Congratulations! By choosing to enroll in your degree of study at SOE you have already embarked on the next, exciting leg of your career and life design journey.
Whatever career path you’re pursuing, and no matter how (un)sure you feel about it, Career and Life Design (CLD) is here to help you design a well-lived, fulfilling life as a future educator, counselor, policy maker, or whatever else you aspire to be. CLD takes career services from transactional to transformational, where planning your career is much more than resume reviews and interview prep. Instead, we follow an applied life design approach to career readiness and professional development that emphasizes coherence, a state in which who you are, what you believe and what you do are all in balance – This is optimal life design.
At SOE, dive into life design not only to reach coherence, but also to imagine and design a career path aligned with your values and goals while making the most of the career resources available to you.
At Johns Hopkins, life design happens in four iterative and broadly applicable steps:
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Get Curious.
Getting curious is about reflecting on your life experiences, values, and priorities to assess areas of your life where you might want to grow – this helps inform the optimal career paths and contexts for you.
Topics: Mind-mapping for coherence, values/strengths, workview/lifeview, what’s your why?, energy & flow, and more. -
Imagine Possibilities.
Imagining the possibilities helps you learn from reflections and observations of your life and the lives of others to brainstorm possible next steps – this can help you improve or optimize your professional life.
Topics: Three lives sketch, re-framing, alumni panels, career treks, career pivots, and more. -
Experience More.
Experience more invites you to do something, take action, and try things out – once you have an idea of what you want to work on or learn more about, talk to people and prototype your way to progress.
Topics: Curiosity conversations, career shadowing, conferences, career/field experience fairs, networking, mentorship, internships, job search/application, and more. -
Craft Your Story.
Crafting your story is the most important step – this is when you learn to tell a compelling story about what you do, why it matters to you, and what value it brings to Hopkins and your communities.
Topics: Your Hopkins story, job documents, interviewing skills, transferrable skills articulation, thought leadership, authentic introductions, and more.
How to Engage
Handshake: Sign in, create a profile, search exclusive jobs, internships, and JHU events. Search “SOE” under events to register for upcoming workshops, opportunities, and more hosted by the CLD Office. Check back and explore frequently to take advantage of career and life design programming across JHU.
Office Hours: While life design is most impactful when done in community (look out for upcoming events!), CLD Counselor Stacey Mitchell, PhD, offers limited 1:1 CLD chats for your career and life design inquiries. Book an appointment or email [email protected] to learn more.
ILLD at JHU: Each school across JHU has a career and/or life design office serving their specific student population, but many services are applicable across the board. Explore how the offices of Integrative Learning and Life Design (ILLD), including the Life Design Lab (LDL), the Doctoral Life Design Studio (DLDS), and SOE’s CDL can serve you.
Career Development Tools for SOE Students
Below is a list of tools that can help with your career and life design activity while at SOE. For questions regarding any of these resources, please contact your Career and Life Design Counselor.
Career Development & Professional Readiness
- Handshake: A job and event search platform; search keyword “SOE:” in events for upcoming SOE CLD workshops, panels, and experiences
- SMILE: Find paid on-campus internships and jobs
- ForagerOne: Research opportunities with JHU faculty
- Vmock: AI-driven platform for resume/cover letter design and interview practice
- ONet: Occupation core skills index and career exploration platform
- Google’s Career Dreamer: Explore career possibilities with Google AI
- LinkedIn Learning: Expert-led video courses on various topics
For International Students
- Interstride: Job search platform/information hub tailored for international students
- Office of International Services (OIS): Information and webinar archives for F-1 and J-1 visa holders including guidance on work authorization in the U.S.
- Discussing Immigration Status Guide: From OIS & LDL, a guide to help you navigate conversations around immigration status, visas, etc. as an international student:
Mentoring & Networking
- OneHop: Mentoring platform with JHU alumni
- LinkedIn: Global networking hub
- LinkedIn Checklist: Start building your LinkedIn profile today
- Authentic Introduction: Learn to craft a memorable narrative that tells who you are, what interests you, and what opportunities you’re looking for next
- Curiosity Conversations: Prepare for a life design interview (aka informational interview)
- Authenticity Focused Networking: Strategies to help prepare for, navigate, and drive networking interactions with your unique identities at the fore:
Guides
Other CLD Opportunities at JHU
- Career 360: Career shadowing and discovery opportunities for doctoral students
- Pava Center: JHU’s entrepreneurship hub; check out resources and events