Welcome to the Center for Career and Professional Development
By: Meredith Aronson, Employer and Alumni Relations Manager
This is an exciting year in our department as we welcome a new Executive Director, move to a new suite of offices, and prepare to meet the career development needs of one of the biggest classes of first-year students we have seen at Gonzaga! One thing that is not changing, however, is our commitment to serving all students as they dive into the career development process. We offer so many services and events that this letter would be way too long if I tried to list them all, so here are some examples of what we provide (you can find out about all of our services and events at www.gonzaga.edu/careercenter):
Document Prep
We will work to help your student create, edit, and polish any application documents they need including resumes, cover letters, and letters of intent for graduate school.
Interview practice
We help students at every level with preparation and practice for phone, Skype, and in-person interviews. Students can participate in mock interviews that mimic the interview setting so they can practice answering questions and be ready to rock whatever interview they have coming up!
Networking
Networking is an incredible way for your student to connect with professionals who can further assist with career development. Students have the opportunity to network with Gonzaga alumni and employers at a number of events hosted throughout the school year, including Alumni Networking Socials hosted in conjunction with our Trek programs in a number of different cities.
Treks
Treks are unique career development and networking programs that create opportunities for students to connect with alumni and employer partners in key metro areas across the country (gonzaga.edu/Treks). We host Treks in New York, Spokane, Portland, Seattle, Silicon Valley, and San Francisco, and we welcome students of all majors and from all class years to participate.
Internship Assistance
As you are probably already aware, internships are extremely important in a student’s career development. Not only do they provide vital opportunities for students to apply classroom learning to real world problems, they also signal to employers that students have had practical experience in the workplace upon graduation. Employers tell us that they look for students who have had at least one internship during college, and two or more internships are best. Encourage your student to start the internship process in their first year at Gonzaga by attending an Internships 101 Workshop, hosted by our Internship Manager and Internship Connections Coordinator. These workshops will help students articulate their skills and abilities, identify what they want to gain from an internship, and navigate the search, application, and interview process. If your student does nothing else in their career development during their first year at Gonzaga, at least make sure they attend an Internships 101 Workshop!
Career Assessment
If your student is struggling with deciding on a major, questioning the fit of their current major, or looking to identify which career fields align with their interests, career assessments can help them begin the process of identifying options and making future plans. We offer the Strong Interest Inventory (SII) and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to help students assess characteristics relevant to making career decisions. These assessment tools will help your student during the career and academic major decision-making process to facilitate self-reflection. Learn more at edu/careerassessments.
Important Dates
Be sure to mark your student’s calendar for these special events:
- First-year Italian Soda Social: September 10, 4-6pm at Crosby
- New York Trek: September 23-27
- All Majors Career & Internship Fair: October 27
- Engineering and Computer Science Majors Career & Internship Fair: October 28
- Spokane Trek: October 29
- Portland Trek: January 5
- Seattle Trek: January 7
- Partnership in Employment Career Fair: February (TBD)
- Silicon Valley Trek: March 10
- San Francisco Trek: March 11
- Resumania: First Thursday of every month (free pizza!)
We look forward to welcoming you on campus during Orientation weekend! Please stop by our office to say hello and help your student get started on the path to a successful and fulfilling career. It is never too early to start the career development process, and we look forward to being part of that process with your student.