Career & Internship Guide

Two of the biggest decisions you will face at Rutgers are deciding what to study and what to do once you graduate. These are important decisions that require thoughtful consideration. Some students identify their choice of major and/or career early on, while others need more time to explore and research various options.

Making plans for your future can be challenging. You can begin by gaining insight into your personal attributes, values, skills, and interests through the self-assessment process. Once you have clarity around the values, skills, and interests that are most important to your professional future, you can begin to research regions, employers, and organizations that might create environments where the values identified through your self-assessment process can thrive.

Career Interest Communities are broad groups of careers that share common features, skill sets, interests, abilities, and activities.

Guides to navigating and connecting majors and careers.

Exploring careers from a professional’s perspective is a valuable way to determine if a particular career is an option for you.

Networking is building and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships to develop career prospects, whether it is in-person, online, or both. It is one of the most important attributes of career success.

Social and career networking sites are critical tools for job/internship seekers and employers. LinkedIn reports that recruiters’ use of social networking increased a phenomenal 57% over the last four years, which means that you cannot afford to ignore this trend. When you consider that 46% of US companies source talent via social networks, it becomes imperative that you boost your social networking skills and the amount of time you spend on networks like LinkedIn. When using social media, think about your goals and how to present a professional image. Remember, many employers check profiles on popular networking sites before making interviewing and hiring decisions. In fact, employers have been Googling job applicants for years to learn more about their online career brand.

So, you want to make contact with a professional who does what you are thinking of doing for a career but need a connection? We got you!
 

Preparing for the internship and job search is a process that begins early in your college career. Use this section as a resource for building and promoting your experience. Here’s how to get started

While many of the tips and strategies for conducting an internship and job search presented in Chapter 4 are relevant for all job and internship seekers, international students may face some additional challenges.

You’ve prepared your materials and now you’re ready to explore effective strategies for finding an internship or full-time job. Let’s get started with the following six steps to success.

Read responses to frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) from our student population. Meet with a Career Advisor or share your experience or individual question here.

While many of the tips and strategies for conducting an internship and job search presented in Chapter 4 are relevant for all job and internship seekers, international students may face some additional challenges.

Based on feedback from our employer organizations and our experience we want to provide you with a few pieces of advice for approaching a career and internship fair. Remember, our staff is here to help you! You can make an appointment with one of our career advisors for additional guidance and support.

The Office of Career Exploration and Success (CES) at Rutgers–New Brunswick views the health and safety of our students and employer partners as a top priority. All recruiting services and programming will be offered virtually in the fall semester. This includes the creation of a new series of virtual career fairs segmented by the types of recruiting opportunities and functions of each role. Below are some tips on navigating a virtual fair experience.

Career Exploration and Success offers Rutgers Handshake as a resource for employers to connect with Rutgers-New Brunswick students and alumni seeking internships, co-ops, and career-related jobs. Nationally, career services departments are reporting an uptick in fraudulent employer postings to online platforms.  CES strives to keep fraudulent and scam postings off the system; however, it is impossible to ensure that every posting is legitimate and impossible to keep track of every position after submission. 

The first interview is a key exchange of information between the employer and the applicant.
The employer’s main purpose is to determine if your education, experience, and personal attributes fit the organization’s needs.

The definitions of “business casual” and “professional” vary by industry and organization as well as position. Be sure to check for the dress code where you will work. In general, professional attire starts with a neutral color suit in a solid or very subtle stripe pattern.

Take your Elevator Pitch to the Next Level

The first interview is a key exchange of information between the employer and the applicant. The employer’s main purpose is to determine if your education, experience, and personal attributes fit the organization’s needs. Your main purpose is to emphasize your ability and interest in the job and the employer and make it to the second round.

Practice responding to these questions. You may find it helpful to jot down key points. If you can answer each of these questions clearly, concisely, and confidently, you are well on your way to interview success!

“Tell me about a time when you were on a team, and one of the members wasn’t carrying his or her weight.” If this is one of the leading questions in your interview, you could be in for a behavioral interview. Based on the premise that the best way to predict future behavior is by past behavior, this style of interviewing is common.

“Tell me about a time when you were on a team, and one of the members wasn’t carrying his or her weight.” If this is one of the leading questions in your interview, you could be in for a behavioral interview. Based on the premise that the best way to predict future performance is by past behavior, this style of interviewing is common.

Practice responding to these questions. You may find it helpful to jot down key points. If you can answer each of these questions clearly, concisely, and confidently, you are well on your way to interview success!

