Take Advantage of Career Services!

By Jenn Pedde on May 13, 2012

Universities generally offer resources to guide you in your professional development both in an undergraduate and graduate capacity. Many colleges centralize their resources in a Career Services Center, and every student should be aware of their far-reaching resources. Here are some of the most common resources offered by most Career Services Centers that you should take full advantage of as you begin to plan your future:

Career Counselors

Career Services Centers are staffed by counselors whose job it is to learn about your interests and skills, and guide you in the direction of a job that makes sense for you. It’s okay if you don’t know what you’re looking for when you go into your center, because counselors are trained to help you figure that out. Oftentimes, you’ll meet with a career counselor in a preliminary interview during which they get to know you. Counselors work with you to perfect your resume and cover letter, build online profiles, refine the criteria of your job search and practice interviewing skills. They can even conduct mock interviews to help you prepare!

Networking Events

College campuses are hubs for career networking, and your Career Services Center is the place to keep up with upcoming events. Most centers host their own events — if not, they can still be a source of information about events hosted by other departments. The most frequent networking events are career fairs, where corporate recruiters come to speak about their companies, answer questions and even search for potential candidates. Career fairs are an excellent opportunity to connect with businesses and put yourself on the radar of potential employers. They can be broad or specific to certain industries (business career fairs, education career fairs, etc.). Other events include resume-building workshops, information sessions and lectures from working professionals. Career Services Centers will prepare you for the event with regards to the proper attire, behavior or, as mentioned, personalization of your cover letter and resume.

Job Search Resources

Most Career Services Centers have a library section that contains print and online resources for gathering important information about your job search. The scope of these libraries is immense, so you should speak with a counselor first to narrow down where to look. A staple of many of these libraries is the Occupational Outlook Handbook. Published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the handbook offers important information and statistics about almost every career field. There are also books dedicated solely to a particular career, books about employment trends and even ones that have advice about effective job searching. Career Services Centers often subscribe to industry publications, like business journals and education magazines, all of which can keep you up-to-date on the job market.

Online Databases

Some of the most valuable career services tools available are the online databases maintained by centers for students to actually begin their job search. On these databases, you create a profile that allows you to refine your search by industry, job type, hours, location, pay and a variety of other customizable factors. You can publish information about yourself and upload your resume, cover letter and references. Employers post current job openings and either allow you to apply directly or give directions on how to apply. There are numerous job search databases out there, but the ones available through your college are an excellent place to start, as you can work directly with your career counselor.


This post is written by Jenn Pedde who is the community manager for the Master in Social Work program at the University of Southern California, one of the top ranked MSW degrees in the country by US News & World Report. She’s an avid traveler and loves photography.


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