The Office of Career Services exists to help students deal successfully with career and life planning. We realize the impact that parents have on the lives of their sons and daughters, particularly with regard to initiative in planning a career. We hope we can partner with you in this effort.

Students who are not ready to address career/life planning decisions probably will  not initiate contact with us and will not be motivated to work on this process.  With this in mind, we want to mention a few tips that parents can use to help get their students ready to move through the career development process.

Here are some tips:

• Listen
  Listen empathically to your student's ideas.  Encourage them to talk about things that they are considering, and listen nonjudgmentally.  Have an open mind to careers and majors that may not be consistent with your expectations. Try to see the situation from their perspective.

• Get them curious early on
  Initiate conversations about career plans, life goals, interests, and abilities.  Being patient and encouraging can facilitate their desire to explore these issues earlier and not wait until the last minute.  Ask open ended questions.  Help your sons and daughters clarify ideas, priorities, and concerns.

• Be supportive
  Support your student in exploring many different activities and aspects of themselves.  Give feedback on specific abilities you see in them to help develop a solid sense of self.  Encourage them to be true to self, values, interests, and talents.

• Allow your student to make the decision
  While your nonjudgmental input is very valuable, the decision must ultimately be their own.  Gradually reduce your role in their decision-making as they begin to develop their own sense of independence.

• Familiarize yourself with the career development process
  The more you know about the steps that facilitate good life planning, the better you will be able to assess just where your daughters and sons are at in the process.  Suggest steps that would move them gently along, while beginning where they currently are.

• Get to know the services that the Careers Office provides
  We help students through the entire process, from start to finish.  We offer workshops and individual counseling to help with self-assessment, exploring career options, gaining job search skills, and  applying to graduate or professional school.  If you would like to explore our online recruiting system, Davidson eCareers, just contact us to get a password.  Encourage your student to use us beginning their first year.

• Emphasize internships and experiential learning
  Internships provide an excellent opportunity to test out career interests, gain valuable experience, and connect with employers who may later hire them upon graduation.

• Expose them to the world of work
  Students can make better career decisions when they know about a wide range of occupations and get past the stereotypes about different careers.  Take your daughters and sons to your workplace, talk about the nature of your job and your friends' jobs, and have them "shadow" someone on the job.

• Serve as a networking resource
  Help your students develop contacts for information, advice, and assistance in career planning and job search.  Refer your daughters and sons to colleagues, friends, neighbors, parishioners, family, and community members with experience related to their interests.  Offer encouragement to students who may be reluctant to approach people and ask for this kind of information.