Graduate Career Pre-Work

Before you begin building your professional story or exploring opportunities, it's important to establish a strong foundation. These tools and resources will help you understand your strengths, connect with career support, and gain access to the platforms you'll use throughout your time at Bentley. 

Activate Your Career Platforms

Gain access to the tools that connect Bentley students with jobs, internships, employer events, and career coaching. Set up HireGrad, Handshake, and Interstride (recommended for international students) to ensure you're ready to take advantage of opportunities from day one.

Complete CareerLeader

CareerLeader is a self-assessment designed to help you better understand your interests, motivations, and strengths. By completing the assessment and reviewing your results, you'll gain valuable insights that can help guide your career exploration and future decision-making.

Steps to complete CareerLeader:

• Go to CareerLeader and select Register/Sign In (top right).
• Under Users, click First Time?
• Register with your Bentley email and key: bentley-drum
• Create a password and log in. Passwords may only include uppercase, lowercase, or numbers.
• Complete your profile to access the dashboard and begin the three assessments.
• After finishing all sections, access results via the dashboard tiles.

Schedule a Coaching Appointment

Meet with a Career Coach to discuss your goals, review your assessment results, and begin building a personalized career strategy. Starting this conversation early can help you make the most of the opportunities available to you throughout your Bentley experience. Meetings are by appointment only via HireGrad.

Watch the Career Success Foundations Webinar

Join Sean Ferguson, Vice President of Strategy and Innovation, and members of the GCD team for the first webinar in our pre-work series. In addition to meeting GCD, you will be introduced to key career platforms, resources, and CareerLeader insights to help you prepare for your career journey ahead.

Career Success Foundations

Your professional story is how you communicate your experiences, skills, and goals to employers. Through your resume, LinkedIn profile, and feedback tools, you'll create materials that help employers understand who you are and what you have to offer.

Watch the Storytelling Through Resumes Webinar

This workshop will cover how to create and refine your resume(s) for your opportunity search, from the header through to your final resume section. 

• Expect to learn the two GCD-approved templates, based on early, mid, or career-changers.
• Understand formatting needs and nice-to-haves (from an AI and HR perspective).
• Strengthen content.
• Streamline design and flow.

Storytelling Through Resumes

Create Your Resume

Use Bentley-approved resume templates to develop a clear and professional resume that highlights your experiences, accomplishments, and involvement. Your resume will serve as a key tool throughout your career journey.

Upload Your Resume

Once you've used our template, upload your resume to your profile on HireGrad so it's ready to be reviewed during future coaching appointments and employer interactions.

Watch the Storytelling Through LinkedIn Webinar

Your LinkedIn profile is often the first impression you make on employers. In this interactive session, you'll learn how to craft a compelling headline, strengthen your summary, and position your experiences to tell a cohesive professional story. Walk away with a clearer, more polished LinkedIn presence that highlights your strengths and helps you stand out.

Storytelling Through LinkedIn

Build Your LinkedIn Profile

Create or update your LinkedIn profile using our checklist. A strong profile can help employers find you, expand your professional network, and support your internship and job search efforts.

Once you've built your foundation and developed your professional story, it's time to put your preparation into action. These activities will help you approach the job market with purpose and begin building momentum toward your goals.

Watch the Job Search Strategy Webinar

"The Two-Hour Job Search" by Steve Dalton is a practical system for making career exploration more focused, manageable, and action-oriented. Building upon the Seed-Tend-Harvest career model foundation, you will expand your visibility in the market and grow your network supporters by generating a prioritized employer target list, identifying alumni connections, leading low-stress informational conversations, and systemizing follow-up communications. By using this strategy you will gain:

• A low-pressure way to begin networking.
• A system for building confidence through action.
• A practical path for turning strangers into advocates.

Job Search Strategy

Learn the Job Search Framework

Review the assigned materials The 2-Hour Job Search Process Map and Checklist and Bentley LAMP List to understand Bentley's approach to career development and job searching. This framework will provide a structured way to think about career exploration, networking, and opportunity identification. Note: The 2-Hour Job Search Process Map and Checklist suggests 40 dream companies, however we are only asking for 10 during your pre-work.

Build a Target Company List

Identify 10 organizations that align with your interests, values, and career goals. Creating a focused list of target employers can help make your search more intentional and manageable.

Take Your First Action

Begin building professional connections by reaching out to a contact, engaging with an employer, or taking another networking step. Small actions taken early can build confidence and create momentum as you begin your career journey.