Transcription
Hi, everyone. Welcome. Today, we will be talking about career and job search resources for senior students. My name is Ariya. I am a career counselor here at the career center.
So, here are our learning objectives for today. By the end of this presentation, students will be able to:
* Identify job search strategies and resources available for graduating students through the career center.
* Learn key aspects of the career development process.
* Display an understanding of the complexity of the job market and a willingness to engage with uncertainty.
* List two to three steps they can take to work on their post-graduation goals.
* List at least two to three tools they can use post-graduation.
So, what is the career center? The career center is a place where dreams become a reality through career and community. We will basically meet you wherever you may be, so we can help you obtain one-on-one counseling and guidance. Help you discover your interests and your passions. Figure out what your skill sets are, and then how to display those into your resume. Explore the different options that are available to you, as well as develop professionally. This might mean helping you with your cover letter, your resume, or your online profile through LinkedIn. We will also help you connect with employers, as well as engage with the events and workshops that are available to you. For example, the All Majors Career Fair, which is offered twice a year, once in fall and once in spring. There are also available a variety of resources and tools for you to use as well, and lastly, prepare to launch your career. You can also scan that QR code on the left-hand side to schedule an appointment with me or any of the other career counselors here at the center.
So, what is the career development process? It starts by knowing yourself. So, this includes your values, your personality, as well as the things that you enjoy, your interests. Then, it goes to explore your options, right? This could be researching various career paths that are available to you, or it might be an area of interest that you might be leaning towards, but you're not 100% sure yet. We do have a variety of tools that you can use in order to help you, including "What Can I Do With This Major?", where it will show you the different options that you have available within the path that you're thinking of pursuing, such as psychology.
The next step is deciding, preparing, and engaging. So, what strategies could you use in order to gain experience in the field that you're thinking of? Maybe using Sac State Career Network, which is a networking tool that we have where you can connect with alumni that are already in the field that you're interested in, also applying for jobs, or tailoring your experience. The next step would be gaining experience. So, once you've found out more about yourself and explored the different options that are available to you in the field that's of interest, the next step would be to volunteer or internships, or do some job shadowing in order to find out more about the field of interest so that you can figure out, is this really what I want to do? Or do I need to pivot? And lastly, enriching and adapting your career. Career development is a lifelong process. So, what are some steps that you could take? Could you engage in a professional network? Could you network with others in the field? And I do want to point out that this career development process is not linear, right? You could start by deciding on a career. For example, like I remember in my experience, I just decided I wanted to do nursing, right? But then, when I went to gain experience and job shadowed, I found out, you know what, I want to help people, but this isn't the field that I want to go into. So then I was back to knowing myself and exploring the different options that I had available. And that might be something that happens. So, it's okay if you hop around a little bit. Just know that the career development process isn't always linear and that you can hop around a little bit, and we can help with this as well, just to make the process a little bit smoother for you.
So now, I want to start with introducing an iceberg exploration activity. So, take a couple minutes, either get a piece of paper and a pencil, or if you want to jot something down on your laptop and type it up, you can do that, or you could just think about it. I will give you a moment to get settled.
Okay, great. So, you're going to start with thinking about this iceberg as what's above the surface and what's below, right? So, above the surface, you'll see skills and knowledge. So, this is what others see about you. When it comes to the knowledge piece, you want to think about, what is your major? So, this might be psychology, kinesiology. The skills portion would be, what are the skills that you've gained from what you're studying? So, for example, if you majored in psychology, some of the skills that you might have gained from it might be interpersonal skills, or creativity, or thinking outside the box. Under the surface is role models, motifs, and values. So, this is what's harder for others to see, but what you know about yourself. Role models might be people who you admire. These might be professors, parents, famous people, anybody that motivates you. Think about the qualities that these role models have. Why are they your role models? Motives: So, what motivates you? What are you passionate about? And lastly, values: So, what is important to you? Is it work-life balance? Is it making a certain amount of money? So, just take a couple minutes and try to brainstorm and jot a couple things down.
So, hopefully, this activity helped you learn more about yourself so that you can engage in careers and jobs that align with what's important to you. For example, if I am majoring in psychology, and some of the skills that I bring in are interpersonal skills and creativity. And my role models, maybe, are counselors or professors that help other people. My motives might be the fact that I love helping other people, and I want to give back. Some of my values might be work-life balance. All things considered, I might want to engage in jobs or careers that allow me to give back to others. These might mean engaging in internships such as in the fields of social work, or maybe I want to engage in counseling internships, right? So that eventually I can be able to help others too. So, this exploration activity basically helps you find out a little bit more about yourself so that you can choose career paths and jobs that align with your values.
So, for our next activity, this is just going to require a quick brainstorm, so I'll give you a minute to get settled. And I just want you to think about in your job search that you're about to start. Who are some people that can help you? Where are some places you could go in order to search for a job? And lastly, what are some things that you could do in order to help you with your job search strategy? So, take a couple minutes of short reflection.
