<p>How has the career center at your child's college helped him/her? Has it been useful? What did it do for your child?</p>
<p>My son is resisting going to the career center because he doesn't understand how it can help him.</p>
<p>DD never went to the career center at all. BUT they sponsored several job fair events with job recruiters and the like present. She DID go to those and found them very valuable.</p>
<p>One-on-one counseling is only one of the services offered by the career center.</p>
<p>Other services include job fairs, printed materials (like advice on how to write resumes and cover letters), on-campus events (such as lectures on job interview tips or how to find internships), and on-campus recruiting (which usually involves an online system where companies post job information and students submit applications, after which some students are called for on-campus interviews as the first step in the hiring process).</p>
<p>My daughter never met with a career center counselor, but she made extensive use of the on-campus recruiting system sponsored by the career center. In fact, that’s how she got her full-time job for after graduation.</p>
<p>At my kid’s school, they can also connect you with internship opps during college- so that, when you graduate, you have the start of a resume. In today’s economy, why not do what you can?</p>
<p>S#3’s school has been excellent…his career advisor helped him prepare/tweak different versions of his resume for different internships he applied for, and this summer he has the (unfortunately unpaid) internship of his dreams…he is working 40+ hours a week, but learning so much…</p>
<p>My daughter got her internship and job through the school’s career center. They helped her with her resume. They also provide rooms for phone or video interviews. They also help students negotiate offers. Any company which recruits on campus must adhere to their rules- no pressuring students in accepting offers, when they could invite students off campus, how long students have in accepting an offer. </p>
<p>I think how strong and organized a career center is should be a consideration when it comes to selecting a college.</p>
<p>My D hasn’t spent a lot of time at hers, but she knows a lot about her chosen career path and has done fine finding internships on her own. She does intend to apply for an internship at a local organization that the career center posted for the fall (during school, near campus).</p>
<p>Her boyfriend has used it extensively. He did not know for sure what he wanted to major in or what kind of work he wants to do. I believe they gave him some aptitude tests, and provided materials on the different kinds of jobs you can get with different majors. He was able to settle on a major after working with them.</p>
<p>At the college I went to (many years ago, but I know they still do it), many companies came to recruit at the college for post-graduation jobs. They would have schedules that students could sign up on for a 30 minute interview for entry level jobs. There was a lottery system if more students wanted slots than were available. Even if your son doesn’t get the jobs he applies for through interviews at the career center, those interviews can be great practice. </p>
<p>It would be a good idea for a junior to visit the career center and ask about what companies recruited there duing that year, what kinds of jobs they were interviewing for, and what criteria they had for interviewing students (for example, some companies only want students from certain majors). Your son might decide to change his class schedule in response to what he hears (eg, add a couple of statistics classes or something like that). A senior should definitely start working with the career center in the fall of senior year to get a handle on what companies are coming, get help in preparing an effective resume, maybe attending mock interview sessions or interview taping/feedback sessions. </p>
<p>Also… tell your kids that if they don’t get on the schedule with the recruiter for an interview, to stop by near the end of the lunch break or if there is a break in the interview schedule and drop off a resume. Just introduce themselves, say they couldn’t get an interview slot, but that they are really interested in company X and wanted to provide a resume. Or (something I did with success, got the job!) was send my resume and cover letter by mail to the recruiter at the company (you can get the name & address from the career center), tell them you couldn’t get an interview, and provide your info that way.</p>
<p>Unless your son has a job waiting for him already, the career center is one of the very best resources he has to help find a job, especially if he starts using them early.</p>
<p>Oldfort’s daughter and my daughter went to the same university – Cornell.</p>
<p>Needless to say, our family is pleased with Cornell’s career center, and I suspect Oldfort’s family is as well. </p>
<p>In my daughter’s case, though, she got all three of her summer internships by responding to announcements on organizations’ web sites or answering ads on job boards, rather than through the career center. I mention this because the college career center is only one of the multiple ways in which young people can find internships and jobs. It’s an important resource that shouldn’t be overlooked, but it’s not the one and only resource.</p>
<p>Oldfort, I agree, but really… how can you tell how strong the career center is? Did you do anything specific to figure this out?</p>
<p>My daughters school (Gettysburg College) provided all the services already described by other posters above (resume help, job postings, workshops, bringing prospective employers to campus, job shadowing, mock interviews, etc.) She made full use of all these services beginning sophomore year (for resume and internship help) right through senior year (for her post-grad job search). She found the mock interview particularly helpful and wished that she had done it earlier.</p>
<p>I was very surprised at how useful the career center turned out to be. I guess I wasnt expecting much because Ive always heard that small, liberal arts colleges are not considered pre-professional and arent heavily recruited (unless the school is in the top 10 or something.) But my daughters junior-year internship and her post-grad job, which she got a month before graduating, were both obtained partially through the efforts of the career office. In both cases it was Gettysburg alumni looking for current Gettysburg students to join their companies.</p>
<p>I highly recommend that your son takes advantage of his center.</p>
<p>Check out their stats. Most of them will publish how many students have jobs upon graduation, what industry, and HOW they got their jobs. You could also check out what firms recruit on campus, how many job fairs they have. I would stop by the career center to see what kind of service they provide, and what the facility looks like. To me, the bigger indicator is how many firms recruit on campus. </p>
<p>Cornell’s career center organized a reception at almost every IB in NYC over the winter break. Students were selected to attend those receptions ahead of the recruiting season. The alumni at each of those firms coordinated with the career center to allow Cornell students to meet their senior people. I feel Cornell does a very good job in putting their students in front of employers.</p>
<p>The career center at American University is unbelievable (at least at Kogod School of Business). My d. at one point had an interview scheduled the next day at 4 p.m., and by 7 p.m. that day, the Career Center had scheduled a mock interview, specific to that particular company. They helped tailor resumes and cover letters. They even had a session in how to eat at a job interview that takes place over lunch or dinner, as well as a session on company mixer “chit-chat”. They show students how to research companies, what questions to ask (and which ones not to), they help research career trajectories. This was all in addition to the usual job fairs, alumni get-togethers, etc.</p>
<p>We actually thought they were a little over the top. But, with my d., it is was extraordinarily successful - multiple job offers, and internship where she vaulted over Ivy and top 20 competitors.</p>
<p>^ I think this is very typical of most business schools. They usually have their own career centers and go way beyond the more typical ones on campus. In fact, if my kid actually wanted to get an undergrad in business, the career center quality would play a strong role in which school to attend. As a professor for many decades, in several top business schools, I would contend there are a lot of things you simply don’t get in a business school like you do in other parts of campus, but what you do get, or surely should get, is a very strong career center and lots of professional development and networking opportunities.</p>
<p>Mine was very helpful with getting my resume done, but kind of unresponsive after. I went to get help for cover letters, and the counselor I saw said to write some, email them to him, and he’d look over them for me. I did, but he never responded. Kind of disappointing, but it didn’t really matter in the end because I got a couple of offers.</p>
<p>They also hold a lot of “101” sessions throughout the year - Resumes and Cover Letters, Internships, Interviewing, Networking, etc. that I found pretty helpful.</p>
<p>That’s all I’ve really used it for, but they do mock interviews and panels with alumni in various sectors and stuff like that.</p>
<p>I am a strong believer of knowing and using your College’s Career Center. My son’s school, ASU, has a very good Career Center. They worked with him to develop his resume when he was a freshmen. That first resume was far better than the one he and I developed right after he graduated from high school. The Career Center also provides other services as others mentioned. I encourage all students to take advantage of the resources available at the Career Center and start using it your first term at the school. My son has gotten three summer internships through the Career Center.</p>