Planning for After Graduation
Parents and families can help students as they move from life at St. Olaf by becoming aware of the services the CEL offers. Encourage your student to sign up for the CEL Yourself alias to receive weekly e-newsletters on a variety of opportunities.
Searching for a job upon graduation can be a daunting task. Be prepared to support your child through the ups and downs of the search. Your student will need reassurance that for every door that closes, another opens.
Due to students’ strong commitment to academics during their senior year, they may take some time to explore the next step. It is common for liberal arts students to take a transitional year to gain additional experience, identify and prepare application materials to graduate schools, volunteer, travel, or solidify career goals.
Final Thoughts on the World of Work
The Department of Labor suggests that a person will change careers 7–10 times in a lifetime, and the average time a new graduate is in their first job is 11 months. Today’s job market is all about change and building transferable skill sets. Researchers have deemed the new employment landscape as “You, Inc.”, and human resource professionals recommend building a “briefcase” of skills to transport from opportunity to opportunity. Other trends indicate the growing importance of globalization and innovation—being able to foresee and adapt quickly to changes in the global marketplace. St. Olaf students' broad-based liberal arts background and emphasis on global perspectives should serve them well in life after St. Olaf.
The Job Search Process
1) Explore your VISA (Values, Interests, Skills, and Abilities) and Research Careers
Here are some tools to get started:
2) Prepare Application Materials
These online resources can help. The CEL also has books on these topics available for checkout from our office.
3) Action / Implementation
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