It’s orientation day. Beset by the sunny disposition of college advisors, faculty, and peers, you manage to find your way into the first session of the day.
It’s daunting!
It’s a lengthy discourse. A tour around campus and a few academic sessions later, you almost forget you still need to enroll in your classes before nightfall. Still, you take a step back to reflect. A whole lot of “new” just happened. You may have even learned that your once highly-sought-after major may not be the right one for you! You might feel lost, wondering if you’re making the right decisions.
Suddenly, your relationship with academia is no longer just participation and performance, but a holistic approach toward your career. One that’s atypical to the traditional, linear paths you anticipated. Taking the next step becomes a venture of its own, as each path can open several doors, but close just as many. In reality, the climate in career and academics is shifting. Your friends may be on the same boat as you. And that’s when it hits you: you need someone to help you kickstart the career process. Someone with only one, impartial goal: to find you the right path to career success. Enter, career services.
But, what are Career Services? How can they help?
Your first step to career success is figuring out where your college career office lies. The chances are your college or university has developed this team of professionals, equipped with the knowledge and online tools necessary to help you find employment upon graduation. They may even introduce you to Handshake! Give the offices a visit. Career success begins early on in your academic career, knowing when to set the right career goals for timely completion.
While extremely valuable, you’ll still want to have as much leverage as possible to supplement your bachelor’s degree; you may build networks, obtain shadowing and internship experiences, attend seminars, or potentially even find a mentor. 61% of full-time entry level jobs now require at least 3 years of experience. Add to that the fact that there is a growing number of entry-level jobs becoming automated, and you’ll definitely want to stand out from other candidates.
A career services department can have everything from paid internships and job listings to full guidance, salary calculations, access to job fairs, and connections to alumni mentorships. And that’s just a taste of the combined forces of career services offices utilizing Handshake. Essentially, they hold any tools you might need to succeed. You never know when you can find yourself interviewing with a rep for the perfect career opportunity you can’t pass up, so you’ll want to be prepared.