For many college students and their families, it is not long after a student decides where she will attend college that the question “What will she do after she graduates?” becomes a frequent topic of inquiry.

Luckily, at Wellesley College, she is in the perfect place to begin to explore the interests, priorities, skills and strengths that will help her to answer that question and to prepare for the lifelong career journey ahead. While many students and even parents feel the need to identity a specific career objective and the major to match early in their college career, the reality is very different. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average college graduate will hold more than a dozen jobs in her lifetime in multiple career fields. Given all that change, what will best serve students as they launch their careers is not certainty and narrow expertise, but the ability to think broadly across disciplines, adaptability, and a strong sense of one’s own interests, skills, values and strengths.

Of course, as a parent, you may feel anxiety or concern as your student proceeds through college, eager for her to identify a particular path that will ensure both her happiness and her security when she graduates. Rest assured that some uncertainty and even changing her mind several times is an important part of the journey. College is not only the perfect time for a student to explore and identify her major interests, but also the time to develop the skills that employers cite as most important in their workforce — leadership, critical thinking, strong oral and written communication skills, collaboration. Wellesley College presents an ideal environment for a student to explore, develop and practice all of these abilities. In addition to an exceptional academic education that helps students to discover and refine their passions and skills, students gain critical practice in leadership through student organizations, research and athletics, collaborative skills through their residential experience, language and cultural competency through time spent overseas and intellectual engagement through all these areas that supports their critical thinking and ethical prioritization and decision-making.

As a family member, you play a critical role in encouraging your student along her career journey. Here are a few ways you can support her:

• Encourage exploration. By choosing a liberal arts college for her undergraduate studies, your daughter has selected an ideal environment in which to clarify her interests, try out her strengths and skill sets, and identify the values and preferences that she wants to be at the center of her career. Encouraging her to keep an open mind, pursue experiences and opportunities outside of her normal realm and to generally embrace the liberal arts can all reinforce her instinct towards genuine career exploration while at Wellesley and help her to identify more successfully the path she wants to pursue.
• Listen. Many students experience real anxiety when thinking about their future, especially if she feels some uncertainty or internal conflict about what career paths most interest or best suit her. Sometimes, meeting the professional expectations of a parent or being afraid to disappoint can mean a reluctance to confide in one’s parents about this struggle. Reassuring her that exploration is both valuable and important - even while making your own hopes and ideas known - can create a space where she feels more comfortable being candid with you and supported as she researches and begins to understand and narrow her options.
• Encourage her to identify mentors. The best resource as one prepares for their career journey is to talk with someone who has done it already. Many students assume that a mentor needs to be someone who has the exact job they aspire to and who can be with them to offer advice for years to come. In fact, simply having a cup of coffee with a professional to learn about their career choices or spending an afternoon shadowing someone in their workplace can be an illuminating experience, helping a student to see the variety of career paths available, to understand how different professionals make different professional choices and why, and gaining insight into the inner workings of a particular job or field. In addition to any personal connections you may be able to offer, Career Education staff can help students identify alumnae mentors and to prepare for those interactions.
• Refer her to Career Education. Remember that staff in Career Education also serve in that role and are always eager to engage with and support students and alumnae, no matter their class year or where they are in their career journey.
  • Every student is assigned to a Advisor for Career Exploration who stays with her all four years and who is here to help her gain clarity around her interests, skills, strengths and values and help her to find direction on her career path.
  • Our industry-specific Advisors have expertise across six major professional disciplines and are here to offer insight, connections and specific advice to students who wish to delve deeper and begin to pursue or more deeply explore a professional path.
  • Our internships, civic engagement and fellowships teams all offer support and opportunities for experiential learning that can help students learn about professional paths and gain valuable experiences that can clarify their career interests.
  • Our alumnae team is here to offer lifelong career support to Wellesley College graduates.