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Career Development Timeline

As you pursue your career at Buffalo State College, this timeline can be a useful guide to establish goals, make effective decisions, and gain employment and/or admission to graduate school. These are suggested activities to engage in your career development; the order in which you follow the guidelines below is not sequential or absolute. For additional career advice and support, please contact the Career and Professional Education Center (CAPE).

First Year

  • Develop effective career decision-making skills by learning about yourself and researching majors and careers.
  • Use Focus, an online career assessment to learn more about your interests, abilities and values.
  • Register for UNC 111: Career Planning in Theory and Practice, a course designed to help you choose a major/career.
  • Take classes that seem interesting to you.
  • Use CAPE resources to write your first resume.
  • Explore volunteer opportunities and service-learning courses.
  • Participate in clubs and organizations to gain skills, meet people and become more connected to Buffalo State.

Second Year

  • Research majors of interest using the CAPE online resources.
  • Investigate careers related to the majors you are considering by watching our Candid Career videos.
  • Meet with faculty and professionals to learn more about your major or careers that you are interested in.
  • Begin researching departmental internship requirements.
  • Update your resume highlighting new skills and experiences.
  • Evaluate and confirm your tentative major/career decision.
  • Meet with a career counselor in the CAPE to help clarify your major/career decision

Third Year

  • Determine the skills employers are seeking and identify experiences outside of the classroom to develop those skills.
  • Gain relevant experience to build job specific & professional skills (E.G. internships and research fellowships).
  • Explore the requirements and qualifications for jobs in your desired field.
  • Research potential graduate schools including admission requirements such as entrance exams (GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT).
  • Professionalize your image. Make sure you have a professional email and voicemail.

Fourth Year

  • Understand and connect your experiences and knowledge to the requirements and qualifications for the jobs in your desired field.
  • Utilize CAPE resources including BengalLink and CareerShift to conduct your job search.
  • Schedule a mock interview to learn more about interviewing techniques.
  • Attend the Job and Internship Fair and the Graduate and Law School Fairs.
  • Meet with a career counselor to review your personal statement, and resume for graduate school.
  • Join LinkedIn to network and increase your chances of finding a job.

Ongoing

  • Meet with a career counselor at the CAPE to have your resume, and cover letter critiqued or to learn about interview or job search techniques.
  • Diversify your experiences and search the CAPE job posting site, BengalLink to find part-time and summer jobs, volunteer work or internships.
  • Update your resume highlighting your new experiences and skills.
  • Attend CAPE workshops to learn more about how to write an effective resume, cover letter or LinkedIn profile.

Career & Professional Education

Buffalo State University  •  1300 Elmwood Avenue  •  Cleveland Hall 306
Buffalo, New York 14222  •  Phone: (716) 878-5811  •  Fax: (716) 878-3152

careers@buffalostate.edu