What the UR Career Center is doing to help you during the economic downturn

As we near the end of spring semester, it’s natural for students, graduating or not, to be nervous about the job market. The Career Center realizes this, and is doing several things this year to assist students and alumni with the current job market, and also offer several tips.

Tips for All Students
Tips for Seniors
Tips for Students with 2 or more semesters left

What is the Career Center doing to respond?

1. Creation and implementation of several “Senior Job Search” seminars, which include information on resume writing, looking for jobs and employers, effective communication and the ability for students to support each other through the process.
2. Outreach to all previous and current employers regarding our job posting, resume collection and interviewing services
3. Post & Host Alumni Internship outreach Program (February 2009) – In collaboration with the Alumni Relations offer, reached out to alumni to encourage posting and hosting an internship in their office.
4. Continued support for regional and field specific Career Fairs, including non-profit, business, sports, Rochester Area, teaching, etc. See our Career Fairs page for more information.
5. Early Promotion of next year’s featured Recruiting Programs and Options to keep employers engaged whether or not they are currently hiring.
6. Senior Class Status Check (late-March): Online questionnaire that assessed current seniors job and graduate school search, and identified how the career center can help individual students with concerns.
7. Creation of  websites to disseminate information to students, parents and alumni about our offerings and how we can help navigate the job market.

What tips do we have for students currently searching for jobs and internships?
USE THE CAREER CENTER – Even if you’ve never been here, we offer:

1. Individual Career Counseling
2. This website and assistance in finding information
3. The Hyman Goldberg Career Library, with information on majors, career fields, employers, graduate school information, internships, as well as a full team of Peer Career Advisors and a full-time professional Resource Counselor
4. CareerLink job and internship postings, resumes books and resume collections
5. Various seminars, student organization programs, and collaborations with other campus constituencies

Tips For Graduating Seniors

1. Don’t freeze up – It’s scary out there. Chances are good you’re going to get rejected from positions. However, if you don’t apply in the first place, you’re 100% not going to get that job you want.
2. Have your Documents Ready in advance – Even if you’re not quite ready to start submitting applications, having a resume and cover letter drafted can take some of the pressure off once you find something you really want to apply for.
3. Find Firms, Fields and Functions of interest – Even if you don’t see job postings you like, you can apply directly to employers if you know what you want. What career paths and job duties are you interested in? Knowing Field, Function and Firms means you can apply for positions that might not even be listed yet!
4. Focus – It’s counter-intuitive in a market like this, but keep your focus. While tempting to say “I just need A job, ANY job,” it will make you spread yourself too thin and become less effective. Focusing on job fields, geographic areas, and taking the time to become creative and inventive in your job search is more likely to yield solid results and end up with you in a job you actually want.
5. APPLY to positions and companies – You do actually need to hit the “apply” or “send” button. Yes, you’re opening yourself up for rejection. But if you don’t do it, you’re not really looking for job, you’re just lurking on the edges of the job market.
6. Consider other options – Post-baccalaureate internships, “bridge” pre-professional summer institutes, apprenticeships, and part-time or volunteer work gets you into the market. You’ll have opportunities to network with professionals, gain additional experience, and have something to do other than worrying about the job market.
7. Take care of yourself – If you’re swamped with finals and actually just finishing the semester, prioritize in ways that make sense to you. If it’s better to work on job or internship search now to give yourself some peace, come on into the office. If you need to put it off until after that 50-page senior thesis, we’ll still be here when you’re done!
8. Realize that the Career Center helps after you graduate too – We are your Career Center, and we’re here when you need us, even after graduation. Almost all of our services are available to alumni as well as current students, and we’re dedicated even more to helping this year’s senior class beyond graduation.

Tips for Students with 2 or more semesters left

1. Start looking – April, May, or even June isn’t too late to look for an internship. Many students find their internship once they return home for the summer. However, it is important to know what you want, and to have your resume and cover letters ready before you go home, so you can hit the ground running!
2. Be creative – Realize that the skills you gain in your internship can be more important than where you do the internship. Figure out what you want to gain from this summer, and then be creative in looking for places to do it!
3. Apply, even if you don’t see an internship posted – Many internships are never posted online. Why? Because motivated students have contacted the employer proactively, shown their interest, and developed an internship before the employer even needed to worry about posting it.
4. Develop an internship for yourself – Many employers and companies don’t have an internship program. It could be because no one has ever asked for one. Know what you want to get out of your internship (be realistic, they won’t have you managing employees right away!), and be prepared to ask for it. If you can set up the first internship they’ve ever had, they will probably hire other interns in the future from that model!
5. Volunteer, Intern, Extern – There are many ways to gain experience, and not all of them are full-time summer paid internships. In this economy, it’s important to be flexible and realize that shadowing a professional in a career you’re interested in can be just as rewarding as a full-time full-summer internship.
6. Information Conversations – If shadowing or interning isn’t a possibility, ask professionals if you can speak with them about their position, company and career. An hour long conversation, in person or on the phone, can give you a lot of information about how to get into a field, suggestions they may have for classes or skills to develop, and if you actually like the reality of that profession.