Career Preparation and Planning

Identifying your values and interests can help you find a career area that is fulfilling and rewarding. The following can assist you in finding your way through the career search process.

Individual Career Counseling

Sometimes you just need to talk to an expert! Whether your concern is about choosing a major, finding a job or internship, creating a resume or preparing for interviews – we can help you.

Career Plans

It is much easier to reach your career goals if you have a plan! Let Career Services help you put together a plan that allows you to take small steps each semester or term, making your career goals much more attainable. Everyone’s career path is going to be different, and your plan will be personalized to fit your skills, experience, goals, and schedule.

What Can I Do With This Major?

Explore multiple majors, search for information about your chosen field and connect majors to careers at What Can I Do With This Major. You will also find information about the typical career areas and the types of employers that hire people with each major, as well as strategies to make you a more marketable candidate.

Career Assessments

Career assessments are designed to assist individuals in deciding on a major, career or other vocational paths. There are a wide variety of career assessments available online – we are happy to help you choose assessments and discuss results.

Here are two assessments that are available online and free of charge. For assistance finding and taking other assessments, don’t hesitate to contact us!

  • www.mynextmove.org – free career assessment provided by O*NET; includes links to BLS occupational research and statistics
  • www.16personalities.com – free personality profile assessment; uses Myers-Briggs personality types

Career Preparation

Several resources are available to Friends students and alumni to assist with developing a resume, writing a cover letter, preparing for interviews and learning how to establish a professional network.

Resumes and Cover Letters

Developing a cover letter and resume that is clear and concise can be challenging. When sending a cover letter and resume to a company, the documents need to be tailored so that only relevant information is shared. The Career Services office recognizes the difficulty in creating a cover letter and resume that market all the experience and skills of an individual.

Interview Preparation

Interviewing for employment can be a stressful and difficult process, especially if you have never interviewed, or haven’t done it for years! We are here to help you with all aspects of interview preparation – in person, over the phone, or via email.

Mock Interviews

Once students and alumni are ready to put their interviewing skills to the test, the Career Services office offers mock interviews both online and in person. If you are interested in a mock interview, contact Career Services to set up a date and time. In a simulated interview, our staff members can develop and ask real interview questions and then offer advice.

If you are interested in a virtual mock interview, we offer a free training system that features a new and innovative way to help you prepare more effectively for a job interview. Big Interview is an online system that combines training AND practice to help improve your interview technique and build your confidence.

You have at your disposal a variety of tools including:

  • Challenging, virtual mock interviews for all experience levels and dozens of industries
  • A database of thousands of interview questions with tips on how to answer them
  • The ability to rate and share your interview answers for feedback
  • A comprehensive video training curriculum covering all aspects of landing a job
  • A step-by-step interview Answer Builder for crafting answers to behavioral questions

How To RegisterStudents:
Step 1: Go to friends.biginterview.com and click “Register”.
Step 2: Complete the registration process. Students must use their Friends email address.
Step 3: You will receive a confirmation email for your registration, click “Verify” in the email and you will be able to start using Big Interview.

Alumni:
Step 1: Go to friendsalumni.biginterview.com and click “Register”.
Step 2: Enter organization code 0561
Step 3: Complete the registration process.
Step 4: You will receive a confirmation email for your registration, click “Verify” in the email and you will be able to start using Big Interview.

If you have any trouble with your registration, please contact Career Services. You can also access the Big Interview Help Center for technical assistance.