Adding Career Prep To Your Course

Contributed by Julie Knepp.

In previous semesters, the most common request regarding course content on my SRTEs was for more information and discussion about Career Preparation. My syllabus included a brief unit covering perhaps four or five classes that included resume and cover letter (or personal statement) preparation and peer review. In order to provide additional emphasis on this unit, I have added a day at the Career Services Center.

Like taking your class to the library, you can reserve a date in the Career Services Center and have one of the counselors present to your class on a range of topics. My classes have enjoyed the presentation on Interviewing Skills, and I have followed up in the next class with small group interview practice and a brief writing assignment on answering the individual student’s most intimidating interview question.

I put this unit at the very start of this semester, and the segue into researching the company profile, their next project, has worked out very well. The students seem enthusiastic! The CSC also offers a Mock Interview program for the students that is quite substantive, involving dressing for interviews and a recorded section that allows the student to review his or her performance. I will be doing one of these myself and posting the video on Angel for my students to critique.

To contact the CSC and make arrangements for taking your sections in for a seminar, here is the link: https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_02QjYDkz5jiUgxT. The website for the CSC is an education in itself, and the resources available to our students are amazing. I hope this information is helpful to my fellow 202D instructors. If you need further information, my email address is jry134@psu.edu.