By Jacob Strom
For The Diamondback
With the summer approaching in about three months, several students at this university are starting to look for an internship or a job to keep them busy. For those looking to take the next step in their professional career, the University Career Center & The President’s Promise provide the resources to do so, although some students are unaware of what exactly it offers.
Most students might know of the Center as a place to go when they want to find a job or internship, but they might not know it can help them find an initial path. The Center is not just for students who know exactly where they are going.
“Career decision-making is an ongoing process,” said Linda LeNoir, the Center’s assistant director for alumni relations and special projects. “There are all these kinds of things that a student can do while they’re here to help them to get a sense of what I might want to do.”
The Center offers ways for students to test out potential careers, too. The Intern For a Day program matches undergraduates with employers so students can shadow that organization. The Career Shuttle Program allows students to visit employers in small groups, and has previously featured places of work including the American Red Cross and the CIA.
“We try to find a variety of employers,” LeNoir said. “It helps a student to interact with and to explore that employer.”
David Pelky, a senior economics and mathematics major, said that the Center hosted one of his job interviews for him.
LeNoir also recommended that students better utilize employer information sessions.
“It’s not just about the pizza that they might have,” she said. “You get a chance to see somebody one-on-one and to hear them talk about their particular company.”
Some students can also use one-on-one appointments to have Center staff help edit their professional documents.
“I asked for help with my resume and cover letter,” said Zhongyan Liang, a junior nutrition and food science major.
For students looking for informational interviews, the Center has a program that connects current undergraduates to alumni.
“We’ve partnered with the Alumni Association, and they have something called the UMD Alumni Advisor Network,” LeNoir said. “On the day of the interview or the conversation, you would call into an 800 number and they would connect you with that alum.”
Careers4Terps, an online database of jobs and internships, is another resource that students can use to find career opportunities and get in touch with employers.
LeNoir said students should attend the Spring Career & Internship Fair, which is finishing up Thursday and Friday, but to also consider going to career fairs outside of their major or interests. Different companies offer different types of positions, she said.
If students start the search and utilize tools at the Center regardless of their year while they have it available, they have a great chance of reaching success, she said.
“We’re gonna get you sooner or later,” she said. “So you might as well find out where we are and what we do.”
