How the career center can help you achieve your professional goals

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You understand the importance of locating your classes and the best coffee shop—but where’s the career center? If you don’t know, go find it. There’s more happening there than the standard job search (though they’re great for that too), and students who stop by a few times a year gain a powerful advantage. Graduating students who use at least one career center service receive 24 percent more job offers, on average, than students who don’t, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ 2022 Student Survey Report. 

“The earlier students start to explore careers, the more time they have to test out their interests, build essential skills, and gain exposure and experience in possible fields,” says Jean Papalia, alumni career coach at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts.

In a recent CampusWell survey, 74 percent of students said they’ve visited the career center at least once, for reasons including résumé help, assistance finding a job or internship, and networking. If your school doesn’t have a dedicated career center, find out who the career advisor is and where their office is located.

There are a lot of other ways the career center can help you meet your professional goals. Here are just a few. 

1. Survey your interests

Most career centers offer self-assessments, which are surveys that typically ask you to reflect on your personality and topics that interest you. These self-assessments are not designed to tell you what to do but instead to help you discover how your skills or intelligence can translate to certain types of work. The questions touch on your values, motivation, skills, and interests and can help the career center staff guide you toward certain fields—and even professional groups in your area(s) of interest. 

“A career counselor suggested a membership in the professional society for my discipline as a way of staying up on current trends and career opportunities,” says Coby H., a second-year student at the University of California, Berkeley. “I would not have thought of that on my own.”

2. Pick your area of study and know what to do with it

Weighing your major, minor, and elective options? Wondering whether volunteering or internships might be helpful? The career center can help provide guidance on how the choices you make during school can impact your future.

“The career center encouraged me to volunteer [at a non-profit organization] in the human resources department,” says Christopher S., a first-year graduate student at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. “I volunteered there over the summer and learned a great deal about assisting clients and pointing them toward community resources [that] could help them.”

3. Network with alumni

Landing your dream job can be tough—but if an alumnus (i.e., former student) from your school has connections at a particular company or has gone down a similar path, it can be a great way to get your foot in the door. The career center typically keeps a list of alumni who are willing to speak to current students on a range of topics, from informational interviews to connecting you with a specific opportunity or strategic contact. They can assist you as you start networking both in-person and online.

“Networking is a key component of career exploration and job search success,” says Papalia. “Alumni are especially supportive and [often] willing to provide information and advice.”

4. Develop your best résumé and cover letter

Selling yourself on paper is not as easy as you think. Drop by the career center for assistance with selecting content, formatting, organization, grammar, and the layout for your résumé.  

“The career center helped me improve my résumé by deleting unnecessary details and adding keywords to improve [its] quality,” says Chiara P., a first-year student at The College of New Jersey in Ewing.

5. Own that interview

If you’re feeling nervous about an upcoming job interview, practicing beforehand is a great way to calm those nerves. The career center can help you with this by setting up a mock interview that resembles the one you’re prepping for—e.g., over the phone, in person, or via a video call. They can also tailor your mock interview to where you’re interviewing (e.g., at a specific company or graduate school) or what you’re interviewing for (e.g., the role, the industry). Plus, the career center might even be able to loan you some professional attire for the big day.

“I didn’t know that such a thing existed or that it would be helpful to practice with a real recruiter without penalties,” says Kayla G. at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. Nash N., a recent graduate from Clemson University in South Carolina, added, “I received professional help on what employers look for in interviews. Most students are clueless and unprepared when they are on the job hunt, so the career center guided me through that process.”

GET HELP OR FIND OUT MORE

Résumé guidelines and samples: Wellesley College

5 best interview tips for college students (video): Indeed

Why should you network?: Minnesota State University, Mankato

What to say when you’re reaching out on LinkedIn: Harvard Business Review

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Article sources

Jean Papalia, alumni career coach, Bentley University, Waltham, Massachusetts.

CampusWell surveys, January 2023 and February 2015. 

Fouad, N. A., Guillen, A., Harris-Hodge, E., Henry, C., et al. (2006). Need, awareness, and use of career services for college students. Journal of Career Assessment, 14(4), 407–420. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072706288928 

Van Derziel, S. (2022, November 28). The value of career services. National Association of Colleges and Employers. https://www.naceweb.org/career-development/organizational-structure/the-value-of-career-services/