Career Services prepares Bob Jones University students for the modern workplace through career fairs, workshops and personalized career coaching.
Shawn Albert, director of the Career Services office, emphasized the importance of knowing how to present oneself during the application and interview process.
“You could be the best employee that an employer would want to have, but if you can’t communicate that on paper, an application, resume or in an interview, someone else will get that job even if you’re the best fit,” Albert said. Students learn and accomplish much while in college, but it’s translating what they’ve learned to getting a job that can sometimes be difficult.
An important thing for students to remember is not to give up right away if they don’t get a job immediately after graduation. “Some people turn in two or three applications and get two or three no’s and decide that’s it,” Albert said. “And then other people do hundreds of them and finally land a really good job.” The job of Career Services is to help any student, especially those who need help when it comes to the process of preparing for and getting a job.
According to Albert, about half of BJU students have a job by graduation, but students shouldn’t count on that statistic to bring them a job.
Career Services offers a variety of informative workshops to help students prepare for their professional life, including sessions on resume advising, graduate school application preparation, job and internship searching and career coaching.
Natalie Smith, the assistant director for professional development and a certified career coach, serves as the center’s designated career coach. She asks students questions to help them gain clarity about their major, future job options or anything related to their field. Students can schedule the various sessions through the center’s website, careers.bju.edu.
Smith said her goal is to guide and connect students with opportunities. “We want them to be great at getting great jobs,” Smith said.
Students would find it helpful to keep coming back to Career Services. The sessions through the center’s website, careers.bju.edu.
Smith said her goal is to guide and connect students with opportunities. “We want them to be great at getting great jobs,” Smith said.
Students would find it helpful to keep coming back to Career Services. The sessions are always open to students, and Smith encourages students to have follow-up conversations with her about the workshops.
Smith said that the value of the Career Services is in the timeless skills they help students learn. Specifically, skills like writing a good resume tailored to a specific job, promoting oneself and articulating the skills one has developed are lifelong necessities.
“This generation which you guys are in, you’re going to change jobs roughly every three to five years.” Smith said. “So if you can learn these skills now, you’ll be prepared to continue to do [the application process] time and again.”
