CAREER

PLANNING

Julius P. Genoguin
BSA3-1
While your career plan will almost certainly change as your
career progresses, consider the steps listed here as you
develop your initial ideas:

1. Determine your strengths, aptitudes and abilities. You

can complete this important step in many ways, one of
which is with assessment tools likely available in your
campus career center. The Discovery Inventory will give
you a three-letter code that denotes the kinds of working
environments in which you’re most comfortable.
2. Create a career mission statement. You may
have run across the idea of organizational
mission statements in your management
coursework. Basically, an organizational mission
statement explains its reason for being--- the
way(s) it expects to achieve a competitive
advantage in its markets. Your career mission
statement can work the same way. It gives you a
goal to work toward—one that will not absolutely
dictate your educational and professional
choices, but will provide some direction as you
enter the accounting profession.
3. Research employment opportunities related to
the first two items. This research might involve
conducting informational interviews with practicing
accountants, attending student organization
events related to career opportunities on you
campus, or finding an internship in an
environment where you think you might eventually
like to work. The earlier you can start that
research, the better off you’ll be: that way, if you
discover you don’t have interest, aptitude, or ability
to sustain a particular career you can change your
career plan accordingly.
4. Build your resume. Your campus career center
can give you clear, specific guidance about how
to create a strong resume. Too many students
wait until they’re ready to graduate to visit the
career center. I encourage you to visit it early in
your academic career. You’ll find your job search
process goes a lot more smoothly if you take
advantage of the career center’s services
regularly.
5. Practice your interviewing skills. Most career
centers offer practice (mock) interviews; if your
school has an accounting society, an IMA student
chapter, and/or a chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, they
also may host mock interview events throughout
the year. Practicing your interviewing skills in
those settings will make you a lot more
comfortable when you’re ready for the “real
thing”.