Career Development Process
As a university community, we support students engaging in diverse career development-related activities to help them discover potential career paths that capitalize on their unique passions, talents, and interests. Career development is an important and exciting journey for each student. We view a student’s career development journey as a progression of experiences inside and outside the classroom and lab, empowering decisions regarding who they are, who they want to be, and what careers might best suit their personal and professional goals.
While each student is unique, below is a general process to discover viable career paths upon graduation. Depending on a student’s needs, career advisors in the school-based career centers and the USC Career Center are prepared to share student-friendly resources at every step.
- What are your hobbies, favorite classes, and interests?
- What comes naturally to you?
- What are the problems you would like to solve?
- What is important to you?
- What extracurricular activities do you enjoy? What have you learned about yourself from participating in them?
- What would others say you are good at?
- What ideas or topics spark your curiosity?
- What impact do you want to make on the world?
- Take personality & interest inventories
- Your Next Step is a 24/7 on-demand career management tool that provides career assessments (Personal Preferences, Personal Skills, Professional Skills, Temperament, Business Ownership) and helps you clarify career goals.
- My Next Move provides a comprehensive exploration tool on various careers and industries. It also has the O*NET Interest Profiler which can help you find out what your interests are and how they relate to the world of work through a free online assessment.
- The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) is a personality assessment based on type and preferences. MBTI can help determine how your personality can be a fit for various careers, industries, and work environments. Make an appointment with a career advisor to learn more.
- The Strong Interest Inventory® is a career assessment that provides robust insight into your interests so you can consider potential careers, your educational path, and the world of work. Make an appointment with a career advisor to learn more.
- Meet with your academic advisor to explore and discuss different major pathways and their requirements.
- Your Next Step is a 24/7 on-demand career management tool that provides career assessments and job opportunities, helps you clarify career goals, and guides you in developing professional resumes and cover letters.
- O*NET OnLine is the primary source of occupational information in the U.S. that ties to the occupations in the Strong Interest Inventory®. Users can search its database of nearly 1,000 occupations to learn about their training and education requirements, job duties, salary information, career outlook, and more.
- What Can I Do With This Major? is a website where you can explore common occupations and job resources associated with different majors.
- Conduct informational interviews to gather in-depth information about career fields, positions of interest, and industry trends directly from industry professionals.
- Industry Insights is a multi-day career exploratory event hosted by the Career Center every Fall and Spring semester where students can attend educational panels featuring employers in different industries.
- Vault is a career management research tool for exploring careers through industry career guides and articles on topics like job search preparation, resumes, networking, interviewing, “A Day in the Life”, and career readiness.
- Candid Career is a comprehensive career video library of professionals speaking about their day-in-the-life and offering tips on how to break into various industries.
- Trojan Talks (information sessions) are employer-led talks hosted by the Career Center that can help you explore organizations and industries by providing insight about open positions, organization culture, and the recruiting process.
- Job shadow to observe a day in the life of a professional in your industry, career, and/or company of interest.
- The Trojan Network is USC’s exclusive professional networking and mentorship platform. It is designed to help students and alumni connect with Trojans in wide-ranging roles and industries around the globe.
- Use the LinkedIn alumni pages to find and connect with USC alumni by where they work, where they live, what they do, what they studied, and more.
- CareerShift allows students and alumni to identify millions of jobs and contacts for networking, tap the hidden job market, and identify recruiters from diverse organizations and industries.
- Participate in a mentorship program through the Career Center or your school.
- Candid Career is a comprehensive career video library of professionals speaking about their day-in-the-life and offering tips on how to break into various industries.
- EngageSC is a campus engagement platform that allows you to track upcoming events and join diverse groups and student organizations.
- Connect with your professors during office hours for research and internship opportunities.
- LinkedIn Learning offers a series of online trainings that are free to USC students courtesy of the library.
- Career Launchpad is an online module-based job-readiness program offered by the Career Center that is designed to enhance the skill sets sought by today’s employers.
- View our Effective Resumes, CVs, Cover Letters, and LinkedIn Profiles Guide for examples of resumes from various industries, tips on writing cover letters, a list of action verbs, a sample reference sheet, and a LinkedIn profile checklist.
- Visit a 15-minute drop-in session to ask basic career questions, explore career resources, or get a quick critique on your resume or cover letter.
- VMock is an AI-driven platform offering students essential resources to assist with resume creation. Smart Resume instantly provides tailored constructive feedback on your resume and Resume Optimizer enables you to create a resume targeted toward a specific job description.
- Get your resume reviewed by actual recruiters and hiring managers at Employer Resume Review events.
- Big Interview is an AI-enhanced tool that gives you 24/7 access to interactive interview practice opportunities tailored specifically to your industry, job, and experience level.
- Attend Mock Interview Night to learn how to sell yourself and sharpen your interview skills with alumni from diverse organizations in a supportive environment.
- You can reserve a room at the USC Career Center (STU B1) for your virtual interviews by submitting a request here.
- Schedule a 30-minute appointment with Career Advisors at the USC Career Center and at your school-based career centers to establish SMART goals and discuss next steps.
- VMock’s Career Fit evaluates how your career profile matches job characteristics and helps you develop an action plan.
- UniWorld Online is a global business database with up-to-date contact information for multinational companies with headquarters in over 200 countries and 20,000 indusities.
- Handshake is USC’s centralized career resource containing on/off campus internship and job postings, a calendar of workshops and recruitment events, as well as additional resources for preparing your application, networking, and industry-specific career research.
- GoinGlobal provides information and resources on careers and employment in different cities across the United States and abroad. The platform includes information on work permits and visa regulations, resumes and CVs, interviews, employment outlooks, industry trends, and professional and social networking groups.
- Visit the Explore Industries section of the Career Center website to discover employment listings, networking contacts, and professional orgs.
- Participate in On Campus Recruiting (September to November during the fall and January to April during the spring) for full-time salaried or paid internship positions with interviews which take place at the Career Center.
- Attend Career Center sponsored events including Career Fairs (hosted in September, February, and April), International Student Career Fair (taking place virtually during fall & spring), the Graduate School Fair (held in late October), and other opportunities offered by school-based career centers
- Take advantage of school-sponsored experiences such as internship and research roles from your academic program.
- Supplemental skills-based courses covering topics including leadership, digital tools, and resilience are offered for free through Skill Up
- Leverage platforms like Trojan Network, LinkedIn, and ensure you make connections with faculty, visiting employers, and the USC Alumni Association
- Attend a Trojan Talk (employer information session) to gain insight on topics such as open positions and organization culture, in addition to helping you prepare for their interview process.
- Professional Associations related to industry are a great source for making new connections and can be found highlighted in the Explore Industries section of careers.usc.edu or you can search the USC LibGuide Professional Associations section and type in the field of interest in the search engine for related information.
*For additional resources to guide you through your Career Development Process, please review the Resources page of our website: https://careers.usc.edu/resources/
