Resources for Graduate Students and Alumni
Whether you're a graduate student or an alumni pursuing a career change, the Career Center can help you build an effective job search strategy. In addition to other resources available on this web site and through Career Connection, we have also developed a Job Search Guide for Graduate Students (pdf) and a Resume Guide for Graduate Students (pdf).
All programs and workshops are open to both undergraduate and graduate students. Regular programs include our Graduate & Professional School Fair in October, our Nursing & Health Sciences Career Expo in February, and our general GCSU Career Expo in March. We also work with other Georgia colleges and universities to host the Career Opportunities Fair each November and the College-to-Career Fair each April in Atlanta. A calendar of events is always current through Career Connection.
Services available to undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni include:
• Networking with employers
• Career Connection job and internship database
• Creating a job search strategy
• Applying for graduate school
• Developing and critiquing resumes
• Exploring majors and career choices
• Transitioning from college to career
• Preparing and searching for internships
• Determining employment and salary trends
• Learning and implementing interview techniques
Graduate students and alumni may schedule appointments with a career advisor from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. at the Milledgeville campus. If you are a graduate student taking classes in Macon or Warner Robins, a staff member from our office would be glad to meet with you at the Macon campus after 3 p.m., Monday through Thursday. To meet with one of us at the Macon campus, please contact our office at 478-445-5384 at least one week before you would like to schedule an appointment.
College of Business
Graduate students and alumni from the College of Business should also contact Gerri McCord, who serves as the Career Advisor in the College of Business. You can also view career information from the College of Business web site.
Quick Tips for Career Changers
If you're trying to make a career change either within your field or into a completely knew profession, sending resumes and cover letters can be challenging. Follow these tips that we typically use with job seekers who are in your situation.
• Continue to build your experiences through new projects at
work, volunteering, or internships. If you have limited experience
in the field your currently studying or would like to work in, gaining
more practical experience will expand your resume and your
skill set.
• Carefully read the job description and highlight every duty and
skill that applies to your background. Brainstorm how your work,
leadership, and academic experiences relate to these duties and
skills. When writing your resume and cover letter, speak to each
of those areas.
• Look for transferable skills in your experiences and then
communicate them in a way that relates to the job you want, not
the job you have.
• Make it easy for the employer to see you as the
right candidate. When an employer receives your resume,
he or she is likely to quickly scan and assess your
qualifications in about 10 - 15 seconds. Logically organize
information and briefly describe experiences with strong
action verbs so that the employer instantly sees how
qualifed you are for the job.
• Use your resume to highlight the most relevant
accomplishments and experiences. You do not have to
include all jobs on your resume like you would on an application.
• The cover letter is important, so don't send the same one to
everyone. It's your opportunity to say, "Hire me because..."
and to specifically state why you are interested in the position.
Showing genuine interest and enthusiasm about the specific job
will make you stand out among the hundreds of others who send
generic cover letters. It also shows the strong communication
skills you have developed through your degree programs.
• Set up informational interviews with people who are in the
field you are pursuing. Let them know you have an interest in
what they do and find out what has made them successful.
It might not always evolve into a job lead right away, but as
you conduct meetings you will continue to increase your
knowledge of the field. You'll have a better sense of the lingo
used as well as current issues effecting your particular industry.
• Research and/or join a related professional association.
Involvement will increase your network of contacts. You'll also be
more informed about the field. Many professional associations
post jobs among their members as well. Staying connected to
your field in this way early on in graduate school will also allow
for an easy transition to using the organization in your job search.
• Apply to everything that interests you and seems like a
job you could do. If you know you could do the job and have
experiences in your background that match the job description,
you should apply for the job. Years of experience can sometimes
be supplemented with education, volunteer, and leadership. You
will never know unless you try!
