Build Experience

How do you build "real world" experience while attending college? Where do you start?

As a student at SJSU, you can have many opportunities both on campus and off campus to build experience. These opportunities include class projects, student involvement, research, student employment on campus, volunteering, interning, study abroad, and more.

Did you know that you are building skills that employers want just by taking classes at SJSU? Check out the University Learning Goals (ULGs).

Are you wondering how to build more specific skills for the career that you are building towards, but you don't know where to start? To get started, check out the Build Experience Guide [pdf] which is designed to help students identify their existing skills and strengths as well as develop new career-related skills.

In addition to building your experience, it is important to develop in-demand skills and competencies. Check out the transferable skills that employers are seeking in college students and recent college graduates in the NACE 2020 report.

To explore where you are with developing your transferable skills and competencies, take the Am I career ready? questionnaire on Focus2.

Create your Build Experience Action Plan using the information and activities in the Build Experience Guide [pdf].

• On-Campus Opportunities

  • On-Campus Jobs
    Getting an on-campus job is a great way to start building work experience even as a freshman. For information on federal work-study, see the Financial Aid Office website.

    SJSU Handshake is the main source for on and off campus employment opportunities, but here are some other campus employers to check out: Associated Students, Student Union, Spartan Eats, Martin Luther King Jr. Library, Police Department, Orientation Leaders, Peer Connections, Writing Center, Resident Advisors/Housing

    Campus Departments and Organizations
    Getting involved on campus is one of the easiest ways to build experience as a student at SJSU. 

    Here are some places to start: Student Organizations, Associated Students (including Student Government and Cesar E. Chavez Community Action Center), MOSAIC Cross Cultural Center, Gender Equity Center, PRIDE Center, UndocuSpartan Resource Center, Chicanx/Latinx Student Success Center, Black Leadership and Opportunity Center (the BLOC), and the Veteran's Resource Center

• Off-Campus Opportunties

  • SJSU Handshake is the main source for on and off-campus employment opportunities. Here are some types of opportunities to search for: Part-Time Jobs, Internships, Volunteer Opportunities

Now that you have built your experience, learn how to communicate that experience to potential employers in Launch Your Career.

Stay on track by following Your Roadmap to Career Success [pdf] and the Build Experience Guide [pdf]. For more help, meet with a career counselor.