Career Services

Climb To Your Career In Four Years

Deb Blades — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:24:37 +0000

Where will you be in four years? Will you be ready to join the work force?

Maybe you have your future planned: you know what you want to be after graduation and you have an idea of how to get there. Or, maybe you aren’t even sure what you want to major in-never-mind know what kind of career you want to have after college.

No matter where you stand on your future-decided or unsure-if you’re planning to graduate in four years and find your spot in the work force, you should start taking steps now to reach your goals. It’s never too early (or too late) to start, however the earlier you start, the easier it will be to prepare!

The first thing you should do is develop the habit of stopping by the career services office on a regular basis. You need to check in a few times during your freshman year, more often during your sophomore year, frequently during your junior year, and weekly during your senior year.
Here is a timeline to guide your progress:

…Every fall

Make an appointment to talk with a professional from the Office of Career Services.
Check your career center’s web site for a calendar of dates and times of career development and job-search workshops and seminars, career and job fairs, and company information sessions.
Update your resume and have it critiqued and proofread.
Join professional associations and become an active member to build a network of colleagues in your field. Find a student version of your professional association and take leadership roles.
Subscribe to and read professional journals in your chosen field.

Top Qualities/Skills Employers Want
Communication skills Strong work ethic Teamwork skills (works well with others) Initiative Interpersonal skills (relates well to others) Problem-solving skills Analytical skills Flexibility /adaptability Computer skills Technical skills

Top Hiring Criteria for College Grads

Deb Blades — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:24:30 +0000

CollegeGrad.com, the #1 Entry Level Job Site, today released the results of its survey on what employers want most in hiring new college grads. What is most important to entry level employers-the college you graduated from? Your GPA? Or what you majored in? According to the survey results, the answer may surprise you.

Manufacturing Industry Job Fair Booklet Available

Deb Blades — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:32:12 +0000

The 2008 Manufactuaring Industry Job Fair was held on Friday, April 4, 2008. The job fair booklet is now available for download. We also have a very liminted number of copies available in our office, please stop by SUL 349 to pick one up.

For a list of companies who participated click here.

International Student Virtual Career Fair

Deb Blades — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 21:22:38 +0000

Learn more about signing up for the International Career Fair

Click here for a step by step guide to registering for the International Career Fair.

CollegeGrad.com Names Top Intern Employers for 2008

Deb Blades — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:27:54 +0000

Top 200 Intern Employers Plan to Hire more than 46,000 Interns in 2008

STATE COLLEGE, PA–(HR MARKETER)–February 27, 2008–CollegeGrad.com, the #1 Entry Level Job Site, today announced the Top 200 Intern Employers for 2008. According to the results of the 2008 Top Entry Level Employers survey, current college students can expect Top Intern Employers to hire more than 46,000 interns in 2008. The Top Intern Employers list details the 2008 internship hiring plans for 200 employers nationwide, and is available online at www.CollegeGrad.com/topemployers/internships.shtml. Each employer page also details projections for entry and masters level hiring for the 2008 recruiting year. Among the 2008 Top 200 Intern Employers listed by CollegeGrad.com, 53% anticipate hiring more interns in 2008 than 2007. 22% will hire the same number and 25% will be hiring fewer interns than in 2007. But even though more than half of employer respondents indicated they would be increasing their total intern hiring, the total increase in 2008 intern hiring is only 0.52% over 2007 intern hiring. Why so slight? “It may reflect the uncertainty with the economy,” said Brian Krueger, President of CollegeGrad.com. “A small increase is not inherently a bad thing, but it may be showing a leveling off of the demand for entry level talent in future years.”

At the top of the list, Walgreens plans to hire 7350 interns in 2008. “We’re proud to be the leader in internship opportunities,” said Marty Slevin, Walgreens manager of retail management recruitment. “Today, we offer more advancement opportunity than at any time in our 106-year history for students in retail management, pharmacy, technology and a broad spectrum of corporate positions.”

Other employers on the list are hiring as many as 2500, and as few as 5 interns in 2008. Across the board, employers point toward their internship programs as critical to future success in their recruiting and business efforts. Recruiting leaders specifically highlight best-fit evaluation as key to that success.

“Interns are critical to the success of ensuring a robust college grad hiring effort,” said Jolie Chehadeh, Campus Recruiting Program Lead for Thomson. “Interns experience the organization firsthand and make an informed decision on whether it is the right long-term career fit, and the organization is able to evaluate the skills and overall fit of the intern through firsthand experience.”

Lesser known employers find their internship programs valuable for developing on-campus advocates for their company. “Interns go back to their school after working at Argon ST and talk to other students about the positive engineering experience at Argon,” said Terry Collins, Argon ST’s CEO. “This helps us in hiring higher quality new graduates from their university.”

With more than 46,000 internship opportunities represented by the Top Intern Employers list, Krueger recommends that college students take advantage of available internships to launch themselves into post-graduation employment.

“The experience gained in an internship or co-op can be the key differentiator for many new college grads,” says Krueger. “A successful internship can be the ticket to locking down a job offer, or several job offers, early in your final year.”

Having already completed their internships, the Class of 2008 can look forward to a positive entry level hiring year. Top Entry Level Employer survey results released by CollegeGrad.com last month project entry level hiring to increase 11.8% in 2008.

2008 All Majors Career and Internship Fair Survey

Deb Blades — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 05:00:10 +0000

Thank you for making the 2008 All Majors Career and Internship Fair a great success. As we strive to continually improve such events, we are happy to receive feedback from faculty, staff, students and alumni. Click here to take a short survey and leave your recommendations for next year’s event. Thank you for your time and attention.

Career Fair Booklet Available for Download

Deb Blades — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 17:30:43 +0000

2008 Career and Internship Fair booklet is now available on-line. In addition to the online version, we also have extra copies in our office, please stop by SUL 349 to pick up your copy today.

Career Services Spring 2008 Newsletter Now Available!

Deb Blades — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:37:02 +0000

Spring 2008 Career Services newsletter is now available. Job fairs, student employment programming, adn upcoming workshops are all topics in this new publication. Published once each semester, this newsletter provides students, staff, and community members with the newest information about Career Services and Student Employment.

Top 500 Entry Level Employers of 2008

Deb Blades — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:22:53 +0000

The top 500 Entry Level Employers of 2008 have been announced. CollegeGrad.com sent out a press release announcing the results of their annual top entry level employers survey. The survey results spell good news for the class of 2008. The majority of employers surveyed are increasing their hiring, adn overall hiring is up by 11.8%! The “Top 500″ list is posted at http://www.collegegrad.com/topemployers, and is being updated daily.

B2B Spring 2008 Workshops Announced

Deb Blades — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 13:50:02 +0000

The schedule is set for career development workshop series “Backpacks to Briefcases” for the spring 2008 semester. Job fair 411, professional dress, and salary negotiations are among the many topics scheduled for this semester. Download the complete Backpacks to Briefcases Spring 2008 Schedule in Adobe .pdf format for all topics, dates, and locations.