Benefits for attending the career fair are:

1. Exapnding your network
2. Helping to define your career path
3. Finding out about job/internship opportunities
4. Latest industry and company news
5. Learn about companies within your field
6. Practice your elevator pitch
7. Develop your communication skills

Preparation is essential.

As a student-athlete, your time is limited so developing a winning plan for attending the career fair is important.

BEFORE THE FAIR:

1. Get your resume revised.
2. Make at least 10 copies of your resume and  make 5 extra copies.
3. Find out what companies will be attending the career fair.
4. Make a list of at least 10 companies you want to talk to about opporunities.
5. Rehearse your elevator pitch.
6. If required, register for the career fair.
7. Purchase clothing for the event.  Check with your school career services office the JcPenney SuitUp or about them possibly having a Career closet.
8. Have questions for each company recruiter.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION YOU NEED TO KNOW:

1. Company Name
2. Headquarter location
3. Mission/Vision
4.  Products/services
5. Company clients/competitors
6. Size of the company 
7. Recent company news

WHERE TO FIND THE INFORMATION:

1. Company website
2. Vault
3. LinkedIn

DURING THE FAIR:

1. Silence or turn off your phone.
2. Go alone.
3. No chewing gum. 
4. Be confidence.
5. Smile and look the recruiters in their eyes.

AFTER THE EVENT:

1. Send thank you emails to each person you spoke with.  In the message, add something you and the recurtier talked about in the conversation.  

RESOURCES:

1. UConn Center foe Career Devekopment- YouTube
2. A guide ro Crafting an Elevator Pitch for Career Fair

CHALLENGES:

Write out your goals for attending the career fair, then create a plan to achieve them,  After the event, review your goals to see how you did, what you would have done differently and then what improvement you will make to reach your goals the next time.  

EXAMPLES OF INTERESTS 

1. Analytical writing

2. Solving problems

3. Exploring new places

4. Designing things

5. Photography

6. Studying art

RESOURCES

1.  Strong Interest Inventory 

2. O*Net Interest Profiler

CHALLENGES

Take one of the above assessment to help find your interests.

V- Values

I-Interests

P-Personality Traits

S- Skills

A career assessment test will help you clarify your VIPS.  

Values are things that are important. 

VAULES 

DIRECTION:

From the following list, check each value that is very important to you, then list your top 3 values at the end of the list.

CATEGORIES:

____Knowledge: Engage in research of information, understanding and new ideas.

____Recognition: Recognize for work well-done.

____Help others: Be involved in helping people directly, either individually or in a group.

____Independence: The ability to work with little close supervision.

____Location: A place to live which is conducive to my lifestyle.

____Advancement:  Gain opportunities for growth.  

____Teamwork: Work as a group for a common goal.  

____Time freedom: Establish own schedule and have time and energy to spend outside of 

          Work. 

____Learning: The opportunity to learn new skills.

____Travel: Opportunities to travel for work

____Variety: Experience change in work responsibilities and enjoy different tasks. 

____Physical challenge:  A demanding job that requires physical strength, speed or ind_____. 

____Community: Live in a town or city where you can become actively involve

____Moral fulfillment: Feel that your work is contributing significally to a set of moral 

         standards which I feel are very important.

____Excitement: Experience a high degree of stimulation

____Creativity: Create new ideas, program or structure never developed before 

____Supervision: Directly responsible for work done by others. 

____Security: Be assured of keeping my job.

____Competition: Engage in activities which pit my abilities against others.

____Intellectual Status: Become an “expert” in a given field or subject

____Adventure: Have work duties which involve frequent risk-taking.

____Affliction: A member of a particular organization 

____Precision work: Deal with task that have exact specifications, that require careful, accurate 

         attention to detail. 

____ Work with others: Have close working relationship with a team.

____Stability: Have work routine and job duties that are largely predictable and not likely to

          change over a long period of time.

____ Influence People: Be in a position to change people’s attitudes and opinions or Be in a 

          position to change attitudes or opinion of other people. 

