Director Shelly Holly discusses opportunities available to students through the Office of Career Services.
The Office of Career Services is bigger and perhaps more capable than ever to help students “define and clarify goals, explore alternatives, identify options and plan a job search strategy,” according to their website. The office has a wealth of opportunities available for TU students, but the greatest difficulty it faces, according to Career Services Director Shelly Holly, is reaching students so they may be aware of these tools. This article is intended to inform you of the benefits you can take advantage of and upcoming events hosted by Career Services.
Students who reach out to Career Services are provided with individual assistance, meaning one-on-one communication with a career specialist.
One of the most essential things you can request assistance on with this specialist is reviewing your resume. Resume assistance is personalized depending on your preferred field or the department you currently belong to. For those looking to work abroad, or even to return to a home outside America, Career Services can offer expertise regarding other countries’ resume formats, and furthermore professional customs that the student might want to familiarize themselves with.
Career specialists can also build a student’s interviewing skills, particularly through on-campus mock interviews or Big Interview, an online program which offers mock interviews 24/7. Through Big Interview, students can learn what questions to expect in their industry, craft responses using the “answer-builder” tool, and generally beat out the competition in the interview process.
You might also get a specialists’ assistance in finding out how best to network for your career phase, whether that be through LinkedIn or upcoming job fairs. When I went in, I was shown how easy it was to connect with other through LinkedIn, finding several potential connections even after we’d filtered down to St. Louis residents who’d graduated TU and had some association to journalism.
You’ll find links to Big Interview, LinkedIn and a few other online resources through the Golden OpporTUnities webpage, which can be accessed from the Office of Career Services page on the University of Tulsa website. One of Golden OpporTUnities’s main purposes is to display internship postings online. Also on Golden Opportunities can be found a list of businesses that hired TU graduates, and a list of companies recruiting on campus, whether that be job fairs, showcases or on-campus interviews for internships or professional positions.
It’s important to remember that much or even most of these resources apply for students seeking further education at graduate or professional schools after TU, not just those immediately seeking job offers.
Nor is the Career Services office done with you when you get the job offers you want. The office will help you evaluate your job offers, weighing the pros and cons and reviewing the rate of pay against the national and area averages as well as other factors.
Besides all these readily available tools and offers, the Career Services office is hosting some events this semester.
Among them are a petroleum industry job fair on February 8, and an etiquette dinner on February 16, to help prepare students for business meetings or interviews hosted over dinner. Beyond that, there’s a Suit Up Tulsa! event on March 11 where students and faculty are invited to stay after hours at JCPenney and find the right professional suit for them.
You can contact the Career Services office online or head straight to their office, located on the second floor of the Hardesty Building.
