Four-Year Plan

Career Services

Check out the Career Planning link and locate MyPlan.com to research various careers.
Get involved with on-campus activities or volunteer work that interests you.
Talk to faculty members, upperclassmen, family, and friends to learn about majors/careers.
Register on eRecruiting to learn about internship/job possibilities.
Meet with a Career Services staff member to get started on your own personal "Four-Year Plan."
Start a rough draft of your resume. Figure out where you need more “experience” on your resume.
Attend the Spring Career Fair to gain awareness of companies that are hiring.
Add our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Blog to your personal social media accounts.

Write or update your resume from last year. Upload your resume to eRecruiting.
Meet with a Career Services staff member to have your resume critiqued.
Use the O*Net online to research job descriptions, skills, requirements. Which ones do you still need to enhance or develop?
Explore study-abroad options related to your interests.
Continue to get involved on-campus and take on more responsibilities.
Conduct informational interviews with professionals in the fields you are interested in.
Job shadow a current professional within your field of interest.
Attend the Career Fairs to gain awareness of companies that are hiring.
Create a LinkedIn account and work on enhancing your profile.
Sign up for a mock interview in the Career Services Office to prepare you for internship interviews.
Obtain a summer internship or part-time job.

Network at the Career Fairs and obtain another summer internship or part-time job.
Consider job shadowing another professional within or outside your field of interest.
Complete another mock interview to start practicing interviewing for full-time positions.
Get involved with a professional association in your field of interest.
Attend Career Services workshops on networking, interviewing, job searching, grad school prep, resume/cover letter writing and more.
Take the University 390: Pre-employment Preparation Course offered through Career Services.
Continue to develop leadership, teamwork, and communication skills through extra-curriculars.
Update your resume and get it critiqued by Career Services. Learn how to write a cover letter.
Conduct Informational Interviews with alumni and family friends to explore career paths within your field of interest.
Consider if Graduate School is the right choice for you. Start researching possible schools and programs of interest.
Start compiling a list of networking contacts.
Continue to update your LinkedIn profile and use your connections to find internships or get recommendations.

Research potential employers through eRecruiting, indeed.com, and other related sites.
If attending graduate school prepare applications and required materials.
Conduct another mock interview to practice for graduate school interviews or full-time employment.
Start job searching/interviewing 6-9 months prior to graduation.
Utilize the Career Services website for job search resources.
Use your LinkedIn account to research companies and ask questions to professionals within your field.
Perfect your resume and cover letters.
Attend the Career Fairs as part of your job search process.
Start purchasing professional clothing. Clothes are expensive and you don’t want to buy them all at once.
Make sure you are healthy physically, emotionally, mentally, financially, etc. for the job search process.
Be prepared to work independently and also able to work on a diverse team.
Volunteer or work part-time if full-time employment is not obtained after graduation.

*Some information borrowed from the University of Pennsylvania

Career Services
Memorial Hall 125
1 University Circle
Macomb, IL 61455

Email: careers@wiu.edu
Phone: (309) 298-1838