Resources to help you feel more confident in the career planning and professional development process are available below. Knowledgeable and helpful staff are available to meet you by appointment to assist you.
For a handy reference to the type of help Career Planning & Development offers, download this handout
Career Planning & Development is available to assist you with your interview preparation needs. If you are looking for interview FAQs, interview attire, top interview questions or behavior based questions click on our Job Search Guide. Our staff is also available for mock interviews. Please call and schedule an appointment today!
Virtual interviews can be tricky, this video shares tips to help!
Focus 2 is a self-paced career platform designed to help you decide on your career goals by providing you with valuable information about yourself, occupations, and majors. The assessment is free for students, alumni, faculty, and staff. To optimize your use of Focus 2, be sure to:
Please select the appropriate link below to get started!
First Time Users: Create a New Account (Access Code: panthers)
Returning Users: Logon Now!
Additional Information:
WHAT CAN I EXPECT WHEN USING FOCUS 2?
The following sections are included in the Focus 2:
This section offers 3 assessments career planning involvement, academic strengths, and career readiness.
Handshake is an online career services and job search platform offered to students and alumni by Career Planning & Development. You can use it to search for full-time, part-time, internship and on-campus employment opportunities.
In addition, you can use Handshake to book appointments with Compass Center staff.
All students are pre-registered with Handshake, so just sign-in with your drury.edu email and get started!
A four year plan is like a road map, designed to help you navigate your undergraduate years in a way that will prepare you best for the job market. Feel free to print a copy of the four year plan checklist, and watch the video below to get a quick overview.
Plans by Year:
Year One
Year Two
Year Three
Year Four
Maybe instead of heading into the workforce, you’re considering graduate school first. Or, perhaps, you’re interested in working a few years and coming back for graduate school. Either way, you have a big decision ahead of you.
When it comes preparing for graduate school, writing your personal statement is a key component in the acceptance process. The personal statement is your opportunity to sell yourself in the application process. Get advice and find out where to start.
The resources in our specially designed handbook and Purdue Owl’s Application Process Guide are meant to help you outline what decisions you’re making and why, as well as research and understand the impact graduate school may or may not have on your future career. Wake Forest provides helpful information on how to create a Curriculum Vitae (CV) for graduate school applications.
In addition, Drury students have access to the Learning Express Library. This database provides a range of interactive academic and licensing practice tests such as: GRE, LSAT, and MCAT. Sign up online to take advantage of this FREE resource. If you’re off campus, log in through the OCLC Proxy Server. Just use your MyDrury login and password.
The database link is also available through Olin Library.
Internships are a fantastic way to learn on the job skills, not to mention earn credit hours. Career Planning & Development is happy to help! To get the basics, check out the video; to get more detailed information, and find the paperwork you need, head to our internship information page.
The job search itself can be pretty overwhelming; we want to help you feel in control. CP&D has created a Job Search Guide book full of helpful information and resources to navigate the process. Also, be sure to check out our Top 10 Job Search Tips handout, or just watch the video, to get an idea of the best ways to help your search. View popular online job search links below.
Here’s a list of websites to get you started:
If you’re looking for more assistance, call and schedule a guidance appointment today.
Career Planning & Development can assist you in determining the best major or career to suit your interests, values and abilities.
Career Action Plan: Use this booklet to manage your academic major and career exploration. Record your assessment results, answer questions relevant to your major and career decisions, outline goals to work towards, and access a list of online resources to help you throughout the exploration.
Important points to remember when choosing your major:
To start your research, try the following websites:
What can I do with a major in…?: A list organized by major that will give you an idea of what you can do with various Drury majors.
Occupational Outlook Handbook: Created by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this site will give you up-to-date information on job statistics, outlook, pay, and necessary education.
O*NET Online: This site offers descriptions of every career you can think of. Look here to make sure you really understand what a career is like.
Glassdoor: A site that collects information and user-generated data to offer insights into various companies, both about employee experience and salaries. Glassdoor also provides job listings.
Salary Calculator: A salary data resource that determines approximate salaries depending on college attended, region and experience.
Did you know that approximately 70% of jobs are found through networking? It’s a truism that networking is crucial to a successful career. However, the idea of networking can be nebulous and often intimidating. To help you get started, we’ve put together a handout and a video to give you an overview of basic networking ideas. Contact us if you want to discuss networking further!
Networking: 12 Basic Tips
On Campus Recruiting (OCR) is a great way to get interviews for both internship and professional opportunities, and there are plenty of frequently asked questions about it. Check out our FAQs video below, or download the OCR FAQ handout.
Drury sponsors an Annual Job/Internship Fair in February at the Springfield EXPO Center along with 4 area colleges (Missouri State University, Evangel University, Southwest Baptist University and College of the Ozarks). Approximately 200 employers and graduate schools attend!
Each September, Drury hosts Soak Up Springfield to bring job, internship and volunteer opportunities to you! Bring your resume and/or business cards and keep an eye out for the booths marked with an “Ask Me!” table tent. This is a great chance for you to make some professional connections as you get to know Springfield a little bit better.
Your online image is a crucial part of your career development and your job search. We strongly encourage you to audit your online presence using this Online Image Form. We also have a great list of tips to help you manage your online image.
Further, we strongly encourage you create and maintain a professional LinkedIn profile. The introductory video below will help get you started, even as a college student.
Resumes are your first impression with future employers. The latest statistics show that employers look at resumes for about 10 seconds, so it’s important to make certain they’re flawless. View our Resume section in our helpful Job Search Guide (starting on page 17) to find out what to include in a resume and how to format it. View several resume examples in Appendix II.
Once you have created a basic resume draft, schedule an appointment on Handshake with a career coach for a resume review to hear feedback and advice. We’re happy to help you showcase your experiences and education in the best possible way!
Having a targeted and error-free cover letter is a key component of the job search process. View our helpful Job Search Guide for information about creating a cover letter and to see examples.