____ Help Society: Do something to contribute to the betterment of the world. 

____ Profit, Gain: A chance to accumulate money and goods.  

____Make decision: Have the power to decide courses of action, policies, etc., Have the power 

         To set policy and determine a course of action

____ Fast pace: Work in circumstances where there is a high pace of activity, work must be        

          done rapidly. 

List your top 3 values:

1.)

2.)

3.)

Here are some ideas to make your Academic year fruitfully/productive:

FRESHMAN YEAR

1. Meet with your career counselor

2. Take a career assessment.

            - It will help you identify your skills, values, interests and personality trait.
 

3. Conduct an informational interview.

            - Do at least three informational interviews.  They will give you insight into the career, what it takes to feet your foot in the                  

               door, current industry news, etc.

4. Get to know your faculty and advisors 

5. Create a resume and have it critique by a university career staff member.

6. Explore major options and potential for a good fit.

SOPHMORE YEAR

1. Declare a major

2. Update your resume.

JUNIOR YEAR

1. Get involved in student organizations.

2. Learn about resumes, cover letters and interviewing.

3. Update resume.

4. Investigate possible post-graduate education or professional schools.

5. Start gathering information from references.

6. Conduct research to determine the types of entry-levels positions for which you might quality.

7. Create a job search criteria.  

SENIOR YEAR

1. Schedule a mock interview

2. Identify full-time opportunities.

3. Brush up on professional etiquette, hone the resume, and learn to interview successfully.

4. If pursuing graduate school, take the professional test (GRE, GMAT, LSAT, etc.)

5. Start looking for a full-time employment.

Download the 2024-25 NCAA college-bound student-athlete guide.

The guide will have you understand the following:

The three NCAA Divisions

Recruiting

Final Amateurism 

Academic Requirement- The three NCAA Divisions

Follow the NCAA Eligibility Center on social media.           

            X (formerly Twitter): @ncaaec

            Facebook: @ncaaec

            Instagram: @playcollegesports

            YouTube: @ncaaec

Hone your athletic skills.

Research career and majors.

Resources: 

1. Look at the major list of the school you want to attend.
2. Occupational Outlook Handbook- htpps://www.bls.gov
3. CareerOneStop- https://careeronestop.org
4. Candid Career
5. O*Net OnLine
6. Focus 2

  Research scholarship and other financial aid.

          -Not every high school student-athletes will receive an athletic scholarship. That is why it is           

            important to make good grades, volunteer your time, 

TYPES OF SCHOLRSHIPS:

1. Academic 
2. Athletic
3. Community services
4. Demographic
5. Need-based
6. Scholarship for women
7. Identity-based 
8. Merit aid
9. Military 
10. Major
11. Creative
12. Religious

Federal, state, university, and private funding sources.  

COST OF ATTENDENCE INCLUDES:

1. Tuition and Fee
2. Room and Board
3. Books and Supplies
4. Transportation
5. Miscellaneous expenses

You need to do before the career fair.

1. Find out the date of the career fair.
2. Know why you are going to the career fair.
3. Create a list of companies you would like to talk to at the career fair.
4. Create a list of questions you would like to ask each recruiter.
5. Purchase professional attire.
6. Look at the list of employers attending the fair.
7. Have your resume revise by Career Services.
8. Create an elevator pitch.
9. Make at least 10 copies of your resume.  You may print an extra 5 copies for just in case.  

EXTRA:

• Create a list of companies you would like to talk to at the career fair.
• You may have to create different questions for each company.

WHAT TO BRING TO THE CAREER FAIR:

1. Copies of your resume
2. Padfolio
3. Pen
4. Questions for recruiters.

Now I will talk about what to do during the career fair.

1. Go alone.
2. Shake the recruiters’ hand firmly and look them in the eyes.
3. Turn off or on silent your phone.  You do not want to be distracted by your phone while talking to a recruiter.
4. Be enthustic and positive during the fair.
5. Thank the recruiter for their time.
6. Collect business cards from recruiters.

