Why should you go to a career center when you don’t even know what career you want to take on yet? The career center is made for that very reason; to introduce you to the many different types of jobs out there that you might be interested in. I spoke with Casey Dozier, the program director of FSU’s career center to gain more insight on the career center’s goals and purpose.
“The biggest plus about the career center is that it has been the number one way students have found jobs, whether it be during their undergraduate career, after or during graduate school,” Dozier said. She said she couldn’t begin to think of the number of seniors who come to career center and quickly realize and regret not coming earlier on in their undergraduate careers.
I personally was introduced to the career center through my friend. He told me that there was going to be free pizza at this major exploration workshop as long as we sat through the whole workshop. So naturally I said, “Sure, why not?” Free food is always a good sale’s pitch to a college student, but I wasn’t expecting to take anything away from the workshop.
Coming into college I didn’t really have a concrete idea of what I wanted to major in so I chose business because I knew it would appease my parents, and I thought I would learn to love it as time went on. The workshop really tackled the idea of settling for something that doesn’t really interest you. They gave us all little note cards to write down a couple facts about ourselves, with no pressure of them being the most memorable or gargantuan. We then had to stand up and read off our cards one at a time, and everybody else in attendance would throw out some possible major and job ideas.
You’d be surprised how many college kids don’t know the extent of majors or what majors even exist. I had written down that I like to write poetry so someone had suggested I take a creative writing class. I had no clue creative writing was even a thing up until then. But after taking my first creative writing course, I switched majors to creative writing and couldn’t be happier.
But don’t think that the resources stop with choosing a major. The FSU career center also offers a career development course, which more or less helps you highlight your strengths and weaknesses. It also serves as a personal critique, challenging you to see what it is you actually want to do in life and also shedding light on things you might not have been aware of.
Casey said the center also aims to provide you the tools and resources needed to build a personal portfolio. “We offer several programs here at the career center, one of the most recent ones being ‘From Nole to Professionole,’ which highlights a variety of things, from building your personal resume to tips on how to prepare for the career fair. It also covers possible opportunities that you could take advantage of during you post undergrad limbo time period.”
As far as career resources go, the career center holds a huge database of information, from postings from companies about internships and jobs to information about particular jobs, their salaries and requirements. It even publishes a student newsletter, which caters jobs to specific majors.
Though a little more intimidating, the career fair is another available opportunity offered by the center. It gives you a unique chance to meet face to face with a huge selection of employers. With the opportunity of making your face known as well as serving your own resume, you get a chance to secure an interview and possibly even a job right out of college. There have been several friends of mine who have found success at the career fair, and it’s definitely an enriching experience.
I’ve become more and more of a frequent visitor of the career center as my undergraduate career has progressed; it has served as a source of ongoing career wisdom. It would only be in your best interest to stop by the career center one of these days and explore.
