2008 Woodie Awards
Getting a Jump Start on Their Future
Emily Gravett
Issue date: 2/4/05 Section: News
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Several members of the Career Services staff gathered in the Persson Auditorium Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. to help juniors think about the upcoming summer and senior year.
The program, Junior Jump-Start, was started by Career Services last year when it sensed a need for students to become prepared for their futures.
Junior Troy Somero went for that very reason. "I figured now is as good of a time as ever to start thinking about employment after college, so I went to the presentation hoping to figure out what I can do now to start the search," he said.
Junior Adam Florek agreed. "I'm sure it would be intimidating if I was positively clueless next year," he said.
The staff hoped to ease the ignorance through their power-point presentation. They offered some statistics, "Things to Keep in Mind."
Florek was struck by some of the numbers offered in the presentation.
"You know there's a dizzying amount of job change in the workplace, but it really hits you when you see the average person has 12-15 jobs and 3-5 professions," Florek said.
After sharing these statistics, the real core of the presentation began. Chip Schroeder, the program's Associate Director, began to talk about what students should accomplish by the beginning of their senior year.
He discussed the importance of having a direction and gave students several tips on discovering this direction. He suggested self-assessment, career exploration, informational interviews, job shadowing and researching career fields and potential companies.
Next, Associate Director Barbara Roback discussed important marketing materials, including resumes, cover letters, personal statements, writing samples, two-minute "Tell me about yourself" blurbs and good interview stories.
Somero had prior experience working with the staff.
"I've met with Barb Roback from Career Services several times this semester to fine-tune the cover letters and resumes that I plan on using for internships," he said. "She has been a big help and is making the whole internship/career thing easier to handle."
The next item the Career Services group thought students should accomplish by senior year is participation in a summer learning experience, such as an internship or a job that might look good on a resume.
Program Coordinator Suzanne Cronkite alerted the group to a presentation which will take place on that very topic scheduled for Monday in 201 Little Hall.