In my last article, I went over the importance of building your career while in school and how working on it early can help you stay competitive in a tough job market.

These are some of the more specific steps I took to transition from a successful student into a successful professional, which any student and even grads can use to help make their own transitions go more smoothly.

Step 1: Goal setting and prioritizing-what do you want?

The first and most often overlooked step to addressing your career aspirations while you're a student is to simply ask yourself what you want. It's about finding your motivation.

Finding motivation can be hard for many students, especially if you are in a more general program (social sciences, arts, etc.). While I was a student, I was driven by competition with my peers who were already getting work experience in first year.

Paying a visit to your school career services or doing targeted Internet searches in your first or second year may prove to be very useful in discovering what drives you. Once you get an idea of what type of work or projects you want to be doing, then you can take the appropriate steps to get there.

Step 2: Research

Once you know what you want to do (or at least want to try), it's time to do your homework. What I noticed about successful students was the knowledge they had about the industry they wanted to work in before they looked for internships.

For instance, during first year, I met a student who took classes to become fluent in Mandarin. His goal was to work in international business and he saw China's economy as an important target. This is an example of what some students are willing to do to ensure they start their careers on the right track.

I'm not necessarily saying you have to learn a new language (though it's probably not a bad idea in certain fields), but you should do extensive research to find out which skills and experiences are valued in the field you want to work in.

Step 3: Apply and network

Younger students tend to have the most difficulty with these two aspects because they either don't know when or where to apply, or they are too intimidated or introverted to network. The good news is all of these obstacles are easy to overcome because of the previous two steps.

Goal setting allows you to narrow your field so you know where to apply. For example, if you want to work in accounting, start applying to CA firms and attending CA events; or if you want to become a social worker, apply for summer jobs through your city's social services (they often hire many summer students) or check out not-for-profit sites such as CharityVillage.com.

Research will also help you overcome any hesitations you may have toward networking. While it can be intimidating to talk to professionals, if you do your research, you have the chance to impress them and stand out from the crowd.

I got into the telecommunications industry through prior research and networking, so I know first-hand the benefits of completing all three steps.

Step 4: Put it all together and continue to grow

This is the step I am working on right now in my own career. Once you've set your goals, done your research, and applied and networked appropriately, it is time to put it all together and continue to do it repeatedly. Everything is constantly changing and, if you want to remain competitive, you should evolve with it as well.

After you land your first internship, try setting new goals, such as, "I will aim to return next term with higher pay or a better position," and do some research about how the position you were in relates to industry trends and where you can go from there.

Two things that never change are applying and networking. Positions and opportunities always open up and you should never stop applying. The same can be said for networking, as you never know whom you are going to meet and where that relationship may get you.

Within the next day or two, I encourage you to go out of your normal circle of friends. Meet some of the students you never talk to. Get to know a senior, a teaching assistant, a professor or someone outside your program. I guarantee you will learn something new or gain a new resource to help launch your career.

Even when the economy is not recovering from a recession, getting an entry-level job can be a daunting task for many new grads and it has become increasingly important to get a head start on your career while you're still a student.

Here, I share some of my own personal stories as a student trying to gain experience, what makes successful students and professionals, and the steps someone in university should take to overcome competition and start their careers off the right way!

I still remember my first university lecture. I was both nervous and excited, and I didn't have a clue as to how or where I would end up four years later.

The professor congratulated us for making it that far, but told us to look to our left and to our right because one of those people would not make it to graduation with the rest of us. Although cliché, that line still resonates with me because it introduced me to the concept of competition in university: To survive after graduation, you need to start your career while you're still a student!

The realization

As I buckled down for exams toward the end of my first semester, I overheard a conversation between two of my peers during an accounting lecture. They were talking about how, during the summer, they would be working for KPMG.

"Wait a minute," I thought to myself. "They're only 18 and they're about to start work terms with one of the biggest accounting firms in the world?" This was a revelation for me because I realized I also had to keep up with my fellow students in terms of work experience.

What I did

Frightened at the thought of falling behind, I turned my attention to finding out what options I had and where I could start applying for professional internships to build my career.

What added to my motivation was the fact that most of my peers were in co-op programs, leaving me at a disadvantage as a student trying to gain experience.

