Your Sagehen Career Journey

Your career journey STARTS HERE!

Determining which career path is right for you is not always easy. You have to put many pieces together to create the whole picture of what you want to do. And sometimes it generates more questions than answers…

The Sagehen Career Journey provides a 5-phase process that can help you learn about yourself, explore possibilities, build skills for success, and create an action-plan!

How to use this Sagehen Career Journey framework to develop your career path:

  1. Identify which phase you are in right now by reviewing the descriptions below or talking with a CDO Advisor.
  2. Take FOCUS 2 assessments to learn more about yourself and to guide you toward next-steps.
  3. Meet with a CDO Advisor to talk about your specific needs, set your goals, create an action-plan, and find resources that support your unique path.
  4. Cycle through the Sagehen Career Journey process as many times as you need, throughout your entire career!

ASSESS – Who Am I?

Knowing yourself is a crucial first step to creating a life you love and building toward a fulfilling career.

What to do if you’re in this phase:

  1. Reflect on what you like and dislike from your past experiences in jobs, internships, volunteer, leadership, classes, etc., and identify trends and patterns.
  2. Take Focus 2 assessments and meet with a CDO Advisor to reflect on your interests, skills, past experiences, and future possibilities.
  3. Enroll in classes that help you explore your academic interests on a deeper level (and talk with your professors!).
  4. Join extracurricular activities that align with your interests.

Questions to Consider:

What are your values, and where do they come from? What are your academic and personal interests? What kinds of activities do you prefer to do or energize you? What kinds of activities drain your energy? What types of environments do you thrive in? What skills do you have, and how might they intersect with your interests? If you’ve had any kind of “work experience” (job, volunteer, internship, leadership, etc.) before, what did you like and dislike about those experiences?

Resources:

EXPLORE – What’s Out There?

Gathering information is a key element to making an informed decision. It’s time to discover what’s out there and which paths may align to you!

What to do if you’re in this phase:

  1. Utilize the results of your FOCUS 2 assessments to learn about possible majors and/or occupations.
  2. Conduct informational interviews with alumni and current professionals to learn about their journeys.
  3. Explore company websites to learn what they do, and research entry-level jobs in your field of interest.
  4. Attend information sessions held by employers (see Handshake events).
  5. Meet with a CDO Advisor to discuss your options, identify additional resources, and create a plan.

This phase is all about learning what career pathways exist, what your possibilities might be (using your skills, interests, and major), and staying open to considering new information. To explore, gain as much exposure to employers and people (alumni, professors, upperclass peers, etc.), and collect information that may be useful to your own decisions. Remember, your major DOES NOT always equal your career choice, so be open to a variety of new possibilities!

Resources:

  • FOCUS 2 assessment results:
    • Combine your Results for Work Interests, Values, Personality, Leisure, and Skills assessments
    • Explore the Possibilities tools: review Pomona College majors and see the correlated to occupations
  • What Can I Do With This Major website that connects majors to occupations
  • Sagehen Connect and LinkedIn to see what others have done and to reach out for informational interviews
  • Occupational Outlook Handbook to learn about an array of occupations and related skills
  • Vault Guides
  • CDO Employer Events – see Events in Handshake
  • Meet with a CDO Advisor or Peer Advisor for additional support in figuring out “what’s out there!”

DEVELOP – What Do I Need?

It’s time to focus your goals and get prepared! You’ve gathered information, you’ve reflected on your skills and interests… now you’re ready to build concrete skills and work toward your goals.

What to do if you’re in this phase:

  1. Narrow your goals by choosing a path you want to try right now (you can pivot later, if needed).
  2. *Prepare your application materials: resume, cover letter, personal statement (if applicable), etc.
  3. *Build your LinkedIn Profile.
  4. Foster connections with recruiters, alumni, and employers.
  5. *Develop a strong elevator pitch to use during networking events or other recruiting opportunities.
  6. Research and learn about industry standards for applications, interviews, and job success (talk to people in your chosen field!).
  7. Engage in Experiential Learning activities that give you hands-on skill-building opportunities.

*Visit the CDO during Drop-In Hours for support from Peer Advisors!

Questions to Consider:

Do you know what you need to be successful in your chosen major or career path? What gets applicants noticed by hiring managers for internships or entry-level positions? Do you feel confident conducting an informational interview or preparing for an interview with an employer? What expectations might your chosen industry have related to specific skills (such as research, technology and AI, language, data analysis, certifications, or leadership), and do you need to develop any skills further to be a competitive candidate? Where and how can you obtain the skills needed?

