About Us
Our Mission
Career Exploration seeks to empower and guide students and alumni by providing comprehensive career advising and opportunities to connect within and beyond the Macalester community. We are dedicated to ensuring equitable access to resources and experiential learning for skill-building and self-discovery. We believe in continuous learning and support a self-driven approach towards finding purpose and fulfillment.
Our Learning Outcomes
Along for the RIDE: Career Exploration helps you build skills for every turn ahead.
Career development and self discovery is a lifelong process, and our learning outcomes reflect this cyclical nature. Activities that fall under these learning outcomes may include:
Reflect:
- Talking through your values, interests, personality, & strengths in a career advising appointment
- Taking and engaging with the CliftonStrengths assessment
Ideate:
- Learning about local employers at our monthly employer tabling events
- Reviewing our Past Internships by Major resource
Design:
- Attending one of our monthly “Finding an Internship” workshops
- Getting feedback on your resume and cover letter during our drop-in hours
- Networking with employers at the Minnesota Private Colleges Job & Internship Fair
Engage:
- Completing an internship or summer research experience
- Connecting with Macalester alumni through MacExplore, a career trek program that takes students off-campus to visit alumni worksites locally and nationally, in cities such as New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.
Our Areas
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Career advisors meet with students one-on-one and lead programming across campus. Topics that our career advisors discuss in appointments include:
- Researching possible career paths using assessments and resources
- Creating application materials such as cover letters, resumes, and statements of purpose
- Networking with Macalester alumni to build relationships and identify potential career paths
- Searching and applying for jobs and internships
- Connecting with employers effectively
- Preparing for job interviews and salary negotiations
- Managing the emotional highs and lows of the career exploration process
Our five career advisors partner with relevant departments across campus to plan events and programming. Each advisor meets with all students, but focuses on one of the following populations: Fine Arts & Humanities; Social Sciences; STEM; Health Professions; and early college (first-years and sophomores).
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Our employer engagement team works to connect Macalester students with local and national employers through recruiting events and partnerships. Together with the internship team, they strengthen relationships with organizations that provide students with professional experiences. Opportunities for students to meet with employers include:
- A fall Job and Internship Fair, bringing employers from a variety of industries to campus to network with students
- Monthly employer tabling events, offering a more casual environment for local employers to recruit for jobs and internships
- Regular information sessions, workshops, and on-campus employer chats for students to learn about and be considered for opportunities
- MacExplore: A program that brings small groups of students on trips to explore career fields in a variety of industries. Trips take place locally and nationally over fall and spring breaks. Our staff and faculty lead students on site visits, connect them to alumni, and give them opportunities to hone their networking and career search skills.
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Academic internships are an integral part of Macalester’s commitment to experiential learning. The internship team in Career Exploration works closely with career advisors, employers, International Student Programs, and faculty to help students explore, secure, and succeed in internship experiences throughout the year. Here are some of the areas that we cover:
- Helping students register internships for academic credit
- Supporting students throughout their internships
- Facilitating the Macalester Summer Internship Grant program
- Providing internship advising through workshops and individual appointments
- Collaborating with faculty, employers, and campus partners to increase access to internship opportunities for students