Here are a few things I did that helped me, and can help you, too:

Talk to students who have already secured summer internships and co-ops

Befriending people from your program, and other programs, too, to build a network is one of the best things you can do as a student. Not only will it enhance your social life, but also it increases your resources and enriches your whole university experience.

Reach out to campus recruiters

I sent more than 50 e-mails and made about 20 cold calls in the hope of getting to know a recruiter or even landing an interview. The good news is my relentless contacting helped me land some hard-to-get interviews, which helped me refine my skills and gave me a taste of the corporate world.

Make use of organizations that help students get internships

I joined one of these organizations and, within a month, I was trained in everything from building a résumé to meeting management at large companies. I was confident, possessed the appropriate business etiquette and had some value-added training to add to my résumé. With all this, I was able to land my first job with a large multinational company - the wheels of my career were finally in motion!

The result

Upon graduation, I had very strong marketing experience on my résumé, as well as the intangible "soft skills" that many employers covet in new grads.

I urge first- and second-year university students to think about their careers early to remain competitive. By doing so, you will not only open yourself up to new opportunities, but you will also develop intangible skills, such as the ability to network, as well as industry and HR knowledge, which are essential to your success.

Whether you have mapped out your career path or not, it is never too early or too late to take advantage of the resources offered by your university or college's career services centre.

I recently spoke with a career consultant at Wilfrid Laurier University who compared choosing your career to choosing which laptop or cell phone to buy: you need to do research. Unfortunately, while most students will do some research when buying their next cell phone or laptop, many won't put in the time and energy it takes to research and identify career options.

Workshops

Check out your school's career services website to find out about workshops available to students.  If you are interested in getting hands-on help for résumé writing, cover letter writing, interview skills, job fair tactics or anything else career-related, your career services centre will be able to direct you to the workshop, person or resources you need.

Your school's career services centre may offer career aptitude or personality testing workshops to help you narrow down your career options.  Whether or not you value such tests, career testing is a great starting point for discussing career options with a career counsellor.

Career counselling services offered outside of a university or college can be very expensive.  Fortunately, as a university or college student or graduate, your school's career centre likely offers free career counselling both before and after graduating.

Career counsellors are experts in their field.  Whether you have solid goals or zero direction, visiting a career counsellor armed with questions and concerns is a great place to either begin building a career plan or to solidify your current career plans.

Connect with alumni

Employees at your school's career centre likely know of former students following a similar career direction as you.  Get in contact with your career services centre and ask if they offer alumni contacts or alumni profiles of graduates who are working in the field you are interested in.

Choosing a career direction may be one of the most important decisions you make while in university. Take advantage of the staff and resources your school's career centre offers; after all, you do want your career to last longer than your latest cell phone purchase, right?

Liberal arts degrees are a great preparation for a great many careers.

Not having a prescribed set of careers you must pursue can be both a tremendous freedom and a bit of a headache.

Without that equation of "x degree = y career," how do you figure out which career is for you?

There are two ways to get started: you can start with the degree and/or you can start with you.

Start with the degree

What career paths often follow this degree?

• What have past grads done with that degree? Speak with people in your department (staff and faculty) and see if you can find out what previous students in your field have gone on to do. Check to see if your department invites any alumni back for career panels so that you can hear graduates' career stories and ask questions.
• Consult "careers by discipline" lists. There are lots of books and lists of "What to do with a degree in ..." For example, many university career centres will have books with titles like "Great Jobs for Liberal Arts Majors," "Careers in Psychology" and "Great Jobs for Biology Majors."

Start with you

What are you interested in, and what career paths relate to that? You can ask yourself some questions to start narrowing down what types of careers might be things that you could find satisfying.

• What are my interests?
• What type of environment would I like to work in?
• What are some of the kinds of work I've always been attracted to?
• What are some things I know I really don't want to do?

The wonderful thing about your career path is that you get to construct it. There is a lot of flexibility and space for creativity. But it can be hard to get started without some information about what is out there, and what might be a good fit for you.

If you'd like a helping hand along the way as you research and contemplate your options, I'd highly recommend checking out what your career centre has to offer. Speaking with a career counsellor can help you get focused. They can help you explore yourself and what makes you tick (they'll often refer to this as "self-assessment"), and point you to resources based on your interests - saving you lots of time by focusing your research.

Best wishes!

Cathy Keates is the director of Career Considerations and the author of Not For Sale! Why We Need A New Job Search Mindset