Time Line

Our office is here to offer support and services to all students in their personal career development and discernment process, helping students with major selection, identify career paths, utilize opportunities to gain knowledge and experience through internships, volunteering, job shadowing, practice interviews and more.

First Year: Explore and Experience

  • Develop a four-year plan just for you with help from someone from our office.
  • Actively participate in your Earlham Seminar (ES) and Interpretive Practices (IP) while getting to know your faculty.
  • Assess your interests, characteristics and values with tools like MBTI & Strong.
  • Get involved! Join a student organization, volunteer, and/or get a job on campus.
  • Reflect on your experiences. Journal your thoughts, keep track of your activities, projects, and committees with which you are involved.
  • Start or update your resume.
  • Use requirements, prereqs and elective classes to investigate majors of interest.
  • Access QuakeConnect for volunteer opportunities, internships & more.

Second Year: Become Informed and Gain Experience

  • Utilize our office and participate in a summer or semester long internship, research or part time job in a field of interest; consider working with populations or places of interest to you.
  • Take an active role in a student organization or volunteer in the community; make a commitment and serve with intentionality; develop your communication, teamwork, leadership, research and problem solving skills.
  • Informational Interviews and Job Shadowing; come to our office to learn how to gain experience and talk with alumni, friends, mentors and others you know about career fields of interest to you.
  • Build your Resume, Cover Letter and Interviewing Skills; attend our office's workshops as well as how to and review sessions to gain practical experience before you need it.
  • Update your profile on QuakeConnect, post your resume, sign up to be notified about opportunities.
  • Attend the fall REU session(s) if you want to know more about research opportunities.

Third Year: Prepare and Act

  • Attend events, panels, convocations and workshops. Ask speakers about their career paths, network with the people you meet. Attend the Fall Alumni Networking Event in October.
  • Continue utilizing QuakeConnect to learn about opportunities, events and workshops.
  • Create a LinkedIn account, join professional organizations on LinkedIn, link to others you meet at events, clean up your online profiles; use the Earlham Career Network.
  • Continue to build your Experience through internships, research, part time jobs, student activities and volunteering.
  • Take advantage of opportunities for discernment on campus and in your life; clearness committees, retreats, meditation, talking with a career counselor in our office.
  • Have your resume critiqued by a professional from our office highlighting your experience in ways employers understand you are a benefit to their organization.
  • Learn about applying to graduate school and research schools and programs, learn the requirements for admission and the deadlines for applications.
  • Participate in Internship and Job Fairs — Earlham helps to sponsor the Collegiate Career Expo held every February in Indianapolis.

Fourth Year — Connections and Decisions

  • Get on QuakeConnect, upload your resume and check out job opportunities; research organizations, check out their web sites and apply.
  • Connect with the Earlham Career Network to see how you can utilize Earlham Alums.
  • Update your Resume or Personal Statement for Graduate School, learn how to best ask teaching faculty for references for graduate or professional schools.
  • Participate in interviews, job fairs, meet recruiters.