Students walk by every day, rarely noticing its presence. Behind glass doors, the serene ambiance welcomes students. Friendly faces greet anyone who wanders in. Comfortable couches provide space for relaxing. Candy bowls garnish the coffee tables as a heartwarming dash of hospitality. Where is this haven? You’ll find it in the Career Services Office, located in the upper Stevens Student Center.
At Cedarville University, we are blessed with fantastic resources, many of which go unnoticed. The Career Services Office is just one of these “hidden gems.” Whether you are a prospective Cedarville student trying to figure out what major to choose or a senior seeking job opportunities after graduation, Career Services has something for everyone. Personally, Career Services has helped me discover my major, build my resume, prepare for job fairs, find an internship, and connect with potential employers.
When I was an incoming freshman, I had several different majors to choose from. While I loved economics, I also had an interest in linguistics, professional writing, and Spanish. I was unsure how to integrate these interests into a career that would glorify God and fulfill me. During my first tour of Cedarville, my parents and I stopped by Career Services, where they pointed me to MyPlan.com, a website that contains career databases, major advice, and the personal interest and personality assessments to determine which careers would be a best fit for me. Thanks to Career Services, these assessments are free to Cedarville students.
I went online to take the assessment and was pleasantly surprised by the results. According to the personal interest assessment, my primary interests were artistic, conventional, and investigative. I then received a list of careers that best fit my interests. I liked the options provided, but to narrow down the list, I took the personality test. The results of this test, based on the Myers-Briggs Personality Test, showed that I was an ISTJ: introverted, sensing, thinking, and judging. By combining the results from both tests, my career counselor and I determined that the best career path for me would be data analytics, combining artistic graphs and visualization with statistical analyses and logic. I decided to declare two majors — Economics and Spanish — with a concentration in data analytics. This would help me maintain my language skills while furthering my primary career goal.
It was not long before I discovered even more incredible features of Career Services. All around campus, I began to see signs advertising the Fall Career Fair. I read that hundreds of employers from all around the world would attend, from Honda to Procter & Gamble to the FBI.
My curiosity was piqued, but as a freshman, I did not think a career fair was something I needed to attend until I became a junior or a senior. Dr. White put this idea to rest from the chapel stage when he encouraged students of all ages, areas of study, and experience levels to go to the career fair and make connections with potential future employers.
Interested in attending, I stopped by Career Services to ask for advice. The woman at the desk explained all the opportunities the career fair would provide. She described how beneficial it is for students to make personal connections with future employers to expand our professional network and improve our chances of being hired. She emphasized the importance of learning to present yourself professionally. The way you smile, greet people, and shake hands can leave an impact on an employer and influence whether or not they will hire you. One key piece of advice stuck with me: Sending the employers thank you notes for attending the career fair is the best way to express your gratitude for their time while making you stand out from the crowd.
To better prepare me for the career fair, she provided me with several Career Services resources. I followed the online guide on how to build a professional resume, which helped me understand that first impressions matter, even on a resume. It taught me to highlight my hard skills and soft skills, leadership experience, and volunteer work in addition to my academic and professional experience. With these pointers, my resume transformed into something I was proud to show any employer.
She then helped me register Jobs4Jackets, a networking website powered by Handshake. Similar to LinkedIn, Jobs4Jackets shows countless job listings that fit your interests and skill levels. I uploaded my resume, filled in my profile, and immediately found internship applications for data analytics positions. I could see which employers had registered for the career fair, which allowed me to prepare for who I would meet. Through this profile, I had copies of my resume printed for the career fair ahead of time. Career Services uses special linen resume paper to present a clean, polished resume that made me feel like a real professional.
When the day for the career fair finally came, I was thankful for the resources I had utilized ahead of time. Resume in hand, I straightened my nametag and surveyed the crowd before me. The Doden Field House had been transformed into a maze of tables, signs, and displays. Students had traded their sweatpants for suits. I took a deep breath and approached the first table. Though the first conversation with an employer was awkward, it became much easier after that. I made so many connections at my first career fair, some of which I have continued even up to my senior year.
One of the connections I made as a freshman was with the Air Force Civilian Services. I met the recruiters and gathered information about their internships. I wrote them thank you notes and visited them again at the following career fairs. By the time I was a junior, I was finally eligible to apply for the internship. I gave the now-familiar recruiter my resume, and within three days, received an offer to work as a Contracting Intern at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. This would not have been possible if not for the resources and preparation Career Services provided me.
As a senior, I am looking forward to working with Career Services while I determine my path post-graduation. From the graduate school preparation material to the online job banks, there are so many hidden gems that have helped further my professional pursuits. If that were not enough, the benefits of Career Services will not end when I graduate. These fantastic resources are also available for Cedarville alumni to utilize. As the saying goes, “Once a Yellow Jacket, always a Yellow Jacket.”
Major and Year of Graduation: Economics and Spanish, class of 2025.
Favorite Study Spot: The Lower Library.
Favorite Music Artist: Savi (She’s a Cedarville Graduate with five songs on Spotify – Check her out!).
Favorite Quote: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” C. S. Lewis
What do You Like to do in Your Free Time? I love reading, writing, and going to the gym.
Favorite Bible Verse: Habakuk 1:5.
Tags: #advice, #careerservices, #cedarville, #college, #guide, #helpful, #studentguide, #studentlife, #tips
Posted in: Career Services, College Life, Practical Tips, Student Employment, Student Guide