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Supporting your Sun Devil's Career

Whether your Sun Devil is in their first year, an upper division year or beyond, ensuring that your student is career ready when they graduate is important to you. As a family member, you play a key role in guiding your student along a successful path to attaining their professional goals.

Below, learn how to support your student’s growth and explore ASU’s wide range of career services for students. And for family members who are employers, learn about opportunities to hire career-ready Sun Devils.

Student Employment

ASU Family Connection

ASU West Campus

Career building: Helping your Sun Devil get where they want to go

ASU students grow professionally through activities inside and outside the classroom. Completing course assignments, getting student jobs or taking on student leadership roles are all great ways for Sun Devils to begin building the competencies employers find desirable. Throughout your student’s time at ASU, Career Services provides a wide range of resources one-on-one advising, resume building, mock interviews, job and internship fairs and more to help ensure that they are successful post-graduation.

Student Career Development

Timeline for supporting your
student’s career development

When do you start talking with your student about career options? Even in the years before college, it’s helpful to have early conversations with your student about their interests and goals. That will help them identify academic and extracurricular activities that could provide some experience and knowledge related to their interests.


Before College

A good starting point is figuring out the drive behind your student's desire for more education and why they want to go to college. It can be scary to pick a major so asking questions such as “What type of problems excite them?” can help your student to think about their interest and skills going forward. Some more questions to help your student figure out their starting path:

  • What subjects, topics, or activities most interest them?
  • What subjects did they enjoy in K-12?
  • What are your students’ expectations of college and how it prepares them for a career?
  • What do they expect of a career?
  • What careers interest them? Why?
  • What strengths do they see in themselves? Tell them about the biggest strengths you see in them.
  • Encourage them to talk to mentors/teachers/adults about jobs and careers the student is interested in and how they go there.

 


First Year at ASU

Encourage your student to explore classes, events and clubs and be curious about all of the experiences that ASU offers. All of these experiences help your student to grow and begin considering the topics about which they are most passionate, which can help to shape their potential career path. Your student’s first year at ASU is the perfect time to start talking to the Career Services team. Encourage your student to:

  • Visit Career Services and work with the team to prepare their resume and discuss professional development opportunities.
  • Attend career and internship fairs to begin understanding how these work.
  • Consider applying to an on campus job to gain valuable experience while managing their coursework
  • Join a club or organization to build their network, explore their interests and begin building valuable career competencies through their organization's activities.

 

Learn more


Second Year

Support your student as they continue to explore their major, potential career path, and student organization involvement. Encourage your student to:

  • Build their resume with Career Services.
  • Create a Handshake Account, the official platform for ASU students to explore employment and internship opportunities.
  • Continue engaging in student involvement activities and consider applying for leadership positions, an excellent way to build their resume and learn key professional skills.
  • Explore internship opportunities and, if they haven’t already, on-campus employment.

 

Learn more

 


Third Year

Promote leadership and professional development opportunities to your student. The third year is an excellent time to deepen relationships with professors, ASU staff and their student network—all of which can support their career journey.  Encourage your student to:

  • Apply for internships or part-time job opportunities
  • Schedule a meeting with a Career Advisor to discuss their professional goals and plan for their final year(s) at ASU
  • Connect with their professors to discuss their goals and gain insight on industry trends and opportunities. Office Hours are a great opportunity for relationship building.
  • Meet with their Academic Advisor to discuss experiential learning opportunities and ensure they are on track for graduation.

 

Learn more

 

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Fourth Year and Beyond

Provide advice and support as needed to help your student through the end of their undergraduate experience. This can be a stressful time as they firm up their goals and determine what their first steps will be in pursuing their career. Encourage your student to:

  • Attend career fairs and hiring events
  • Apply to jobs through Handshake
  • Meet with Career Services for interview practice, resume review and general preparation for the job search
  • Review job search guides on the Career Services website
  • Continue meeting with their Academic Advisor, faculty and staff network to discuss their next steps and evolving goals
  • Utilize wellbeing resources on campus- from the Sun Devil Fitness Centers to ASU Counseling services and the many student events happening daily, there are lots of opportunities to help students unwind, stay connected to their community and enjoy their final semester(s).

