Faculty & Staff
Getting students from welcome week to graduation day is job one, but ensuring
that they are genuinely prepared for the workplace and are the kind of candidates
employers really want to meet and hire is a concerted effort in an always-competitive job market. Career Services is here to partner with you in fulfilling our responsibilities as teachers, advisors, mentors and guides to students on their road to employability and career success.
In brief—what we do in Career Services:
- Assist students (and alumni) in their career exploration and
decision-making—choice of major, minor, concentrations, and
advanced study options. We use online tools like Sigi 3,
the Strong Interest Inventory and MBTI. We meet with students
individually and in class and group settings. Our office library contains
many great resources for students to borrow.
- Channel students toward hands-on learning opportunities on
and off campus (part-time jobs and internships), and point them
toward people (alumni and others) who can advise them on practical ways to
prepare for and realize their career goal/s.
- Advise students on employment and graduate school search strategies
and techniques, offering individual appointments and group presentations,
providing them with complimentary, first-rate publications on recruiting
trends, job-hunting and self-presentation topics (employment letters, resumes,
on-line applications, application essays, interviewing, professional dress,
etc.).
- Provide networking opportunities with recruiters
and other professionals through job fairs on and off campus and
in-office interviews and recruitment presentations. JobHoundConnect is our way of managing employer
information, job notices, and candidate resumes and referrals.
How can you help us help students?
- By letting students know about this website, Sigi
3, JobHoundConnect, and the many career resources available
to them on and off campus. We hope to see and talk with them long before
they are seniors or have changed their majors several times.
- By taking a few minutes now and then in your classes, office advising
sessions, or other workspace, to share something about your own academic and
career journey, and to inquire regarding your students’ future planning.
The sooner they begin to envision a professional role or occupational setting
for themselves, the more likely they are to perform well in the classroom,
persist in college, and seek out career-building experiences that will further
clarify their options and prepare them for the world of work.
- By impressing upon students the need to develop the skills that employers are looking for in new graduates: strong verbal and written communication, presentation, listening, and social skills. They want job candidates
who are honest, eager and enthusiastic about their career plans, and willing
to accept responsibility, initiate and lead. They seek candidates who can set
priorities, plan and organize well, who are problem solvers and team players,
and who can be flexible and adaptive to changing circumstances. Employers
need people who have the background and ability to do the job, of course. They
assume adequate computer skills and screen for employees whom they believe
will provide exceptional service to their clients and customers. They want
evidence of an open attitude toward learning new skills and taking on increased
responsibilities. Integrity, polish and professionalism (or the clear potential
for it) are all high on a recruiter’s list of qualifications.
- By helping us to identify practical learning experiences (internships
and part-time jobs) and beginning career opportunities for our students.
We will follow up with the contact persons and organizations you bring
to our attention, letting them know of the ways we can help address their
staffing needs.
How can we help you help students?
- Are you working with a student on choosing a major and uncertain how to advise him/her?
- Is a student in your department/program having difficulty and needing
to change majors?
- Is there a career resource we can help you find from our office library or online?
- Do you need employment outlook data for various occupations?
- Are students asking about starting salaries in your discipline?
- Are you trying to assist a student in identifying a practical learning experience?
- Are you unsure about what you should say and not say in a reference letter or call?
- Would you like to have a Career Services staff member visit your class?
- Maybe you would like to have a UIndy alum share his/her career journey with your students?
If there’s any way the Office of Career Services can support your advising
and mentoring of University of Indianapolis students, we certainly wish to
do so. This is a team effort!
