Time for a Career Change? Resources to Help You!

Perhaps you’ve been thinking about moving to another job at a different company. Perhaps you’ve already left your previous organization and are trying to figure out what’s next. No matter the impetus, Olin’s office of Post-Graduate Planning is here to support you in your journey!

One of the first things you should do is update your resume. Make sure you have your most recent employment on your resume, with a description of your top achievements and accomplishments. Visit our PGP Resource Portal to view sample resumes.  

Next, update your LinkedIn profile. This is an important step, as virtually all recruiters will research candidates, and finding an updated profile with a professional photo and compelling “about” section will validate you. If you’d like some tips on how to make your LinkedIn profile stronger, visit our LinkedIn Tips.

Lastly, we recommend you update your Handshake profile. Handshake is a great source of job opportunities in engineering and other career paths, posted by recruiters who are seeking Olin candidates for their job openings. Since you’ve already updated your resume and LinkedIn profile, it will be easy to just copy that content to your Handshake profile. If you don’t remember your Handshake login, or don’t have a Handshake profile, just email PGP and we’ll set you up.

OK, now you’re ready to think about what jobs you’d like to research. Are you considering a similar position, or one with more responsibility, or perhaps you are considering changing industries? Great! Think about what you enjoy doing. What are your interests, what are your priorities? Now what kind of position might meet these criteria?  It’s Ok if you are considering engineering-adjacent or even non-engineering jobs. Many alumni have gone on to rewarding careers in education, healthcare, non-profit, consulting, finance, business, and other career areas. The critical thinking, analytical, and problem-solving skills you learned at Olin can be applied to a wealth of career choices! So, keep an open mind and think about career paths that would be appealing to you.

Where can you find job opportunities? Well, we’ve already recommended Handshake as a great place to start. And there are many more ways you can find great jobs to apply for. Visit our Finding Opportunities page to learn about helpful resources such as job boards, application tracking spreadsheets, career fairs, networking, industry-specific career resources, and more. An easy way to make job search tools work for you: set up a job alert on job boards such as Handshake, BuiltIn, Indeed, and LinkedIn. You will get notified by email any time new opportunities that fit your criteria are posted, so you can work smarter, not harder.

Olin alumni are also a great resource for those seeking new opportunities. You can find alumni via LinkedIn, set up informational interviews, get career advice, and learn about new career paths.

Remember, you can always make an appointment with a member of PGP if you’d like to talk about your general job search, job search strategies, interview prep, and more. We are here for you!