How to Use Your College's Career Center

Colleges and universities have many great free and low-cost resources available to their students, but one of the most valuable is the career center. The career center is designed to help students receive the support and guidance they need to confidently find and apply to jobs and internships, figure out their career goals, and make professional connections. Majority of the resources offered in the career center are typically free, so we highly recommend taking advantage of them while you’re a student! Here’s a breakdown of some common resources a college’s career center offers.

Personality or career assessments

Many students using the career center for the first time may be unsure of what kinds of jobs interest them or what their long-term career goals are. That’s totally okay! Career centers typically help students explore these interests and goals by offering free or discounted personality and career assessments. These assessments help students identify their interests and goals, and point them in the direction of job opportunities that align with both.

Resume help

Your resume is your first impression on potential employers, so having an organized, clear, and well-written one is key. Whether you’ve never created a resume before or have one that needs updating, the career center can help! An advisor can help you build or edit a resume that highlights your strengths, achievements, and accolades to help you stand out to employers when you’re ready to search for jobs!

Cover letter help

Cover letters, which express your interest in a specific position/company and briefly outline your skills and qualifications, are an important part of any job application. Someone in the career center can help you write a solid cover letter that you can save and adjust as needed to apply to specific jobs.

Linkedin help

Linkedin is a great place to make professional connections, grow your network, and find jobs in your area! If you’ve never created a Linkedin profile before or need some help editing yours, someone in the career center can help.

Interview prep

From “Tell me about yourself” to “What are your strengths and weaknesses?,” there are many common questions that a student can expect to be asked during any job interview. Someone at the career center can help you prepare for an interview by helping you form answers to these questions, give you advice about your posture and body language, and even give you tips on what to wear in your interviews to look and feel your best!

Connection to alumni

Interested in a specific career, company or industry and want to learn more? The career center can likely put you in touch with alumni working in those spaces. If you’re introduced to an alum of your school, you can request to hold an informational interview with them to ask questions, get advice, and learn more about the career you’re interested in.

Access to your school’s online job portal

Most colleges have online job portals to connect their students with part-time jobs, work-study positions, mentorship opportunities, and internships. Many schools partner with companies in their area to allow them to post any job openings on this portal as they come up. Ask someone in your career center about accessing this job portal and for any tips on how to make your profile stand out. This portal is a great place to start your job search!

Looking for more job and internship opportunities? Use our free JobLaunch tool!

For more free resources to help you on your college or job search journey, text #Jobs to 33-55-77 to chat with one of our job advisors!