Staff Writer
There are 5,916 students enrolled in 45 undergraduate programs this fall.
Most students obtain a degree to start a career after graduation, but some students do not know where to start.
The Career Management Center, located in room 108 of the Clark Student Center, provides students and alumni with information on how to search for a job before and after graduation.
Some 500 students during the fall semester and 700 students during the spring semester receive one-on-one help from the Career Management Center.
Randi Roanhaus, employer relations coordinator, said she posts every job she has knowledge of on the center’s website.
The first thing students should do is think about what type of job they want to have after graduation, she said.
“When you graduate, you should have an idea of when and what you want to do,” Roanhaus said. “It’s really hard to help a student or an alumni find a job if they don’t know what they want to do.”
Roanhaus said students are typically looking for entry-level positions, in their field of interest, that offer a good starting salary.
What defines a good starting salary can depend on the field of employment, location of the job, and experience within the field, Roanhaus said.
Dirk Welch, director of the Career Management Center and testing services, said salary is not the only thing students should look at when considering taking a job.
Welch said benefits offered by employers could be in the form of insurance, transportation, or a relocation salary.
“A lot of times students get caught up in the salary that they don’t think to look at the benefits packages offered,” Welch said. “There may be other things that could make a job a better deal even though the salary is lower.”
Roanhaus said after students get an idea of what field they would like to enter and have an interview lined up, the next step in the process is to work on the student’s resume.
Kerri Eichorn, college coordinator, said the first thing she does to help a student find a job is to make sure they have a resume and cover letter.
“When a student comes into the Career Management Center, they typically spend 30 minutes to an hour with us reviewing their resume,” Eichorn said.
Reviewing resume is not the only service that the Career Management Center offers. Eichorn said mock interviews are also offered to every student and alumni.
“We try to do very tailored interviews because we know that students get very specific questions and we want to try to help students understand what they are looking for and how to answer the questions,” Eichorn said.
More than 73 percent of employers take grade point average into consideration and more than 72 percent of employers take relevant work experience into consideration when hiring.
Most employers also consider internships, communication skills, volunteerism and extra-curricular activities, Welch said.
“There is a whole host of things employers are trying to learn through reading your resume, cover letter, and by interviewing to see what type of person you would be once you came on board,” Welch said.
Roanhaus said the career management center does not place students with jobs, but it does teach students to manage their time wisely and encourages them not to give up their search.
“Looking for a job is a full time job in itself, so you have to exhaust your resources and we teach what to look for and to keep searching,” Roanhaus said.
The Career Management Center hosts events throughout the year.
Job fairs provide students the opportunity to network with employers and to see what careers are available.
Graduate and professional school fairs give students the chance to see what graduate programs are offered and to see what it will take to get into graduate school. And Resumania Days allow students to have their resume critiqued.
“We want to be sure that the student is looking at the situation holistically,” Welch said. “We encourage students to explore all avenues when they are interviewing and making a decision about what they want to do.”
The Career Management Center, in cooperation with the Dillard College of Business Administration, hosted the fifth-annual business etiquette dinner in the Clark Student Center Comanche Suites on Oct. 25.
The event was open to all students and employer representatives were available to visit with students to practice networking.
“It will be an event where students can learn the finer points of dining with finesse because it’s very possible that a student would have to go through a meal during the interview process and we want to make them feel more comfortable by telling them what they should order, and how to eat,” Welch said.
James Howard, economist with the U.S. bureau of labor statistics, said the unemployment rate in Wichita Falls has dropped from 7.3 percent in Aug. 2011 to 6.6 percent in Aug. 2012.
“In a difficult job market it takes a little bit longer for people to find employment,” Welch said. “They may have to work harder at it and longer at it so it can challenge one’s willingness to stick with it but what we do is a little bit of cheerleading trying to maintain the optimism and morale through the process.”