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Greetings!!
Dear Kim,
You are receiving this newsletter as a result of your registration with the office of Career & Counseling Services at West Texas A&M University. We want to ensure that you take full advantage of the many services our office provides. Read through this newsletter to get a glimpse of upcoming activities and events as well as day-to-day services available to you as a WTAMU student.
Contact our office if we can assist you in ANY way in your job search or on a career-related matter.
Good luck!
CCS Staff |
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"Hope" for the Holidays
When finals are over and the dust has cleared, you'll be headed home again for the holidays. For many college students and their parents, this reunion is both exhilarating and exhausting. Parents and students often have different expectations of what will take place during the holiday break. While students may joyfully await breakfast in bed and their laundry washed and folded, parents are yearning for their child to wake up before noon to spend quality time talking about college life. While your case may not be this extreme, holiday stress is a reality and it is helpful to be aware of some of the causes and to have a plan for reducing any potential family conflict.
Holiday stress can escalate when parents and students have different opinions of how they will spend their time. Family often expects the student to participate in family activities, while students expect to spend a majority of their time with friends. Parents can be reluctant to see their child as the adult they have become while at school and fail to adjust their rules to allow for the increased freedom students have experienced at school. Also, students often return home expecting their family to be exactly how they were when the student left for college and may find it hard to adjust to the new routine their family has embraced.
So what do you do??? PLAN AHEAD! Open discussion with your family before you even walk through the front door can go a long way in reducing conflict. Discuss your plans for the holiday break including how you plan to spend your time. Negotiate new rules with your parents with the understanding that both you and your parents may need to make some compromises. And if your grades may be a source of tension, prepare your parents ahead of time and designate a specific time that you can discuss this issue so it is not a black cloud over your vacation.
Remember, your goal for the holiday break is to Relax, Rejuvenate, and Return to college ready for a successful academic year! For more about holiday stress and coping strategies visit www.about.com and search: holidaystress.
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HOW TO: find your dream job
Can you find your dream job? A recent CareerBuilder.com survey estimates that nearly 75% of American workers are still in search of this! Since you are preparing to enter the job market, why not spend some time now investigating and determining your dream job? Maybe you can start there!
Begin this process by thinking through and writing down your values. Be sure to include things that are really important to you. For example, is leaving your mark on the world important to you? Is money what drives you? Do you need immediate recognition for a job well-done?
Next, identify your skills and talents. To differentiate: skills are something you've learned to do while talent is something you were born with. Most of the time, happy employees are those doing things they are good at, so keep these in mind.
Next research careers that interest you. Conduct informational interviews with folks in these career(s) of interest. Make an appointment to visit with a career counselor in our office (it's free for students!) and take advantage of the MyPlan career assessment offered here. Utilize the Internet, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics website where you can get the lowdown on a number of jobs including duties, salaries and the market outlook through 2010.
Finally, list the factors that might keep you from securing your dream job at this time. Maybe a lack of experience or education, geographical restraints or family obligations. Devise a strategy to overcome each factor. For example, if teaching is your dream job, but your student loan debt is too large - investigate loan forgiveness programs for teaching in high need areas.
Know that even though you may not walk off the stage from graduation into your dream job, you can still begin to lay the groundwork now. Keep your dreams in sight and follow your plan. You'll be working a long time and it is much easier to get up every day to go to work when you really want to be there.
Adapted from CareerBuilder.com |
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Counseling Corner - Choosing A Major
Need to declare a major? Don't like the major you have chosen? Not sure what's out there or where to begin??? Don't worry, you have a lot of company in this area and there are things you can do, other than pulling the covers over your head or going shopping.
Choosing a major that will result in the best possible preparation for a certain occupation can be a fairly orderly process. There are identifiable steps that can support you in making a good decision. The first step is self-assessment. This means determining your personality preferences, interests, skills, and values. The second step is to see what is out there in the world of work. The third step is narrowing the field and evaluating your options, and the final step is decision-making. After you have made a decision you can get an academic advisor in your major to help you plan your class work.
I'll admit there can be a lot of effort involved in completing the steps that took just one paragraph to tell you about. At Career and Counseling Services we have some excellent tools to help you along the way. The first is MyPlan, a comprehensive web-based career assessment free to WTAMU students and alumni. (Call us at 651-2345 for the license code.) Here you can complete the self-assessment step and much of the second step of researching occupations and majors. Additional ways to research are talking to people in occupations you are considering, job shadowing, and taking classes in possible majors. Decision-making is much easier when you have the relevant information mentioned above. An internship or other form of experiential education can be invaluable in making a well-informed decision.
If you would like help at any point along the way, or want to do some brainstorming, you can make an appointment for career counseling at 651-2345 or 651-2340. Your individual situation and questions can be discussed and action steps suggested to keep you moving toward your goals. At CCS we have lots of resources not mentioned above that can be utilized as well. You can do it!
For additional information about choosing a major, visit: www.quintcareers.com, click on "Student", and scroll down to the article on choosing a major.
Amy Stephens, M.Ed., LPC - WTAMU Career Counselor
806-651-2340
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"Adults are always asking little kids what they want to be when they grow up because they're looking for ideas."
~Paula Poundstone~
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CCS Calendar
Monday, 11/26/07 - On Campus Interviews with Southwest Honda - all majors - Sales positions
Thursday, 11/29/07 - On Campus Interviews with Covenant Health Systems - Nursing Majors
Monday, 12/3/07 - Mock Interview Night (register online)
Wednesday, 12/12/07 - On Campus Interviews with Canyon ISD - Fall 2007 Student Teachers ONLY (preselect application deadline is Thursday, Dec 6th)
SPRING DATES:
Wednesday, 1/30/08 - Summer Camp Fair
Thursday, 2/28/08 - Spring Career EXPO
Wednesday, 3/26/08 - Educator's EXPO 2008
April 2008 - Part Time and Summer Job Fair - TBA
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| EXPO 2007 PHOTOS
Did you attend the Career EXPO job fair or the PRE-FAIR Reception? If so, find yourself in these photos on flickr! If not, click and see what you missed.
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The principle goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done -- men who are creative, inventive and discoverers.
~ Jean Piaget ~
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| Keep us UP-TO-DATE!!
We are continually working with employers seeking new employees. Be sure that the information both on your resume and in your eRecruiting registration are up-to-date.
It is impossible to contact you if we don't have your current phone number and valid email address.
If you need help logging in to eRecruiting to update your registration or resume, contact our office at 806.651.2345.
NEW! ! ! ! ! !
Post your resume in eRecruiting to our new resume books - more added weekly! Check it out TODAY!
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