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What You Need to Do to Find Your Next Step
Own Your Academic and Career Development
This is YOUR degree so take ownership of it. It is up to you to shape the experience you get during your time in CBA. And we offer many ways to help you do that.
- Know what's going on. Pay attention to emails (yes, there may be a lot of them) from Career Services - they provide important information about employers, events and programs. We never want a CBA student to say, 'I didn't know about..."
- Engage in all the career development resources on campus. Besides working with CBA Career Services, take advantage of the services and programs offered by the university's Career Development Office and the Office of Student Employment and Placement Assistance (SEPA). Be sure to use FutureLinks, the university wide job board and attend the additional job fairs that take place throughout the year.
- Understand the recruiting process-no job type recruits the same way or uses the same timeline. By understanding the recruiting cycle of particular job types, you will be more effective in managing your unique search process.
- Know what it takes to get where you want-we want you to be equipped with the skills to be competitive in your search. That may mean you need to gain additional expertise outside of what you learn in the classroom. By exploring and narrowing your career interest area, you will be able to identify additional areas in which you need to develop in order to be successful.
Clarify Your Aspirations and Direction
It is always important to figure out where you are going-whether that be on a trip or life in general. In order to be satisfied with your next step, it is critical that you confirm it is the right next step for you. Take advantage of the opportunities to explore different careers and job types. These are things such as:
- Career exploration appointments with our staff
- Attending the annual CBA Career Conference where you can learn more about majors and job types
- Participate in job shadow programs and site visits. Not only will you be able to see what is actually like to work in various positions and employers, but you will also start building your professional network by meeting professionals
- Conduct informational interviews with people in jobs that interest you. Do you have that uncle who always talks about his job when you see him? Have you ever thought it would be really interesting to learn more about what he does? Ask him! Start to contact the people you already know learn more about what it is they do. You will be able to gain great perspectives from them.
- Gain career development experiences-often times you won't know you like something until you try it. And if you find out you don't like it, we can help you come up with a new plan. It is better to start gaining experience early on so you have more time to make necessary adjustments.
Build Your Network
In business it is important to know people. The good news is that you already have a network of people available to you-your family, both immediate and extended, friends, parents of friends, neighbors, former teachers, employers; we could go on and on. But you need to continue to develop professional connections. Start developing relationship with our employers and alumni.
- Our Alumni Networking Zone will give you the opportunity to connect with our alumni all over the country and world. It may be through active discussions via Skype or more passive means like searching for CBA/Pitt alumni on the Pitt Career Network.
- Recruiting events-our employers want to meet CBA students! Get to know them. They can be a big advocate for you when it comes time to make hiring decisions.
- Our CBA Career Conference is a perfect place to start meeting professionals. You would be hard pressed to find another event that gives you access to over 150 representatives from employers who are focused on meeting CBA students.
- Other Career Events provide students the chance to learn more about specific career paths and also meet with employers on a more informal basis.
- The Pitt Career Network is a database of over 6,000 Pitt alumni who have created profiles for students to learn more about their careers.
Create Your Evidence
How will you demonstrate to an employer or graduate school that you have what it takes to be successful? What will be your career evidence? It is important to get career experience and there are several different ways you can do that.
- Get some type of career development experience through internships, career related part time jobs or research projects. Look for ways for you to develop your business skills.
- Participate in case studies. This is a great way for you to get experience working in a team and also demonstrate your analytical skills.
- Professional skill enhancement will help you differentiate yourself from other candidates. Identify the skills that are needed in your job type and seek ways to develop those.
Market Yourself
You need to be able to effectively market your brand to an employer-your experiences, your skills, your unique abilities.
- Your resume and cover letter should reflect the value you will add to an employer and fit with professional standards.
- Portfolios aren't just for art students anymore. Your professional portfolio will provide concrete evidence of your skills and accomplishments. Understand what are key documents and examples to include in a portfolio and how to use it in an interview setting.
- Did your mom or dad cause you total embarrassment growing up by bragging about how good you were at something? Activate your network to do the same thing! Be sure to share your accomplishments and successes with your professional contacts. This will allow for them to promote your skills to potential employers and provide confirmation that you have what it takes to be successful.
- Practicing your interviewing skills will allow for you be more confident and comfortable talking with employers and selling them on your skills.
