Preparing for Employment

How or where can I learn to put together a professional resume and cover letter?

The Ohio State University offers many offices and services to help you prepare for employment. There are two offices that can assist you specifically with your resume and cover letters. First, the Arts and Sciences Career Services Office has Peer Career Advisors working in their office every day school is in session in order to assist you in creating your resume and cover letter and searching for internships. You can take a draft of your resume or cover letter to one of the Career Peer Advisors, and they will assist you in editing it! See their website for a tutorial on resumes and cover letters at asccareerservices.osu.edu. The second office at Ohio State that can assist you is Career Connection. Their website has a wonderful array of helpful hints and links to other websites that will assist you in creating your resume and cover letter. Be sure to check it out: careerconnection.osu.edu.

Are volunteer and internship opportunities important in preparing for my future career?

Volunteer and internship opportunities are extremely important to preparing for your future career. These opportunities will allow you to learn more about a chosen field or industry, apply your classroom knowledge and theory to real-life situations, become more knowledgeable about general work functions, investigate organizational culture, and learn career-related skills. When you apply for jobs in the future, employers will want to know what skills you have acquired through previous experience that will be relevant to their company. Having volunteer and internship experience will open more doors for you.

To read more about volunteer and internship experiences, visit the Arts and Sciences Career Services Office website: asccareerservices.osu.edu

To receive psychology credit for your internship experience, you must enroll in Psychology 489: Internship in Psychology.

How can I explore my career interests?

There are many ways in which you can explore your career interests. First, you can visit the Career Connection website at careerconnection.osu.edu to complete some assessments and career interest games to find out what fields suit your interests the best. Second, after you identify some fields that you think you may enjoy, talk to people in those fields. For example, if you think you may be interested in becoming a school teacher, contact a teacher (either a teacher you know personally or a teacher at a local school) to see if he or she would be willing to talk with you about his or her job. Then, you may even ask if you could shadow him or her for a day. Most professionals love to help students who are interested in the field in which they work. Third, volunteer and internship opportunities are great ways to explore interests. By participating in volunteer activities or internship opportunities, you can get first-hand experience in the field. You will be immersed in the culture of the career you are exploring, and you can usually find out fairly quickly if you would enjoy working in the field you have chosen to explore.

Another opportunity you may want to take advantage of is enrolling in Psychology 389: Career Exploration in Psychology, offered Autumn, Winter and Spring quarter. Prerequisites for this course include Psychology 100 plus 9 additional hours in Psychology, sophomore standing, and at least 2.5 GPA.

What skills should I develop or possess to help me succeed in my future career?

To develop skills, search for opportunities that will allow you to explore career interests, while also developing skills. Increase your interpersonal skills by volunteering your time to help others (for example, at a hospital, school, or an office on campus). Expand your basic computer skills by taking a general course on Word, Excel, and Access. You can develop your research skills by becoming involved with a faculty member's research lab on campus. Develop team-working skills by becoming involved with a student organization on campus. Presentation and public speaking skills can be gained by either taking a course in public speaking or by presenting research at forums and colloquiums (i.e., OSU Psychology Research Colloquium, OSU Denman Research Forum). These are just some of the skills on which you may want to focus. Find out what skills are beneficial to the career you are interested in exploring by talking with professors and/or professionals in the field. Then, go find an opportunity that will assist you in developing those skills!