Services Provided

One of the biggest decisions you will make as a student is deciding on your major and what that means job-wise after graduation...but sometimes it can be an overwhelming decision. Career counseling can help you know who you are and understand how your uniqueness fits into your decision on your major or job after graduation. We want to help you not only make these important decisions now, but to empower you with knowledge and skills you will need to make future career and life decisions.

What can I expect?

• Appointments for career counseling are scheduled for 60 minutes. Since career counseling is a process, be prepared to meet with your counselor more than once to discuss your educational and career goals.
• Your career counselor is a person with training and credentials in the field of counseling, skilled in how to help you sort out and make sense of your thoughts and feelings so you can make a decision you are comfortable with. (All of our career counselors have at minimum of a Master's degree in Counseling or a related field)
• Your career counselor will help you locate and explore sources of career information. They might also provide referral to campus or community resources as needed to assist you.
• Your career counselor will help you develop a plan (both short term and ongoing) to prepare you to achieve your goals.
• Your career counselor WON'T tell you what to do, what you should major in, or what career you should pursue. Our goal is to serve as a fellow traveler along your journey to forming your own conclusions and making your own decisions.

Whether you are applying for an on-campus or part-time job while a student, applying for an internship, or getting ready to apply to your first "real" job after graduation, it will be necessary for you to have the skills and knowledge to write a quality resume and cover letter. Our office can provide guidance on getting your documents ready so you highlight your skills, qualities, and experiences to get called in for an interview!

What can I expect?

• Resume and cover letter reviews are 60 minute appointments. It is ideal for these appointments to be face-to-face, but we can schedule a phone appointment or an email review IF you request this and make arrangements to send over your documents prior to the appointment. It is expected that students will bring a hard copy of their documents to a face-to-face appointment.
• Appointments are designed to provide feedback on formatting and resume writing guidelines tailored to your job search or current needs. Be prepared to discuss the job you are applying to or industry you are looking at applying to during your appointment to help guide the conversation. Our staff are trained to help assist you in tailoring your resume or cover letter so you capitalize on your experience and skills to show an employer you are the candidate they want. We will not write your resume or cover letter for you!

So you landed a job interview...GREAT! But feeling a little freaked out about what to expect? We can help! You can schedule a mock interview or consultation with members of our staff. We will do our very best to tailor it to your upcoming interview.

What can I expect?

• Mock interviews are scheduled a bit differently, and require you to submit a "Student Request Form" through the "Schedule a Mock Interview" section under the "Students" tab on the Career Services website.
• Mock interview appointments are scheduled for 60 minutes, with approximately 30 minutes for the interview portion and 30 minutes for review of your interview with a Career Services staff member.
• Once your request is approved and scheduled, you will receive the name of the staff member you are meeting with and any other additional details.
• We treat mock interviews like actual interviews. Plan to arrive 10-15 minutes beforehand. Dress professionally and bring with you any documents or materials you think you would bring to the actual interview. Not only will we provide feedback on your answers to prepared interview questions, but also give feedback on: clothing & appearance, body language & demeanor, overall level of preparedness, and discuss the follow-up process. If you present yourself as you plan to for your actual interview, we can provide you more accurate feedback during your practice interview. Remember, you are doing this to reduce your anxiety, get answers to your interviewing concerns, and work to modify these so you can rock your interview when you have to do it for real!

We meet with students and alumni to discuss how to begin the process of searching for a job or internship. It can be hard to know exactly who is hiring in your industry, what job titles and descriptions actually mean, or maybe what you want to do with your major following graduation.

What can I expect?

Appointments for job/internship search assistance are scheduled for 60 minutes. The topic areas could vary, but generally speaking, these are just a few of the questions or concerns students have when making these type of appointments:

• "I don't know where to start looking for jobs."
• "I need help finding an internship."
• "I feel like I don't know how to network. Can you help me?"
• "I want to become a ______ who is hiring for this?"
• "I've heard about this thing called LinkedIn...can you help me create my profile?"
• "I am majoring in ________ but I am having a hard time searching for jobs with this major. Can you help me?"
• "I have no idea what kind of salaries to expect with my major and level of experience."
• "I think I might need to go to graduate school. Can you help me figure this out and look at options?"

A staff member will need to ask you questions related to your experiences, skills, values, personality, and career goals in order to provide you guidance and assistance in accessing resources relevant to your search. You could have multiple appointments depending upon your needs, but the process will be focused, short-term and goal-oriented. Where career counseling appointments are more reflective (understanding you) a career coaching appointment is more educational (learn about/implement resources).

Our goal is to help you learn about the tools and build your skills for the job search process. We do not "place" students in internships or jobs or have influence on the hiring process.

For certain career paths, continuing your academics after completing your undergraduate degree might be a necessity or increase career options beyond what you can expect with a Bachelor's degree. Other students choose graduate school programs to increase a knowledge base or focus area beyond what they studied as an undergraduate. Whatever your interest might be in graduate school, we can help you sort out and make sense of:

• Whether or not you need graduate school
• Researching schools or programs
• The application process (timelines, testing requirements, interview preparation, etc.)
• Review of application materials (personal statements, resumes/CV's etc.)

What can I expect?

Appointments for graduate/professional school preparation are scheduled for 60 minutes. Follow-up appointments may be recommended depending upon where a student is in the decision-making process on attending graduate/professional school.

Stop in without a pre-scheduled appointment during our walk in hours Monday-Friday of regular semesters between 9am to 4pm. These brief meetings with a Career Services staff member (15 minute maximum per stop in) are great for:

• Resume/cover letter reviews
• Job/Internship search (assistance with REDHAWKjobs.com, Career Expo preparation, etc.)
• Social media & Networking (LinkedIn photo assistance, practice of 30-second pitch, etc.)
• Interview preparation (what to wear, what to take with you, questions to ask, etc.)

*If you and your Career Services staff member determine your needs warrant a scheduled appointment, this follow up meeting can be scheduled for a later date.