Career is a University Responsibility

As a faculty or staff member, you have daily interactions with students. Students will look to you for advice related to their future careers. Through these conversations there will be many opportunities to move students forward in their career development. When individual students come to you, here are some key messages to share with them.


Connect Early and Connect Often

Students should be utilizing the resources of the Career Center as early as their first year. All students have a career advisor assigned specifically to their major (as well as advisors for undeclared students). We encourage students to touch base at least once a year with their career advisor in addition to attending events and workshops. These meetings are used for creating short- and long-term plans for the future.


People Hire People

Students need to know that submitting a resume online and then waiting for a reply is not an effective job search method. Therefore, students need to connect with our employer partners to establish a relationship. There are many ways for students to get connected:

  • Career fairs: our biggest events each semester which attract hundreds of employers and are for students from all majors who are seeking jobs and internships, as well as students who are exploring the world of work
  • Smaller, more focused career events with employers or employer-hosted information sessions and tabling
  • GVSU's LinkedIn page allows students to connect with GVSU alumni working around the world in a variety of fields and industries
  • Networking through experiences (internships, community involvement, job shadows, etc.)

Handshake

Currently, there are thousands of active internship, part-time, and full-time positions posted in Handshake. Please encourage students to log in to their Handshake account and regularly check it for new opportunities—hundreds per week—and upcoming career events on campus and in the community.



Page last modified February 15, 2024