Hmmmm.. You are getting ready to graduate and employers seem to want people with SKILLS and EXPERIENCE! Yes, experience is critical to the success of your post-graduation job search, and you can gain experience before you graduate! As early as freshman year you should consider part-time employment, internships, service learning, volunteer programs, student club membership/leadership, and the CSUB Professional Development Program! Enroll in the CAREERS/JOB SEARCH Class - GST 205, to help you consider all the possibilities for gaining experience and building skills.
Think about it - the most sought after skills and characteristics employers look for include Communication, Work Experience, Motivation/Initiative, Teamwork Skills, Leadership Abilities, GPA/Academic Credentials, Technical Skills, Interpersonal Skills, Analytical Skills, and Ethics. You can acquire these skills and more through experiences.
Part-time employment - The Career Development Center posts part-time jobs on RunnerLink
Internships - CSUB offers several options to explore internships:
Review additional sources for internships and volunteer opportunities.
Service Learning - Community Service-Learning (CSL) is a community service program supported by CSUB and our local community. Students desiring to volunteer in the community provide valuable services to various non-profit and public organizations throughout Kern County. You can learn more about service learning opportunities by visiting the Community Partnerships and Service Learning Office!
Student Clubs / Organizations - You can add skills by participating in a student club or organization, particularly if you take on leadership responsibilities for the organization. Please check out the list of students clubs and organizations on the CSUB campus!
The secret to building relevant skills is to seek out opportunities, volunteer for additional work that is related to the direction you are going, and be willing to take on additional responsibilities if you can. An example of building relevant skills might include something like this - You are working at a fast food restaurant and your major is Business Administration. You are working with customers, preparing food, meeting quality standards, but you would like to demonstrate different kinds of skills... Let's say that you ask your manager what some of the top issues are for management at your restaurant. The manager shares with you that one of the top issues is increasing new part-time hires. You think about this management issue and you suggest a recruitment campaign to hire more part-time workers. You assemble a plan and share it with your supervisor. You work with your supervisor to modify the plan and it is implemented. The plan is a success and hiring increases by 30%. You highlight this experience on your resume and it helps you get interviews! This is an example of you creating opportunities to demonstrate higher level skills and the experience makes you more interesting to a potential employer! For ideas on building higher level skills please schedule an appointment with a career counselor.