Nothing will prepare you for success like a broad, rigorous four-year liberal arts education. But before you go out into the professional world, you need some basic skills to help you take that first step on your life's journey after college.
Career Term is a series of intensive experience-based workshops at the end of Winter Break designed to help sophomores get a head start on their career goals and put professional skills into practice.
Career Term workshops emphasize self-awareness to assist students in building confidence and clarity in decision making about their future; practical and professional skill building to capitalize on opportunities; and communication skills for the real world.
Workshops cover topics such as résumé writing and job interview skills, graduate school planning and preparations, how to find an internship, professional dress and etiquette, networking and personal branding, and professional communication. Hendrix alumni share their professional experiences, answer students' career questions, and offer students important insight on networking and making connections in the professional world.
Career Term has been covered nationally by The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Washington Post, and Inside Higher Ed .
"It has given me a better grasp on where to start and what to do when looking towards grad school and the workforce."
2019 Career Term Attendee
Watch this video for a recap of Career Term.
After two successful pilot programs*, Career Term is now required of all college sophomores. Career Term 2020 (for the class of '22) will take place Wednesday, January 15 through Friday January 17. Career Term is available to students at no additional cost. For more information, contact Leigh Lassiter-Counts in the Office of Career Services at lassiter-counts@hendrix.edu.
*97% of 2019 Career Term participants said they would recommend their friends to attend
Hendrix wants to help students to begin to think about their career goals and practice the professional skills they need to reach their goals … before they finish their degree and enter the job market. One of the priorities of our strategic plan is to increase the proportion of students who have an internship or summer research experience by the time they graduate, with an ultimate goal of 100 percent participation. And our $100 million Be Hendrix campaign includes fundraising for a new Center for Career Services.
Offering an intensive series of workshops for career skills at the end of winter break and before the spring semester begins was a creative solution based on our academic calendar. Many students are ready to return to campus after the new year begins. But once spring semester classes begin, scheduling a multi-day workshop series would conflict with many students' course schedules and commitments. This time period is also more convenient for bringing in alumni presenters.
Other colleges do offer programs, but they usually focus on one skill at a time (e.g., résumé writing, interviewing). With single-skill workshops, students tend to take advantage of them only as graduation approaches. But waiting until senior year puts students at a real disadvantage in the job market. Career Term targets sophomores so that they're better prepared for their job search by the time they graduate.
Yes, it does. A broad, rigorous, hands-on liberal arts education is one of the best ways students can prepare for lives of meaning and accomplishment. But students need a chance to learn and practice skills such as résumé writing and interviewing, personal branding, and professional communication, dress, etiquette, and networking. And they need to practice these skills long before their senior year so they're ready for the next step on their journey after college.
Connecting Hendrix students with Hendrix alumni is one of Career Term's biggest benefits. Our alumni are an incredible professional resource for students, and they are very eager to help students sharpen skills that will appeal to potential employers. They're proof positive that a broad, hands-on, rigorous liberal arts education from Hendrix prepares students for success after graduation.
Career Term begins with a morning of service projects in the local community because students learn about themselves, their values, and the needs of the world around them when they serve others.
"In fact, it exceeded expectations because it pushed me to self-evaluate and utilize my new skills immediately."
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