Most, if not all, college students share the same goal. They want to use their college education to help them pursue a career. The career services office, sometimes called the career center, career placement office, or career office, helps students (and often alumni) meet that goal by providing a variety of services. Here are some basic services you can expect from your college's career services office. If you are shopping around for a college, you may want to make sure your college provides these services.
- Career Decision Making: a counselor at the career services office will help you figure out what career is right for you by using self assessment tools to examine your values, personality, interests and abilities. He or she will subsequently help you decide on an academic major that will help you meet your goals.
- Career Exploration: The career services office will help you learn about various occupations. A counselor will point you toward resources you can use to gather information. Career services offices usually maintain libraries housing career-related information. The career services office should have connections with alumni who can discuss their careers with current students.
- Resume Writing / Cover Letter Writing: Career services offices help students write their resumes and cover letters. They often conduct workshops and provide individual resume critiques and cover letter critiques. Many have computer workstations with specialized resume writing software.
- Job Interview Preparation: Career services offices usually sponsor workshops to help you learn how to present yourself well on a job interview.
- Job Placement: Career services offices maintain job listings. They also post part-time job openings for current students and often alert students to internship opportunities. Career services offices host job fairs during which employers visit the campus to recruit those about to graduate.
- Credential Management: Career services offices sometimes maintain student files containing letters of recommendation. They then forward these letters to potential employers and graduate schools upon the student's request. There is often a mailing charge for sending out these letters.
- Graduate School Advisement: Career services offices may help undergraduate students decide whether graduate school is a viable option and help them choose an appropriate program.