Resources:

  • Schedule an appointment with a CDO Advisor to discuss how you can gain the necessary skills to make you a qualified candidate for internships, jobs, and/or graduate school.
  • FOCUS 2 competency results for the “Am I Career Ready?” assessment – helps you identify tasks that need further development
  • CDO Résumé & Letter Guide
  • LinkedIn Learning (available to students currently enrolled at Pomona)
  • Big Interview or schedule an appointment with a CDO Advisor for a practice interview
  • CDO website for Experiential Learning opportunities

The Liberal Arts Advantage

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has developed a “Competencies for a Career-Ready Workforce” which is comprised of eight core competencies that will prepare you for the world of work. Review the competencies on our “Your Skills At Work: The Liberal Arts Advantage” page, and reflect on which of your experiences at Pomona College have helped you to be career-ready. If you notice areas where you need more support, visit the CDO so we can assist you in identifying ways to build toward these skills.

Your SKills at Work: The liberal arts advantage

IMPLEMENT – Here I Go!

Make an action-plan and start implementing strategies to make your goals a reality. Gaining hands-on experiences is one of the best ways to learn, so create a concrete plan-of-action and go DO it!

What to do if you’re in this phase:

  1. Identify job boards where employers in your industry post regularly. Set up job alerts with your desired filters.
    • Start with Handshake and LinkedIn!
  2. Curate a list of employers in your target industry and develop a list of job titles that you tend to qualify for.
  3. Connect with people who can support your process: recruiters/employers, alumni, professors, family/friends, etc. and share your goals with them.
  4. APPLY! (And get ready for interviews!)

When creating an action-plan, it’s helpful to start with a timeline based on your specific goal(s). For example, a goal of applying to graduate school has a specific window to submit applications. Whereas certain industries have their own timelines for hiring for internships and jobs. Keeping your goals realistic and achievable (and celebrating the milestones you accomplish along the way!) will help to build your confidence and progress toward your ultimate destination.

Questions to Consider:

  • What or who will help keep you accountable to your action plan?
  • What factors should you consider to keep your plan realistic and achievable within your ideal timeline?
  • As you develop and move forward in your plan, is there any information you’re missing or gaps you need to fill that could become a roadblock? (i.e. Do you need to revisit any of the previous three phases of the Sagehen Career Journey?)

Resources:

  • Handshake, LinkedIn, and other standard job board websites (use the filters and job alert features!)
  • Industry Job Boards webpage that shares a short list of job boards used in various industries.
  • Student Opportunities Dashboard – a database of internships that Pomona students have held in the past
  • Meet with a CDO Advisor for assistance with brainstorming, creating your timeline, finding resources, or identifying people and/or opportunities that meet your goals.

EVALUATE – Let’s Reflect. And Then, What’s Next??

Reflecting on the process and the outcome is a helpful practice before jumping into the next thing. As a result of your process and what you achieve, what have you learned? How will the experience influence your goals and the way you pursue them moving forward?

What to do if you’re in this phase:

  1. Reflect on your process: did you have enough information when you set your goal? Is there something you would do differently next time? What worked well, and why?
  2. Reflect on the experience: Did you achieve your goal? Did the experience meet your expectations (why or why not)? Is there something you could have done differently to improve the experience?
  3. Identify the transferrable skills you gained from the experience, and demonstrate them on your application materials.
  4. Talk about your experiences with friends/family, professors, CDO Advisors and Peer Advisors, classmates, etc. to practice articulating the results you accomplished through your experience (this is great interview prep strategy!)

Additional Questions to Consider:

  • Did you discover something new or unexpected that you want to take into account for the future?
  • How do you define “success” and how do you know when you’ve achieved it?
  • How does this experience fit into your vision for the future? What might you want to try next?

Consider the reflection questions listed above, and take some intentional time to reflect and evaluate your experiences. As you reflect, you can articulate the things you learned about yourself: perhaps you clarified your values for future decisions, or you confirmed your career interests, or have decided to pivot to something else.

If you followed the Sagehen Career Journey framework, this fifth and final phase should loop you back to the first phase of Assess. To make your next informed decision, you can continue to cycle through the Sagehen Career Journey framework by learning even more about yourself (Assess), continuing to gather information (Explore), further developing and honing your skillset (Develop), and creating a new goal and plan to move into the next chapter of your career path (Implement).

Resources:

  • Retake FOCUS 2 assessments to see what has changed and where you’re at now.
  • Discuss your ideas and reflections with mentors, professors/faculty, family, friends/classmates, and other professionals in your industry.
  • Schedule an appointment with a CDO Advisor to determine your next moves!

Visit the following website pages for support throughout your journey!