As a faculty member associated with a professional program, I think that it is important to let graduates know that their education has given them both the knowledge and skills sets to make a positive difference to an organization. They need to highlight these sets of skills and experiences that they can offer rather than focus solely on their grades. They also need to showcase that they have both technical skills as well as soft skills e.g. working as team, organizational skills, etc. They also need to understand that we all have to start our career somewhere but that it is not the end of the journey. Final words of advice - be enthusiastic, be persistent, and be willing to take chances!

I assist graduates in identifying their strengths, interests, and values, then explore career options that align with these. We set realistic goals and craft a clear plan focused on skill development, networking, and effective job search strategies. I support them in adapting to challenges, staying motivated, and refining their goals as they progress.

Sempre aconselho meus alunos, em especial os meus afilhados quando escolhido como paraninfo ou patrono, a manterem um compromisso ético e Responsabilidade social. Mais importante que uma carreira de sucesso é ter um carreira construtiva e feliz. Ética e Responsabilidade formam um caráter admirável e constroem uma reputação sólida.

En faisant intervenir des professionnels dans les enseignements et en envoyant les étudiants en stages nous leur donnons l'occasion d'échanger sur la vie en milieu de travail et d'avoir un contact avec le monde du travail. Cela leur facilite la tâche de concevoir et de dessiner un plan de carrière.

As a Higher Education advisor, I help graduates set achievable career goals by guiding them through self-assessment to align their strengths with career paths, encouraging informational interviews for real-world insights, and developing structured action plans with measurable milestones. This approach ensures they pursue fulfilling careers with realistic and adaptable goals.

I stopped asking, "What do you want your life to look like?" and started asking, "What do you want your life to feel like?" From there, we develop decision-making resiliency strategies that students can rely on when they're doing all the work already shared here. Decision-making resiliency strategies help students develop the confidence to know when a strength aligns with a career path. These strategies teach them to know how to know when an inner voice is or isn't their own. A common voice-that-is-not-theirs is a parent's well-intentioned, but sometimes interfering, voice. I teach students how to parse out which voices are worth listening to. That's the foundation of how I advise in higher education.

Be realistic about your expectations. What you now possess is the academic proof of your ability in your chosen field. What you don't possess yet is experience. Knowledge, training and experience are the pillars of competence. You won't achieve all three overnight.