Career network is not just for current students

By Josh Holderbaum
Western Herald

When hundreds of Western Michigan University seniors graduate on Saturday, one word will be on many of their minds: jobs.

Many new alumni forget that they can still use the WMU Career Network after they graduate, joining the ranks of soon-to-be graduating seniors, said Lynn Kelly-Albertson, executive director of Career and student Employment Services.

“Students graduating right now really want to know what the market looks like, if there is a market right now and how the market is for their major,” Kelly-Albertson said. “Some students are trying to look for a job in January, some plan on working part-time to give them the time and energy it takes to find a good job.”

The Career Network consists of Career and Student Employment Services along with college-specific career centers, such as the Haworth College of Business Career Center, the Counseling and Testing Center, and the Alumni Career Network.

Recent alumni looking for their first job would find WMU’s normal Career Network beneficial while alumni between jobs who have been in the market for some time would find the Alumni Career Network more helpful, Kelly-Albertson said.

Services available include résumé writing, interview skills and self-marketing.

“One area we want students to focus on is to articulate their accomplishments,” Kelly-Albertson said. “That could be through school, through employment or through leadership activities. When you’re thinking about these three areas, you can see where your strengths are.”

Foreign languages are also a big plus to employers.

“Students should think about learning a second or third language,” Kelly-Albertson said. “Many employers are looking for people who speak Spanish and others are looking for people who speak lots of different languages – Arabic, Chinese, anything.”

Students moving across the country have some resources at their disposal, too.

“If students moving to another state need career services, we can ask for reciprocity in the area they’re going to move to,” Kelly-Albertson said.

“If students let us know where they’re headed, we can contact a college in the area and see if they’ll let that student use their career services. Inside the state there isn’t much reciprocity granted, but if one of their students moves to our area and needs our services, we’ll let them – that’s reciprocity.”

Students out of the area can also call-in for career advising, Kelly-Albertson said.

Based on attendance at the university’s career fairs, employers still want college graduates.

“We feel like we’ve been pretty fortunate,” Kelly-Albertson said. “Our job fairs have been a little smaller, but not significantly smaller. Some colleges have seen half of their normal employers come to job fairs.”

Around 40 employers have registered for the Career Network’s Feb. 4 college-wide career fair which is also open to alumni, about the same amount as last year at this time, Kelly-Albertson said.

Graduating seniors should still prepare for a long haul, Kelly-Albertson said.

“Expect the process to take longer,” Kelly-Albertson said. “While you’re waiting, work part-time or volunteer and stay connected to professional organizations. That’s one thing seniors don’t do when they graduate – stay in touch with people in their industry.”

For more information on the Career Network, call 387-2545 or visit www.wmich.edu/career.

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=13322

Posted by HeraldAdmin on Dec 13 2009. Filed under Campus, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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