Senior year, while characterized by fun, maybe too much from time to time, can also be characterized by overwhelming stress regarding finding a job. At times, finding a job may seem impossible, but the good news is K-State is here to help you succeed in this endeavor…and here’s how!
Meet With Your Career Advisor
Meeting with your career advisor is an excellent way to jump start the job hunting process and to help you go the extra mile to set yourself apart from other candidates. Whether you don’t know what type of job you want or you want advice on how to score a job in your favorite city, your career advisor at the Career Center is here to help you. You can set up your free advising appointment by calling the Career Center at 785-532-6506.
On top of this, your college may also offer career advising services. For instance, if you’re majoring in the College of Business Administration, you can meet with a Career Coach by calling 785-532-3982 or by emailing CDBusiness@ksu.edu and receive some specialized advice for your specific major. If you’re outside of the College of Business, I recommend contacting your department and seeing what services are available.
Did I mention it’s all free?
Your Resume
Unless you have already been networking with recruiters, your resume is the first impression that employers will have of you. Making sure your resume is free from error and top of the line can be difficult with only one set of eyes. Having your resume looked at by your parents, roommate, coworker, etc. can help make sure that your resume isn’t tossed out for an “it’s/its” catastophe. It can also be difficult to put your expereinces into words, so having a professional in your industry review your resume can help as well. Asking your professors or your professional mentor to review your resume can also be a great way to make it through this stage of the job hunting process. The Career Center also offers resume critique drop-in times from 12:00-4:00pm Monday through Thursdays.
Interviews
Interviews can be terrifying, but luckily there are some resources that will help reduce this stress and help you obtain your dream job. Many K-State colleges host their own mock interviews conducted by professionals in the industry. You can also set up a mock interview with your career advisor. If you’re tight on time and your interview is around the corner, the Career Center has some awesome tips for acing your interview at http://www.k-state.edu/careercenter/documents/interviewpreparationpresentation.pdf. Further, looking up some common interview questions like those at the Glassdoor (https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/common-interview-questions/) can help you prepare for your interview.
Career Fairs
While the All-University Career fair is in the Fall, K-State offers several in the Spring! The Business Career Fair is coming up on Februray 22nd, as well as Education On-Campus Interviews will be coming up on March 6th. The Design Expo, for opportunities in architecture, product design, graphic design, and more, will also be coming up on on March 10th. For more information on any of these events, please visit http://www.k-state.edu/careercenter/students/events/.
Job Offers
Congrats on the job offer! You did it, but now which job offer do you accept? For some, this can be an easy decision based on location, type of job, start date, or other factors that are important to you. A lot of the time though, it can come down to the compensation. You may miss out on an awesome opportunity by only comparing salary to salary, instead of taking the benefits offered into consideration. Benefits such as health insurance, vacation time, 401(k) plans, and disability insurance can all greatly increase the value of the job offer. You can find lots of great information on how to analyze a job offer by using your free account at www.saltmoney.org. You can also set up an appointment with a Powercat Financial Counselor (www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial/services) and you and your counselor can work through it together!
Jillian Taylor – Peer Financial Counselor III
