Information For Parents

The first year of college is a transitional time of making new friends, facing the rigor of university academics, and expanding one’s understanding of majors and careers. This time is fertile ground for assessing one’s interests and evaluating majors. 

5 Ways You Can Help

1. Encourage them to register on Handshake to post a resume and search for internships. 
2. Recommend they visit this website to view career related content, conduct virtual mock interviews, and start an electronic portfolio of skills and activities.
3. Affirm their abilities, skills, interests and personality traits. You've spent a lot of time with your son or daughter and probably have some valuable insights! 
4. Encourage career counseling if they’re feeling confused about their major. Our career experts are ready to help them sort through their thoughts and goals.
5. Support their involvement in campus life. It provides an opportunity to development leadership skills that employers are seeking! It also often makes the difference in feeling that Rider is a good choice.

Sophomore year is a time of serious reflection about major and career direction. Your student is aware that if she waits much longer to make a change, it may take more time and money to graduate. A student that hasn't been ready to consider other options may now want to explore a variety of majors and careers. If she is happy in her major, she may be realizing that this is the time to add relevant professional experience to her classroom experience.

5 Ways You Can Help

1. Refer your student to us for career counseling if he/she expresses ongoing doubt about his/her choice of major. We offer a variety of interest, personality, and values inventories to help them find their path.
2. Encourage your student to talk to faculty and advisors for more information about majors and careers of interest. Professional relationships can inspire interest that isn't sparked in the classroom.
3. Direct your student to colleagues, friends or family employed in careers of interest. Informational interviews are a great way of expanding knowledge about a career field. 
4. Support your student in developing or refining his resume using our Resume Sample and other tools.
5. Encourage your student to use Handshake to search for internships and jobs.

Junior year is a critical time to gain professional and leadership experience. Students can gain experience through hands-on learning opportunities such as: internships, cooperative education, service learning, volunteering, independent projects, study abroad, and leadership in organizations. Experience helps students understand their competencies and prepares them to demonstrate them to prospective employers. Increasingly employers expect graduates with a proven track record of professional experience.

5 Ways You Can Help

1. Encourage your student to gain relevant professional experience through internships, field work or co-op experiences.
2. Support your student in assuming on a leadership role in their organization of interest.
3. Encourage their participation in on-campus research and/or service learning opportunities as well as networking efforts.
4. Support your student in applying for positions through Handshake, our online system to connecting students and employers through on-campus interviews and job listings.
5. Applaud their accomplishments and support them in attending career events or seeking support from our on-campus career experts.

Senior year marks another transition. Whether a student plans to enter the working world or continue his education through graduate or professional school, it takes a lot of preparation to obtain a satisfying first job or higher education program. Though today's students are more comfortable with change than previous generations, senior year still presents the challenges of completing a degree and competing for jobs or graduate/professional school admission.

5 Ways You Can Help

1. Suggest meeting with a faculty member in their department to discuss graduate study preparation or finding an appropriate graduate program.
2. Refer your student to the pre-med advisor if he is planning on applying for a professional medical program or to the pre-law advisor if considering applying to law school.
3. Advise your student to begin the job search process early in the fall semester as the heaviest recruiting activities occur in the first half of the fall term (on-campus interviewing, career fairs, company days, etc.).
4. Encourage your student to hone his job search skills by having his resume reviewed by our career experts, attending a job search or interviewing workshop, or practicing interviewing. 
5. Provide your student with friend, family, and colleague referrals who might be valuable job search resources.