Seize Your Superpower
As a transfer student, you bring a source of knowledge, experience, and wisdom to your career development journey at UCSB. When you first arrive, develop an achievable timeline for yourself; as you acclimate to your new environment and the fast-paced quarter system, take advantage of campus resources available to help you accomplish the goals you strive to achieve.
While your time as a transfer student may be short but sweet, thinking about your academic and career possibilities throughout your studies will support your integration into life at UCSB. From internships, to graduate school planning, to working on-campus, to achieving your post-graduation goals, we encourage you to engage early and often with Career Services. Read on to learn more.
Key Campus Resources @ UCSB
Get Hired: Transfer Students
For complete information on job search strategies, resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn, interviews, and more, review our starter tips to Get Hired in all careers as well as the specialized tips on this page.
How to Identify Your Job Search Goals
It is often difficult to answer the question, “What are you going to do after graduation?” However, it is normal to be uncertain, and great to have multiple ideas. Try using this as an opportunity to express your curiosity in multiple career paths, and refine your goals down to a short list of options. Consider the projects, classes, and extracurriculars you have enjoyed and look for related opportunities in the workforce. By expressing interest to friends, you are also networking, as they may know professionals in related fields.
In the meantime, here are some other possibilities to consider:
- Volunteer outside of your job to continue to build skills
- Work for a temp agency
- Take extra classes, or attend professional school
- Consider gap-year programs
Learn More
To begin your job search, consider your priorities and the assets you can currently offer. Visit our Job Search Strategies page for specific ways to move forward in your search.
What to Do Without Experience on Your Resume
When you gear up for a job search, many positions ask for experience. As a transfer student, it is common to feel that you may have less experience than most of your peers, however, chances are high that you probably have more than you think!
Consider everything you have done in the last few years, including:
- Part-time and full-time work
- Class projects
- Leadership roles
- Summer and gap-year programs
- Short or long-term volunteering
- Involvement in organizations both on and off campus
- Personal projects
When you compile your resume, explain to an employer the many ways in which you are qualified. Any past or current experience (paid or unpaid) which showcases the transferable skills required for the position is valuable to include on your resume. In addition, you can write a skills-based resume instead of a chronological resume; this will highlight your skills instead of focusing on your experiences.
