Personal Career and Development, Essay Example

The first thing I noticed in the first chapter was the importance of keeping ourselves busy even it means taking an internship or part-time job during job-search period. In addition, I have also learnt about the importance of developing connections and networking. Second chapter presents a very convincing argument regarding internship that not only it allows us to develop work experience and real world skills but also gives us the opportunity to discover our interests. This greatly reduces the chances of getting stuck in a job we may not like down the road.

It is better to look for work opportunities as soon as possible which means even freshman year is a fair game but if not then by sophomore year at least “one should begin stepping up” his game (Liang, 2006). In chapter 3, the author again emphasizes that it is never early to start internship search and one can even begin search in fall for the following summer internship opportunities since some companies do recruit early like Ford Motor Company and Merck & Company. But even if someone is late, he should not give up on the search process since sometimes opportunities do emerge right at the beginning of the summer.

The same strategy can also be applied to full-time job search near the time of graduation. By starting the job process early (about 2 semesters before graduation), one has advantage over peers and some may have even accepted offers before the start of the final semester. One of the major advantages of starting job hunt process while being a student is that one can also access the school career placement services.

Reference

Liang, J. (February 8, 2006). The Internship and Your Class Standing. In Hello Real World!: A Student’S Approach To Great Internships Co-Ops And Entry Level Positions (p. 12). BookSurge Publishing.