CSM provides career support for students and alumnae
Higher institutions helping students and alumni with career goals
- By Lee Nelson / Midlands Business Journal staff writer -
More and more colleges and universities are giving their students and graduates more help when it comes to guiding them into the right career.
For instance, the career services at Chadron State College in Chadron assists students with resume writing and editing, plus interview preparation and practice if they want it.
"As part of a consortium of Nebraska colleges, we subscribe to a job board platform called Job Zone," said Deena Kennell, director, internships and careers services. "Students can create a profile, which includes their resume and can search jobs posted by all consortium institutions and employers can also search resumes."
They also assist alumni with the same services provided to current students.
"We offer three hiring events during the school year a traditional career fair in the fall and spring semester, and a hiring event for education majors in the spring called Teacher Interview Day," she said. "Workshops and programming are available by request."
Stephanie Jeannette, career coach at Bellevue University Career Services Center, said the university offers a variety of resources to aid in career exploration.
"We can assist in setting up informational interviews with professionals, as well as job shadowing in person or virtually. We utilize assessments and one-on-one coaching appointments to help students who need guidance to find a career that fits their interests and personality," she said.
Bellevue career staff offer resources to get started on writing a results-oriented resume, and then review the resume and suggest revisions, Jeannette said.
"Students and alumni can schedule a mock interview with us or use Interview- Stream, a video mock interview software, which we can review and use to provide feedback," she said.
It also provides a website with resources to answer a variety of career questions, a virtual job shadowing program, assessments and an online job platform.
Michelle Perone, director of career and financial literacy programs at College of Saint Mary, also offers resume and cover letter reviews, mock interviews, employment and internship listings, career navigation and assessments for students.
"We strive to tailor our services to suit the career planning needs of each student on an individualized basis," she said. "Career development is so much more than writing a compelling resume. The future leaders of our workforce need to learn how to effectively manage the transition from college to career. We provide the foundation to enable them to successfully complete that transition from the moment they become a student until graduation."
Recently, the college did workshops on interviewing, personal branding, business etiquette, understanding credit and budgeting. Services are extended to alumni, too.
Julie Taylor-Costello, director of academic success at Clarkson College, said the college makes an effort to work with all students whether they are on campus or online.
"I would venture to say that helping students in their search for meaningful employment may include some hot new trends here and there. But at its core, it really doesn't look much different than it did in the past," Taylor-Costello said. "The focus will always be on helping students gain the knowledge and skills that they need to stand out from all other applications."
Career guidance and counseling discussions should be part of the conversations, staring with admissions all the way through to graduation.
"Students need to know that the college as a whole wants to see them succeed. By weaving career-focused conversations into all areas, the discussions of career guidance become the norm for students," she said. "In the future, we will begin offering two or three career-focused workshops per semester as well as one or two over the summer to help students work on more than just their resume writing skills."