Identifying and declaring a major is not required prior to building experience and building your resume. Employers seek students with skills, not necessarily a specific major.

Internships provide students the opportunity to gain professional-level experience while testing out career options and building skills experience to be marketable for future employment and graduate school.

Internships are a type of experiential education that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skill development under direct supervision in a professional setting.

Your resume is a marketing tool representing a very special product: you! It is a succinct outline of your knowledge, skills, abilities, experience, and accomplishments relevant to your employment goals. Resumes are used to screen applicants for interviews and determine which candidates most thoroughly match the employer’s needs. This is done through a combination of human and electronic screening methods.

Review the following resume samples, organized by career interests, for assistance with developing your next resume.

Your resume is a marketing tool representing a very special product: you! It is a succinct outline of your knowledge, skills, abilities, experience, and accomplishments relevant to your employment goals. 

Graduate students are often uncertain whether a resume or curriculum vitae (CV) is most appropriate for their needs. In some cases, both may be necessary, depending upon your professional objective.

Browse through these tips proven to effectively groom your resume. Utilize keywords, use accomplishment statements, and integrate the P.A.R. Approach.

When writing your resume, use the power verbs below to begin each of your bulleted statements. Use present tense verbs for current positions and past tense verbs for previous positions.

LinkedIn is an online network of over 450 million members. It’s the go-to place to establish a professional online presence, engage with your network, and search for employment opportunities. Follow these tips to create a stellar LinkedIn presence!

Accomplishment statements create a more powerful resume. They highlight achievements, quantify results, and show impact.

Your Guide to Articulating Your Experiences on a Resume & During an Interview

Whether you are following up after a career fair or applying for an internship/job, your correspondence with employers creates an impression and illustrates your communication skills. Always use a professional tone and polished language. Adhere to the 3 Cs Rule: all correspondence must be clear, concise, and compelling. You must state very clearly who you are and why you are writing. Your message must be concise and get to the point. Finally, your goal is to compel your reader to take further action, such as arranging an interview or extending a job offer.

Personal branding helps you identify and communicate your unique strengths to differentiate yourself from your peers and stand out in a competitive job market. Furthermore, creating and managing your brand ensures you stay focused on your individual goals to become the kind of person you want to be and achieve the specific things you want to achieve. Without this vision for yourself, it’s very easy to take classes and engage in work experiences and other activities that aren’t aligned with your goals.

Whether you are following up after a career fair or applying for an internship/job, your correspondence with employers creates an impression and illustrates your communication skills. Always use a professional tone and polished language.

Evaluating a job offer is more than just taking the job with the best salary.  There are many factors to consider which will help inform your decision. Here are some key factors to consider in the process:

Evaluating a job offer is more than just taking the job with the best salary. There are many factors to consider in the process:

When reviewing multiple job/internship offers, it can be challenging to determine which offer is best suited for you – based on your unique values and preferences.

Evaluating a job offer is more than just taking the job with the best salary. There are many factors to consider in the process:

Unsure if your internship or co-op qualifies for credit? Want to learn more about how to make your experience learning-focused?

Knowledge is power in a negotiation.  It's important to know your worth but it is even more important to know what potential counter-offer is realistic (based on your education, experience, and other factors). 

Making an impact in your internship or first full-time position comes down to simply understanding and following work-place etiquette.

Making an impact in your internship or first full-time position comes down to simply understanding and following work-place etiquette. Workplace etiquette is nothing more than the behavior and manners that are acceptable at your work site. The tricky part is that each place-of-work is different and the rules are different from the rules that apply to you as a student. People don’t expect you to be a student. They do expect you to act the way they do, as a professional in their line of work. If you don’t figure out the rules, you may have a poor experience and a poor evaluation. So what do you do? Here are a few guidelines and ideas to help you get on track.

Exploring careers from a professional’s first-hand perspective is a valuable way to learn if a particular career is an option for you. Informational interviews are often underutilized opportunities to hear “real talk” about careers and to possibly expand your professional network.

If you are serious about considering graduate school, it’s important to have a clear understanding of what you want to do with your career, and how earning a graduate degree will help you reach that goal.

If your goals are clear and financial resources are available, consider studying for a master’s or doctoral degree shortly after graduation. If your career goals are not yet well established and your resources are insufficient, you should probably wait several years.

Where should you go to graduate school, how do you get admitted, and when should you begin graduate school?