What are some resources I should take advantage of while I'm in college?

Good morning Hank!

That is a very good question and taking advantage of as many resources as possible is essential to your success once you get out of college. From my personal experience, I would suggest trying to do an internship to ensure a line of work that you are getting into is something you would enjoy. It is very valuable in terms of giving you experience on a resume and meeting potential contacts for networking that can help you find a job. I would suggest trying to get assistance from college counselor and seeing about taking tests to see what you like doing and what your strengths are.

Try to find group or fraternity to join to make some friends and connections to. From my experiences in transitioning from college to professional real world in jobs it helps to have made a good network of friends and connections as its a very competitive world and sometimes it takes knowing someone to get your foot in the door.

Doing an internship in college and joining groups helped me to make good network of connections and I was able to get my foot in the door in my line of work which was Finance. Best of luck to you and hope this helps some.

Go to class! A lot of college students don't go to class which is very wasteful! You should also read your text books. Lecturers won't assign them if they were useless. Moreover, try use the library to enrich your knowledge about the subjects you take in school. You could also have conversations with your lecturers.

Hi Hank!

The most important resources are the ones that will enable you to learn more about the application of your major area to the real world.

One great resource would be the Head of the Alumni Relations Department as he/she would be able to put you in contact with graduates of your school in your program who could help you with understanding about your education and about the application of your major in the real world and assist with referrals to jobs and intern and coop programs.

Your school counselor would be helpful also in assisting with the location of appropriate coop and internship programs.

Also, locate professional organizations in your area that represent those in your major interest area, so you can get to know people in the real world who are doing what you think you want to do. Your favorite profs or the reference librarian at your library could help you locate local organizations and their contacts.

When I was doing college recruiting, the most frustrating thing that I encountered was the graduate who got onto the job and found that it was not what he/she thought it was, because they had not done any investigating or coops or internships to learn the real world application of what they were studying.

Send thank you notes to those who help you. Please keep me posted. I would like to follow your progress.