Fourteen Ways to Get the Most Out of Your College Career Services Office

By Barbara E. Santos, PHR

President

Santos Consulting

 

1. Register EARLY. The registration process for many Career Service Offices (CSOs) requires students to attend a live, videotaped, or online “orientation”. Students not yet registered may not be able to sign up for recruiting interviews. Find out the rules and meet them head on. Besides, you might learn of services or programs you had no idea existed. At UT-Austin Liberal Arts Career Services, we had close to 340 companies use our office and most visited the office in the fall. Imagine the disappointment felt by students that came to register late in the spring semester of their senior year. Most, if not all, interviewing was over at that point.

2. Know Thy CSO Staff. Receptionist, Career Counselor, Internship Coordinator, Recruiting Coordinator, and Director are important allies to foster early on. Make sure they know you by name and vice versa. As the former Founding Director of the Liberal Arts Career Services office at UT-Austin, I wrote letters of recommendation for students I had come to know well. Also, whenever reporters called and asked for students they might interview, the students I knew well were always the ones I suggested. As a result, many of our students were quoted in publications such as Fortune magazine, The Christian Science Monitor , and USA Today . One of our students made the front page of the “Austin American-Statesman” because he had used our CSO for all four years and secured a record-breaking salary at the time of his graduation.

 

3. Career Assessment Tools. CSOs tend to attract committed professionals who really know their stuff! Take advantage of their battery of tools to determine your skills, aptitudes, and preferences. Tests such as Myers-Briggs, Strong Campbell , DISCOVER, DISC, and many, many others may be offered free or at a nominal cost. It always amazed me to learn about graduates who paid $200-900 for testing that would have been available at our university for free. Take advantage of the career staff's knowledge and experience now!

4. Internships. Most college students believe working with their CSO is something they need to worry about only during their senior year. Talk to CSO professionals and their major complaint is often that students do not work with their office until late in their senior year, if at all. Securing an internship during the summer of the freshman year is possible if a student starts off by asking for guidance from their Career Counselor. Many students secure multiple internships with different employers or stay with the same employer throughout their college years. Having career-related experience early on will dramatically increase your chances of distinguishing your employment candidacy during your senior year.

5. Read. Your CSO has a library (virtual or printed) of data about employers that have interviewed there in the past. Read the job descriptions, company brochures, and any available materials you can grab onto. Start to make notebooks of the jobs that interest you and circle or highlight the words or descriptions that speak to you. You will begin to see patterns or clusters of career fields that should serve as a springboard for further exploration.

6. Attend Workshops. Attend all of the workshops your CSO offers, such as, “Resume Writing”, “Job Search Skills”, “Interviewing Skills”, “Behavior-based Interviewing”, “Information Interviewing”, “Mock Interviews”, and more. Most colleges with over 2,000 students have a roster of workshops from which you may choose. It is never too early to attend the workshops, in fact, the sooner the better!

The above is an excerpt from The Last Job Search Guide You'll Ever Need: How to Find and Get the Job or Internship of Your Dreams, which is available for sale for $19.85 in our bookstore or $27.00 at Amazon.com but for free to those who subscriber to our free career newsletter. This hot new book contains job search secrets of the most experienced, most knowledgeable and most respected career experts. Learn career planning, job hunting tools and tactics, interviewing, cover letter and resume writing (lots of samples!), networking, and how to find an internship. Written by 149 career experts. To receive a free copy, subscribe to our free career newsletter.

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