Countdown to Your Finance Career: Freshman Year

Here are some areas to focus on during your freshman year of college as you begin to consider your finance career path.

  • Develop a good study schedule and disciplined academic habits. Recruiters are looking for students with strong GPAs. If you are struggling in a class, seek tutoring services at your school.
  •  Begin a journal of your interests, accomplishments, and career aspirations. Keeping track of these will help you to make the best decision about your career goals and also choosing an internship. This self-reflection process will also enable you to represent yourself well when asked to describe your background.
  •  Visit your career services office and familiarize yourself with their services.
  •  Attend workshops offered by your career services office. The skills-building sessions will help you get prepared for finding the right career, creating a strong resume, interviewing, networking, etc. Career Fairs also provide a great opportunity to learn more about the different careers available and the types of things that companies are looking for in candidates.
  •  Research your career interests and industries to familiarize yourself with the options available.
  •  Determine which career paths are a fit for your interests by taking advantage of the Ready-for-Finance Career Map.
  •  Begin noting your strengths and personality traits. This knowledge will help make it easier for you to find the career that suits you the best.
  •  Join student organizations of interest and get involved in your community or church. Community involvement and volunteering is a good way to develop leadership and team-building skills-and shows employers that you have a commitment to helping others.
  •  Create a resume by utilizing your career services office. Once the framework is established, it is easier to update it as you gain more experiences. Our resume writing tips offer a great guide.
  •  Begin crafting your story, your 60-second "elevator speech." This 60-second speech should emphasize your accomplishments in the context of the job you ultimately want to land. While you are still early in your undergraduate career, it is important to be able to provide a snapshot of who you are and your background. You will continue to build on this story as you complete your four years of undergraduate study.
  •  Get into the habit of reading the local newspaper. Or you can follow finance news from the Ready-For-Finance homepage, which features a live link from FinanceWeek.
  •  Join at least one professional student organization that provides a support system and a network for individuals in business.
  •  Attend on-campus events hosted by professional student organizations.
  •  Get a full-time summer job to gain experience in a company setting and to develop your professional etiquette.
  •  Take advantage of events hosted by visiting companies, which are often organized through your on-campus career services center. These sessions are an opportunity for you to gather important information that will help in your career decision making and are a great way to start building your network. If provided, be sure to keep business cards of the professionals you meet, as you may want to refer to your meeting them in the future.