Let's Talk About Jobs

Yesterday I had my senior meeting with the career services office. Each senior is required to attend a one hour seminar with some of career service professionals to talk about what our plans are after graduation. Some students come in full of confidence, eager to discuss their options for employment or graduate school. Others remain unsure about what to do.

I’m happy to say that I fell in with the first crowd; confident about what it is I want to pursue next year and informed about what to expect from the application process. However, there were a few students in the room who were not as sure of their plans as I was. I can only speculate how anxious they were to finally start thinking about plans for the future. Who hasn’t undergone that mild crisis where they wonder what they could possibly do with their life post-college? Thankfully our career services team recognizes these anxieties better than anybody and has consistently provided our students with invaluable tools for employment or graduate study.

In our meeting we went over some of the basics of applying for jobs: job posting sites, on-campus recruiting, interview protocol, etc. Leading up to this year I had also used career services extensively to help fine tune my cover letter and résumé. Career services also boasts a fantastic job posting site called SaintsLink which allows students to get connected with alumni who are looking to hire SLU students specifically.

For those that were leaning toward graduate school, SLU is hosting a graduate school fair in the Student Center on September 13 where they can speak with representatives from more than 35 different schools. Typically about 20% of students that graduate from St. Lawrence choose to attend grad school immediately after college. Students have found their calling in programs across the country and internationally as well. 

Overall, the prospects for a successful career post-college are far from bleak for St. Lawrence students. We have numerous connections in a variety of fields and talented students that can be described in no other way than “go-getters”. The presentation from career services ended yesterday with reassurance that there is still time and that we have multiple resources to help us along our career path. I left feeling warm, fuzzy, and toting a free SLU travel mug.