 

Learn more

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can my student locate on-campus employment?;

Students can find on-campus employment on the Student Employment page by going to their My ASU page and looking at the jobs and careers under the campus services tab.

 

Are there internships or full-time opportunities after graduation?

Handshake is the one-stop shop to find employment opportunities for graduating Sun Devils.

 

What is Handshake?

Handshake is the main resource for finding jobs, and events and scheduling advising appointments with Career Services.

 

Does ASU host career fairs?

Yes, check out our upcoming fairs.

 

How can students be notified when companies come to campus?

ASU career fairs are listed on the Career Services website and will give a glimpse into who will be on campus and when.

 

How do students sign up for interviews with companies that come to campus?

At ASU career fairs, students can network with companies and learn how to schedule interviews or stay connected.

 

When should a student begin working with the Career Services office?

Students should begin to contact Career Services in their first year at ASU in order to start exploring their options and get familiarized with resumes, cover letters, and more.

 

What kinds of services does the Career Services office provide?

The biggest service that families and students need to know about is that Career Services offers one-on-one advising appointments with career advisors for anything career related.

 

What should my student put on their resume?

Along with any awards, clubs, volunteering, part-time jobs, internships, or any other relevant experience is good to add to a resume. These show a better version of the student, their interests, and what roles they have taken on in the past.

 

Is there a Career Services office to speak with someone about career development?

Yes, students can make appointments to meet with someone through Handshake. There is a portal that gives options for meetings and meeting time options.

 

Does Career Services help to create resumes?

Yes, through Handshake students can meet with a career advisor to help them create or edit their resumes.

 

Do you have “interest tools” to help identify what type of career would be good for my child?

Career Services offers a wide range of career exploration and planning resources.

 

How can someone learn about what type of job/career will be good for them?

Along with discussing potential degrees with advisors and ASU career advisors, mind mapping, discussing where passion, education, and the job market intersect, is recommended. Check out more here.

 

How can students learn what skills are necessary for different jobs/careers?

Through networking, employment, and student leadership positions, more students can learn about what skills and experience companies are looking for. All of these can help students develop skills needed for different jobs and learn more about what working environment works best for them.

 

How else can my student get experience at ASU?

ASU offers a variety of clubs, coalitions and other experiences. These will expand your student's community as they are able to connect with other Sun Devils, learn new skills, and grow outside of the classroom.

 

Does ASU do mock interviews?

At ASU you can do a mock interview with a staff member at Career Services through Handshake and pick the appointment type.

 

Should my student work while pursuing their degree?

This depends on the student and family situation. However, students who have on-campus jobs have a higher retention rate, their classes directly correlate with classes, and it helps networking early in their academic and professional careers.

 

How can I support students’ career preparation and advancement?

Encourage your student to make an appointment with a Career Services advisor and make sure to look at our tips above and on our ASU Careers website.

 

My student is registered with SAILS. What resources are available to support them?

Help your student understand their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), anticipate accommodation questions and help your student prepare answers, encourage your student to do mock interviews and check out different programs offered by SAILS such as the Workforce Recruitment Program.

 

How can I share job and internship opportunities at my company?

If you are interested in sharing job and/or internship opportunities, visit ASU Employers and ASU’s Handshake portal to get connected and share your resources with ASU students.

 

What resources are available to support my international student in their employment/internship search?

Handshake: After you activate your profile, start exploring job/internship openings. Handshake includes useful work authorization filters. Look for “Will sponsor or doesn’t require the US to work visa” and “Accepts OPT/CPT” to tailor your search!

Interstride: Take your career search to the next level with Interstride! This career development platform was created by and for international students. You can activate your account by utilizing your asurite@asu.edu email (the same way you do with Handshake). After activating your account, you can explore the top H1-B sponsoring employers, take advantage of the resources and webinars under the Learn tab, and look at industry/country profiles from around the globe!

 

For internships, connect with International Students and Scholars Center for work authorization, etc.