The key to the modern world after college

CDC helps students develop professionalism and communication skills

Marjan Hussein
Staff Writer

The University academic school year has begun with bright new faces joining the campus of Minnesota State University Mankato, essentially bringing with them a unique vibrance to the start of the semester.

College is a journey that takes one on the route of discovering the career pathway they plan to take.

College allows one to get involved in various activities such as volunteering, internships, part-time jobs only to mention a few while balancing it out with acquiring a degree in a given field. These activities shape the individual’s mindset giving them a clear understanding of what it is they plan to achieve.

The Career Development Center (CDC) is an ideal resource that provides students as well as alumni tools to successfully navigate their career pathways. The CDC is located on the second floor of the Wigley Administration Building.

Professionalism and communication are key aspects in the modern world as they cut across every single field. Jessica Castellanos, a career advisor at the CDC states that the CDC guides students, nurturing them in a sense to enable them to present themselves as credible personnel while balancing this with other characteristics of their personality. “Even if you are required to be completely professional in some instances, at the end of the day you are still you,” Castellanos said.

The CDC has several ways in which it acts as resource for students such as aiding them with changing majors, self-assessments, graduate planning and many more specifically designed to target whatever careers they may want to venture into.

Castellanos states that two of the main ways the CDC provides students with tools to effectively navigate a student’s career pathway both involve appointments. The first would require a student to set up an interview that is about an hour long.

During this appointment the student gets to fully interact with a career advisor and go over whatever issue or questions they may have. The second type of appointment is the Quick Stop, which is more suited for students as college can be a bit hectic at times. This is basically Monday through Thursday where students can stop in for 10-15 minutes and have a quick discussion with a career advisor.

The CDC also utilizes the Handshake website, formerly MavJobs to advertise, interact and communicate with students. Handshake is an exceptional job search tool for Mavericks where one can easily log in with their StarID & password, complete their profile and search for part-time jobs, full-time jobs, internships, work-study, career jobs in addition to much more.

The CDC also plays host to annual events and the two this fall are the Campus & Community Fair on September 5th and the Career & Internship Expo on October 16th &17th. Castellanos states that this would be an excellent opportunity for students to practice presenting themselves as professionals not only in behavior but also in outlook.

The Handshake website would also play a key role in these events as a student can check out which employers will be present and choose what tables they ought to check out even before the event.

Castellanos also says that one can simply register online for the event and especially for the Career & Internship Expo being a two-day event, one can check which colleges are holding an exhibition on a specific day.

“Social Networking is an issue that students should be vary cautious of when applying to various jobs,” she said.

Employers are keen on their brand being represented honorably thus they keep an eye out on whatever their employees may be posting online. Castellanos says that with this being the modern age of technology one should always strive to keep an upright background and basically have fun in a responsible manner.

“Students scarcity of knowledge about the CDC resources and the idea that the CDC places students in jobs which is not the case are some of the key challenges the CDC has,” Castellanos said.

She stated that diversifying, in addition to informing more students about the CDC and its resources, is one of the key aspects they’re focusing on she stated a great quote by Wayne Gretzky; You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, thus she highly encourages students to grasp opportunities that swing their way.

The CDC offers resources that could aid one get their career on track and is even available to alumni who may want to change their career.

Professionalism & Communication are vital facets in society today and the CDC is an exemplary department that aims to ensure students truly comprehend how to utilize them.