What can the Career Development Center offer you?

Posted by Sarah Roche on July 5, 2011

Recently I met with Wendy Neuberger of the Career Development Center to discuss what the CDC offers Non-traditional students. It turns out, everything they offer traditional students.

This was a surprise to me. I had been under the assumption that internships were available to traditional students, but wouldn’t be open to adult students. I’m not sure exactly why; maybe it was the Friends episode where Chandler is the “old guy” intern at an advertising agency. Anyhow, the point is, my assumption was completely wrong. It seems that internships are available to non-trads, too.

Wendy referenced the recent survey that was sent out to non-traditional students from the Continuing Education & Outreach office. According to the survey responses, 75% of us said career services are somewhat to very important, but 68% of respondents hadn’t used the university career services.

Since the majority of survey respondents haven’t been to the CDC, this post will highlight some of the things they offer.

First off, the Career Development Center offers counselor on call sessions during the academic year and during breaks. I stopped in during winter break to have the counselor on call review my resume and found it a worthwhile trip. You can check out the schedule here.

Can’t make the scheduled on call hours? The CDC will work with you to find a time that accommodates a hectic schedule. Just contact the office to arrange an appointment to discuss career options, choosing a major or pursuing graduate school.

Just want some quick resume tips or information on how to apply to graduate school? The CDC website offers reference guides on a range of topics as pdfs for download.  I was rather amazed by the amount of information available at my fingertips. If you need more in depth information on a particular career related topic, the CDC also offers a library.

Are you on eRecruiting?  I’ll admit, I thought it was just a job listing site until I spoke to Wendy. I uploaded my resume to a number of resume books that employers can search through. It took only a few minutes, and now employers can find me through the CDC. In fact, the part that took the longest was updating my contact and academic information since it was no longer valid.

The CDC also hosts job fairs, the graduate school fair and law day in the fall. I wasn’t able to attend them last year because they conflicted with my work schedule, but I will definitely be taking advantage of the opportunity this year.

Have you used the Career Development Center? If so, what services did you use? If not, why not? What could the CDC do to better service your needs?  Let me know about your experiences in the comments section below.