At the Center for Career Development, we work with your student throughout their college experience to “become career ready” through the development of Career Readiness Competencies that have been identified through extensive research and observations conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), with input from employers across all industries, as necessary skills for success in today’s workforce and other post-collegiate pursuits.
How Parents & Families Can Help:
There are many ways you can participate in your student’s career journey. We understand that you want the best for your student or recent graduate and providing support and guidance is always easier if you know the resources available and the services we can provide. Here are a few places to get started:
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Ask Questions
Support your student by providing accountability for their own career development journey. By asking some of the following questions you can learn a bit where your student may require additional support or resources.
– Have you met with a Career Consultant? Who was it with, and can you tell me a little bit about that interaction?
– Have you settled on a major yet or explored what your career options are with your degree?
– Have you attended any events or career fairs hosted by the Career Center recently? If so, which ones and what did you learn? Are there still outstanding questions that you have from that event?
– What events do you plan to attend in the coming weeks?
– Have you connected with someone in a field of interest on Husky Mentor Network? Who have you spoken with and what did you discuss?
– Have you applied for any internships or jobs on Handshake? What have you applied to?
– Have you worked with the Career Center to assemble your application materials for a job, internship, or graduate school application? Who did you work with? Can I see your draft or finalized application materials?
– Have you participated in any interview preparation or offer negotiation strategies through the Career Center? -
Support
Support your student as they explore their options; take an active role and connect them to our resources and services. Many questions that you or your student may have can likely be found on the pages of our website and your student can sign up for specific alerts on our webpage including upcoming events, career fairs, and presentations.
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Advise
Advise your student to visit our website, stop into the office in Wilbur Cross, and login to Handshake, our career management system to access job/internship opportunities, stay up-to-date on programming, events and recruiting, plus other valuable resources.
Direct your student to the Center for Career Development for guidance on selecting and changing their major, to help them create the most effective resume and cover letters, to discover opportunities available in specific industries or fields, or to conduct and internship, job or graduate/professional school search.
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Recommend
Recommend participation in experiential opportunities, including internships and part-time employment to help your student build skills for the future. We can assist your student in finding internships both nationally and internationally through a Career Coaching Appointment. We also have many Career and Internship Fairs throughout the course of the year. You and your student can see what recruiting events are coming up on our Events page.
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Participate
If you are an alum, become a mentor on Husky Mentor Network to assist UConn students and alumni in their career exploration and job/internship search.
Encourage your employer to make job and internship opportunities available to our students and alumni. Our Employer Relations team can work with you to post and promote internship or career opportunities with your employer.
Promote responsible networking in person and online through LinkedIn and Husky Mentor Network to help your student connect with other professionals in career fields and/or geographic locations that are of interest to them.
Career Assistance for Your Student:
The Center for Career Development offers a variety of services, programs, and resources to students and alumni from first-year student through graduation, and beyond.
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Identify, Enhance, and Articulate Career Readiness Competencies
We encourage students to use the Am I Career Ready assessment in Focus2 to gauge their proficiency level of the eight NACE Career Readiness competencies:
- Career & Self Development
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Equity & Inclusion
- Leadership
- Professionalism
- Teamwork
- Technology
Through this assessment and career coaching appointments, students will learn ways to enhance specific career competencies inside and outside of the classroom. Students can also access online resources and meet with a coach to learn how to express those skills to employers and how to leverage their competencies for professional success in the long-term.
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Career Exploration and Choice of Major
The Center for Career Development provides advising and resources to students who have not declared a major, who are considering changing their major, and those who need more information about career options related to their major. Services include individual appointments, career planning, career-related programs, and career and networking resources. We help students identify and cultivate networking connections using Husky Mentor Network, and LinkedIn Group and Professional Connections.
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Internships and Career Related Experience
Students are encouraged to gain experience related to their career goals and interests. We work one-on-one with students and regularly hold workshops and presentations related to gaining those experiences through internships, co-ops, research experience, volunteer experiences, and more. Each year we hold an Internship and Co-op Fair and employers are recruiting interns throughout the entire academic year. Although most majors do not require an internship, many students do recognize the importance of gaining experience and we are here to help.
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Post-Graduation Employment
We provide assistance to students seeking part-time and full-time positions, summer jobs, paid and unpaid post-graduation internships, and volunteer opportunities. Handshake, our online system provides access to job and internship listings for students and alumni both locally and nationally. In addition to Handshake, we also provide students with other services to assist in obtaining experience and employment. Students can meet with our staff during coaching appointments to develop their resume and job search correspondence. Through our recruiting program, students and alumni can connect with employers through information tables/sessions and on-campus interviews. The Center for Career Development also utilizes social media to help connect students and alumni with networking opportunities and career-related information. Our Practice Interview Program allows students and alumni to practice interviewing skills with staff members and employers.
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Graduate/Professional School
The Career Center provides graduate/professional school advising, including exploring programs, developing application materials, and exploring career outcomes.
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Career Fairs & Events
Students and Alumni may participate in Career Fairs when seeking out a new opportunity. To find out about career fairs and events, there here are several ways this can happen. You can click on the Events tab at the top of the career center’s homepage, visit the Career Fairs & Events section of the website, or sign into Handshake to view and sign up for events. Using your school email address (or personal email address if you no longer use your UConn email), follow the directions to sign up for a new account. Within two (2) business days from submission of the form you will receive access to your account. Should you run into any difficulty, please email careertechnology@uconn.edu with your full name, PeopleSoft number, personal email address, phone number and date of birth.
