The end of the semester is almost here and many graduating seniors are feeling the pressure. All those probing and annoying questions like “What are you going to do with that degree?” or “How are you going to make a living?” or even the age-old “What are you going to be when you grow up?” are knocking on every senior’s door.
You might have been able to keep the judgemental comments at bay these past four plus years by convincing them that there are job opportunities out there for you once you have that degree in your hand. Yet, now that the time is almost here, you might not be as confident in your resume-writing and job-finding skills as you previously thought.
One resource UVU offers its students to help prepare them for success after college is the Career Development Center. Michael Snapp, long-time director of the CDC explained how the resources they offer to help students find jobs or internships does not disappear once a student graduates.
“We are one of the few universities that do not charge alumni to use career services. I’m actually kind of proud about that. Some of the schools in the state charge alumni after they’ve been graduated for a year,” Snapp said. “Not us, and we won’t. Alumni have access to the same tools and resources that any current student at UVU does.”
One of the resources UVU offers its students is access to the Handshake platform, which is like a typical job platform and a LinkedIn profile combined into one. The platform’s sole purpose is to help students find success in their job search.
“Handshake is a consortium made up of universities all over the United States. … Students and alumni can keep their profile for as long as they want; it will always be there and tied to their UV ID. After they graduate, they just keep logging in as they did before, [but] they will want to keep their profile up-to-date and show they have graduated,” Snapp said.
You can access Handshake by going to the CDC webpage on UVU’s website and clicking “students” in the navigation bar. Once you create a profile, you’ll enter in basic information such as job and educational experience, volunteer work, skills learned and courses taken.
Like LinkedIn, you can connect to fellow students, friends, employers and family to help expand your network. You will be privy to job fairs that UVU is hosting under the events tab, and you can even save or favorite jobs you’re interested in to help the program recommend similar postings and help you narrow down your findings.
If students — including alumni — are still apprehensive, they can call the CDC and make an appointment with one of their counselors. They can help you to set up your Handshake account, practice interviewing skills, look into job shadow opportunities and let you know about events such as the upcoming alumni fair May 17.
“Each of the colleges and universities partner on this event and bring in employers looking to hire graduates. This year the fair takes place at Salt Lake Community College. Details will be on our website in the near future,” Snapp said.
It doesn’t matter whether or not you’re a freshman who’s just declared their major or an alumni who’s still having trouble finding a job, UVU’s Career Development Center is here for you and doesn’t plan on going anywhere — even if you do.
