With a full week of classes under our belts, another year at Bucknell has officially started, and if you’re freshmen, count yourselves as lucky ones. Everything still seems like a whole new world; you haven’t drowned in the rush process yet, and college classes may still have some type of appeal. But for the rest of us, we know what’s coming up, and somehow we’re still surprised when we begin to understand just how hard that lab or seminar is going to be. What the heck did we get ourselves into–again? What’s more, all of us upperclassmen are especially aware that we are another year closer to graduating, and that means trying to figure out what it is we want to do with the rest of our lives.
This may seem like a daunting task, especially at the beginning of the semester when there are so many other things to figure out. Who has time to think about the future when our calculus homework is due tomorrow at eight in the morning?
Lucky for us, we have the Career Development Center (aka the CDC), full of people who are there to help us work out all of that career uncertainty. Not only that, but the CDC also has a wealth of information about internships, which every college student knows is usually the first step toward landing a job after graduation. Some of the things you can get through the CDC include (but definitely aren’t limited to):
• Mock interviews
• Informational sessions about your potential internship field
• Resume critiques
• Cover letter critiques
• Career fairs
• Externships (just for sophomores!)
The CDC’s website on myBucknell has even more helpful tips and lists for students looking to enter a professional field:
• Internship and job search timelines
• Links to other web resources for internships, jobs, and housing
• Sample cover letters and resume formats
• Links to job search strategies and the “dos and don’ts” of interviews
• Tips on finding an internship while studying abroad
• Networking resources like B-Link, a way to directly connect with alumni
Another easy way to have information delivered to you is to get on the mailing list for the “Career Insider”, the CDC’s weekly e-mail about events and opportunities that are career and internship related. Just this past week it highlighted programs such as a resume workshop for engineers, the CDC’s open house, and fall events for pre-law students. There are also links included for career websites such as “What Not to Wear During an Interview (or Career Fair)” and “7 Resume Mistakes to Avoid”.
As annoying as it may be, you should keep an eye on that Message Center Digest. The CDC posts upcoming events on there as well, and it’s a quicker way to get the important facts you need like date, time, and place.
All of this probably seems overwhelming and a bit excessive. And some of it probably is. As a junior, I know I don’t want to even think about adding this stuff to my plate that’s already full of other academic and social things I’d much rather be doing. What’s more, it’s not as though any of the things the CDC offers will magically give me the answers to all my questions about what I want to do with my life, but I also know that the clock is ticking away. So put some time aside to start looking at the resources the CDC offers; there are loads of opportunities, and one of them is bound to be of help. After all, this is your future that you’re dealing with here. Even if you don’t know what that entails, it always helps to be taking a step in the right direction!