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Jobs & Internships: Using the Center for Career Opportunities

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Leta Stevens
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Amanda Norell
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Purdue chapter.

As collegiettes™, we are all really here at Purdue University for one thing: to educate ourselves with the knowledge that will help us succeed in our future careers. While this is ideal, it is a lot harder to find a job or internship that one might think. It is a long process that takes time and patience, but is well worth it in the end.
 
Being at a prestigious university like Purdue, we have many resources that we can use to help us in our search for the best internship or job for us. One of those resources is the Center for Career Opportunities, which is located in Stewart Center.
 
For all of those collegiettes™ who take advantage of the amazing things that the CCO offers, I promise an easier job or internship hunt and better results in the process.
 
Here are just a few things Boilermakers can do to help better their chances when it comes to looking for jobs or internships using the CCO:
 
1. Resume and Cover Letter Review
The CCO takes walk-ins during operating hours, Monday through Friday from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Collegiettes™ are encouraged to bring in their resumes or cover letters and have them reviewed by a CCO representative. Keeping your resume up-to-date and properly and professionally written can greatly increase your chances of landing a job or internship. For those Boilermakers who are sending their resumes directly to companies and not applying on-line, the cover letter is extremely important. Keep it professional, concise, and state your purpose. If your cover letter is not written well, the company representatives will not even look at your resume.

2. Career Exploration and Preparation
While some of us may know exactly what we want to do with our lives, there are still many college students who are unsure. For those undecided majors, or students with a declared major who are not sure what profession to go into, you can make an appointment with the CCO for major or career exploration. The CCO can help you evaluate your interests and strengths, and assist in targeting what major or profession is right for you. You can also sit down with a CCO representative to discuss the many ways to prepare for internship and job searches. For those Boilers considering graduate school, the CCO can provide help and preparation for this application process.

3. Campus Recruiting and Job Postings
For those of you who have never used the Center for Career Opportunities services, you might like to know that the CCO allows students to upload their resumes online and make them searchable to companies who are coming to Purdue for recruiting purposes. These companies are then able to review your resume before you even know they are coming to campus. The CCO also posts the jobs and internships that are available for students to apply for. Looking at the CCO’s Jobs and Internships Postings weekly will help those of you in the hunt for the perfect job or internship.

4. Workshops and Events
The CCO holds many workshops and events throughout the school year outside of their normal business hours for Purdue students to attend. For example, my major is in the CSR department, and before our career fair the CCO comes in and holds a preparation session in which students attending can practice their elevator pitch, review their resume, or learn how to use resources like libraries and job databases to which Purdue students have access. Taking advantage of these workshops and events will help those students who are getting ready for interviews. Each conversation you have with a CCO representative is like a mini-interview. They are teaching you how to sell yourself in the best possible way so that companies want you to work for them.
 
Boilermakers, I hope you take advantage of the CCO and all that it has to offer. It is a great resource and tool to use throughout your college career. For those of you searching for jobs or internships to apply for, happy hunting!
 
Stay tuned for next week’s article on “Jobs & Internships.” It will discuss interview preparations. Get ready to get hired, ladies!

*Photo source
http://thoughtsfromaboilermaker.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/new-cco-logo-web-2-with-text.jpg

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Leta is a senior at Purdue University studying Retail Management with a Certificate in Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Leta is a member of Zeta Tau Alpha and is obsessed with her sisters. An avid shopper and fashionista, Leta spends her time working as an Assistant Manager at Twenty Ten Boutique on Purdue's campus while managing their social media campaigns. Leta started writing for Her Campus Purdue in April of 2011. It was because of her extreme enthusiasm and passion for Her Campus that she was promoted to Purdue University's Campus Correspondent in January of 2012.
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Amanda Norell is a junior at Purdue University where she is working toward a communication degree, supplemented by an art and design minor. A true Midwesterner, Amanda was born in Chicago and raised in northern Indiana, just minutes from the Michigan border. In addition to being Purdue's Campus Correspondent, Amanda is also a junior board member on Liberal Arts Student Council, a member of Alpha Gamma Delta, and has both edited and written for The Exponent, Purdue's independent daily student newspaper.  She has held internships in both event planning and career development, and has her sights set on becoming an event and wedding planner after graduation. She cannot get enough of campus in the fall, crepes from Greyhouse, Urban Outfitters, and simply lovin' life.