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Action Plan for Parents

First & Second Years

  • Talk to your son or daughter about his or her general interests - academic, professional, and personal. Share your own career development experience and career path.
  • Encourage your son or daughter to utilize the Rutgers Online Career Planning Site. This free resource enables students to identify their interests, skills, and values, which are then linked to appropriate Rutgers majors and related career options.
  • Explore our website for other tips and ideas to share with your son or daughter.
     
  • Suggest that your son or daughter do the following:

    1. Explore our online profiles of Rutgers University majors and related career paths.
    2. Review the Rutgers Career Services Guide, which contains detailed information on resumes, interviews, internships, jobs, and graduate school.
    3. Attend scheduled workshops on choosing a major, assessing skills and interests, and finding an internship.
    4. Schedule an appointment with a career counselor online via CareerKnight to discuss the relationship between interests, majors, and career opportunities.
    5. Join one or more student organizations and become an active participant.
    6. Get to know faculty members and administrators.
    7. Follow Career Services on Facebook and Twitter.
       
  • Help your son or daughter identify a personal and professional network consisting of neighbors, relatives, local merchants, etc. Begin the networking process as an under-class student. Ask contacts where they work; what they like and dislike about their jobs; how they got their jobs; how their careers evolved; and if they can suggest other professionals to contact.
  • Suggest volunteer opportunities. They are great resume builders.
  • Urge your son or daughter to write his or her first resume and have it critiqued by a career counselor during drop-in hours at our various locations (no appointment needed). It's not too soon to write a first resume! It will come in handy for volunteer positions, internships, interviews, and networking.


Junior & Senior Years

  • IMPORTANT: Incorporate all the steps listed above into your "game plan" for your junior or senior. It's never too late to start or expand the career development process.
  • Advise your son or daughter to update and expand his/her resume and have it critiqued by a career counselor during drop-in hours at our various locations. Your child's resume will gain in depth and breadth throughout the years at Rutgers. Nevertheless, it should be limited to one page.
  • Urge your son or daughter to begin the search for a summer internship during the fall of the junior year. It may seem early, but some companies actually begin interviewing on campus during the fall semester for internships the following summer (especially in the accounting and engineering areas).
     
  • Suggest these resources to your son or daughter-whether looking for an internship (junior year) or a full-time job (senior year):

    1. Register for and participate in our on-campus recruiting program via CareerKnight. This online system enables students to review company internship and job descriptions, submit resumes, find out if they have been selected for an interview, and schedule their interviews online. About 300 employers interview for full-time positions and 100 for internships each year.
    2. Explore the Rutgers Internship and Co-op Program.
    3. Check jobs and internships on the Rutgers-New Brunswick job board, CareerKnight.
    4. Attend career days from September to May.  Here is our lineup:

      SeptemberEngineering and Computer Science Career Day
      OctoberMath and Actuarial Career Day
      OctoberBusiness and Liberal Arts Career Day
      OctoberGraduate and Professional School Day
      JanuaryNew Jersey Collegiate Career Day
      FebruaryInternship Career Day
      FebruaryNew Jersey Diversity Career Day
      FebruaryEducation Career Day
      AprilScience Career Day
      AprilGovernment and Nonprofit Career Day
      MayNew Jersey Collegiate Career Day

       
  • Steer your son or daughter to the Alumni Career Network. This database of Rutgers alumni is organized by academic, geographic, and career information. Mentors can provide career information and advice.
  • If your son or daughter is on a graduate or professional school track, we can also help. Suggest these resources:

    1. Graduate & Professional School Day (November)
    2. Career counseling sessions
    3. Personal statement critiques
Best wishes to your children as they prepare for life and a career beyond Rutgers!

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Employer questions? Contact recruiting@echo.rutgers.edu
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