so that they may plan ahead and be better prepared for their futures.