I know what you’re thinking.

The holidays are over and you didn’t get Rock Band for your XBox, you survived two weeks with your parents, and you’re probably starting to lose motivation for the quarter already. Midterms are looming and just thinking about finals week makes you sick. You’re mentally preparing to spend the next several months hibernating, until the sun makes an appearance in, oh, June.

But, before you give up on January completely, remember that Career Discovery Week is just around the corner (it’s next week!), and can give you new motivation to not fall asleep in class! There are sessions designed for everyone, and can give you the perfect opportunity to network and explore…whether you’re graduating in June or in 2011.

The first few days of Career Discovery Week are chock-full of great sessions, including workshops on how to find a job, studying abroad, finding a major and putting together your first resume.

So, get out there and check it out! Don’t forget your resume and your smile!

In case you’ve had your head buried in that chemistry textbook (really, really deep), you might have noticed that we inaugurated a new president yesterday. As millions watched from the Capitol Mall, President Barack Obama spoke of the past, present and future, calling for a “new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world…”

Heavy stuff, but inspiring. It’s a call to change the world, but also to look within. To make sure we’re responsible for ourselves and our lives. Isn’t finding the right career path that will inspire and energize you a key part of that? Start checking out CDW events to find that passion.

Find out about ways to make a difference with events about non-profits and social services. Maybe you won’t become Secretary of State quite yet, but learn about Working in the Public Sector: Careers in Government on Jan. 30th.

Here’s to changing the world (and ourselves)!

I can’t believe Career Discovery Week is next week! January is really flying by, and of course we’re already into midterms and exams, gross. If you haven’t already, check out the Career Discovery Week’s Facebook page.
There are some fun pictures of public figures around campus sporting our awesome buttons. Those ASUW folks sure know how to pull off those buttons; I wonder where they got their fabulous sense of style.

I know from experience that it can be intimidating to go to stuff like Career Discovery Week, that it can take a lot of initiative that sometimes we students can’t seem to find between class, homework and our extracurricular activities. I promise though, that Career Discovery Week will be worth your while. Invite your friends to join the Facebook group, and go to sessions together! It’s a great way to jumpstart your future and what do you have to lose, anyways?

It’s not Career Discovery Week yet, but it’s already started! Does that sentence not make any sense? Well, it’s because even though CDW is officially Jan. 26-30, there’s just too much to fit in one week. So there’s plenty of options both before and after the main week.

Last night, the week that’s not a week officially began with Careerpalooza. Thanks to all those that took part! Check out the 10 other pre-week events at UW Seattle. If you could use a few pointers on nailing job interviews, we’re offering two different workshops. If you’re just starting to think about building a resume, we’ve got an event for you. Trust us, it’s never too early to start building a good resume. If you wait too long, you forget all those amazing things you did. Or at least you forget exactly when bagging groceries in high school. Not that we’re speaking from experience.

Anyway, hope to see you at some CDW events. Check out the event guide to find what’s right for you. Unfortunately there’s no workshops on how to get that great job helping old ladies out to their cars.

Read about something you really want to do, then forget about it an hour later? It happens to the best of us. We know you’ve got a busy schedule, so we’ve launched MyCDW. You can use it to save all those CDW events that sound interesting — take a look.

You can come back later and add more to your list. We’ll even send an email reminder about events that you’ve saved. And look for more features in the coming week.

You’ll need your UW NetID to use MyCDW. No problem if you’re a student. If you’re an alum who doesn’t have one, read about how to sign up.

A wise person once said the key to success is knowing where to go and when to be there. Same goes to planning your life in January with Career Discovery Week. Good news–we’ve launched the 2009 Event Guide. You’ll see the date, time and location for all our events!

Be gentle when kicking the tires, we’re still adding lots more info including descriptions and list of panelists who will be there imparting wisdom. All that coming soon so keep checking.

We wanted to get you time and dates now so you can start blocking off your calendar. You wondering what to do on Thursday, Jan. 29? I know I am. Here’s one plan:

- Morning: Get up (or sleep in while you still can), go to class. Maybe take a nap in the library. Do some research. Hit the IMA. Take another nap.

- Lunch: Pagliacci at the HUB? Maybe some pho or thai food on the Ave? This time can be used for napping as well.

