For most college students, lack of career planning wastes time and resources and may result in years of “career drift.” Lack of planning can also lead to deception once students begin seeking career-related employment. Faced with a competitive job market, some students inflate and exaggerate their resumes. The five-year resume exercise helps students avoid these difficulties by developing a future orientation toward their career goals. Students create the resumes they would like to have in five years. This exercise encourages both self-management and proactiveness. The exercise, sample questions, and a template are provided. Illustrations of student feedback, benefits, and suggestions for faculty are presented.
Alexitch, L. R. (1997). Students’ educational orientation and preferences for advising from university professors. Journal of College Student Development, 38(4), 333-334.
2.
Arthur, M. B., & Rousseau, D. M. (1996). Introduction: The boundaryless career as new employment principle. In M. Arthur & D. Rousseau (Eds.), The boundaryless career: A new employment principle for a new organizational era (pp. 3-19). New York: Oxford University Press.
3.
Broadbridge, A. (1996). Academic advising—Traditional or developmental approaches? Student perspective. British Journal of Guidance and Counseling, 24(1), 97-111.
4.
Brousseau, K. R., & Driver, M. J. (1994). Enhancing informed choice: A career concepts approach to career advisement. Selections, 10, 24-31.
5.
Carroll, L. (n.d.). Alice’s adventures in wonderland. New York: Avenel Books.
6.
Collins, M. (1998, Spring). Great expectations: What students have to say about the process and practice of launching a career. Journal of Career Planning and Placement, 41-47.
7.
Hall, D. T. (1996). The career is dead: Long live the career. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
8.
Hall, S. M., Jr. (2000). A sound planning calendar enables seniors to excel. Black Collegian, 31, 28-31.
9.
Kossek, E., Roberts, K., Fisher, S., & DeMarr, B. (1998). Career self-management: A quasi-experimental assessment of the effects of a training intervention. Personnel Psychology, 51(4), 935-962.
10.
Laker, D. (2002). The Career Wheel: An exercise for exploring and validating one’s career choices. Journal of Employment Counseling, 39, 61-72.
11.
Laker, D. (2005). The five-year resume: A career planning exercise and workbook. Kimberton, PA: Seven Stars Press, (610) 917-3021; www.sevenstarspress.com
12.
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (1990). A theory of goal setting & task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
13.
Lyon, D. W., & Kirby, E. G. (2000). The career planning essay. Journal of Management Education, 24(2), 276-287.
14.
Marko, K. W., & Savickas, M. L. (1998). Effectiveness of a career time perspective intervention. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 52(1), 106-119.
15.
Mirvis, P. H., & Hall, D. T. (1994). Psychological success and the boundaryless career. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15, 365-380.
16.
Savickas, M. L. (1991). Improving career time perspective. In D. Brown & L. Brooks (Eds.), Techniques of career counseling (pp. 236-249). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
17.
Schroth, G., Pankake, A., & Gates, G. (1999). A comparison of pedagogical approaches to teaching graduate students in educational administration. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 26(4), 238-249.
18.
Whan, K. A. (1995). Modifying career time perspective. Dissertation Abstracts International-Section B: The Science and Engineering, 55(10-13), 45-96.
19.
Whiting, V. R., & de Janasz, S. C. (2004). Mentoring in the 21st century: Using the internet to build skills and networks. Journal of Management Education, 28(3), 275-293.
