When we were in high school, our future was set: college. No matter where we got in, we were certain that we’d soon be living the college life. Living in a dorm, eating in a dining hall, going to class. Safely into our four years, however, our future isn’t as certain. Majors picked, we start to think about what will happen once we leave this utopia. Then, as early as sophomore year, we reach the next step of our stairway to the future: internships.
The Career Center is a place of mystery for many BC students. It’s a daunting house of intimidation that represents everything you fear most- life post-graduation. But fear no more, Her Campus BC is diving into “that house on Comm Ave” to turn the unfamiliar into a friend. This is the first installment of many Career Center articles to come, as we begin to discover all the fantastic resources the Center has to offer. Now post-graduation life can become a little more exciting and a little less troublesome.
According to Peter Hunt, assistant director at the Career Center, it’s quick and easy for busy BC students to take advantage of the many resources the Center offers.
Hunt suggests students attend a career fair, internship fair, and one or two networking nights. The annual career fair is held in mid-September and the internship fair is in late January. Networking nights are held a few times throughout the year and are meant to help you form relationships with professionals in whatever your field of interest may be.
“The purpose of networking nights isn’t about getting a job per say, but learning about a particular career field that interests you… about strategies of getting jobs in that field,” said Hunt.
Aside from these two annual events, the Career Center offers resume, cover letter, and interview workshops multiple times a week. “It’s a different skill set than you’re used to from the past years,” said Hunt.
The Career Center tries to help you develop these skills, to teach you how to make your resume stand out among the hundreds on the employer’s desk, to instruct you on proper interview etiquette, or how to answer the difficult questions.
Practice interviews are also available, but Hunt suggests students come to the interview workshop prior to the practice. Then the week following the career fair is practice interview week. The week begins with interview workshops and ends with employers coming to campus to conduct mock interviews. It may be practice, but mock interviews are a fantastic way to perfect your interview skills and even make a connection with a possible employer.
Brendan Emory CSOM’13 took advantage of the mock interviews and managed to land a summer internship all at the same time.
“A woman at the career center told me about a mock interview night with Boston professionals and I actually met with someone from Fidelity,” said Emory. “It was very informal, but very helpful. The mock interview actually led to an externship and after a summer internship. So go to the mock interviews. You never know what can happen.”
The Career Center also offers workshops on how to find internships. These teach students how to effectively use the Center’s many resources, including the online databases, and it even covers how to set yourself apart via that little piece of paper known as a resume.
One of the Career Center’s greatest strengths? According to Hunt, it’s that students can come and talk to a counselor about just about anything even marginally career-related. Students don’t even have to know what they want; they may just be confused and are looking for some answers.
“The easy answer to ‘what can I do with this major?’ is ‘just about anything,’” said Hunt. “There’s an official BC alumni network… you will find people doing just about anything. I love showing that to students.”
So there it is collegiettes™, your future of possibilities awaits and it all begins at the Career Center. But this article just scratched the surface; so stay tuned for future articles!
Photo Source:
http://www.thebcobserver.com/2010/11/16/women-on-the-business-path/