Career Center preps students for future life

Students preparing for their future careers and internships can attend workshops put on by the Career Development Center.

The first, Interviewing 101, will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. today in the library of the CDC building, across the street from Herman B Wells Library.

“Basically, it’s to give students who either aren’t able to fit our job and internship search strategies class into their schedule,” graduate assistant Matt Wells said. “It’s to give them another opportunity for them to get their resume looked at by a trained career adviser and just to provide one more means to give students access to career services outside of the classroom or advising setting. 

“I do believe the goal is for students to develop a resume they’re comfortable with that adequately describes their experience and is directed toward their marketable skills and accomplishments.”

The workshops began last year under the direction of former graduate assistant and current CDC faculty member Joe Lovejoy. This year, the sessions are being run by Wells, who teaches the resume-writing workshops, and fellow graduate assistant Moe Rafiuddin, who will handle the interviewing sessions.

Rafiuddin said it is never too early for students to begin preparing their job-hunting skills and encourages students to take advantage of the other services the CDC offers, including career fairs and advising appointments.

“We have tons of career fairs and employer visits happening at the Center, so in case someone wanted to brush up on their resumes or their interviewing skills, they could come and just get a review,” Rafiuddin said. “We are packed with events happening.”

Among the upcoming events for the CDC are the Life Sciences Career Fair on Oct. 8 and the Government Career Fair on Oct. 19. There is also an additional set of interviewing and resume-writing workshops Nov. 5 and Nov. 12, respectively. More will follow in the spring.

The workshops consist of a combination of lecturing, activities, peer critiquing and one-on-one feedback from the instructor. The format is largely unchanged from last year.

“For the most part we’ve stuck with the same model. It’s very similar – similar print resources and a similar method of instruction in the workshops,” Wells said. “We may have changed the presentation a little bit to reflect our most current trends in terms of career development, resume writing, but for the most part it’s been the same model.”
Wells said he can personally see the effectiveness of the methods.

“Even in the activities we do, I can already see an immediate progression from where people start to where they are at the end of the night,” Wells said. “It’s pretty obvious that people get at least a basic understanding and show quick improvement.”

School of Journalism Career Advisor Marcia Debnam said that several individual schools at IU also offer help with resumes and cover letters. She said these skills are especially important in today’s economic climate.

“There’s no question that students need well-organized, well-written resumes, cover letters and a whole range of other career-related skills,” Debnam said. “It’s wonderful that the Career Development Center is able to provide these workshops.”

Rafiuddin said that both workshops can prove useful to students, as each subject is vital to landing a desirable job.

“We always say at the Center that the resume is to get the interview and the interview is to get the job,” Rafiuddin said. “Preparing yourself is the best way to be able to get the job or get the interview.”