27 Nov E33: Can your campus career centre help you find that first job?

E33: Visit your career centre! 2:24 listen, 1:00 read

Your career centre has a host of services to help you land your first job.

I was surprised to hear that only half the final year class (54%) use their careers centre on campus

That number is 54% for Canadian Universities and 41% for Colleges.
The numbers are even lower for the earlier years of study.

That makes no sense to me. It is a valuable service, included in your tuition.
That is like paying for the meal plan and never stopping by the cafeteria.
Not even for a banana.

Reasons why

These were the top 3 reasons selected on the survey:

1. Too busy
2. Don’t need it / Not helpful
3. Not aware

Thanks to Prof. Sean Lyons and Prof. Linda Schweitzer for their presentation at the SEMM conference based on the 2018 survey data collected by Brainstorm Strategy Group

What’s in a name?

Can’t find it under that name on campus or on your website? Here are some of the alternate \names for this department or service:

• Career advancement or exploration centers
• Vocational guidance centre
• Career advice centers
• Career Hub
• Centre for Career Action
• Career & Co-op Centres
• Career resource centre

The career centre is often a key part of your introductory tour when you arrive on campus. But campus visitors services should be able to help you locate it.

Tilt your future in your favour

Make use of the resources available on most campus locations (see E34 below). They also have online study modules available for help with resume writing, and even interview prep.

• Were you surprised that the number was so low?
• How could your local career services centre improve their outreach?
• Does your career services teamwork with faculty professors to understand the rapidly changing Future of Work?

Related episodes in this Careers Center series:

• E33: Less than 55% of final-year students use their career centres
• E34: 10 ways to get value from your career advice centre
• E35: Use your campus career center to go places – for the graduating class, all students and alumni too

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