Professional development, to me, means learning and exploring one’s career options, as

well as giving one the tools necessary to succeed in the career they choose to pursue. This could

range from improving one’s interview skills to hearing from a distinguished professional in one’s

field. It could be a large workshop or a one-on-one conversation. However, “only 37% of

undergraduate psychology programs offer formal career preparation through the curriculum”

(Ciarocco, 2018). This leads to many students being unprepared in their job search, as well as

being unaware of the day-to-day activities associated with a typical psychology career. Ciarocco

argues that students need more practical experience, and outlines potential topics to include. For

me, Psych 211 is that course. It will give me the resources I need to feel more comfortable and

confident in the job searching process after college. However, before I can put those skills to use,

I need to first figure out what types of careers would interest me and cater to my strengths.

This led to my decision to attend the “Exploring Your Career Interests” workshop hosted

by the LSA Opportunity Hub on September 23, from 5:00 to 6:30 pm in North Quad Space 2435.

I did not know about the experience prior to taking Psych 211, and I am glad that I went. I signed

up for the workshop with a couple vague ideas of the direction I wanted to take my career after

college, but nothing concrete. The workshop opened my eyes to the wide variety of factors that I

had not even begun to consider. For example, there was an exercise called “4 Corners” where we

were asked to move to a corner of the room based on what we thought were the most important

factors for our future jobs. Some of the categories included: type of work environment, hours and

flexibility, and work life balance. It was especially interesting to hear what others had to say in

our group discussions because it caused me to reconsider small career details that I had

overlooked.
 I think the most important takeaway for me is the importance of knowing my career

values and matching them with skills that I am good at and enjoy using. Taking the time to

reflect and consider what will make work meaningful and enjoyable to me is important because

it helps build a strong foundation, and quickly weeds out certain career paths that do not align

with those goals. For me, I want to be valued as an expert in my field, and work in an

environment that makes me feel comfortable about being myself. I also want my work to directly

benefit others and help them succeed. With this in mind, I looked at the skills chart they gave me

during the workshop. Some of the skills I already knew I had, but some of them I realized I used

on a daily basis, but never really thought of them as skills. Not only that, but this activity also

helped me figure out what larger groups of skills I enjoyed using the most and considered my

strengths. For me that was defining problems and identifying possible causes, actively listening

and learning from others, and standing up for someone or something I believed in. The next step

moving forward is to use the resources they gave me like ONet or the Career Center Major

Guides to explore job occupations that best fit my unique combination of values and skills.

However, it is also equally important to examine the experiences I have had leading up to

this workshop, both in and out of school. Some of them have spurred interest, but many have

actually helped me realize what I do not want to do in my future careers. Based on my summer

job as a youth tennis instructor, I learned that I enjoy teaching, especially teaching something

that I am passionate about. However, I realized that I am not too good at working with little kids,

and prefer working with teenagers or young adults. Additionally, based on my experience

volunteering at a hospital, I realized that once again I enjoyed helping patients and making a

difference in their lives. However, watching the doctors work in that high pressure and stressful
environment, I just could not see myself being able to handle it in the long run. I think my site

placement at the Ann Arbor YMCA will be a good fit because it aligns with my career values of

helping others and inclusiveness. I do not have much experience working behind the scenes for a

nonprofit, and it is not a path I really considered before taking this class, so it will be interesting

to see what I can learn. Since the YMCA is such a huge and reputable organization, there are

many different job positions and career paths within the organization itself, and I look forward to

learning about as many of them as I can. In addition, one skill I hope to learn is grant writing and

reviewing. Whether it be requesting funding for a nonprofit or research for an institution, it is a

valuable skill to have.

Professional development is a valuable experience that all college students should have

the opportunity to receive. No matter what field or job one ends up taking, professional

development gives one the tools to feel confident in the job search. Many college students may

be thinking that “potential employers hold all the cards” and fail to recognize that “the promise

[they] offer, coupled with [their] education and experience, is in demand” (Pollak, 2007). This

may cause them to pass up on opportunities that prevent them from reaching their dream job. I

think the University of Michigan could add a professional development requirement, similar to

the race and ethnicity requirement. To fulfill this requirement, one would have to take a course

like Psych 211, where they would get hands-on experience at a site placement and receive career

development resources. Students should be able to choose either a general professional

development course, or one that is specifically tied to their major. This is one way that would

ensure all University of Michigan graduates could at least receive some exposure to a lifelong
experience because professional development does not just stop once one finds a job. It is a

continual process that helps us find more success at the companies we work at.
 References

Ciarocco, N. J. (2018). Traditional and new approaches to career preparation through

coursework. ​Society for the Teaching of Psychology,​ 32-40.

Pollak, L. (2007). Getting from college to career. New York, NY: Harper.