November is recognized as national career development month. Marquette University celebrates this through the Career Services Center, which is a tool students can use to prepare them for their futures in the workforce.
The mission of the National Career Development Association is to “provide professional development, publications, standards and advocacy to practitioners and educators who inspire and empower individuals to achieve their career and life goals.” They aim to allow all people to achieve strong careers and pursue passions.
Marquette University follows this vision through its Career Services Center. The center offers many opportunities for students to explore resume building, mock-interviewing and other career-related experiences. They offer in-person and virtual visits for students.
Courtney Hanson, the director of the Career Services Center, has been a part of the department for 15 years. Hanson said that she is excited that November is a chance for the Career Development Center to get a chance in the spotlight.
Hanson said that the Career Services Center is a service students have access to from the moment they start college to the moment they graduate, and beyond such as in forms of the website Handshake, which is a career management platform. She heavily encourages students to become involved in the Career Services Center and take advantage of the opportunities it has to offer.
“We encourage all students to take advantage of something offered by our office — that could be an individual appointment for a specific reason or just to check-in. Students should be engaged with coming to drop-ins, attending our annual events and/or career fairs, taking a career course, using Handshake, requesting a career workshop for your student organization,” Hanson said.
The Career Services Center at Marquette welcomed National Career Development Month by organizing opportunities for students to explore what the center has to offer. It hosted two open house events for students to see the center.
Hanson said she is excited to celebrate National Career Development Month and hopes that it will encourage students to be more engaged with Career Services Center.
“It is also a time that students can set aside time to intentionally consider what they hope to do after Marquette, and if they are on track or would benefit from checking in with Career Services,” Hanson said.
Even though the Career Services Center makes itself available to all students, some students are still unaware of what it is and what it does. Josh Ryan, a first-year student in the College of Engineering, said he wasn’t exactly sure what the Career Services Center was.
“I would definitely consider using the Career Development Center at Marquette sometime in my future. As of right now, I know I want to pursue some sort of engineering, but I am not exactly sure what. It would definitely be nice to have someone help guide me,” Ryan said.
Ryan said that being a first-year student is already very overwhelming and having to find a job in the future makes it hard to handle the stress of school.
“It is very difficult to keep up with all of the work without knowing exactly what it entails, and I feel like the Career Development Center would help me see that that the ends justify the means and keep up my motivation,” Ryan said.
Selee Olmen, a first-year student in the College of Communication, agreed with Ryan that she wasn’t very aware of the center but would take advantage of the opportunities it offers.
“It’s hard not knowing exactly what I want to do in the future,” Olmen said. “Getting a good internship and job is just as important as getting good grades, so I would use the career center to help me find experience.”
Hanson hopes that students will utilize the center if they are unsure of what their future holds. The COVID 19 pandemic has shifted the ways people apply to jobs through more online interviews and emphasis on resumes. The Career Services Center hopes to guide students of our generation through this.
“Students don’t have to struggle with major and career discernment alone,” Hanson said. “Figuring out next steps after college is a process that takes time and career counselors are here to help guide students.”
This story was written by Phoebe Goebel. She can be reached at [email protected]
