Not only is Career Services there to help students find a job, they are also able to help get students internships, into graduate schools, ready for pre-med or pre-law and to assist alumni.

“The earlier you start the process, the more prepared you will be upon graduation whether you are looking for a job or applying to grad school,” said Cynthia Smith, assistant director of Career Services at Cal Lutheran, in an email interview.

Career Services is there to help students find jobs and internships that relate to what they want to do, whether that is something as broad as marketing or as specific as zoo keeping. They offer specialized counseling for each student or alumni that needs it.

“First of all we try to figure out what they’re interested in doing for a job later on, we establish kind of a job target, like what’s their goal and then we try to get them related positions,” said Cindy Lewis, director of Career Services.

Students can even search for jobs and internships through Career Services or on CLUpostings.com. On CLUpostings, students can create a profile, upload a resume and search job listings by field, area and more.

Once a student has found a job to apply for, Career Services has workshops on how to interview. Their website says students will “learn what to wear, appropriate body language and how to follow up after your interview.”

For undergraduate students who are not applying for jobs, there are plenty of internship listings as well. These listings are also available on CLUpostings.

“The main advice is to do at least two internships while you’re here at CLU, that’ll make getting a job easier,” Lewis said.

Beyond that, the best thing is to get involved on campus, particularly through leadership positions and volunteer work.

“Volunteering, that looks really good on a resume,” Lewis said.

Career Services holds many workshops for students throughout the year. Students can learn how to write a resume, find a job, network, interview, prepare for grad school and even negotiate salary.

Their next workshop will be held on Nov. 20 at 12:30 p.m. and will cover resumes, cover letters, references, recommendations and thank you notes.

“All our workshops are very informative and have been put together using the best resources to give students and alumni successful career opportunities,” said Karina Villeda, a counseling assistant at Career Services, in an email interview.

These services are not limited to Cal Lutheran students, as alumni are able to take advantage of Career Services as well.

“Alumni have services free for life and can utilize the same resources that are available to students. If they have moved out of the area we are also available for phone, email and Skype appointments,” Smith said.

To find out more of what Career Services can do, students can visit their web page at callutheran.edu or come into their office Monday through Friday from 8:45 a.m. – 5 p.m.

“Come into the career center if you haven’t yet so we can sort of make sure you’re in our system and start sending you opportunities via email,” Lewis said.

Even if a student has a good idea of what they would like to do, Career Services has many resources for students, it is important to go in and see if they can provide any further advice.

Allie Leslie

Staff Writer

Published November 19, 2014