5 Career Services Myths, Busted

Whether your major is Medieval History or Modern Art, Sports Business or Hospitality Management, you do not have to face your job search alone. On virtually every college campus, there is a career services office (or several) with a full staff spending their days thinking up ways to help you find professional success.

The surprising news is that many students either don’t know about their career services office, or don’t feel that there are resources to assist with their particular needs. These are the most common myths about your campus career services:

1. Career Services only helps students interested in finance

Financial firms are often the most visible campus recruiters as they hire a class of incoming analysts each year and can anticipate those needs once the academic year begins. However, every field has its own formula for hiring and career counselors can educate you about your industry’s hiring cycle and help you tailor your own personal job search strategy.

2. Career Services is only for seniors

Internships are one of the best ways to determine which career field is right for you, not to mention an essential prerequisite for building your resume. From work study jobs and internships, to exploring your interests and developing a plan, career counselors can assist you from the moment you set foot on campus; many offices even have specific programs for first year students.

3. Career Services is only for undergraduates

While many undergraduates are in similar stages of life, graduate students bring a unique mix of past experience to their academic programs. Whether you have had no post-college jobs or you are a career changer with 10+ years of work behind you, career services staff can help you market yourself and your degree to employers.

4. Career Services only helps students who know what they want to do with their lives

Don’t know what you want to be when you grow up? Don’t worry—most career counselors entered this field because they enjoy helping students through the process of determining their interests, skills and values. Many offices also offer formal assessments and inventories to spark discussion.

5. Career Services only helps students looking for a job; I want to go to graduate school

In addition to grades and test scores, other factors play an important role in your grad school application, including internships and part time jobs. Do you see the connection to career services here? Many career services offices also offer pre-professional advising with counselors who can review essays and personal statements and help you prepare for interviews.

Now that we’ve myth-busted, tell your friends what they’ve been missing!  Surf the website and head on over to your career services office right away. Also, stay tuned for the next piece in this series: Top Five Tips for Using Career Services—coming soon!

Jennifer Bobrow Burns is the Director of Industry Relations, Administration and Career Services at New York University’s Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management. Learn more about the NYU Tisch Center at http://www.scps.nyu.edu/academics/departments/tisch.html  and http://nyutischcenter.wordpress.com/.