When most students are applying to graduate school, they usually focus on the caliber of the program, the reputation of the professors, and the location. What's generally not on their criteria list—but should be—is the quality of a school's career services department.
According to "Consider a School's Career Services Before Applying," an article in US News & World Report's Best Graduate School report, the availability of job search support and career counseling opportunities should be of utmost importance to potential grad students who are (presumably) going to grad school in order to land better post-grad careers.
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, students who use career center resources are more likely to secure jobs than those who don't take advantage of such services.
Most university career centers have responded to the need for increased services by providing more to students than basic resume and cover letter reviewing. Some offer webinars, workshops, or one-on-one career counseling; some set up job fairs and aggressively work with recruiters and alumni to create networking events.
Some schools even offer a career management course…for credit. Some top MBA programs even require that students take such a course. Duke Fugua students need to create a "personal development plan" before they even begin their first semester!
The US News article provides a few tips:
- Start job searching early in your college or grad school career. Get to know your career services department early, make connections with people in your school's career center, and attend as many courses, webinars, and workshops as you can during the course of your studies.
- Create an account at your school's online career website. At this virtual career center you can generally receive job listings, post resumes and your profile, find internships, and receive podcast seminars. You can also receive updates about local or campus-wide job fairs. At Georgetown's McDonough School of Business, the online career center even offers videoconferencing between recruiters and MBA students.
- Seek help in starting your own business. More and more students are joining the startup nation and skipping the daunting task of job searching altogether by starting their own businesses. You school's career center should be helpful in brainstorming with you, helping you build your contact list, and working with you to create a business plan.
- Take advantage of alumni services. Just because you've graduated doesn't mean that you need to abandon your ties to your school's career center. Online and in-person resources and services are often available to program graduates and should certainly be utilized.
While choosing a graduate program based wholly on the quality of its career services department would be silly, examining different career centers at different universities should be included in your overall assessment of programs when considering which schools best suit your needs.
Related Accepted.com Resources:
- B-School Zones
- MBA Admissions Application Advice for Career Changers
- Applying to B-School in Times of Crisis: An Accepted.com Special Report
- MBA Students Must Work Harder to Land Internships This Year
- International Students' Top Priority: Jobs
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