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Vast
by Danielle M. Murphy
News Editor
The Career Development
Center makes vast amounts of
resources available to Behrend
students. The CDC not only
helps in job searches, but can
help students choose a Held of
study or career pertaining to their
interests, values, and skills.
The CDC, located in the
Advising and Counseling Offices
in the Reed building, offers
students opportunities to explore
different majors and occupations
associated with those majors.
In March, a survey was
conducted of Behrend graduates.
Six months after graduation, 90
percent were employed in their
field of study or attending
graduate school. Six percent
were employed in other fields
while only four percent were
unemployed and not attending
school. Compared to other
college graduates, Behrend
graduates found employment
before the average six to nine
months necessary for other
people to find a job.
Mary Beth Peterson, Director
of the CDC, can aid students
undecided in choosing a major.
According to Peterson,
counseling can help a student
focus on what really interests
them and discover aptitudes and
values of importance to them.
“A lot of times it helps to use
the Skrong Interest Inventory
Test,” said Peterson. The Skrong
resources
is the most widely used interests
test available. The Discover
computer system also offers an
interest test.
By gathering this information,
a student is better equipped in
making decisions concerning
majors and possible occupations.
In choosing a career, Peterson
stresses, “Students must make
sure when going to head towards
a career, that it meets their
values...l suggest doing
something that will make them
happy, something that is
fulfilling and satisfying.”
“To make a decision
[concerning a major or career],”
said Peterson, “you must get in
touch with who you are, and a lot
of people don’t do that.”
When a student has interests in
a particular field, the CDC offers
research materials concerning
occupations, income, and
educational levels for that field.
“Often what they think are
realities,” said Peterson, “are
based on hearsay. Students don’t
read and research enough [about
career choices].”
With over 30,000 job titles in
the United States, there are many
careers to choose from. “Make
sure you know the truth about an
occupation and field,” said
Peterson.
To learn more about the
realities of a career, the CDC
offers an externship program. A
student can spend a day
“shadowing” some one at work in
their field of interest, learning
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THE 10GAN WINTERGARDEN SERIES
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about the daily tasks associated
with a career. Applications for
externships are available in the
CDC and can be done throughout
the semester and during summer.
The resource room of the CDC
is available to students without
an appointment and contains a
multitude of information on
fields of study and occupations.
“A lot of students don’t realize
we have all this,” said Peterson.
The resource room boasts an
Internship Station, providing
internship directories and
announcements. Paid and unpaid
internships are available and
students can receive four credits
for internships. The internship
program is organized by Kevin
Moore, assistant director of the
CDC.
Discover, new to the resource
room, is a computer based career
guidance system. Peterson
describes it as a “great help to
students.” Discover offers
information on graduate schools,
fields of study, and occupations.
Printouts on occupations include
salary potential, projected job
demand, educational requirements,
and projected job growth. Also
included are pros and cons to the
career according to people
actually employed in the field.
Discover is updated annually.
Information on government
jobs is available in the resource
room. This information includes
how to apply for state and federal
jobs and what government
agencies look for in a job
BRING YOUR LUNCH TO THE
PENN STATE-BEHREND WINTERGARDEN
AND ENJOY WORLD-CLASS PERFORMANCES
IN AN INFORMAL SETTING. ADMISSION IS FREE
candidate. Suggested majors and
educational levels desired by
certain agencies are available
here.
The resource room offers a
lending library, with books color
coded by interest. These books
include career directories,
information on majors, and career
forecasts. A VCR is available
for use with videos about careers
associated with certain majors and
company videos.
The CDC offers many
resources for students conducting
job searches. “Students should
not just be satisfied with one
type of job search,” said
Peterson. “My advice is to use
all particular methods.
Networking is extremely
important, many jobs tire found
through making connections.”
Help Wanted USA, found in the
resource room, offers the
classified ads of 64 Sunday papers
from across the country on
microfiche. Help Wanted USA is
updated weekly and students can
conduct job searches in a
particular area.
Graduate school directories and
applications for graduate school
exams are available in the
resource room. For job seekers,
the Resource Room contains
information on summer
employment and job
applications. Career guides and
state job banks are available as
well as books offering ratings of
certain geographical locations.
In preparing cover letters and
resumes, it is “important to
know as much as you can,” said
Peterson. For information on
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The CDC also offers a one
credit job search course to prepare
students for job hunting.
Students participate in mock
interviews, write cover letters and
resumes, and hear a variety of
speakers. “In the course, students
are able to do all the things you
need to do [in a job search],” said
Paterson.
Students wishing to discuss
education and career choices can
make appointments with
Peterson or Moore. The resource
room is open to students and does
not require an appointment. A
student assistant is available to
answer questions students may
have
Erie
companies, the resource room has
files on 2,000 companies as well
as videos.
New this year to the CDC is
the Lion Jobline. The Jobline
allows Penn State students to
have access to more than 22,000
job listings using a toll free
number. By obtaining the
password from the CDC, a
student can limit their job search
to full or part-time, degree or
non-degree necessary, and to a
specific category. The system is
available 24 hours a day and also
offers information on internships.
On-campus recruitment is an
important source for job
information. The CDC brings
about 60 recruiters to Behrend
while over 900 visit University
Park. Behrend students do have
an opportunity to interview with
recruiters at UP via video phone.
The CDC has a video phone in
its interview room that is
available to student job seekers.
The Behrend
College