Career Center

Action

After exploring career options based on the results of your self-assessment, the next steps in the career planning process are to make a decision on your career of choice, create goals, and create an action plan for achieving your goals.

Making a decision

The self-assessment and exploration phases would have provided necessary information to make a decision on your choice of career path. To ensure that you’ve successfully utilized each process, consider the following questions:

  1. Have you gathered relevant information about yourself and possible career paths that might best suit you through self-assessment and career exploration exercises?
  2. Have you identified and explored alternatives to your top interest?
  3. Have you carefully explored the benefits and challenges of each option, seeing yourself from the beginning stages to the height of that career path?
  4. Have you ranked each option based on your conclusions from the questions above?

Creating goals

Once you have ranked your options and feel confident in their ranking, you’ll then be able to choose the top option or a combination of the top options and begin creating specific goals toward that career achievement. You’ll want to determine S.M.A.R.T goals.

S.M.A.R.T goals
S.M.A.R.T goals are a five-tiered approach toward developing, implementing, and evaluating successful goals.

S-pecific Define what is to be accomplished and the actions to be taken to accomplish it
M-easurable Ensure that your goals surround a quantifiable object that will be used to track progress toward achieving it
A-chievable Ensure that the goal is realistically attainable – something that can be accomplished
R-elevant Your goal must have a benefit
T-ime-bound Your goal must have a concrete deadline

Creating and implementing an action plan

Once you’ve identified your goals it’s time to create a plan of action. What specific steps will you take to achieve your goals? The AU 4-year career plan is a great resource in helping you determine the steps that need to be taken each year toward your career goal. A career coach is also available to help you customize that even further into an individual career plan.

Career Action Tools

Networking
Andrews Network: An online networking, mentoring and jobs board platform exclusive to the Andrews community. The Andrews Network provides a place where alumni can connect with each other and with current students. You control how involved you want to be—you can simply join and connect with a few classmates, or you can grow into an engaged mentor who offers advice and assistance to current students. As it is protected by a globally recognized privacy and security framework, you can rest assured that the Andrews Network is a secure platform. Continue scrolling below to read more about the features of the Andrews Network.

Experiential Learning
AU Innovation Center: The Andrews University Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship provides students with opportunities for experiential learning through innovation. Opportunities include on-campus internships, capstone and senior design projects, and certificate courses in innovation. Learn more about experiential opportunities from the Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship on their website here.

Job and internships

  • LinkedIn Jobs: LinkedIn features a job board which lists tons of job and internship opportunities each day. Use this resource to search for jobs and internships.
  • O*Net Online: Along with industry information, O*Net also provides a job feed with advanced search features for geographic locations.
  • Parker Dewey: A platform that provides paid, short-term, professional projects called micro-internships. Registration is easy and you’ll have a chance to gain practical experience.
  • Forage: provides virtual, simulated work experience programs that are 100% free, open-access and self-paced for students of all majors.  Get started by visiting their website.

Other Internships
• www.internshipprograms.com
• www.collegerecruiter.com
• www.ziprecruiter.com
• www.andrews.edu/agenda
• www.andrewsnetwork.org
• www.internships.com
• www.idealist.org
• www.workforgood.org
• www.netimpact.org/jobs

On-campus employment
• www.andrews.edu
• www.andrews.edu/agenda
• www.andrewsnetwork.org

National Employment
• www.onetonline.org
• www.indeed.com
• www.glassdoor.com
• www.careerbuilder.com
• www.monster.com
• www.ziprecruiter.com  
• www.linkedin.com/jobs

Social Service/Non-profit jobs
• www.socialservice.com
• www.philantrophynewsdigest.org
• www.devex.com
• www.bsr.org

State/Local Employment
• www.miworks.org
• www.southwestmichiganjobs.com
• www.ziprecruiter.com