A Career Ready Campus: Roadmap 2030

We will expand outreach so students connect with career resources from their first days on campus. Initiatives include a “How Do I Even Get Started?” workshop, collaborations with New Student Orientation to activate Handshake early, and Discover You—a new one-day signature event developed with advisory boards and campus partners that engages students in interactive self-discovery activities. We will also research best practices from peer institutions, such as the University of Iowa’s campus partner training program, to strengthen our own initiatives and ensure Rutgers remains at the forefront of embedding self-discovery across the campus.

FIGS introduces first-year students to career exploration in the classroom. We will refine its curriculum, expand enrollment, and build strategies to sustain engagement after the course ends. Partnering with instructors ensures career readiness concepts are embedded into students’ first-year experience.

Advisors, instructors, and student services will be key partners in embedding self-discovery into academic and advising spaces. We will explore opportunities in first-year courses such as the Honors College Forum and Engineering Transition Course, and expand involvement in major/minor exploration events. These collaborations bring readiness messages to where students already are.

Students will have access to modern assessments and programs at every stage of their journey. Plans include expanding use of Traitify, offering Strong Interest Inventory for graduate students, and engaging advisory boards to support undecided students. These tools ensure career exploration is within reach for all.

We will expand programs that bring students together with alumni, employers, and peers. Efforts include working with the Rutgers University Alumni Association on mentoring pipelines, refreshing Career Exploration Nights, and piloting career treks when feasible. Partnerships with transfer and first-year programs will embed exploration into multiple student entry points.

Students need flexible ways to explore careers beyond traditional events. We will revamp major-specific handouts, expand digital tools linking academics to outcomes, and strengthen social media content. Collaborating with initiatives like Career Discovery Advantage ensures resources are tied to curricular planning.

Mentorship helps students turn exploration into readiness. CES will expand flash mentoring in Student-Alumni Career Connect (SACC), grow the Intern for a Day program, and pilot semester-long externships. In addition, CES will build a community of practice that unites faculty, staff, alumni, and students to share strategies for mentoring and develop new ways to expand meaningful opportunities for students.

We will engage faculty, staff, and partners in making competencies a shared focus. Initiatives include launching the Faculty Career Fellows Program, piloting reflective workshops with the Division of Undergraduate Education, and building “unpacking” activities into experiential programs. We will also highlight academic courses within each school that align with the NACE Career Readiness Competencies, supported by a Drupal-powered resource where partners can submit and update listings. These courses will be marketed each year to students through Rutgers Handshake to emphasize the connection between coursework and career readiness. A new Career Readiness in Experiential Learning Guidebook will also be created for faculty, advisors, and co-curricular program leaders, paired with an asynchronous training and a LinkedIn badge for participants who complete it.

Student employment will be elevated as a career readiness pathway. The Student Employment Enrichment (SEE) Program will provide reflection activities, supervisor training, and recognition opportunities in partnership with campus departments. Skills labs with campus experts and a new on-campus job fair will further connect employment with competency development.

Internships will be strengthened as core readiness experiences. CES will expand the Rutgers Internship & Co-op Program, enhance the Scarlet Service Internship (RSSI) Program, and partner with academic units to build a campus-wide internship ecosystem. Tools like the Handshake Experiences Module will help embed skill development, and a Drupal-powered internship course database will allow partners to submit offerings and receive automated alerts to keep listings current. Experience data will be synchronized with the CES 46 Administrative System to award stamps in the #RUTGERSWORKS Free Tuition Challenge, giving students a direct incentive to participate in and complete internship experiences.

We will expand advising by working with campus partners and employers to provide more one-on-one and small-group guidance. Key efforts include launching the Industry Consultant Program, where employer representatives meet with students for targeted advice, and growing the Peer Career Educator (PCE) Program so each Career Community has peer support. These initiatives ensure advising capacity is scaled through collaboration, making guidance more accessible across disciplines.

