“Seniors should get comfortable with being uncomfortable,” were the words of advice for life after graduation from Career Development Center Director Brian O’Driscoll.
The countdown to graduation is in full effect and he highly recommends seniors to utilize every opportunity to connect with others to talk about their career interests and related skills and abilities.
“Who you know is not important. It is what they think of you and what you can learn from them that will help you strategically positionyourselfforanyidealjob,”O’Driscoll said. “Networking comes first, applying for a job comes after.”
The benefit of networking before applying for a job or graduate school helps increase the overall appearance and effectiveness of job applications.
By doing this extra step, O’Driscoll said a student could gain insight to invest in his or her own resume.
A great way for seniors to get in contact with others within their interested job field is to join the Pacific LinkedIn group.
“This is a must,” said O’Driscoll. “No arguments.”
He describes LinkedIn as a similarity to Facebook for people who are searching for jobs.
The power of this group is the networking tool. Seniors are able to find any career and are able to find Pacific alumni who are apart of a specific workforce.
For the seniors who are unsure about either going into the workforce or furthering their education in a graduate program, O’Driscoll encourages them to do some field work and get a feel for their profession of interest before committing.
A strategy that he mentioned for seniors was to think about the relationship between school and career choice and ask if it is necessary or a grey area.
Researching a job or a graduate program is a lot easier with the guidance from any Career Development Center, CDC, staff member. Since seniors take precedence, O’Driscoll urged them to take advantage of their help.
“Students need to know that they have advocates who want to help them and fight for them,” said O’Driscoll. “Seniors should stop by sooner than later, so we can help them prepare for their lives after graduation.”
If there are any questions about the LinkedIn group or about networking, seniors should contact the CDC staff. The best way to get in touch with the staff is to personally visit and have a one-on-one appointment.
“By working together, I can guarantee that it would be productive and beneficial,” assured O’Driscoll.
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