So at this point in our wonderful adventure on the journey towards real adulthood, we’ve all taken the time to perfect those resumes, right? I sure hope so.
For those of us who may be struggling to put how that one summer spent as a camp counselor makes us a way better candidate than the kid who didn’t spend his summer dying in 100+ degree heat with a bunch of third graders (and, well, for anyone really), there’s a pretty solid resource on campus for working on career development.
It is called the Career Services Office, and it is located in the University Center right around the corner from Einstein’s. Convenient, right? I had the chance last week to interview Amanda Walker, the director of Career Services, and get more insight on how their office can help you as a student.
For starters, Career Services is open to all students, regardless of class or major. They want to help student figure out how to stay competitive in the job market. According to Walker, the goal of Career Services is to “help students transition from academia to the world of work by providing them with opportunities to develop personally and professionally.”
For those of us who may not be totally into booking an appointment and having face-to-face conversations about the fact that we’re college students with no idea about what comes next, Career Services also has an online tool, Jobs4Govs, which can be used to create mock interviews, check of the cost of living in cities (both domestic and international) and upload a resume.
For those of us who are totally okay with booking an appointment, the office is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every weekday and is in UC 210 (right next to the staircase).
There’s also an internship and job fair held every spring in the UC Ballroom. This year it will take place on March 30 from 1p.m. – 3 p.m.
I went to this event last year and was very underprepared. My advice to anyone interested in going is this: write your resume, start working on it now and take it with you to the fair. Make business cards that you can hand out, and start working on your elevator pitch. Last year the event was split into halves, the first being the internship fair and the second being the career fair; both halves were very informational. They give students the opportunity to speak to individuals currently active in many areas of career expertise, and to start making relationships with potential future employers.
So, long story short, if you feel that you’re stuck, or would like a second opinion, run over to the Career Services office. It is a free and valuable resource for students. If you think you are ready to hop into your dream career then start preparing for the internship and job fair in March, because you never know who you’ll end up impressing.
