Hidden within the halls of the Human Service building is one of Eastern’s best kept secrets: Career Services. Career Services is a department that is dedicated to helping students find a job, whether that is after graduation or while still studying at Eastern.
Getting a job and preparing for life after college is an extremely daunting task: any student can tell you that. This is exactly how senior communication disorders and science major, Abbey Vollmer was feeling when she stopped by Career Services one crisp Sept. afternoon.
Vollmer was extremely busy that day and was trying to do a million things all at once. She had class to attend, a job to go to and a client to meet with as a part of her practicum. She barely had any time at all, but desperately needed some help with her resume. So, she walked into the door of Career Services hoping to find some guidance and help.
This is where she met with Kindal Boatright, a mass communication major who serves a Career Peer for the department. Vollmer rushed into Boatright’s office with her resume and a million questions. Boatright sat down with her and looked at her resume and started offering some helpful tips.
She taught Vollmer about how long a resume should be, what is necessary to include, and what is not necessary. Boatright was done assisting Vollmer within 15 minutes, and Vollmer left Career Services feeling so much better.
Boatright said Vollmer’s story is incredibly common among Eastern students and is something that Career Services sees every day.
Vollmer was a drop-in appointment, but Career Services also allows for students to make appointments ahead of time. Either way, the goal of Career Services is to be there whenever students need them to help in any way they can.
It is a fantastic resource for students to use to create resumes that are professional and give them the best chance at landing the job they are after.
The Career Peers all agree that not enough students know about Career Services and the amazing benefits you get from having someone look at your resume.
Boatright said, “I wish more underclassmen would come to Career Services because its mostly grad students and upperclassman who come and the sooner you start your professional resume and start working towards building it, the better.”
Many students believe that creating a resume and thinking about their future career is something they will not have to do until they are a senior or graduated.
Another one of the Career Peers at Career Services, Nyla Douglas a civil/nonprofit leadership major, said that one of the biggest misconceptions about Career Services is that “You don’t need it until you’re a senior.”
Countless students think this way, but you do not need to be an upperclassman to visit Career Services. They have value to every student at each level of education.
Douglas also said that “Career Services can help students with finding a job while in school too.” Many students need to work while at school to help pay for rent or tuition, and Career Services can help students find these jobs that they need so badly.
Often times students feel alone when they first come to college. It can be easy to feel lost and unsure about what to do. College can be overwhelming, hard and unpredictable. But talking to someone who has gone through it and knows what to do, like the Career Peer professionals at Career Services, can make a huge difference.
Vollmer stated that after her meeting with Boatright that Career Services made her feel like “she was not as alone as she thought.”
That is the main priority at Career Services, to let students know they are not alone, and can come with as many questions they’d like, as often as they’d like. You will never be left to figure it out on your own, which is one of the most beautiful things about being a student at Eastern and having access to departments like Career Services.
Lindsay Weiss can be reached at 581-2812 or at dennewsdesk@gmail.com.
