Print this page

Connecticut College’s Hale Center for Career Development’s mission is to empower students to make connections between their liberal arts education, career, and life.

The Career Action Program at Connecticut College offers a unique, comprehensive, and developmentally-appropriate curriculum that teaches students to leverage their liberal arts education within various experiential learning opportunities. The Program launches during the students’ first year, when they are encouraged to take a one-credit, seven-week Career Preparation course focused on key pillars of career development: Exploration, Storytelling, Networking, and Professionalism. The course helps students integrate an understanding of core career readiness competencies and personal values, as well as how to articulate these concepts for internship, job, fellowship, and graduate school applications. Students also complete a final Career Portfolio that includes a resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile, and a collection of interview-ready stories demonstrating the top career readiness competencies sought after by employers. There are two additional courses offered for students specifically interested in finance or pre-health. These two-credit, full-semester classes incorporate the content of the Career Preparation Course while focusing on readiness for careers in finance and investment, or for applying to a health professions graduate program.

We provide students with resources to find and develop career opportunities that align with their individual goals and interests. Students who successfully complete the Career Preparation course are eligible for Career Action Program funding to support their pursuit of approved career and professional development opportunities. These experiences generally fall into one of two categories: competency-building courses, trainings, and certifications, or internships and research opportunities that will advance their future competitiveness for jobs, fellowships, and graduate school.

Beyond the Career Preparation course, Career Advisors and Hale Center staff work to support all students in their individual career development, providing internship and job search assistance and guiding them through the professional and graduate school decision-making process. There are also specific advisors dedicated to giving students pre-health, pre-business, and pre-law support. Finally, students learn to use their network to participate in Camel-Connected opportunities with alumni and campus partners and learn from them how to build career paths in their particular field of interest.

Fact: 96% of the student body regularly utilizes the services of the Hale Center for Career Development over the course of their time at Connecticut College.