Career Services Offers More Than Students Realize

Career Services has seen an increase in student traffic but many seem to not utilize or under-utilize the opportunities with Career Services. Most students are unaware that UWG’s career services also aid underclassmen, it’s not just for seniors and graduate students.
           

“We do everything regarding career,” said Associate Director of Career Development, Ian Houston. “The career development process can include a standard resume, cover letter review, helping in assisting and writing a personal statement, mock interview prep, job and internship search strategies and professional branding.”
           

There are two online programs that are offered that provide students the ability to polish their resume and find a job in their field. The first item on the agenda is called Optimal Resume. This is a service provided by the school where students can organize and reset their resume according to a template. Career services can go over the site for those unsure, help create the resume or review one for the student.

“Optimal Resume is my favorite platform right now,” said Houston. “It makes the resume development process much more streamlined, more efficient and just much easier for students.” 

The second program is UWG’s version of LinkedIn. This program is called Handshake and allows the student to create a profile, find jobs or internships and is essentially a one stop shop for students.

“[Handshake] is the safest way for our employers to get in contact with our students,” said Suzy McCorkel, the Associate Director for Employer Relations. McCorkel helps plan the events, employer tableings and visits around campus. McCorkel has been planning the exceedingly large job fair that is on March 15 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

“That is our big thing that we have come up with and I am so excited for,” said McCorkel. “I have over 20 employers signed up for it. That number will definitely go up. It’s a great opportunity for students to come out in their business casual attire, bring their resume and talk to employers. We have a wide variety of employers that will be there; Enterprise has signed up, we have local law enforcement, CPA firms and then Kia, the car manufacturer from LaGrange, is going to have a booth there as well.”

For students who do not have professional attire, Career services also offers the Wolfie’s Wardrobe, a closet full of various professional outfits that are free to the students.

“One other resource that we have is Wolfie’s Wardrobe,” said Houston. “It is a free clothing closet. What we like to do is provide a small resource for students who may not have the attire for a job fair or interview. If a student has an upcoming job interview and they don’t have professional attire, they can come in, we’ll set up a time for them to come in. They can explore the closet, find something to wear; shirts, tops, bottoms, accessories, shoes, things like that. If it works out they can keep it.”

Wolfie’s Wardrobe is limited to one outfit per student, regardless of the student’s classification. Donations for the wardrobe are gladly accepted.

Career services offer many aides to the students in terms of helping grow their careers. Their goal is always to see their students succeed beyond the bottom expectation. Check them out today or give Handshake a try. Career Services is in Row Hall on the third floor and accepts walk-in resume reviews.
            Career services has many offerings for students when needing help regarding anything career-wise. They want students to succeed beyond the students’ own expectations.