CMU Career Services help students toward success

Beal City senior Chad Schafer didn’t realize all the opportunities Career Services had to offer — until he was student teaching.

“Although I didn’t know about career services during the majority of my undergrad,” Schafer said. “Jeff Hyames spoke at my student teaching seminar and informed me that there are still things that they can do for me even though I am about to graduate.”

Jeff Hyames is the assistant director of career development in Career Services, which is located at 215 Bovee University Center.

Some of the services the career center offers for graduating students include looking over résumé’s and giving mock interviews. For teaching students they can get in touch with school districts for employment, Schafer said.

Mock interviews consist of two parts: First, there’s a recorded interview with an intern that asks both behavioral and traditional questions; second, the intern will review the recorded session and provide feedback on verbal and non-verbal aspects of interview.

This process is meant to provide resources for students to have success in future interviews. In order to prepare for a mock interview, career services recommends that students first assess and define personal career goals. Students must also anticipate typical interview questions and identify strengths and weaknesses.

Another service the center provides is critiques on resumes, cover letters and many other documents. Students can have their documents critiqued either by e-mailing them to the office account, careers@cmich.edu, coming in during office hours for a face-to-face session or called in on a phone appointment. All can be scheduled with the career office by calling (989) 774-3068.

CMU also has offices that help provide students with work experience while attending the university. The Employment Services office helps students find work on and off-campus.

Cadillac senior Heather Rostad, who is employed at C3 in the Student Activities Center, was hired in 2006 by the Employment Services office and has worked on campus since.

“I have worked in five different places on campus and they work with the schedule extremely well,” Rostad said. “They are very strict about trading shifts during football games, calling in sick, and absenteeism. It is a good way to network socially and job advancement is readily available as long as you work hard.”

Many students are unaware of what CMU has to offer. These opportunities can help in the advancement of any students’ careers and taking advantage of these services could make future job searches easier.