Keeping Up with Your Career: Get Ready for the Next Phase

No matter what your major is or what year you're in at Tech, less demanding summer schedules present an opportunity to prepare for the next stage of your career development.

Even students who are not participating in a summer work experience can stay in control of their success by evaluating the past year and determining where they want the next one to take them.

Stay on track by doing the following each summer:

1. Do a personal inventory.

• Is what you are doing in your academic career in line with your career and life goals?
• Are you still happy with and enjoying what you are doing in and out of the classroom?

2. Consider career counseling or academic advising.

• If you aren’t happy with the direction of your academic career or your current job prospects, visit Georgia Tech’s Center for Career Discovery and Development for a personal career counseling session.
• Consider academic advising to help you strategically plan your academic career.
• Look into academic coaching from the Center for Academic Success for help in improving your academic performance.

3. Plan to attend the Career Fair on Sept. 14–15.

• Review the list of companies that will have representatives in attendance. Identify which you would like to talk to while you’re there and research them in advance.
• Watch for the Center for Career Discovery and Development’s announcement of fall workshops where you can hone your resume, interviewing skills, and “elevator pitch” (personal positioning statement), and can get specific tips for career fair prep.
• Even if you won’t be participating in recruitment efforts in the fall, attend the Career Fair to practice presenting yourself to recruiters.
• Visit the Tech Career Fair website for more information.

4. Do your research.

• Be aware of other major-specific career fairs and on-campus events with recruiters who do not attend the Career Fair. Check the Georgia Tech Campus Calendar and your program’s website for events.
• When researching organizations your might want to work for, don't rule out any possibilities — employers that do not actively recruit on campus may still be a viable career option for you.
• Get advice on what to look for when researching potential employers from the Center for Career Discovery and Development and Forbes.

5. Maintain your network.

• Reach out to old contacts to say hello and catch up — you never know what new and exciting opportunities may result.
• Make new connections with people who can advise you on your career development through existing contacts in your field.
• Review advice on how to maintain your professional network from Grad to Great.

6. Update your resume and online presence.

• Update your resume with new experience, student involvement, community service, or your most recent GPA.
• Find advice on effective resumes from the Center for Career Discovery and Development and Forbes.com.
• Update or create profiles on professional sites such as LinkedIn to reflect what you’ve added or removed from your resume.
• Audit your social media sites and remove any content you wouldn’t want recruiters to see.  
• Get advice on cleaning up your social media presence from Glassdoor.

7. Update your wardrobe.

• Make sure everything you have fits properly. If it doesn’t, donate it and purchase at least one business casual and one business formal outfit. (Remember: You should always wear business formal attire to career fairs and interviews.)
• View some tips and guidelines from Penn State and a video on professional attire from Talent Egg and Banana Republic.
• If you are unable to afford a suit, contact Georgia Tech’s Campus Closet program to learn how to rent one for career fairs and interviews. Students only have to pay the cost of dry cleaning.
• For those trying to decide between heels and flats for business outfits, consider this advice from Bethany Miller, a Georgia Tech MBA graduate.
• If you need more specific outfit ideas, check out the Center for Career Discovery and Development on Pinterest.