Welcome Overview
Mission Statement
The Office of Career Strategy (OCS) offers career advising, professional school advising, employment and internship opportunities, and career development resources. The office works with students and alums of Yale College, Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and postdoctoral scholars to clarify career aspirations, identify opportunities, and offer support at every stage of career development. Designing Your Career @ Yale is generously supported by The Hastings Foundation.
About the tool and exploration process
This tool is interactive and can be accomplished at your own pace. If this is your first time accessing it, we suggest you work your way through the steps in order. If you are at different stages of your academic or professional career, begin where you feel it is most beneficial for you. It is recommended that you take notes as you progress through this tool, as there are several exercises to help you explore.
Design Process
Design Thinking is a process for building your way forward through enlightened trial and error, driven by empathy for the user. What will you do after you graduate? Which career paths make sense for you? If these questions are swirling in your mind, and you are unsure how to approach them, Designing Your Career @ Yale is for you. It uses Stanford University’s innovative approach of applying Design Thinking principles to life and career decision-making.
We have all been asked, What do you want to be when you grow up? Whether you are fifteen or fifty, figuring out what you’re going to do with your life remains a fundamental challenge. But there’s more to it than just having that One True Plan; after all life is about growth and change. We can’t expect things to always work out the way we think they will. What we need is a process for figuring out where we are, what we want, and how we can build our way to a life we love.
—from the Stanford Design Materials
A well-designed life is a life that is generative—it is constantly creative, productive, changing, evolving, and there is always the possibility of surprise.
The Design Process is individual and will yield different results for each person at different stages of their development. Whether you’re new to college, a current undergraduate, a recent graduate, or looking for a transition midcareer, we encourage you to return to this process every now and then.