Career Interest Communities connect students with tailored resources, networks, and opportunities. We will refine their structure, strengthen professional development for CES staff, and collaborate with advisory boards, faculty, and student groups to keep programming relevant. By embedding career support directly into these communities, students can link their academic and career goals in a more seamless way.

Many students pursue graduate or professional school, and support for these pathways must be shared. CES will partner with academic departments, faculty advisors, and graduate admissions offices to co-develop resources and programs, from test prep to funding navigation. By embedding graduate preparation into advising and departmental guidance, readiness for advanced education becomes a visible and supported option across campus.

Students pursuing employment or service experiences need tailored preparation. CES will improve job-search resources, provide training for navigating a shifting job market, and expand preparation events in collaboration with student affairs and academic units. As part of this effort, CES will launch a Drupal-powered database of career management courses across Rutgers. The system will allow partners to submit courses and receive automated reminders to keep information up to date, giving students access to a comprehensive, reliable list of offerings that build career management skills.

The transition from student to professional requires both confidence and practical readiness. CES will prepare students through workshops on workplace expectations, professional identity, and life design skills, while embedding financial literacy into senior-year courses and advising in collaboration with the Financial Literacy Team in Enrollment Management.

To expand access, CES will partner with student organizations through initiatives such as the annual Student Organization Reception & Employer Networking Dinner (SOREND), a new Sponsorship Fund to co-support major career events, and exploring a Student Organization Career Readiness Summit in partnership with Student Centers and Activities. CES will also meet requests for tailored workshops, with trained CES student colleagues helping to deliver sessions at scale.

Employers are essential partners in students’ post-graduation success. CES will diversify the employer base, strengthen the Knights of the Round Table (KoRT) Partners Program, and build “Portfolio Employer” groups within Career Interest Communities. We will also support academic units and student-serving offices in connecting employers with coursework, experiential learning, and research initiatives. Signature efforts include Industry Connect Events, which provide intimate, community-focused recruiting experiences, and the CES Career Catalyst Case Study Competition, where interdisciplinary student teams—working alongside faculty and employers—develop solutions to real-world recruitment challenges and present them at the RecruitEd Summit, with a People’s Choice award extending engagement to the broader community.

We will strengthen the ability of both CES staff and campus partners to share career readiness resources effectively. Plans include professional development for CES colleagues on communication tools and online platforms, while also building processes that engage advisors, faculty, and partner offices in using Handshake, SACC, and other systems. By equipping partners as co-deliverers, readiness resources become consistently integrated across the campus.

We will deepen collaboration with academic units and student-serving offices by embedding career services into more locations and community platforms. This includes providing campus partners with dashboards and reports that highlight student engagement, employer recruiting trends, and outcome data, equipping them with insights to shape their own advising and programming.

This goal centers on equity—ensuring readiness resources are within reach for all students. CES will partner with schools, student organizations, and employers to expand access through initiatives such as a career closet for professional attire, specialized support for graduate students, and professional headshots offered via Career Portrait Lounges in high-traffic campus spaces. These services reduce barriers and ensure that readiness resources are seen as shared campus-wide assets.

CES will continually assess and improve career tools and educational content in partnership with faculty and advisors. In addition to refining resources internally, CES will share survey data, program evaluations, and Career Journey Model findings back with campus partners, helping them adapt their own courses, advising, and co-curricular activities to align with student needs.

We will provide students with clear roadmaps by publishing Career Journey Guides and embedding them into advising, classrooms, and online resources. Post-graduation survey practices will be enhanced not only to track outcomes but also to share confidential, individual-level data with campus partners. This will allow departments and offices to assess the impact of their specific programs by connecting participation to outcomes, with new information-sharing agreements ensuring responsible and transparent use of the data. Expanded brand awareness efforts will also include extending the #RUTGERSWORKS marketing program to more courses and experiential education opportunities, with faculty integrating the game into syllabi and Canvas while CES builds systems to track participation through roster sharing and student labeling.