Start Your Search Now

If you already have several years of work experience, chances are you will develop a search strategy that builds on your prior experience. But if you chose the Heinz College to build new skills and transition to a new career path, you need to spend some time on self-assessment and research.

Self-Assessment

Your values and your skills will drive every step of your internship or job search. Before you begin anything else, take a few minutes to fill out the values inventory (.pdf) and the skills inventory (.pdf). These will assist you in setting goals for yourself and targeting a career that’s right for you.

Research

The next step is to research which kind of jobs would be a good fit for you based on your self assessment. Click through some of our industry-specific links and click through the overviews of the industry-specific internship and fulltime search resources.

Setting Goals

It is important to set long-term and short-term goals. In setting your long-term goals, you might want to consider the following questions:

• What is your ideal job? What is it that draws you to that particular job?
• How do you get there? Is it your next job or will it take a couple job moves?
• Where do you want to leave your mark? How do you want to be remembered?

Setting short-term goals is an important step in reaching those long-term goals. Consider:

• What skills and knowledge do you need to achieve your ideal job?
• Where can you find them at Carnegie Mellon?
• What is holding you back from your next concrete step?

Need to Dig Deeper? Build a Career Portfolio

You career is a life-long enterprise. Begin building your career portfolio (.pdf) now.