Career Essentials
Career Essentials is a career-readiness program that enables students to develop and practice their skills in communication, public speaking, resume writing, time management, and other workplace expectations. Through a series of 10 workshops (traditionally held after-school), students gain valuable professional skills, explore potential career pathways, and network with other NYC high school students.
Advanced Career Essentials is an eight-workshop professional development series for students who want to deepen their technical skills and workplace competencies before starting a job or internship. Building on the foundations of Career Essentials, this series emphasizes practical, in-demand hard skills and tools that today’s employers consistently look for.
Created in direct response to feedback from interns and supervisors, Advanced Career Essentials tackles the most common skill gaps students face in professional environments. Participants gain hands-on experience with essential career tools and systems, including strengthening communication skills, using project-management platforms, building proficiency in Microsoft Excel, organizing information with spreadsheets and databases, and navigating workplace technology and digital workflows.
Offered each spring semester, the program is open to juniors and seniors who want additional support as they prepare for internships or part-time jobs. Freshman and sophomore students who have completed Career Essentials are also welcome and encouraged to apply.
What I enjoyed most was meeting mentors and getting more insight into building relationships with professionals and my peers.
–Melanie Robinson, Career Essentials
How Career Essentials Works
- New York City high school students within the five boroughs are eligible to apply. We welcome applications from students who are interested in expanding their work-readiness skills and want to network with their peers and learn from real employers.
- Students attend 10 workshops that meet for two hours after school during either the fall or spring semesters. Students must commit to being on time to and attending all workshops and events associated with the Career Essentials program.
- Students work in teams to develop companies complete with mission statements, staffing plans, and marketing strategies for their Create-A-Company projects. Each team presents their company projects during the final workshop.
- Students will take field trips with our various employer partners to learn more about potential career pathways. Past trips have included visits with BlackRock, Salesforce, Voya Financial, among many others.
The Spring Career Essentials application is now open! The deadline to apply is February 18.
Please contact programquestions@futuresandoptions.org or call the Futures and Options office at 212-601-0002 if you have any questions.
