Career Coaching at the Career and Community Engagement Center
At Whitman College, you won’t wait until your senior year to begin thinking about life after graduation.
Right from the start, you’ll be introduced to your Career Coach. Your coach will be there for you—to guide you to resources, programs, groups and opportunities to enhance your areas of study, as well as to support your growth and development as you consider what professional passions and career paths speak to you.
Schedule an Appointment (Whittie access only)
What to Expect
Working with your coach during your time at Whitman, you will open the door to experiences, resources, and skill sets that build upon each other. Take a look at what each year may hold.
You will begin your career coaching experience by meeting your coach and learning about an assessment that can help you identify your values, interests and strengths. You will use resources like the Four-Phase Plan, Career Pathfinder, and the Handshake portal to take your first steps toward professional growth. Then, your coach will share more about campus activities, clubs and programs that can help you extend your network while you’re at Whitman.
Returning for your second year at Whitman, you will continue your journey and gain experience with support from your CCEC coach. You'll also have access to online learning resources crafted to help you build the knowledge and skills necessary to pursue research, search for internships, learn more about community engagement, get insight on campus work, apply for competitive fellowships or grants, and more. In addition to these materials, you will have access to your coach to help you identify and prepare for opportunities that align with your budding professional interests.
As you continue to move through your Whitman journey, we’ll help you connect with alumni and other professionals working in roles and industries you are considering. Using resources like Whitman Connect and LinkedIn to begin building connections to mentors, you’ll have access to mentoring programs and online communities to gain a deeper understanding of many career pathways. Working with your coach, you will build relationships and access insight that will allow you to initiate and grow your professional network while you continue refining your direction and expanding your skills and experience.
In your fourth year, you’ll move to consolidating all of your gained knowledge and experiences as you begin planning your post-graduation life. You will work with your coach to narrow down the options you plan to pursue and then identify skills and application materials necessary for those next steps. You will reach out to the networks you’ve been developing to share your plans, seek out advice and prepare for interviews. You will access resources for post-college life that will help you prepare for the independent personal and professional roles that you’ll be stepping into.
Pillars of Career Coaching
Career Coaching uses the following four pillars to maximize the benefits you receive by meeting with your coach, engaging with relevant resources, and pursuing some of the many possible experiences.
Self-discovery: Understand your strengths, interests, and values, and how they align with a variety of career fields.
Exploration: Access on-campus, community, and professional opportunities that allow you to gain skills, networks, and insights about potential career paths that interest you.
Reflection: Connect the dots between your learning, experiences, and plans for the future.
Action: Take steps to move toward your professional goals and aspirations.