With the anxiety I experience in job interviews and the uncertainty about my professional future, I fear I won’t be prepared for any career I go into or know what profession to pursue.
Fewer than 20 percent of college students reach out to their school’s career centers for advice on finding jobs, The Atlantic reported. With many students missing out on their school’s career resources, they may not be equipped with the skills needed to attain jobs after graduation.
Temple University offers many resources for students to explore career paths and strengthen their skill sets, like career coaching, interview preparation, resume and cover letter review and job search platforms.
To prepare for the job market after college, students must take advantage of the career resources offered through Temple’s Career Center or their school’s career services, like interview preparation and career fairs.
Some of the career services in individual schools include The Center for Professional Development in the Fox School of Business, The Joyce K. Salzberg Center for Professional Development in the College of Liberal Arts and the Career Center in the Lew Klein College of Media and Communication.
Students can schedule an appointment with employers and professional staff for a mock interview through Handshake, a university-wide internship and professional job database.
Proper preparation for job interviews increases the chances of students obtaining jobs by making them more confident in their abilities and prepared for potential interview questions.
Many schools and colleges within Temple also have their own career resources, like career counselors and required career development classes.
For example, The Center for Student Professional Development in Fox helps students find business-related jobs and works with Student Professional Organizations to develop students’ leadership skills.
Brighid Scanlon, the assistant director for undergraduate professional development in Fox, wants every student to leave Temple with the same level of professional development.
“Our aim is to try to close the gap between the students that come in without a lot of professional experience, or without those legacy family connections within the business community to create programming that can address the needs of our diverse student body,” Scanlon said.
To close the gap between students with experience or connections and students without them, Fox helps every student through a required one-credit career development course to develop students’ career goals, resumes and interview skills, she added.
Many people attain jobs through connections with people in their desired field. Between 70 to 80 percent of jobs aren’t advertised, but obtained through networks, TechJury reported. By meeting with career counselors, students can be connected with them to improve their job searches and are more likely to obtain jobs in their fields.
Jessica Lin, a senior marketing major, found the resources in CSPD to be helpful in job searching and getting her resume and cover letter reviewed.
“I feel like if I didn’t use them, I would rely solely on myself or on my friends, so it was nice to get help professionally,” Lin said.
Career coaches can play a key role in improving the quality of resumes and cover letters so students are able to stand out to recruiters during the job application process.
Taking advantage of the resources at the Career Center and CLA helps students gain professional experience, said Stacy Li, a career counselor at The Joyce K. Salzberg Center for Professional Development in CLA.
“Throughout all these experiences, it really just prepares students to be successful in whatever they do after they leave Temple,” Li said.
Temple’s career services can help students decide what career paths are suitable for them and prepare them to enter the workforce after graduating. Through career coaching, interview preparation and career fairs, students can walk out of college with the skills to succeed in their professions.
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