7 ways to Integrate Career Into Your Class

These 7 tips are gleaned from Professor Ben Aronson’s Presentation at his U of R Career Alliance presentation in August 2021. As Professor Aronson shares, “Finding ways to make career visible is important. By clearly communicating the connection between learning and career, we are helping students better prepare for their futures.”

Bring In Outside Experts | Consider brief virtual visits to the classroom from alumni or other professionals to have them share a few key insights about their career paths.

Share a Story | Whether it’s from your own career path or an alumnus you’ve worked with, help students recognize the choices they make about their career are choices about what they value.

Promote Community and Campus Events | Announce upcoming Office of Career & Professional Development events and why they might be useful for the students.

Get Students Involved | Ask students to share examples. Peer-to-peer education is powerful.  Students participate in internships and fellowships and can share what they’re doing, the skills they’ve gained, and provide their peers with insight. Sometimes, simply asking them for 1 thing they’ve done in their career and professional development can be a great way to engage students in conversation and help them learn from one another.

Announce Internships and Jobs | Broaden the conversation to why internship experience might help. Even a student who hates an internship experience can learn more about what they like and don’t like from that experience.

Conduct a Résumé Review | Complete a quick review of a sample student’s résumé with shared experiences with others in the class. Show the strengths and encourage students to get book a session with our office for another review.

Drop a Few Links | Raise the visibility of your career in your courses. Consider adding links at the top of Canvas page, whether it is summer opportunities for internships/fellowships or a link to the OCPD resources or events.