Career Services wants to know: Are you registered?

Finding your way through the many systems, policies and procedures on your way to graduation can sometimes seem overwhelming. Career Services is just one of the many offices here to help.
Students have many questions and in this article, we have attempted to provide answers to some of those most commonly asked. After you read the information, I would suggest you call our office at (517) 774-3068 to schedule an appointment with your career adviser. It could be the first step toward a successful job search and a great career.
Question: I submitted my card to request an
interview and also requested it on-line. I got selected for an interview
but when I went to select a time, the message said sign-up period passed.
What does that mean?
Answer: After you receive your card back,
you only have about a week to go on-line, sign-up for a time and then
call the confirmation line to record that selection. If you waited longer
than Tate, there may not be any slots remaining. However, always call
our office to check.
One way to avoid this happening is to go on-line everyday or so and under the Recruiting icon, select “check status” to see if you have been selected for an interview by a company. This way if your card doesn’t get to you for any reason, you can still get the interview. You will also want to check the section titled “RSVP Events” to see if the companies you are interviewing with are holding information sessions. If you have any questions or problems, Career Services will do our best to help.
Question: I know you keep telling me that
I need to register with Career Services but do I really need to take
the time to do this? Can’t I find a job on my own?
Answer: As a graduating student, registering
with Career Services opens the door to a multitude of services designed
to assist you in your job search. It is now so easy to complete the
registration process. You can use your own re´sume´ created on Word97.
Using Word97 offers you the most flexibility and registration can now
be completed on the web which means that any changes you need to make
in your registration codes or on your re´sume´ can be done at home and
then sent to our database via the web.
Completing the entire registration process enables you to have access to the on-campus interviewing program; access to a career adviser; up to six-months free from your date of graduation of the Job Vacancy Bulletin (must complete a request form; undergraduate candidates only); use of the Career Resource Center; and, inclusion in the candidate pool for referrals until Nov. 1 following your date of graduation.
Question: What do you mean that I will be
included in the candidate pool for referrals?
Answer: The registration process consists
of filling out the card that enables us to activate your web account;
complete the registration codes; upload your Word97 re´sume´ into our
student database via the web. Once this part is done, you become eligible
to be referred out to employers who call our office with open positions
that need to be filled.
Last year, employers contacted our office with 1,043 available positions and we sent them more than 18,686 re´sume´s for consideration through our office or web database. This means that while these people were out doing their own job search activities, their re´sume´ was working for them by being sent out to potential employers by Career Services. It takes very little time to complete the process and the benefits are well worth it.
Question: I already registered last year using
the disk but my roommate is using her own re´sume´ that was done on Word97,
can I do that too?
Answer: Using Word97 gives you the best looking
re´sume´. We encourage you to sign up for web registration even though
you already have the disk. Choosing to use the disk or HTML documents,
limits your options and the re´sume´ does not come through looking as
professional as Word97. Also, by using the web registration process,
your flexibility to make changes and updates is greater. This ensures
that the most current information goes out to potential employers.
Question: I want to broaden my job search
avenues, do I have any option other than on-campus interviewing?
Answer: Absolutely! On the tables in the Career
Resource Center we have the Employment Vacancy Bulletin which is published
weekly by CMU. We also receive vacancy bulletins from more than 50 other
colleges and universities throughout the United States. These contain
actual job openings and are updated on a weekly basis and filed according
to major. Career Services has also developed a list of Internet addresses
by major that you can search for possible opportunities. Along with
this, we have a list of Internet addresses of newspapers that have their
classified ad section on the web. These resources will go a long way
toward making your job search global.
Nancy Benaske is coordinator of officer operations
and recruitment at Career Services.