First-Year Community

freshmen

Welcome to Bentley!  As first-year students, you are probably wondering, “Now that I’m here, what am I supposed to be doing about my career development? What do I do and where do I start?”   Our director, Alyssa Hammond, answers all of these questions in this quick, informative video!

In 2013, Bentley launched Career Development Introduction 101 (CDI 101) to equip you with a comprehensive career toolkit and the ability to understand and “tell your story”. The course is the first step in a four year Hire Education program designed to support our belief that competence, confidence, community, and curiosity lead to meaningful careers and lives. The 6-week class is designed and taught by Bentley career advisers, enrolls over 900 first-year students and addresses the foundational aspects of career development including:

  • Self-Assessment and Awareness: Identification of your personal strengths/talents and how they impact career decision making and the development of effective job search marketing collateral
  • Written Communication: Development of tangible self-marketing pieces: resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile, and electronic business correspondence
  • Verbal Communication: Development of elevator pitch and professional informational meeting and networking skills
  • Internships: Knowledge of internship search process and tools
  • Career Resources: Knowledge and proper use of career exploration resources

Successful completion of the course is noted on students’ transcripts and serves as a prerequisite for a one-credit internship (CDI 102), allowing students to secure paid and unpaid internships requiring academic credit.

CDI 101 is only offered during the SPRING of your FIRST YEAR.  You will be able to register for CDI 101 in November when you register for your spring courses.  You will get all of the information you will need about the course and how to register in your First Year Seminar course this Fall.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT CDI 101:

  • It will only be offered to you ONE time, during the SPRING of your FIRST yearif you do not take it then, you will not be able to in the future.
  • If you do not take CDI 101, you will not be able to do an internship that requires credit until you are a Junior.  This is very important as you may need credit to do an internship during your first year summer or during your Sophomore year and you cannot do an academic credit internship until you are Junior.

So during the fall, the only other assignment we have for you is to enjoy being a Falcon!  Focus on your coursework, campus life, and becoming an active member of the Bentley Community.  Your career development journey will begin soon enough so enjoy the fall – we look forward to starting our work with you in the spring in CDI 101!