College can be overwhelming. It can be challenging for students to maintain a healthy balance of social and academic endeavors while in their final years of school.
When given the opportunity to learn how to successfully market yourself to prospective employers or decide what bar scene suits your fancy, most will choose the latter.
Being in Tempe makes this choice very challenging with the constant opportunity to boast your swag. I urge everyone from freshmen to super seniors, and all those in between, consider all the resources ASU’s Career Services offers.
Laura Petrecca reported in USA Today, “‘There's more competition in the marketplace right now with (a high) unemployment rate,’ said Jason Ferrara, a senior career adviser at online job-listing company CareerBuilder.com. ‘There is more pressure for the college graduate.’”
A vast majority will undoubtedly agree that starting early on any project is ideal and yields the best outcome. Taking the same approach to our futures and getting a jumpstart on honing professional skills and making ourselves marketable is our best chance to set ourselves apart for future job endeavors.
Kasey Stevens, an ASU alumna and former political science student, recanted on her experiences with Career Services.
“(They) provided me with many useful documents outlining how to write an effective resume as well as actual examples of effective resumes. They also provided me with information on how to structure a cover letter. After graduating … I actually used Career Services' online job database to find a paid internship on a local political campaign as well as additional possible career opportunities,” she said.
Scott Berren, program manager of Career Services, gave his input on how these services can help students obtain employment after graduating from ASU.
“Graduating students who attend a career fair in their junior or senior year report average starting salaries approximately 5 percent higher than those students who do not attend. In an economic downturn, students need to be even more persistent in their job hunt and taking advantage of a career services office is a big step in this process,” he said.
On a larger scale, Berren would like to share with the students of ASU that the largest career fair of the academic year, Career Fiesta Job and Internship Fair, begins on Sept. 20 and goes through Sept. 22.
“Students who are not necessarily ready to look for a job or internship should also considering attending so they can explore the types of career opportunities that will be available to them when they are ready to start their search,” he said.
According to Berren, last year 2,500 students and alumni attended the event.
Preceding the career fair, an event will be held Sept. 7, “What is My Dream Career?” Why put off for tomorrow, what you can accomplish today? The event is free to both students and alumni.
It’s easy to forget all the services this university has to offer and get caught up in our boatloads of homework and outside interests.
We are students at ASU let’s not take for granted all the resources we have right at our fingertips set in place to ensure successful futures for us all.
Reach this columnist at ebeckley@asu.edu.
