GPS for Your Career

Gateway provides students with directions to their first job.

GPS operates practically everywhere. It’s in your car.  It’s on your phone.  Road maps have become obsolete. Now all you have to do is type an address into a device, and up pops a turn-by-turn route to your destination.

Lafayette’s Gateway Program is like GPS for your career. You provide your passions and aspirations, and Career Services counselors will provide directions to your first job. Gateway outlines four steps for students of any major and at any stage of the career search to prepare for life after graduation. Each step coordinates with a class year and is designed to help students explore options, gain experience, and plan for the future.

Step 1 - First Year

  • Gateway counselors and student ambassadors help first-year students complete their “first-year map,” which evaluates how their interests, skills, and talents connect to specific career fields and opportunities for graduate studies. At a group Gateway orientation session, students learn how their whole Lafayette experience can benefit their long-term goals.

Justin Morales '18

Economics major from Brooklyn, N.Y.

“Starting early with Gateway makes me feel like I’m already setting myself up for success down the road. My Gateway counselor has shown me how to learn about companies and industries of interest, and helped me discover the skill of writing about myself in my resume and cover letter.”

Step 2 - Sophomore Year

  • Sophomores receive help developing a network of contacts and securing their first major career experiences. Career Services strongly encourages alumni-hosted externships (job-shadowing), which allow students to make valuable connections and observe a day in the life of someone with their desired career.

Olivia Sennett '17

Psychology major from Redding, Conn.

“The Gateway program has definitely helped me become more goal oriented by shaping my interests through experiences such as workshops and dinner panels. I’ve also learned about my talents and how I can apply them to the real world. When I pursued my passion for working with children through my two externships, I was able to cultivate my interests and start thinking about potential career paths.”

Step 3 - Junior Year

  • For juniors, the program helps them build their network of contacts, expand career-related skills, and focus on specific employers or graduate and professional schools. Juniors concentrate on serving internships, conducting informational interviews, and investigating schools.

Jacob Rubin '16

Neuroscience major from Palm Desert, Calif.

“When I was entering my junior year I was not sure where I should be in the process of applying to graduate schools. After a meeting with my Gateway counselor, I learned what to do early on in order to stay competitive for my future applications to graduate schools. It was exactly what I was looking for, and it set me up for a productive junior year."

Step 4 - Senior Year

  • Seniors begin their job search, research the organizations where they hope to interview, practice interviewing skills, and participate in on-campus and off-campus interviews and career fairs hosted by the Gateway program. For those who want to attend graduate school, Gateway can help them prepare applications and prepare for graduate school interviews.

Scarlett Jimenez '15

Project Engineer at Hunter Roberts Construction in NYC

Scarlett's summer internship with Hunter Roberts led directly to her current position with the company. “The Gateway program allowed me access to countless resources, including opportunities to practice and strengthen my interview skills with the Recruiters in Residence program," says the engineering studies graduate. "I also was able to access many networking opportunities, which in turn strengthened my confidence."