On-Campus Resources: Utilizing UCI's Career Center
Here’s the understatement of the year: being a college student is difficult. As an undergraduate, I was swamped by my schedule. I always tried to fill my days with internships and work experiences while juggling my grades. I would spend almost all day every day on campus, trying to get work done. Sometimes I would get so busy, that I would question why I did this to myself.
And then I would always quickly remember: “oh yeah, to get a job.”
For 99.9% of us, the end game of college is definitively to get a job. And not just any job; a great one. It’s a very universal anxiety, no matter what field you plan on studying. At the end of the day, we all just want to be able to start our careers.
The journey to get employed is not an easy one. First, we often ask ourselves what we even want to do for the rest of our lives. And then we have to ask ourselves just what we have to do to get there. It’s also just so easy to get swept up in the gloom and doom of the job search; trying to fit all your strengths on one piece of paper that might change your life-- talk about pressure!
Thankfully, we have the Division of Career Pathways right on campus to help students out with this part of their respective journeys. The center offers appointments, drop-in hours, and guidebooks to help you throughout every step of the job search. Many of the resources can even be found online.
When I was applying for an internship, the first place I went to was the Division of Career Pathways. I went to their drop-in office hours where one of the center’s staff helped lookover and edit my resume. They went through line by line, letting me know where I could change the wording to make me stand out. I got a lot of really helpful advice on how to make my resume better, and afterwards, I felt so much more confident about the resume I would be submitting.
The Division of Career Pathways also puts on career fairs and graduate school fairs. Different employers or schools from all over the world would come to meet students. I greatly enjoyed attending these events and interacting with different recruiters face to face. It’s a lot easier to learn about grad programs when you meet them in person.
I always recommend my friends to visit the center. It’s hard to find a good job after your graduate, and it's nice to take advantage of something the campus provides.
