Career Planning Foundations

Many students come to IUPUI to prepare for a career, but have few or no concrete plans. This interactive session demonstrates the importance of setting major and career exploration goals now. Students will be able to identify personal traits to consider and will understand career exploration using information, people resources, and their own experiences. This presentation is ideal for introducing career planning to students. (25–30 minutes)

FOCUS Results

The FOCUS assessment, our free online assessment tool, can help students better articulate their values, interests, skills, and personality traits and can assist students in making connections between that information and major and career options that might be a good fit for their unique characteristics. In this presentation, we discuss the purpose and benefits of assessments in career planning, provide insights into students’ results, and demonstrate how the instrument can be used as a resource for additional career exploration. You may choose to play this FOCUS overview video to introduce how to navigate FOCUS prior to students taking the assessment. 

Students should use the FOCUS assignment to complete the assessment and begin processing on their own prior to this presentation. (30–45 minutes or based on time available)

Networking and Informational Interviews

Encourage students to get the inside scoop on careers by speaking to people in their fields. People connections are a vital part of career exploration and planning. Students will learn what networking is, who is in their network, and how they can grow their network and make professional connections. This presentation also teaches students the power of informational interviewing and how to use this form of networking to learn about occupations, positions, and organizations. We discuss how and where to find contacts, what to ask, and the importance of following up. This presentation can accompany the informational interviewing Major Career Resource Guide. (30–45 minutes)

Parallel Planning for Health Care Majors

Parallel planning is an expectation for all students entering health and life science fields. Most students don’t know about the wide variety of majors and careers available to them in the health care arena and developing a parallel plan early in their college careers ensures that students have explored all of their options and that they have targeted majors for which they will be both engaged in and admissible to. This presentation will cover the importance of parallel planning and will expose students to available resources for developing a parallel plan. The Parallel Planning Major Career Resource Guide can be used to accompany this presentation. (30–40 minutes)

Career Event Promotions

Students report they are most likely to attend events when encouraged by faculty. We would love to visit your class to promote Pedersen Major and Career Information Day, Fall Career Week, and other special career events. Your students will thank you later! (10 minutes)

Looking for an assignment to help your students make the most of Pedersen Major and Career Information Day or Fall Career Week? Use our Major and Career Exploration Event Guide.