Career Design Center is helpful for graduating students

With May quickly approaching, graduating students actively seek job opportunities and internships to kickstart their careers. The months leading up to graduation can be both nerve-wracking and stressful, so it is essential to take advantage of the resources available, either on campus or through the Geneseo website, to help make this time more manageable.

One imperative resource in the Career Design Center is the section titled “Job Scams.” Many students are searching for opportunities, occupations, and internships online causing them to apply for a job when it is an unknown scam. 

This section states, “Although employers are carefully vetted by Handshake's trust and safety team and the Career Design Center, fraudulent employers are clever and can be very convincing.” Additionally, this page has two tabs: “How to avoid job scams” and “How do I spot a job scam.” When looking for jobs on unfamiliar websites, this page may help determine if the job is a scam or a reliable source. 

An event coming up later this month that could be helpful is the “2025 Internship and Job Fair.” The fair is held on Mar. 27, from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm in the Macvittie Union Ballroom. All majors are welcome to come, and business attire is encouraged. This event could kick start an individual's networking and allow one to find options for occupations they are interested in based on their major. This event page explains that there will be over 80 employers, including Geneseo alumni, and gives you a link to register for the event. 

Workshops may be valuable for networking and personal skills essential for career growth and life experiences. Geneseo features a program titled: “Geneseo Opportunities for Leadership Development,” or GOLD, aiming to help students in their future occupations. 

This program has been developing leaders and mentors at Geneseo since 2000. The page states, “The GOLD mission is accomplished through the education, development, and training of students in an extensive series of personal development programs, institutes, leadership certificates, service learning, volunteer work, and active engagement in college and community life.” 

The Career Design Center additionally gives key tips at the beginning of the job search process for students. In the section titled, “Job Search,” the website lists noteworthy tips on where to begin in the process and how to negotiate a salary. The section mainly wants students to realize that the Career Design Center is there to help in any scenario when looking for a job. They state, “When searching for a job after graduation there's a lot to consider. Job searching can be very overwhelming and time-consuming. Whether you are at the very beginning of your career or you are looking to change direction after years in your field, the Career Design Center is here to help!” 

If a student is looking for a graduate school program rather than an immediate occupation, the Career Design Center offers dedicated resources to assist. This page contains links that explain how to choose a program, the application process, tips for transitioning into graduate school, financing further education, the best ways to stand out in an application, and a graduate school fair. 

While these resources may be overlooked or unappreciated by students, there are numerous different ways they may be able to help in either a job search process or a graduate school program. It may be vital to view and use these resources before graduation while they are available.