The document discusses the career development process and provides guidance on self-reflection and career exploration. It suggests that one should: 1) Engage in self-inquiry by reflecting on past experiences and identifying your values, interests, and strengths in order to uncover what drives you. 2) Explore opportunities by researching options, attending career events, and gaining experiences that allow you to test your interests in the world. 3) Develop skills in communicating persuasively by practicing resumes, cover letters, networking, and articulating your goals in order to effectively acquire experiences.

1. Your Career
Development Process
Believe it or not, you already know a lot discovery is what is fun! You will continually
about yourself and your career. Your career use your past experiences to identify new
is something you build every day with the insights, new options, and new steps.
habits you establish and break, ideas you
explore, people you meet, and decisions You already bring a set of your own
you make. All of your life experiences preferences and life experiences to this
provide you with insight into process of continual learning and
your unique preferences. decision-making. Uncover
The key to making what drives you, discover
satisfying life choices opportunities, test your
is being aware of strengths and interests in
the things you the world, and learn to
already know about communicate persuasively.
yourself and the Being fully engaged in ALL
world, and using this aspects of the cycle gives you
acquired insight when ownership and control over
faced with an opportunity that which comes next for you.
or crossroads.
Is this hard work? Yes. Is it worth it?
You can expect to cycle through a process Absolutely. The Career Center works with
of learning about yourself again and again you to make sense of the unknown or to take
during your time at Duke, and also the steps toward your goals with success. We are
entirety of your career and life. The endless your partners in all steps of this process.
8

2. Where to go from here
Self-Inquiry: pgs. Exploration: pgs.
Uncover What Drives You 10-13 Discover Opportunities 14-17
• Start a notebook or file where you keep all of • Create accounts on eRecruiting, iNet, and The
your thoughts in one place. use it as you think of
internship exchange.
things.
• Sign up for Career News and other newsletters
• Attempt the values, interests, skills, personality,
and experience exercises. fifteen minutes apiece is that match your interests.
a great start. • Attend career center events. The Fannie
• Draw a timeline of your life. Mark all of the Mitchell Career event happens annually and
memorable experiences. look for patterns in the brings over 70 alums back to campus to talk
things that have been compelling and exciting for about their careers.
you. • Map out the influences on your decision to
• Create a list of people you would ask to be
come to duke. Know that your decision-making
on a personal Board of advisors. ask someone
style impacts how you should plan to explore
on your list to have a conversation and
provide advice based on his or her life careers.
experiences. • Use a career counseling appointment
• Use a career counseling to devise a research game plan.
appointment to begin exposing Work with a counselor to identify
patterns in your values, skills, the best resources to use first.
interests, and personality.
Search Skills & Experience
Strategy: Acquisition:
Learn to Test Your Strengths
Communicate pgs.
Persuasively 22-41
and Interests pgs.
in the World 18-21
• Draft and redraft resumes, cover
letters, and other application materials. • develop a list of things you want to learn
accelerate your learning curve and comfort level
about or to be able to do.
with this new type of presentation by getting
feedback from multiple people. • use the dukeGroups directory to identify student
• Tell everyone you know that you are searching, organizations that match your interests. try out something
and what for. Be as specific as you are certain. that builds a skill that you would like to develop.
• Create a LinkedIn.com account, learn the features,
• research opportunities to pursue your interests in
and join the duke university alumni network
group. your network has just expanded to over durham and the broader community.
10,000 professionals. • assess whether your time is being filled by the
• Practice your “elevator speech”, a thirty-second most meaningful commitments. use the Buffet of
introduction that concisely shares your background,
experience as food for thought.
interests, and goals. use the nine domains to
expand your thinking. • use a career counseling appointment to identify
• Use career counseling appointments throughout steps toward experiences that strategically align with
43 be sure you are improving continuously
to your curiosities. 43
throughout your search.