Career-Planning Checklists

Career-Planning Checklists by Undergraduate Year

As you progress through your college career, it is important to develop your professional skills and to participate in career-related events. This page contains a suggested timeline of activities and tasks that will help you reach your engineering career goals. Use Handshake and read your email from the Engineering Career Center for current information about jobs, fairs, workshops, and recruiting and networking events.

All students should make use of the Career Development Handbook for Undergraduates and watch the on-demand videos on our Undergraduate Resources page.

  1. Join Handshake! (UMass.JoinHandshake.com)
  2. Attend company information sessions to learn more about engineering careers and begin building relationships with recruiters.
  3. Assess and develop your skills in critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and teamwork through academic and extracurricular activities.
  4. Create your resume and attend a resume-writing workshop.
  5. Start building a support network through friends, mentors, upperclassmen, staff, and faculty.
  6. Work hard in your academic classes—companies often base internship offers on grades.
  7. Plan a work experience for the summer between your first and second years. In addition to research positions and internships, related work experiences can be useful (e.g., a Civil Engineering student could do a construction or landscaping job; a Mechanical Engineering student could work in manufacturing or at a hardware store).
  8. Find opportunities to participate in Engineering student societies, other student organizations, and community service.
  1. Update your resume—add any experience or soft skills that you gained over the previous semester or summer.
  2. Attend company information sessions to learn more about what companies in your field of interest are doing.
  3. Attend the Engineering Career Fair, Life Sciences Fair, Civil & Environmental Fair, Technology Fair, all majors Career Blast, or any other career fair related to your interests.
  4. Hone your skills by attending workshops on resume writing, interviewing, networking, and career fair preparation.
  5. Join and participate in Engineering student societies, other student organizations, or community service opportunities.
  6. Check out the National Science Foundation’s website. Make a list of Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program sites that you are interested in and make a plan to apply by the stated deadlines.
  7. Ask faculty for letters of recommendation for REU applications and follow up with a thank-you letter.
  8. Explore internship opportunities through the Engineering job board on Handshake.
  1. Update your resume—add any experience or soft skills that you gained over the previous semester or summer.
  2. Attend workshops early in the semester so you will be prepared for career fairs.
  3. Attend the Engineering Career Fair, Life Sciences Fair, Civil & Environmental Fair, Technology Fair, all majors Career Blast, or any other career fair related to your interests.
  4. Attend company information sessions and begin thinking about the type of work you would be doing for a company, the company culture, and the company's location(s).
  5. Check out the National Science Foundation’s website. Make a list of Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) sites that you are interested in and make a plan to apply by the stated deadlines.
  6. Ask faculty for letters of recommendation for REU applications and follow up with a thank-you letter.
  7. Explore internship opportunities through the Engineering job board on Handshake.
  8. Continue participating in student societies and organizations and start taking on leadership roles.
  9. Attend the Graduate School information session and talk with faculty advisors or College of Engineering Career Center advisors for help deciding whether to pursue graduate school.
  10. If you decide to pursue graduate school, set up a timeline for studying for and taking the GRE, LSAT, or GMAT and for meeting all graduate school admissions deadlines.
  1. Polish your resume.
  2. Attend various workshops to fill in any gaps in interview or networking skills, job-search techniques, etc.
  3. Attend the Engineering Career Fair, Life Sciences Fair, Civil & Environmental Fair, Technology Fair, all majors Career Blast, and any other career fairs and information sessions related to your interests. Make sure you know what recruiters are looking for and be prepared to present your technical and communication skills at these events.
  4. Regularly check for engineering jobs on Handshake.
  5. Follow up with company representatives who you meet at information sessions, career fairs, and interviews.
  6. Prepare to take the FE exam before leaving school, which is required for employment by many companies. The FE is a computer-based exam that is administered year-round by National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) at NCEES-approved test centers. Advance registration is required.