Checkpoints by year: first years| sophomore | junior | senior

FIRST YEAR

·  Complete your personal profile on "Trinity Recruiting" so you can access  summer opportunities, undergraduate fellowships, and alumni networking events and campus visits.

·  Create your resume  by October to submit to volunteer organizations & summer opportunities. Upload it to Trinity Recruiting.

·  If interested in the Health Professions, attend the September meeting for new students.

·  Complete an interest inventory  online or in hard copy to identify an area to explore.

·  Develop good academic skills.

·  Check out The Vault and the Liberal Arts Career Network websites. This is an excellent way to start learning about job and career opportunities.

·  Visit the Community Services Office to identify potential opportunities to get involved in volunteer activities that can develop leadership and other marketable skills.

·  Participate in campus groups and activities.

·  Develop your public-speaking skills in class or through activities.

·  Consider developing quantitative skills through your coursework. Statistics, economics, calculus, research methods, and other courses can be very useful.

·  Start your summer job campaign in November by checking out the Trinity Recruiting for ideas and summer internships available for first year students.

·  Attend alumni networking events to sharpen your skills and learn about job opportunities.

·  Browse the Alumni Profiles Online database to learn about life after Trinity.

·  Make a friend in Career Services.

·  Schedule a practice interview with an alumnus through Career Services.

·  Visit the Internship Office to learn about Trinity’s outstanding academic internship program.

·  Get to know your faculty advisor and at least one other faculty member really well. Initiate lunch or coffee.

·  Read Trinity Exchange for the Career Services postings for summer job picks and upcoming events.

·  Use the fax, copy machine, resume paper and envelopes, and computers in Career Services for your summer job search.

·  Get a reference from your summer employer before you start your sophomore year.

SOPHOMORE YEAR

·  Update your resume in Trinity Recruiting

·  Clarify major requirements and work toward positioning yourself to select your major.

·  Identify the skills and qualities you want to enhance. If you want to improve your writing skills select courses accordingly and visit the Allen K. Smith Center for Writing and Rhetoric. Contact Community Services for volunteer opportunities and select campus activities and campus jobs that will develop these skills.

·  Start building a list of contacts through the Alumni Network, friends, family, parents of friends, and others to talk with about career possibilities.

·  Update your resume to be ready for summer jobs.

·  Start your summer job campaign in November by checking out Trinity Recruiting for high quality summer internships available for sophomores.

·  Consider an academic internship and obtain a reference from your supervisor before you complete your internship.

·  Explore fellowship opportunities.

·  Challenge yourself by trying completely new courses or activities.

·  Make another friend in Career Services.

·  Read Trinity Exchange Career Services announcements.

·  Schedule another practice interview with a Trinity alum or Hartford business leader.

·  Consider one of Trinity's many study away opportunities.

·  Attend campus alumni networking events sponsored by Career Services.

·  Get a reference from your summer employer before your junior year.

JUNIOR YEAR

·  Establish strong relationships with at least two faculty members within your major and one outside of your major. Find and create opportunities for them to get to know you.

·  Polish your group and public-speaking skills as well as other skills you are interested in developing.

·  Obtain information about graduate and professional school opportunities including required pre-professional tests and prepare for tests.

·  Update your resume on Trinity Recruiting.

·  Update your information about fellowship opportunities.

·  Consider an academic internship. If you are studying abroad, consider volunteering as an "intern" with an organization that reflects your interests.

·  Make a friend with at least one alum who can serve as an unofficial mentor.

·  Become a "regular" at Career Services.

·  Read Trinity Exchange

·  Find a terrific summer job to position yourself competitively for your first job after Trinity or for graduate school.

·  If you are really stuck about your interests, consider another interest test and talk with more alumni.

·  Use the faculty members in your major to discuss your interests and options. They often stay in touch with their graduates and can really help you.

·  Keep your academic record strong.

·  If you are bound for law or medical school in the fall following graduation, take tests and get an early start on applications.

·  If you are studying abroad and have access to the internet, stay in touch with Career Services by checking our web site and your e-mail.

·  Get a reference from your summer employer before your senior year.

SENIOR YEAR

·  Decide whether you want a job soon after graduation. If so, start your job campaign the summer before your senior year.

·  Approach your job search as if it were a part-time job, invest plenty of time.
 

·  Upload your updated resume into Trinity Recruiting so it is accessible to employers.

·  Apply for Campus and off-campus interviews and resume referrals. Initiate contact with prospective employers. Have a sophisticated job-campaign.

·  Complete your graduate or professional school essay. Have an advisor go over it with you. We also have excellent resources in the Career Library to help you.
   

·  Apply for fellowships.

·  Have copies of your transcripts for employers or schools. Request early!

·  Sign up for another practice interview.

·  Request references from faculty members or other professionals.

·  Network, network, and network. If you’re not networking, you’re not working! Trinity’s Alumni Network is a gold mine of well-placed professionals in just about every field. Also check Trinity Recruiting for upcoming events.

·  Purchase a suit you can wear to interviews.

·  If your interests have evolved (and they often do) or you need to gain more experience, arrange an academic internship for first semester.

·  Read Trinity Exchange and every email from Career Services.

·  Plan your budget for your job search or graduate school applications: travel, hotel bills, hospitality gifts for friends or alumni with whom you might be staying, phone, mailings, transcript fees, testing fees, and so on.

·  Don’t spend too long "finding yourself" or searching for the "perfect" job. Find an opportunity where you can learn. Get started.

·  If you want to "take time off after graduation", continue to network and maximize your use of the Career Services Office.