Year One: Start Your Career Journey!
You don't need to know what you want to do before accessing our resources—that's what we're here to help you with!
Let us help you get started!
Nearly 75% of first-year students use career-related resources, and research shows that starting early greatly improves your chances of post-graduation success. Don't miss your opportunity to begin your career journey on the right path with Career Exploration and Success!
Career Resources to Access During Your First Year!
Activate Rutgers Handshake
Rutgers Handshake is the #1 platform for all things career success. Students can utilize Handshake to access thousands of job and internship listings, schedule appointments with career advisers, read employer reviews, network with recruiters, register for events, access exclusive online resources, and much more.
Take a Career Self-Assessment
Traitify is an innovative career exploration system designed to help you assess your skills, interests, and values. Complete the low-stakes career assessment, then meet with a career advisor to understand your results and plan your next steps.
Enroll in a First-year Interest Group Seminar
Each year, a talented group of students creates engaging one-credit courses that introduce first-year students to Rutgers' resources through the lens of various exciting career fields. Connect with peers, engage with faculty, and dive deeper into a career interest area while earning one-credit during your first-semester at Rutgers.
Participate in the #RUTGERSWORKS Free Tuition Challenge
At Career Exploration and Success, we recognize how hard Rutgers students work! To support your efforts and encourage you to focus on your future, we're offering incentives such as FREE TUITION* and other prizes.
Connect with an Advisor
Connect through Rutgers Handshake with one of our career advisors who can help you discover your interests, explore career pathways, or prepare for internships. Remember, you don't need to know what you want to do before scheduling an appointment. We have a special appointment topic just for you called "How Do I Even Get Started?"
Attend the Career Exploration and Success Open House
Discover how we help you create your next big opportunity with internships and on-campus jobs, and support your pursuit of post-graduation goals. Thanks to our partnership with Johnson & Johnson, you can access our Career Portrait Lounge Photo Booth—a FREE resource for Rutgers–New Brunswick students to get professional headshots for LinkedIn, Handshake, or other professional profiles. Enjoy free sweet treats, cupcakes, fresh cookies, a candy bar, and more while you snap a photo.
Stay as long as your schedule allows, whether it's twenty minutes or two hours.
Apply to the 4WARD Career Pathways Program
The 4WARD Career Pathways Program is a specialized and impactful multi-year experience specifically tailored for first-year undergraduate students and others coming to Rutgers—New Brunswick without a well-established career network. The program aims to support participants in achieving post-graduation career success. Through this program, students can clarify their career goals, access exclusive recruiting resources that unlock valuable internship experiences, and actively engage in various opportunities that enhance their competitiveness in pursuing their future careers.
Register for the Career & Internship Mega Fair
Join this in-person semesterly event to network with employers and discuss internship, part-time, and full-time opportunities across various fields. As a first-year student, you can explore opportunities with employers looking to hire new college students or simply familiarize yourself with the environment to prepare for future job searches. This event is open to Rutgers University students and alumni from all academic disciplines, as well as the general public.
Not sure what you want to do?
Join the Undecided and Exploratory Career Community