Developing an Undergraduate Career Conference: Leveraging Mentorship to Promote Career Discovery

Abstract

Are students ready for jobs when it comes time to graduation? This is a common question, and one that is often addressed in the media (e.g., Collie, 2019). Despite psychology being one of the most popular degree plans for undergraduate students (e.g., Higher Education Research Institute, 2008), many students in undergraduate psychology programs fail to see the relevance and value of their degree (Borden and Rajecki, 2000). In this work, we designed, delivered, and assessed a career conference for students in psychology. Intentionally different from a career fair where students seek jobs, this event applied a mentorship-based conference model. In this conference model, in addition to professional development training, industry mentors who work in professional fields related to psychology were invited to provide personal insight on their careers in a small-group format. Critical to this model, students were encouraged and able to ask questions that may not be appropriate for a job fair where hiring is happening. Further, this career model involved intentional connections with our Career Services office, allowing for programmatic delivery of career-based content within the domain-specific event. We provide early empirical evidence that this method of career development supports students in learning about career paths that psychology can lead to, identifying skills that will assist them in finding a career, feeling confident in their ability to network effectively, and feeling more connected with professionals in careers related to psychology. We suggest that this model may be beneficial across disciplines.