You deserve the best education. We'll help you make the best choices.

You, as college students, will face unlimited possibilities in the new millennium. You must, therefore, take advantage of opportunities while in school and excel academically. You must strive for at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average; demonstrate leadership skills; participate in classroom projects which demonstrate skills; have good oral and written communication skills; learn to speak a second language such as Spanish; and have the technical skills needed to operate computers.

As a second semester sophomore, junior, and senior, you should consider an internship or cooperative education. In most situations, internships are credit bearing. Co-op is always credit bearing and you may participate in the parallel or alternating programs. Parallel is when one works for an employer on a part-time basis and alternating is the full-time opportunity. Students may continue to pursue a full-time academic course load. Experiences such as these help you to gain marketable skills and give you an opportunity to have professional work experience in your major field of study. Thus, it provides valuable work experience needed for your resume.

When you enter the college/university of your choice, one of the first places to visit should be the Career Services office. Seek information on the services provided, the kinds of programs offered to students, and when you should begin to use the different services. Maintain contact with the career counselors; attend workshops and seminars, employer information sessions, and career and job fairs. Also, apply for internships, co-ops, and summer research programs; participate in the campus recruitment program and review job announcements, which will provide you with information on the kinds of opportunities available, arid the kinds of skills sought by employers.

Before you can begin to search for the perfect job, you must find a way to get a good idea of what the perfect job looks like, or what you are targeting. You need a "perfect career target" to shoot for.

This is the first step in your career planning - that is, developing a plan to get you where you want to go in your professional life. This "plan" can be created a number of different ways, but more than likely it will be a combination of career coaching, career guidance, and completing self-assessment tests to determine your personality traits, and what types of jobs fit you best.