Written & Published by Sacred Heart University
Learn how to successfully launch from graduation to career
For many college seniors, the transition from college to career path can be overwhelming. With graduation looming, many students feel the pressure of keeping up with academic demands while searching for a job. Or they may not know where to start.
If you haven’t already, now’s the time to start exploring post-graduation career opportunities. The good news? You are not alone in navigating this path forward. Your college career services center can help break down your job search into small, manageable steps.
Here are seven steps you can take to make your job search less stressful.
1. Reach out for one-on-one career coaching.
As early as your first year in college, you can zero in on career goals by attending one-on-one counseling with a career coach. In your senior year, that guidance is crucial to finding post-graduate professional work. At Sacred Heart University, experts at the Center for Career & Professional Development can provide you with advice and guidance on your next steps.
Career coaches can help you to reflect on your past experiences, such as internships, and identify skills and lessons learned that could help you land a job after graduation. You can also talk about long-term goals and a roadmap for how you intend to advance in your career.
2. Update your résumé.
Before you start your job search in earnest, make sure your résumé stands out. Career center staff can help you to tailor your résumé to specific jobs and descriptions and use wording that is relevant to specific positions. At Sacred Heart University, students gain expert advice on how to create résumés that effectively highlight expertise, education, skills and career goals.
Career center experts help to organize your professional experiences, including internships and part-time jobs, so they attract prospective employers. Since every work experience is a learning experience, career center staff and other sources offer tips on how to better describe your strengths, and the jobs you performed, so the focus is on skills transferrable to the job you seek.
At Sacred Heart, you can work with a career adviser on your résumé, cover letter and other professional documents by scheduling an in-person or virtual appointment or stopping by during weekly drop-in hours at the Center for Career & Professional Development.
3. Prepare to be seen.
Team your updated résumé with a professional headshot. While you undoubtedly have many photos of yourself, your best bet in positioning yourself for post-graduate employment is having an image that is well lit, well framed and features you in your best light—looking professional and ready to start your career.
At Sacred Heart, students can schedule an appointment to take free professional headshots at the career center.
4. Attend job fairs.
Job fairs provide jobseekers with opportunities to meet multiple employers, speak directly with recruiters and make connections in their field. These events can be industry-specific or geared toward specific skill levels.
Career center services often serve as a hub for these events, which can be hosted by a variety of organizations, including state agencies. This makes it easier for students to know about and participate in these opportunities. Sacred Heart’s Center for Career & Professional Development provides information about many recruiting events on and off campus.
5. Sign up for professional networking sites.
With a stellar résumé and a polished headshot in hand, you have the tools to sign up for platforms such as LinkedIn. The SHU community can also access Handshake, a free online career platform, which is used by nearly 1 million companies to find their next hire. Students can find opportunities at Fortune 500 companies and federal agencies, as well as startups, small businesses and health care systems.
Do you have a few places where you’d love to work? Many businesses have career portals where you set up an account and apply directly through their sites. You can also search for additional opportunities or request updates when new jobs are posted.
6. Practice your interview skills.
You’ve done the work by sending out your résumé and now a company wants to talk to you! If this is your first interview, or you want to brush up on your skills, career center staff can help to calm those nerves. Through mock interviews, you’ll field practice questions as you work through the key points you want to make and the message you want to send to employers.
At Sacred Heart, students work with career center staff through one-on-one coaching opportunities that are focused on strengthening interview skills. You can also use your career center to research companies and organizations to learn about their work, their mission and their values. This intel will come in handy as you think about how your skills and experiences align with the company’s goals.
7. Reach out to alumni.
Alumni can provide soon-to-be graduating seniors with networking advice, career tips, job opportunities and informational interviews. You can learn more about a particular career field, industry or company. For Sacred Heart students, SHU’s more than 50,000 alumni are a rich resource to tap, and the career center can help to make those connections.
Ready to begin your career?
With its full complement of resources, SHU’s career center provides students with a great start to their careers—99% of graduates are employed full time or enrolled in graduate school within a year of finishing their studies.
In addition, Sacred Heart students can learn more about networking and searching for jobs and industries through the SHUConnect portal. Here, you can find more about Pioneers Connect, an online networking platform exclusively for current SHU students and alumni, and Discover YOU, where you can learn where your degree can take you and develop a customized career development plan.
For more information & to read the full article visit: https://www.sacredheart.edu/news-room/news-listing/7-ways-your-college-career-center-makes-job-searching-less-stressful/