Great. So, now that you've reflected, here are some of the options that you might have included. So, here are some people that could help you with your job search strategy. These could include alumni for those that have already graduated and are in fields of interest. These could be your mentors, your professors. Career counselors could also help you here at the career center. We are also happy to help you find different strategies in order to help you search for a job. Professionals also looking at professional networks, associations, and clubs, as well as community members. Some of the places that you could go to in order to search for a job, maybe job search engines, company websites, Google, or even a physical location of a company. The Career Center webinars, conferences, as well as career fairs. Some things that you could do in order to help with a job search might include building your resume, practicing your elevator pitch, engaging with LinkedIn and Handshake, looking at the skills that you're gaining, as well as how to word them onto your career documents, engaging in experiential learning, and finally, professional greetings. Now, this is just a list of different things that you could possibly do. And you might pick and choose, right? It's not one thing that might work for one person may work for somebody else. So, just know that you have a lot of different options, and you might choose a couple from here, but not everything, that's completely fine. This list is just to help you brainstorm.
So, what is the Sac State Career Network? If we're thinking about people that could help you, Sac State Career Network is a great resource that you could utilize. Basically, it is those that have graduated from Sac State that are engaging in careers that you might be interested in. So, you can look at, for example, if I want to go into business and I want to be a human resource specialist, I might search up human resource specialist where it says "Browse Mentors," and then you can look at who are those mentors. And once you've done that, you can book a consultation, which is basically a 15 to 20-minute meeting with somebody who's already in the field of interest. So, you can ask them a couple questions that you would like to know about the field that they're in.
Another resource that you could utilize is LinkedIn. LinkedIn also has various people that may be in fields that are of interest to you. So, what is LinkedIn? It has 900 million members, a digital reputation. 72% of recruiters do use LinkedIn, and it is a great way to search for positions as well as engage in networking. How can it help me? It can help you start a professional network, research company profiles and professional backgrounds of individuals, as well as tap into job opportunities, too, and build your professional brand. And when it comes to Sac State Career Network or LinkedIn, you can always conduct an informational interview, which is a fancy way of saying asking people in the field of interest some questions. So, say you're interested in a career path. These are some of the questions that you may want to consider asking: Describe your career path. How did you decide to pursue the career that you're working in? How did your undergraduate major or experience help you prepare for your career? What are your major responsibilities? What does a typical day or a week look like for you? What do you like least or most about your work? What skills, abilities, and personal attributes are essential to success in your job or field? What current issues and trends in the field should I know or be aware of? What related fields, jobs, and industries do you think I should consider looking into? And lastly, what advice would you give somebody who is considering this job or field?
So, places where could you go in order to search for a job? You can go to our Career Center website. You can also schedule a drop-in visit or an appointment. Another great way to search for career paths as well as jobs is through Handshake. You can click on "Make Your Profile Stand Out." Make sure you fill it out completely so that Handshake can filter out job positions that it thinks that you would be interested in. You can also search for jobs as well as different events that we host at the career center. When you click on the events tab, that will help you stay informed of the upcoming events we have, for example, the All Majors Career Fair that we host twice a year, once in fall and once in spring, where over 200 employers attend, and you are able to learn more about different job opportunities as well as internships. There are also "Meet the Employer" events and other events that you can engage in order to help you network and also find out more about the different opportunities available to you.
Another really great tool is to use Labor Market Insights. So, what is Labor Market Insights? Labor Market Insights is a tool where you can learn more about fields of interest. You can either search by keyword, or you can search by industry. For example, if you wanted to search by keyword, you could search "community health worker." If you wanted to search by industry, you could search "human services," and it would show you all of the different jobs within human services that you might be interested in. It's a great way to learn more about what that job entails as well as the core tasks that would be required of you. It also includes employment trends, so you know what the job would look like over the next 10 years, as well as top employers who are currently hiring, the education level that is required, and the annual earnings that you would be making. You can also filter this by location to get accurate readings. In order to stay informed and to get reminders, you can follow us at @SacStateCareer. If you scan that QR code, you will be able to see our page.
So now, I want you to consider what are two career-related action steps that you will take this semester? What are two resources you will use? Take a moment to reflect.
Here are some examples and career development takeaways that you may consider:
1. Check out "What Can I Do With This Major?" and other exploration tools.
2. Attend at least one career center employer event. You can look at these through Handshake.
3. Connect with professionals in the field of interest through Sac State Career Network and LinkedIn. You can also conduct informational interviews after you find who you want to connect with through Sac State Career Network and LinkedIn.
4. Handshake Resource Library. This is also a great tool for you to be able to engage in your job search process.
5. You can also view the Job and Internship Handbook for resume templates.
6. Book a career counseling appointment. Me or any of the other career counselors would be happy to help meet you where you're at.
7. Utilize Big Interview.
8. Research using the Labor Market Insights tool.
Well, thank you all for attending. And hopefully, by the end of this, you feel a little bit more confident in your job search process and tools that you can engage in in order to help you. Please feel free to visit us at the Career Center. We're located in Lassen Hall 1013. Just know that you do not have to go through any of this alone, and that we are here to support you wherever you may be in your career development journey. Thank you.