Empower Your Student

Whether or not you encourage your student to connect with us, you can facilitate career development conversations with your student by using these questions. These are all open-ended questions that reflect the approach we use in coaching conversations.

Career Exploration Conversation Starters

  • What do you feel like you are good at?
  • What makes you happiest?
  • What is important to you?
  • What were your favorite classes in high school?
  • If you could do anything you wanted after graduation, what would that be?
  • What is your dream job?
  • Do you know anyone with a job you would like to learn more about?

General Conversation Starters

  • What did you like in high school that you want to continue in college?
  • What will make you feel like your college experience was successful?
  • What do you want to gain from attending college?
  • Do you think it is important to be involved on campus?
  • Have you investigated student organizations on campus?
  • Have you thought about doing an internship to gain experience or test out a career area?

Affirming Statements

  • That is interesting, tell me more about that.
  • I can tell you care a lot about that, I would love to hear more.
  • I am proud of you.
  • I am here for you.
  • I can tell you are working hard to figure this all out. 
  • I want you to make decisions that feel right for you.
  • It sounds like you may feel stressed out. Would you like to talk about it?
  • A lot of students change their mind about their major. How can I help?
  • It is normal to feel overwhelmed by all of the options. How can I help?

Encourage Your Student to Use Career Services

We invite you to refer your student to career coaching, mock interviews, workshops, and our employer events in the Career Services. Here are some common reasons that students want to meet with a coach for a 30-minute appointment. 

  • Confusion about which career opportunities relate to specific majors
  • Needing greater self-awareness about personal skills, values, and interests
  • Perfecting a resume, cover letter, or personal statement
  • Uncertainty about how to find a job or internship
  • Deciding whether graduate school is necessary 
  • Understanding and developing leadership skills 
  • Developing professional skills for effective interviewing
  • Building a strategy for networking to gain experience and build contacts
  • Using LinkedIn to build a brand and research alumni career paths
  • Learn how to get the most out of our Handshake job and internship platform