By DA Marcyes ‘23
Fellow Bulldogs, I have no idea what I want to do after college. Well, I mean, I kind of have an idea. I know generally what field I want to pursue. Yet, when people ask me what I want to do after school, I shrug and mumble something about photography, my heart rate spikes an additional 30 beats per minute over my resting college heart rate of 100bpm, and I get all awkward and sweaty like I’m back in middle school. If you resonate with what I am saying, please continue reading, because our school has tons of awesome events coming up which help folks like us captain our lives the way we want.
Event #1– NextFest: Grad School (February 18th)
This one is for all the people who just cannot get enough of college, and want even more! If you are looking to become a master or doctor of something in grad school, NextFest: Grad School Edition is calling your name. You can expect to attend one-on-one and group sessions with graduate schools across the country – and even one program based in England. You will gain knowledge about the different graduate schools and programs that are available to you, as well as the information on how to apply and move forward with pursuing the schools that interest you. How neat is that. If your fancy is tickled, you need only follow these simple steps to attend:
- Register on Handshake for “NextFest: Graduate School Addition” and then sign up for the sessions with schools that interest you.
- Prepare questions ahead of time for each program. You can even have your resume reviewed so it is ready if you are asked for it.
Event #2—The Internship Event and NextFest: Pitch Edition (March 4th & 18th)
I’m confused, you’re confused, everyone’s confused. It’s college. The best way to stop being confused (and broke, hopefully): internships. They are like a free trial of your dream career. Not only will you be treated infinitely better than at some random minimum-wage job around town, you will learn more about your dream position or field and get hands on experience to include on your resume and in future interviews. At the Internship Event, you can expect to learn about different internship opportunities from the employers themselves through Zoom. Employers will each have a minute to pitch their internship opportunities to you. Following the pitches, you can meet with the employers to ask additional questions about the internship and company.
Give it a whirl! Worst case, you will gain information about different internships that are available as well as employers that are recruiting specifically at UNCA. You will also gain experience asking questions and networking with employers.
To prepare for this event, register through Handshake to receive the Zoom information. Also, it is a good idea to have your resume reviewed beforehand so you can share it with the employers if interested. You can also see on Handshake what employers will be pitching, and come with an idea of what you might be interested in and any questions you would want to ask.
Event #3– Career Center Bingo
No matter what year you are, or how figured out your future is, The Career Center has graciously decided to give you free stuff. They created a bingo board of career-related tasks for you to complete and have some awesome prizes to go along with it. The tasks focus on all levels of career exploration, from working on a resume to networking with professionals to listening to a career-related podcast. The prizes range from Airpods or a Nintendo Switch Lite for completing four lines on the board, to gift cards, to swag from local businesses like Sunshine Sammies and Trade & Lore for completing two rows on the board. You can even get a bag of swag items for completing just one row. There are, of course, limited prizes, so hop to it!
The Career Center will accept anything done during the Spring Semester between the first day of classes and March 19, including classroom exercises like a wandering map. You must set up a “Career Center Bingo” appointment through Handshake when you have completed your chosen level of the bingo board so they can verify the completed boxes and coordinate picking up your prize! For more information, check out this blog post as well as The Career Center’s social media, or email career@unca.edu.
Event #4– Resumania (February 22-26th)
You only have one chance to make a good first impression with your future boss. Whether you made your resume from a Word template, sprung for a fancy resume creator online, or have no resume at all, you could definitely use a real live career professional help to polish things up. What a coincidence, because during the week of February 22nd to the 26th, The Career Center is going to focus on their resume review services. It’s never too early to work on your resume, so this is a great opportunity for any academic year. Simply set up a resume review appointment with The Career Center via Handshake or by emailing career@unca.edu to get in on the pro tips.
Remember, even when The Career Center is not hosting awesome events, they are still here for you. You can always get help by reaching out to them on Handshake or with an email to career@unca.edu. Also, check out their blog and socials for regularly posted cool information, such as local internships, jobs, and more!
Share
Permalink: