My name is Victoria Farhat, I am an international student from Brazil with a dual major in Business Administration and Economics and a minor in Design Thinking. In this blog, I will talk about how the Career Center has helped me build my professional career.
The Career Center is a massive department at Colorado State that can be helpful for students in multiple ways, such as career exploration, resume and cover letter assistance, campus employment, and many other things that will be helpful once you are close to graduation. But it is good to remember that they will be helpful and maybe one of your best resources during your college experience as well.
As a second-year student, I have different necessities compared to a senior student. Now, it is time for me to use the Career Center to organize my professional life. One of the things that benefited me was when I had to write my resume. As an international student, I know that a resume format changes from country to country, so they helped me learn what is necessary and unnecessary in an American resume.
Also, when creating my account on LinkedIn and organizing my Handshake profile (a platform used to search for jobs on campus), they helped me select which information would be necessary for people to know about me and which ones are dispensable for that platform. They also provide many videos that you can watch as many times as you want and take notes as necessary to help you with basic things on those platforms so you can save some unnecessary questions such as how to add a profile picture.
The Career Center is your best resource while looking for a job on-campus. With them, you can look for the available opportunities and discuss which is the most appropriate for your goal. My goal was not to make money, but to gain experience in my area of study, so a job at the library or the gym doesn’t sound as attractive as a marketing assistant position. So, I was selective when choosing where to send my applications. During this process, they also helped me learn what needs to be written on your resume and what only needs to be included in your cover letter, which was indispensable.
Once you are admitted, all you want to do is learn about different programs offered by the university that can be helpful for you to get involved and, at the same time, gain knowledge in your area of study. And that is another thing that the Career Center can help you with. Today I am a member of an organization called Women In Business Administration (WIBA) all because once of the times that I had a meeting with the Career Center, I asked them about organizations or clubs that would help me get involved, and they recommended me to talk to the coordinator of this organization on campus.
Those are just a few examples showing how the Career Center benefited me and can be for you as well. You can learn more about them at their website: (career.colostate.edu). And once you have the chance, schedule a meeting with them and ask about anything! They are available to help and, in my opinion, are your best resource to organize yourself at this stage of your life.