CAREER STRATEGY FOR THE NEXT SEMESTER YOUR DECEMBER THROUGH SUMMER TIMEFRAME Presented by: Genevieve Richards, JD Program Coordinator South Central Scholars

STEP 1: TAKE A CAREER/JOB INVENTORY Things to check for: Academic Performance -Cumulative GPA -GPA in classes relevant to prospective job/internship field School Network Performance -Department - Professor/TA contacts - Clubs/On Campus Orgs

HOW TO PARTICIPATE ON A WEBINAR 1) Chat & Questions. If you do NOT have access to a mic and do not call in with a phone, you can use the Questions feature to type a question that you want to ask to the presenters. At the end of the presentation, the facilitator will read out loud any questions that come through this feature. 2) Raise Hand. For most of the webinar, all participants will be in listen-only mode, meaning that they will be muted. When the presenter opens the floor for questions, people will not be unmuted unless they use the Raise Hand function. 3) Surveys. After the webinar ends, a link will be ed to you to participate in a survey. We encourage ALL participants to participate.

TAKE JOB/INTERNSHIP INVENTORY Academic Performance -Cumulative GPA (What is it?) -GPA in classes relevant to prospective job/internship field -Honors/other awards Make a checklist of information for each of the following areas: Personal Network Performance -Professional networks (SCS -Mentors -Family/Friends School Network Performance - Department - Professor/TA contacts - Clubs/On Campus Orgs - Campus Career Center

FIELD OF INTEREST Is it a general field or niche field? -How competitive are the opportunities available in each your field? - Are certain types of opportunities i.e. jobs vs volunteer positions MORE or less competitive Consider the following about your desired field of interest for your job/internship search Other Considerations -Area and availability of opportunities -What is the general path to your desired job or internship -Are there any parallel, less competitive opportunities that will give you comparable job market/post-grad benefits?

YOUR COMPETITIVENESS VS OPPORTUNITY COMPETITIVENESS What are the qualifications for the ideal candidate? -GPA -Work experience (Relevant and in general) -Field experience -Recommendations/Refe rences needed Consider the following about your level of competitiveness: What are YOUR qualifications -GPA: Higher? Lower? Average? -Work experience: Relevant, substitute, general -Field experience: Relevant, substitute, general -References: Field specific, personal, work, school.

REFERENCES/NETWORK Who have you reached out to to find/endorse you for opportunities -Professional networks (SCS, scholarship) -Departments -Career Center -Clubs/On-Campus Orgs (Advisors, Officers, databases) Consider the following about your network resources: Who can provide you with a connect or reference? -What experience is your reference based on? -How will this type of reference/connect affect your job prospects? -Do you have sufficient basis for a reference? If not, what can you do to boost your basis of reference

TIMELINE FOR YOUR NEXT SEMESTER JOB SEARCH How much time do you have between now and when you need to begin applying for jobs/internships? (This may be field specific) Consider the following about your next semester timeframe: Based on your inventory, what are the areas of weaknesses in your job/internship application? How much time do you have between now and when you need to begin applying to take steps to improve the weaknesses in your app?

TIMELINE FOR YOUR NEXT SEMESTER JOB SEARCH (CONT.) How would taking a parallel or less comparable position affect your competitiveness for later opportunities in the job market you’re interested in? Consider the following about your next semester timeframe: Are there any shortcuts, that can help you compensate for app weaknesses? (I.e. someone who can put in a good word) If it is unlikely that you will be able to get the desired job now, how can another job/position in the interim factor in to your long- term career/post-grad timeline?

Q & A

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