First Year Career Steps for Nutrition

Know yourself.

  • Interest, skills, and values.

Determine your interests.

  • Activities about which you are passionate.
  • What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Recognize your aptitudes.

  • The skills you have and those you want to develop.
  • What do you do well?

Evaluate your work experience and education.

  • Acquired knowledge that will help you advance toward your desired career paths.
  • What are your accomplishments?

Recognize your personal qualities.

  • Traits that make you a strong candidate.
  • Are you motivated, a strategic thinker, active listener?

Select potential career areas.

  • Areas of career interest for further research and exploration  
  • What career fields do you gravitate toward?
  1. Visit a career advisor.
  2.  Do at least one self-assessment tool offered free online (https://www.umass.edu/public-health-sciences/career-planning/student-resources/career-assessments).
  3. Check out “Career Opportunities in Nutrition.”
  4. Activate your Handshake account and start receiving emails about internships/jobs.
  5. Attend the meetings of any two clubs to get to know resources both in and outside of your department. One suggestion is the UMass Nutrition Association (UMNA)

UMNA is an organization created to represent nutrition majors on campus. Through UMNA, undergraduate and graduate nutrition students develop programs to explore the nutrition profession, provide community service, and increase social connections. UMNA’s past programs include scheduling guest speakers, collecting food for hunger prevention services, creating a newsletter for all majors, and designing a recipe book for healthy eating.

Interested students should visit the UMNA page on Campus Pulse or contact their undergraduate program advisor for more information.

  1. Visit 3+ internship sites online specific to your field and home location for summer internships. 
  2. Discuss with your academic advisor if study abroad/exchange is a good idea for you.
  3. Write your resume/cover letter and bring it to the Career Ambassador Walk-in hours for review (Arnold House Room 136, hours listed here: https://www.umass.edu/sphhs/careers/peer-advisingwalk-and-email). Appointments can be also made with professional advisors here: https://umass.joinhandshake.com.
  4. Network and get to know your professors, staff and fellow students.
  5. Start a list of family, friends and other contacts in areas in which you might have a professional interest and update it as your experiences grow.
  6. Get a summer internship/job with professional development in mind (and notify the Office of Career Planning about this opportunity when you secure it).
  7. Check out the Nutrition Department Fieldwork Experience webpage for information and opportunities.
  1. Research three potential occupations and the entry level requirements of each (http://www.bls.gov/ooh/, UMass Career Planning in Nutrition, Now What? Career options with a degree in Nutrition)
  2. Conduct numerous informational interviews to expand your network and solidify career choice.
  3. Review your online professional presence (google yourself, check Facebook content, clean it up).
  4. Create a LinkedIn page (www.linkedin.com); review LinkedIn guidelines. See the Nutrition Undergraduate Advising page for targeted LinkedIn guidelines and to join the Nutrition Alumni Network as a student.
  5. Attend a Career Fair, employer info session or networking event on or off campus.
  6. Watch for deadlines, GRE, GMAT, MCAT, LSAT, RD applications and internship opportunities.
  7. Get a summer internship/job with professional development in mind.
  1. Perfect your resume, cover letter writing skills and refine your job search strategy (Attend walk-in hours, individual appointment, workshops, or watch CareerSpots videos).
  2. Continue to use LinkedIn and other networking methods to search for alumni with whom you can do informational interviews, ask about employment and companies/fields where they work.
  3. Use Handshake to find jobs you may be interested in and then use LinkedIn to check for connections.
  4. Check out Big Interview for interview prep assistance and attend a mock interview session to prepare you for professional interviews.
  5. Solidify references and letters of recommendation (Optional Interfolio service).
  6. Notify SPHHS Office of Career Planning and your department head Claire Norton, cpnorton@nutrition.umass.edu, when you land a job or accept a grad program.