About Career Design / Staff

What is Career Design?

In May 2021 we shifted from career development (Department of Career Development) to career design (Career Design Center) to build the foundation for an equity-minded approach to career. In traditional career development models, students evaluate their options based on how they understand and feel about their past experiences. This approach can be especially limiting for first-generation students and historically marginalized populations, who may not have the same level of access to connections and experiences. It is our hope that the shift to career design will inspire all students to create, explore, and activate new versions of themselves throughout time, as they build their way forward.

Career design emphasizes the student being at the center of their own experience, meeting them where they are. A strength of this approach is the ability to teach students to engage their curiosities and prototype personal and professional ideas that could lead to a meaningful career, even when they might not be able to imagine their future career goals.

In this new model there is an emphasis on action. Design encourages students to be active participants in their future by trying things out, making adjustments, and embracing change. Career design is not about students figuring out what they want to do for the rest of their lives; it is about whatever they want to do next.

YOU ARE HERE… so let’s begin!

Mission Statement

The Career Design Center specializes in the field of comprehensive career education to inspire students and recent graduates to create and pursue their purpose and dreams.

Goals

The Career Design Center will:

• provide individualized assistance with the identification of skills, values, and interests of each student, and the relationship of those skills to various majors and careers
• assist with employment or graduate school search and application process
• actively reach out to the campus community to provide career services and serve as a resource to the greater college community about career-related and workforce issues
• utilize the expertise and experience of faculty, employers, community members, and Geneseo alumni in departmental programming
• evaluate and adopt new technologies to enhance services
• promote staff development through relevant training, participation in conferences, and affiliation with appropriate professional organizations

Values

To be an innovative leader in career development, building intentional and strategic relationships with internal and external partners to create opportunities for all students and alumni.

Nondiscrimination Statement

SUNY Geneseo’s Career Design Center does not discriminate in its programs or activities on the basis of age, race, creed, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and expression, physical or mental ability, genetics, veteran status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal or state law, nor will the office knowingly cooperate with employers who do. To learn more about Affirmative Action for Applicants, Students, Employees, visit the Office of Diversity and Equity.