Although it’s true, there is no one answer for everyone; as a career services professional, I recommend students start visiting their career services office during their first year of college.
You might argue that you don’t plan on entering the job market for at least four years and you have enough to do just getting your homework completed on time and attending all of those club meetings you decided to join this year. Although that might all be true, career development is a process and it does not begin once you graduate. Beginning the career development process shouldn’t wait until senior year and the time when your forced into finding a job.
This is a great opportunity to provide students with information on what Career Services has to offer and all of the resources that are available to them. I discuss things like resume and cover letter development, the importance of internships, job shadowing, networking, along with the various local, national, and international internship opportunities that are available.
I’d like to think that these workshops make a difference and get students thinking early about their career development by learning ways they can gain experience and eventually make their resumes stand out to employers.