FORGE Your Story

What is “Career and Self-Development,” and why is this area important for my education and future career?

• Career and Self-Development activities help connect you to resources for career exploration. Here, we focus on both practical needs: resume reviews, career counseling, interviews, and theoretical concepts such as career exploration, mentoring, and navigating internships. Be on the lookout for our first-year workshop, second year bootcamp, LinkedIn workshops, etc. Jumpstart your Career and Self-Development with the JMHC at your own pace. Suitable is just a few taps away. Why do employers want students who have refined the area of Career and Self-Development?
  • Employers want employees who understand their career field, know what they are interested in, and have refined their understanding of self. A student who has gained skills in Career and Self-Development can navigate conversations both internally and externally to their company, effectively identify gaps in their understanding and take proactive measures to progress in their role and career.
  • Employers want to know that future employees understand their capabilities, both their strengths and areas of improvement. Understanding yourself and how you would like to develop is critical for navigating your career and understanding opportunities and risks in the workplace.

• Interdisciplinarity is the pursuit of knowledge by means of more than one discipline or field of study, especially in an attempt to understand complex problems. Reflecting on these activities will help connect ideas, topics, and reveal connections you have yet to discover. Future careers are emerging at the intersection of different disciplines. Future leaders in these fields must be comfortable exploring topics from multiple perspectives.

• Employers want employees who can approach problems from multiple angles, without needing to explain every aspect of every problem. A person skilled in interdisciplinary academics can develop multiple solutions to the same problem; they can weigh the pros and cons and propose creative solutions. They can also meld diverse areas of specialization into an organized unit.

• Undergraduate Research is a mentored investigation that seeks to make a contribution to knowledge. Reflecting on these activities helps you evaluate your scholarly development including your scholarly project, research methods, and how to approach a topic from a research mindset.
• At Purdue, research experiences are as diverse and dynamic as the Boilermakers who pursue them. Whether or not academic research is in your long-term future, critical thinking that stems from research will be an important skill in your life.

• Employers want employees who can digest complex information and pursue new information. A student skilled in Undergraduate Research and creative endeavors can seek out new information, develop research questions, and ultimately produce new knowledge. These skills are useful in addressing new problems and foreshadowing possible future problems.
• People with skills in the area of Undergraduate Research can critically analyze an issue, problem, or situation, and find effective ways to address that issue, respond to that problem, or change the situation for the better.

• Community is a concept that goes to the very heart of the Honors College experience. We value an active and supportive community - together as a JMHC community, as students engaged with the larger local community, and learning internationally. Furthermore, we also put emphasis on global citizenship and cross-cultural exchanges between differing communities (domestic and international). Reflecting on these activities helps you understand communicating between different groups, consider your impact, and explore the global scale of issues.

• Employers want employees who are able to connect with the work culture and interface with internal and external stakeholders. No matter who you encounter in your work, you should be able to connect with them and move forward together to improve the world. Exposure and experience with Community and Global engagement is a key element for employees and future leaders. Being able to understand different ways of thinking and bridge cultures will make you a more effective team member and eventual team leader.

• Leadership development is about  cultivating the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to lead others [and ourselves] in achieving a common goal . Reflecting on these activities will help you deepen your leadership learning, hone your unique leadership style, and develop language to communicate to others your leadership values and accomplishments. 

• Why do employers want future employees to develop their leadership skills? 

• Employers want employees who are willing to take responsibility for projects and can work effectively with others to overcome problems and develop novel solutions. Most importantly, they want to hire employees with proven teamwork and leadership skillsets who can help guide and empower other employees and ultimately  take the organization to new heights.

• Honors Together focuses on building community within the JMHC. This category connects you to your peers. Reflecting on these activities helps you connect to your understanding of what the JMHC is and how we identify as an individual and as a larger group. What does being an honors student mean? How do we show up for each other? How do the pillars of the JMHC manifest in our lived experiences?

• Employers want to see that you can connect with others. On the surface, Honors Together can seem like “fun” or a “general social” category. With a little investigation, this competency shows dedication and involvement within the JMHC community and leveraging your time connecting with others inside and outside of your academic field. This is a critical skill for the workforce.
• Employers want employees who can forge relationships across teams internal and external to their organization. Honors together points are an indicator of a student’s ability to converse, network and connect with a wide range of individuals.
• Employers want to hire individuals who have strong networks and can build relationships. Honors Together activities help students flex their interpersonal abilities and develop skills that will help them bond with their future colleagues.

• These opportunities will challenge you to think through ethical questions and explore what dynamics are at play in any given situation from individual, community, and global dynamics. Reflecting on these experiences allows you to identify and make connections to your own experiences as an individual in society, while priming you with the skills needed to develop a fair and just society.

• Employers need people who can think for themselves and navigate difficult situations and conversations. Attending World Readiness activities, you will gain insight into navigating the world of the 21st century.
• Employers do not want to have to hold their employees' hands. Students skilled in World Readiness are able to navigate social situations and consider the impact of their actions on others. Students who are “world ready" understand that countless factors surround and influence our world.