Stanford
Career Education

Our Model: Envisioning Your Career Journey

Our career development framework provides a way to recognize where you are in your career development journey, identify what motivates you, and pursue your next steps with knowledge and confidence. You can start at any of the three interconnected phases and advance as you learn about yourself and what drives you in your career. Embark on a life of continuous learning and engage in meaningful, purposeful work – at Stanford and beyond.

We encourage you to intentionally reflect on what you are learning about yourself and potential career paths throughout this process and to integrate these learnings and experiences into your career development both during and after your time at Stanford.

Decorative accent featuring eight dots representing the eight Neighborhood colors.
"Discover" on red box

Learn about yourself and the world around you. Explore career fields to learn about what will make you thrive. Identify and reflect on your identity, skills, interests, and values. Discover what is meaningful to you based on your intersecting identities.

"Apply" on a blue box

Connect what you’ve discovered about yourself to meaningful opportunities in career fields of interest by articulating your knowledge, skills, and interests in written, verbal, and digital formats. Learn from others and seek and apply to opportunities that align with your identities and values.

"Experience" on purple box

Engage in opportunities – jobs, internships, classes, volunteering, and more – that align with your identity, skills, interests, and values. Learn to navigate diverse work cultures and continue to refine your sense of self and purpose.

Discover Learning Outcomes

In this phase, you will learn to:

  • Identify your skills, interests, and core values
  • Consider how your identity, communities, and experiences impact your development
  • Define what is meaningful, purposeful, or impactful to you
  • Utilize multiple resources that will help you explore career fields and learn about yourself
  • Identify multiple career fields and/or roles of interest

Apply Learning Outcomes

In this phase, you will learn to:

  • Identify and leverage relevant resources, people, and networks to find and access opportunities of interest
  • Design plans to develop your skills, refine your interests, or clarify your values as they relate to career fields of interest
  • Connect your skills and knowledge to opportunities of interest
  • Create application documents and online portfolios that articulate your identity, skills, interests, and values
  • Communicate your identity, skills, interests, and values through conversations and/or interviews with alumni and employers

Experience Learning Outcomes

In the Experience phase, you will learn to:

  • Identify the extent to which the opportunities you undertake are in alignment with your identity, skills, interests, and values
  • Articulate an understanding of how you can engage in inclusive practices in your workplace
  • Advocate for your needs and wants as you pursue and enter into opportunities
  • Engage confidently within professional cultures
  • Identify your unique contributions and areas for growth in your experiences
"integrate" on an orange background

Reflect intentionally as you advance through the three phases of career development in the experiences you will have at Stanford and beyond.

What can you do to achieve these learning outcomes and advance your career journey? Here are some ideas:

PhaseSteps You Can Take
Discover
  • Schedule a career coaching appointment to discuss your interests
  • Complete the Meaningful Work Kit
  • Take a self-assessment (like Strengths, Strong Interest Inventory, MBTI)
  • Conduct an informational interview with an alum using SAM or LinkedIn
  • Research different industries and job roles online
  • Attend a coffee chat to learn about employers
Apply
  • Create application documents (like resumes and cover letters) and online profiles and review them with a career coach
  • Attend a career fair or employer info session
  • Attend an employer/alumni mixer through CareerEd or an academic department
  • Attend a LinkedIn, Resume, CV, or Interview workshop
  • Participate in an ILPL course to enhance your professional digital presence
  • Access career resources (like LinkedIn Learning, Big Interview, and more)
Experience
  • Embark on internships, research projects, volunteering, or jobs
  • Meet with a career coach to reflect on your experiences
  • Access resources and/or meet with a coach to learn how to negotiate offers
  • Take the CareerEd post-internship reflection class, UAR13
  • Identify potential mentors in your experiences and with resources like SAM, the SAA Alumni Directory, and LinkedIn