- 1:30 p.m. - Wake up, it’s time for your first CDW event of the day! Check out Careers in Health Care Management. People are getting older, you know there will be plenty of health care jobs, no matter the state of the economy. And the thought of using a scalpel makes you a little queasy.

- 3:30 p.m. - How about teaching? Maybe you want to help mold future generations. Or maybe you just like playing with glue sticks. Either way, Teaching the Three Rs: Becoming an Elementary School Teacher sounds about your style.

- 5 p.m. - Just the thought of dressing up, grabbing the resume and going to an interview makes you angsty. Well, find out how to ace ‘em at Employer Panel: Successful Interviews. Remember, if they ask if you want something to drink, don’t ask for coffee. Especially if you’re clumsy. And wearing your only nice shirt.

- 6:30 p.m. - Speaking of dressing up, do you picture yourself jetting from London to Mumbai in a fancy suit? End your day  with Careers in International Business.

And those are just some of the CDW events in Seattle. Check out Bothell and Tacoma as well!

The Career Discovery Week team on all three UW campuses has been busy the past few months and we’re proud to finally pull back that red velvet curtain. Get a sneak preview of all the 2009 CDW events! We’ll be adding details about all the cool workshops, panels and other casual, informative ways you can discover career possibilities in this tough economic climate.

I think we can guarantee there will be something for everyone–we’ve set a new record with 152 different events. Want to be in business but think green? Check out “Corporate Green Strategies– Tackling Today’s Issues.” Thinking you don’t want your time at the university to end? Maybe you should investigate “Non-Faculty Positions in Universities for People with Graduate Degrees.” Does the process of finding a job strike fear in your heart? Get some help with “Networking for Shy People & Others.”

We hope to see you in January. Stay tuned as we add info about speakers and time/location for all the events.

Man, time flies here at the Career Discovery Week world headquarters. Seems like just yesterday that we were spreading the word about the 147 events that were part of the January 2008 edition.

As with exploring your career options, the CDW HQ believes it’s never too earlier to start planning. So we’re gearing up now for the 2009 edition of Career Discovery Week! It’s all going down on January 26-30, 2009 at UW Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma. Our superstar committee are busy planning all the fun now, so if you have any questions or want to get involved, give them a holler at careerwk@u.washington.edu.

Did we mention that 2009 will mark the 10 year anniversary of UW’s Career Discovery Week? It’s grown to one of the biggest events of its kind! We get a little misty-eyed looking back. Plus we laugh a little. Check out the “awesome” Husky guide to the 2002 Career Week site. That was the third annual edition. We’re not sure what happened to the web pages for #1 and #2, but after looking at the 2002 site, we imagine a little animated “under construction” icon was involved.

In 2003, we added “Discovery” to the title as well as a compass. Get it? Discovery … compass. So clever. Apparently we thought it was clever enough that we sent our designer out looking for compasses again and again.

Anyway, just thought we’d share a little CDW lore. Keep checking this site for more information about everything that’s happening in 2009!

Thanks to all those who attended CDW events on the 3 UW campuses last week - we had an amazing turnout!

Yet there were so many panels, fairs and other events that we couldn’t fit them all into one week. We had a bunch of sessions happening before the Week officially kicked off and more after it’s over. Being the great marketing brains we are, we thought of calling it “Career Discovery Two or Three Weeks Plus a Couple Other Events Happening Way Before/After.” Doesn’t quite roll off the tongue the same way, does it?

So we’ll keep it simple — that the fun’s not over yet. There are 9 more events at UW Seattle and a talk about Careers in International Management at UW Bothell.

And don’t forget about Husky Career Lunch on Feb. 20th where UW alumni and friends sit down and chat about more than 25 different career fields. It’s fun, informal and a great way to get some face time with people working in jobs that interest you (or at least sound cool).

Even you’re just barely sticking your toes in the think-about-my-career waters, you’ll get some good advice. And you get lunch. Coordinating where everyone sits isn’t easy, so you have to register in advance.

Biology’s Mr. Bones got really into Career Discovery Week this year:

Here’s UW lecturer Michael Strausz modeling a Career Discovery Week shirt while teaching a Political Science class: