Our Career Education Model

The NDMU Career Education model illuminates a liberal arts education by:

  • Engaging students in experiences that use individual strengths
  • Making meaning about these experiences
  • Prioritizing the use of language to demonstrate and reveal an individual’s interests and career-readiness competencies

NDMU students test the intersection of self and society, exploring their curiosities, and creating connections in communities of interest.

Elements of Our Model

  • Meaning-Making: We teach that an individual’s life and career design can be relayed to others through the components of story.
  • Experiential Learning: We promote internships as well as other opportunities for applied and co-curricular learning.
  • Connections: We support networks of students, alumnae/alumni, employers, and stakeholders.
  • Career Advancement: We provide assistance for all career stages.

Four Year Career Development Plan

First Year - Explore Your Options
  1. Create a Handshake Profile
    HANDSHAKE is a social media environment, jobs/internship/volunteer opportunities board, and virtual event forum. Open the profile visibility to the NDMU Community and to Employers to reach out to others with questions.
  2. Create a LinkedIn Profile
    LinkedIn is a professional profile site for researching working professionals.
  3. Build a resume.
  4. Discover your strengths, interests, values, and personality.
    Use resources from the Career Center’s website and from the First Year Experience course to build your self-knowledge.
  5. Discover majors and occupations.
    Take a variety of courses.
Sophomore – Engage with Others
  1. Meet with people to talk about careers and occupations. Connect with working professionals and alumnae/alumni in your fields of interests.
  2. Gain awareness of the knowledge and skills that employers are looking for.
  3. Get Involved.
    Join one NDMU’s 50+ clubs and organizations.
  4. Audit Your Online Persona.
    Check your social media and be mindful of the impression your posting may have on potential employers.
  5. Attend a career event/fair. See Handshake.
Junior – Gain Experience
  1. Participate in a part-time job, internship, or job shadow.
  2. Contribute to research, volunteer, or study abroad.
  3. Prepare a Post-Graduation Plan
    Graduate school, full-time job or fellowship? Begin to evaluate your options.
  4. Attend a career event/fair.
Senior – Master the Transition
  1. Start Applying for jobs, graduate school, or fellowships
  2. Practice Interview Responses and Elevator Pitch.
    Use LinkedIn’s Practice Interview tool and ask connections to review it.
  3. Attend a career event/fair.