Step 1:     Assess personal values, skills, and interests.

Step 2:    Explore career options and academic majors.

Step 3:    Build job-search skills.

Step 4:    Gain career-related experience.

Step 5:    Connect with full-time job opportunities or
                Prepare for graduate school.

Step 6:    Practice life-long career management.

Your student should aim to complete steps one and two during the freshman year, steps three and four during the sophomore and junior years, and step five during the senior year. If your student finds that he or she is behind in the process, he or she should contact the Career Center and arrange an appointment with a staff member who can provide individual assistance.

A wide variety of activities and resources are suggested for each step to encompass different student needs. You and your student can decide which activities and resources he or she should pursue.  The Career Success Plan, written for a student audience, is available through the student section of the Career Center Web site.

The following offices are referred to several times throughout the plan. You can refer to this list for contact information.

Career Center
Lucina Hall 220
285-1522
http://www.bsu.edu/careers/

Learning Center
North Quad 323
285-1006
http://www.bsu.edu/web/learningcenter/    

Counseling Center
Lucina Hall 320
285-1736
http://www.bsu.edu/counseling center             

University College
Advising Center
North Quad 323
285-2376
http://www.bsu.edu/advising/   

Step 1

Assess your values, skills, and interests

Use computer programs to identify career choices.

Students can visit the Career and Experiential Learning Resource Lab, Lucina 235, or the Learning Center to assess values, skills, and interests and match them with careers that are right for them.

Career and Experiential Learning Resource Lab:
http://www.bsu.edu/careers/students/crc/

Learning Center/Academic Advising: http://www.bsu.edu/advising/undecided/

Explore the Career Center Web site.

Our "Links to Explore" Web page includes a section of Web links for career assessment.

Links to Explore:
http://www.bsu.edu/careers/students/links/

Consider a part-time job.

Work experience helps students identify work-related values and explore their interests.  Students can use Cardinal ViewJobs on the Web to explore opportunities for student employment on campus and Cardinal Career Link for opportunities off campus. For on-campus positions, students must complete a student employment application and visit the Career Center to receive additional instructions. (Students who have been awarded Federal Work Study can use the Cardinal ViewJobs database to find on-campus positons as well as opportunities with eligible community agencies offering part-time jobs.)

Student Employment: http://www.bsu.edu/students/careers/students/studentemployment/

Meet with an academic advisor.       

Students can meet with their academic advisors to talk about courses and academic programs that match their interests.

Academic Advising:
http://www.bsu.edu/advising/

Take core curriculum classes.

Students can broaden their experience by exploring a variety of subjects through introductory courses, like Ball State University's core curriculum courses, and research.

Undergraduate Course Catalog:
http://www.bsu.edu/web/catalog/

Learn how to study effectively.

Students need to strengthen their time-management skills because employers will want to see a strong academic record.  Workshops on study skills are available at the Learning Center.

Learning Center:
http://www.bsu.edu/web/learningcenter/   

Get feedback.

Students should ask friends, family, advisors, professors, or employers who are familiar with their unique skills and characteristics to help identify their strengths.

Visit the Counseling Center.

Students can complete self-assessment and career-interest inventories and explore the results with a career counselor. Specific programs in the center include individual and group career counseling, career workshops and outreach programs, personality and career-interest assessment services, and the resource room (a library of self-help books). Students can call or visit to schedule an appointment.

Counseling Center:
http://www.bsu.edu/counselingcenter/