Futures Feature: Building your future at the CDC
Do you help with your resume? Don’t know what to major in? Do you want to know what career’s you can go into with your major?
The Career Development Center (CDC) is the perfect place to answer all your career and major-choice related topics. Located at 209 Wigley Administration, their office is just before the overpass into Morris Hall.
The CDC’s primary objective, according to their website, is “to provide services and resources which assist students and graduates with career planning and the search for employment.”
“Choosing a major, writing a resume, getting an internship, and searching for your first full-time job are a few of the important milestones during college,” Mandy Wubben, Acting Career Counselor at the CDC, said. “They can be fun and exciting moments full of accomplishment, promise, and pride, but they can also be overwhelming and intimidating if you’re not sure where to begin.”
This is where the Career Development Center steps in, according to Wubben.
“We want to give you the tools, resources, and confidence to go further in your career than you imagined possible,” she said. “We aim to assist students and graduates in their career planning and search for employment.”
The CDC offers a variety of services, including: career counseling; major choice assistance; assist with part-time employment and internships; graduate planning; and extensive job support and guidance.
The CDC also sponsors the job website called MavJobs, where employers post jobs and positions that only available to MSU students and alumni. Mavericks can search for major-specific jobs, part-time positions, internships and much more. The CDC also offers resume help and students can schedule mock-interviews to help students land their dream job.
Not sure what you want to do, or even what major to declare? The CDC is also an excellent resource for this, with extensive career assessment interpretations, including Focus, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and Strong Interest Inventory. Each of these tests are designed to evaluate your personality, as well as your strengths and weaknesses, in order to calculate which type of jobs you would most likely be most successful at. Even for someone who knows what they want to do, these tests can be a huge help. It is recommended that you start with the Focus assessment, as it can accessed online for free by going to the CDC website. After completion, students should stop into the CDC to discuss the results.
If you don’t have a lot of time on your hands, the CDC offers Career QuickStop, which are 10-15 minute time slots where students can walk-in, no appointment needed, and talk to a counselor about a quick question. This is a great way to have someone look over your resume and offer advice. Times run from 1 p.m. to 3:45 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
If you need more time than 15 minutes, appointments with CDC counselors can be made by calling 507-389-6061, or stopping into their office to schedule a meeting at their front desk.
Aside from MavJobs, the CDC also organizes multiple job fairs with employers from all around the community in attendance. This is a great way to get your name out in the professional world and start networking with people in your field of interest.
“Our best advice to new incoming students,” Wubben said, “is don’t wait until you are a Junior or Senior to start thinking about your career development! Come see us and use our resources early in your first semesters to get started on the best path for you!”
A new resource that will be introduced in fall 2016 is Handshake, which is a new software partner for the MavJobs System. Built “by the students, for students,” the new tool will utilize social media to support career success. Be on the lookout for more information, coming this fall!
