With internship deadlines approaching and TCU\u2019s Spring Career & Intern Expo<\/a> set to take place on Feb. 18, career advisors said students should focus on preparation and exploration, rather than feeling pressured to commit to a specific career path too early.<\/p>\n The Center for Career & Professional Development<\/a> encouraged students to engage with career planning early in their college experience, but advisors emphasized that early involvement does not necessarily mean securing an internship immediately.<\/p>\n Career consultants said misconceptions about recruiting timelines and heightened visibility of peers\u2019 achievements can create unnecessary urgency.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like a big misconception students have with the recruiting timeline is, specifically in Schieffer, is that their timeline must match those in the Neeley School of Business<\/a>. I feel like this can be a bit discouraging to see their peers already having a job lined up post-grad,\u201d Shelby Giammattei, a career consultant for the Bob Schieffer College of Communication<\/a>, said. \u201cI just try to help my students understand that if they\u2019re looking for a PR internship or a job in sports marketing, they\u2019re not going to find it immediately and it\u2019s more common to find that later in the semester.\u201d<\/p>\n The upcoming Career & Intern Expo is intended to serve students at all stages, according to advisors, whether they are actively applying for internships or simply learning about industries and employers.<\/p>\n Career consultants said attending career fairs can help students understand expectations, practice networking skills and identify interests without the pressure of leaving with a job offer.<\/p>\n Career readiness messaging across campus encourages students to start developing their resumes early. While career resources are designed to support long-term success, career advisors said students should view them as tools that can be used flexibly, rather than benchmarks they must meet by a certain time.<\/p>\n Despite this guidance, students said the competitive job market and early recruiting cycles make it difficult to not feel like they are falling behind. Students say social media can further amplify the pressure because LinkedIn posts announcing new roles or internships often highlight outcomes without showing the full process behind them.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m stressed because it feels like our generation is expected to have everything figured out by graduation, even though the job market keeps changing,\u201d said Mims Hammond, a junior fashion merchandising major who delayed applying for internships until this year. \u201cIt\u2019s harder to know what the right path is when opportunities are so competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n Career advisors said that while internships can be valuable, career paths are rarely linear. Changing majors, taking gap summers or pursuing nontraditional work experiences can still provide transferable skills and clarity.<\/p>\n \u201cI applied to work at The Lair, a family camp near Yosemite that\u2019s run by UC Berkeley alumni, because it\u2019s a really cool environment and a lot of people my age work there,\u201d said Trey Collins, a sophomore communication studies major. \u201cI\u2019m not overly stressed about finding an internship for my major yet, because I know I still have time to figure out what I want to do, and this feels like a good experience for where I am right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Advisors emphasized that career development unfolds differently for everyone and that using campus resources at any stage can help students gain clarity, confidence and direction even if the path ahead is still taking shape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As internship season continues and the career fair approaches, career advisers said students should prioritize learning, networking and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":166784,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":{"0":"post-166783","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-fort-worth","9":"tag-fort-worth-headlines","10":"tag-fort-worth-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/TCU-CAREER-CENTER-LinkedIn-Workshop-475x317.jpg\")
The Center for Career and Professional Development office is located on the first floor of Jarvis Hall. (Photo by Brandon Ucker) (TCU School of Journalism)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_9600-450x600.jpeg\")
\u2018Hire a Frog\u2019 sign welcomes students to the TCU Career & Intern Expo, setting the stage for networking and job opportunities. (Bailey Bates)<\/p>\n