National Career Development Month while Exploring Careers

In celebration of National Career Development Month, the Center for Career Development is offering exciting events and opportunities for students to strengthen their career readiness! You can still invest in your career development even if you don’t know what that career is yet! See tips below for how to get the most out of these events as a student exploring career options.

Elevator Pitch Competition

Prepare a one-minute elevator pitch, record it, and then submit it!

Monday, November 4, 2019 – Friday, November 8, 2019
Virtual: Email UConn.epitch@gmail.com

Tip for Explorers: Don’t feel intimidated if you don’t have a major, career path, or experiences that all align to a common interest. In your pitch, it’s okay to say that you’re exploring and interested in learning more about your options.

Learn more about this opportunity

Career Premiere

Come tell us what career you’re preparing for, get a professional photo taken, and show the UConn community how you will contribute to society!

Wednesday, November 6, 2019
11:00 am – 2:00 pm
WCB 202

Tip for Explorers: Even if you don’t have an exact career path in mind, you might have it narrowed down to a few occupations, industries, or themes. Maybe you know you want to work with kids, or help people, or be creative, or write. That’s still a career you’re preparing for, even if you don’t have a particular job title in mind, and we want to celebrate that!

The Major Experience: How Major is Your Major?

Learn more about major exploration by dispelling myths about majors and examining the tools and resources that help you choose a major!

Wednesday, November 6, 2019
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
ROWE 217

Tip for Explorers: This is a presentation just for you! Whether you’re completely undecided, comfortably declared, or somewhere in between, we believe every student should be exploratory! Take time to explore your options thoroughly, so you can feel confident in your major and career decisions.

Vision Boards

Take a break from studying, and craft your vision board with career coaches. Hang your vision board in your room to stay motivated!

Friday, November 8, 2019 and Tuesday, November 19, 2019
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
WCB 110

Tip for Explorers: Visualizing what you want from your future can help you assess your values, which are important to take into account when deciding on a career path. While you get creative, ask career coaches any questions you have. We can help you create a plan to achieve your visualized future.

Learn more about this event: Friday 11/8/19 or Tuesday 11/19/19

Academic Achievement Center: Microsoft Excel Basics

Strengthen your Microsoft Excel skills with the Academic Achievement Center!

Tuesday, November 12, 2019
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
ROWE 217

Tip for Explorers: Even if you’re not sure what career you want to pursue, there’s a good chance you’ll need to be proficient in Microsoft Excel. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), being able to use technologies and software is a top competency employers are looking for in college graduates entering the workforce. Being able to use Microsoft Excel helps show your overall digital literacy. Moreover, analytical reasoning and data science skills are among the top skills employers are seeking in candidates, and increasingly, non-quantitative students are finding themselves in jobs that require data analytics. Anecdotally, employers that hire UConn students have told the Center for Career Development that Microsoft Excel skills are essential and students routinely overestimate their proficiency. All around, strengthening your Microsoft Excel skills is important!

Learn more about this workshop

Professional Portraits

Come get your free professional photo taken to update your LinkedIn profile or other professional networking site.

Thursday, November 14, 2019 and Thursday, November 21, 2019
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
WCB, outside the southwest side of building

Tip for Explorers: LinkedIn is a great tool for exploring majors and career paths and networking with professionals in those areas, and having a professional portrait is essential for completing your profile. Schedule an appointment with a career coach for a LinkedIn profile critique or to learn how you can use LinkedIn to explore majors and careers.

Learn more about this opportunity: Thursday 11/14/19 or Thursday 11/21/19

Thank You Event

Join Center for Career Development staff in writing thank you letters to your mentors, professors, and supervisors that have guided you at UConn and beyond.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
SU 318

Tip for Explorers: You don’t have to have chosen a career path to have someone in your life that you’d like to thank!

Learn more about this event

By Kelsey Keefe
Kelsey Keefe Career Consultant