v. Career Planning and Career Services
The beginning of college is an exciting new chapter, but it is also the perfect time to begin thinking about and planning your career. Focusing on career planning early on helps you set clear goals and discover growth opportunities about your education and future. By focusing on early career planning, you are on your way to preparing yourself for success.
Top things first-year students should be doing to get a jump on career planning:
- Visit Office of Career Services: Meet with the Career Services staff and learn and begin your career development journey, scan the Career Services website for insight and resources, and get assistance in creating your college resume and online networking profiles. Attend our many workshops, seminars and panel discussions offered each semester, which will help you forge a path for your career development.
- Utilize the Handshake App: Become familiar with browsing events, career fairs, and part-time/full-time jobs and internships on this platform.
- Create Your Professional Online Presence: Create a LinkedIn account and begin building your professional online presence where you will be able to connect with many professionals within your industry and beyond.
- Pursue Experience: Explore your internship options, start actively seeking internships and other opportunities (part-time jobs, or volunteer work in your field of interest).
- Begin Networking Early: Begin building connections with your Career Services office, professors, classmates, alumni, and industry professionals. Sign up for networking events, attend career fairs, and participate in clubs or organizations. You can sign up for the UNO Matrix to begin networking with UNO alumni.
- Get Involved and Gain Skills: Develop your hard and soft skills by looking for extracurricular opportunities and gaining experience.
- Find A Mentor: Find mentors who can help guide and advise you and seek their advice and opinions. Interested in a UNO alumni mentor? UNO Matrix can connect you with a mentor or you can contact alumni affairs to be connected with a mentor via email at alumni@uno.edu.
Activity: Create a Handshake Account
- Step 1 – Login to your Handshake account (Every registered student already has a Handshake account)
- UNO has a partnership with Handshake. You can log from MyApps in by using your UNO student email address and your password used to log into all of your UNO accounts. If you follow this step and for some reason you are not successful, there may be a reason that you do not have a Handshake account yet. If that is the case, please contact UNO Career Services at career@uno.edu and we will get you uploaded for your account. Do not attempt to create your own account.
- Step 2 – Upload documents
- By uploading resumes, cover letters, transcripts, and other relevant documents, you can apply for jobs directly through Handshake. This streamlines the application process and ensures that all necessary documents are readily available to potential employers you apply to! At the very least, upload your resume.
- Step 3 – Fill out your Profile
- Filling out your profile includes many benefits! For example, you will receive personalized job recommendations, proactive employer outreach, and the opportunity to showcase your skills and experience.
- Step 4 – Explore Handshake
- Use your home page, and other tools available on Handshake to look for companies, events, and jobs you are interested in learning more about or applying to!