After the career fair:

1. Send thank you email to each person you talk to.  In the message, recount what was discussed.
2. Follow the company and the recuiter on Handshake as well as LinkedIn.
3. If the recuiter request information from you, submit immediately.

Career Services/Center is designed to help students fromYear 1 to prepare them for life after college.  

THEY OFFER:

1. Career Counsleing
2. Career-related workshop[s and seminars
3. Career Assessment
4. Professional Development
5. Networking opportunities with employers and alumnus
6. Review your resume
7. Career Resources
8. Planning for Graduate School
9. Practice Interviewing
10. Job Search Strategies
11. Career Planning

BENEFITS OF CAREER SERVICES:

1.  They will help you develop a career planning suited just for you.  
2. Assist you in finding ways yo gain work experience.
3. Help you prepare for interviews.
4. Revise your resume and cover letter
5. Give advice on how to network effectively.

Take advantage of their services.

Schedule an appointment to find out what they have to offer.  

Time Management is the process of managing your time effectively.

BENEFITS OF TIME MANAGEMENT:

• Reducing stress
• Build your confidence
• Accomplishing more in less time

SOME WAYS TO HELP MANAGE YOUR TIME WISELY:

1. Look at how you are using your time now.  Make a list of task you do daily, weekly, and monthly and how long it takes you to complete each task.  
2. Keep of your time for about a two weeks to a month.  It will help you find your time waster.
3. Find a time management method.  

TYPES OF TIME MANAGEMENT METHODS:

1. Getting Thing Done (GTD)
2. Pomodoro
3. The Eisenhower Decision Matrix
4. Eat That Frog- Great book
5. Time Blocking
6. Zero to 
7. Timeboxing Technique
8. The ABC Method
9. The "ABCDE" Method
10. The Pickle Jar Theory

If you have any show suggestions or want to send in your questions?  Send them to [email protected].

SOCIAL MEDIA:

INSTAGRAM: the_stspodcast1

TWITTER: @the_stspodcast1

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/thesportingtowardssuccesspodcast

5 THINGS TO ADD TO YOU’RE YOUR TO-DO LIST (SUGGESTIONS):

Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center.

There three accounts:

Profile Account: Free

Amateurism- Only Certification Account- If you are aninternational student-athleteplanning to compete at an NCAADivision IIIschool,$70Amateurism

Academic and Amateurism Certification Account- to compete at aDivision I or IIschool-$100Domestic/Canada|$160International

Check with your guidance counselor to see if you qualify for a fee waiver. 

Read at least 2 books.

Read a couple of books that interest you and will expand your mind.  For example, books about leadership, career field, investments, etc.

Hone your athletics skill set.

Go to camps and summer workouts to better yourself and help your team achieve the main goal, A CHAMPIONSHIP

Contact your guidance counselor to upload your official transcript.  For graduates, the counselor will need to upload your official transcript with your graduation date.  

Here are 5 things you can put on your summer to-do list.  

1. Gain experience 

Internship- usually 4-12 weeks long,hey are mostly paid and involve working on live work projects and tasks

Micro-Internship

Volunteer-

Job shadowing- usually unpaid and just for a day or two where you spend time observing someone in their role at work

Part-time- Commonly in retail, hospitality, healthcare, tutoring and office roles, many with a customer service focus. These give an excellent opportunity to proactice your skills, and see how organisations work first hand.

Research- at universities, research institutes, charities, governmental departments and companies can help you to build on skills developed during your academic studies and develop data collection and analysis, technical skills, funding and report writing, especially useful if you are considering an academic or research career.2.  Update your handshake and liknedin accounts.

Leadership in student or professional organization- Positions of responsibility: this could include roles such as course representative, elected role in the Student Union, a role in a committee or society, ambassador or mentor at university or in the community. These show that you are willing to lead, and show what you can deliver.

3.  Hone your athletic skills.

4. Read at least three books.

5. Conduct at least three informational interviews.