CDC helps students explore for the future

By Jill Newell, Special to the On-Line Forty-Niner

Thursday, January 21, 1999

If you need a future, get one at the Career Development Center. Although it's not quite that easy, the Center at Cal State Long Beach helps students choose classes, careers, and employment, easing the pressure of going it alone.

"The goal of the program is to give you alternatives to explore," Wade Hawley said, director of the Career Development Center.

Career planning is one of the many programs offered by the Career Development Center. Counselors are available by appointment or on a drop-in basis to help students evaluate their goals and plan for their future.

"The counselors are always available, which is the nice thing," CSULB graduate Trisha Kato said.

By exploring the interests of students, counselors can assist them in finding what kind of career best suits their abilities and lifestyle.

"We spend a lot of time dealing one-on-one with students, trying to help them assess where they are going to go," Hawley said

Vocational testing offers a student a different perspective of what he or she may choose as a career.Sigi-plus and Eureka are computer programs designed to narrow down a student's choice by asking specific questions to suggest alternate fields of work, Hawley said.

"[The computer] prints out a list of occupations," Hawley said, "It prints out job descriptions, outlooks, salary, and what it takes to be successful in that career."

The Career Resource Library also offers information about employers, and careers. It gives job descriptions, along with job postings and internship information. A directory is also available that provides information about what typical salaries for college graduates are across the nation, Hawley said.

The center also offers workshops throughout the semester on a variety of subjects from interviewing skills to resume writing.

The workshops are specifically designed to help students who need practice in their job-hunting techniques and information on practical work skills.

"I took some of the workshops that they offer . . . that was maybe two years ago," Kato said. "Those were very helpful. Even though it was a while ago . . . I can still remember."

Career placement is available for students who are interested in finding a job that relates to their field of study. Graduating students can submit resumes into the center's Resume Referral Database.

Prospective employers may access this database, according to specific major and degree.

Job listings are available on-line through the center's site called Jobtrack, which may be accessed through the center's home page or from any computer on campus. Jobtrakker is the printed version of the online listings, and new issues are available twice a month at the Career Development Center, Hawley said.

Another service the center provides is Jobline. It is an automated system that is available by phone 24 hours a day. Students can call in, choose a particular job opening, get information about that job and then schedule an interview for the position. The center receives about 15,000 job openings per year, Hawley said.

Internships are also available for all types of interest including business, government,industry, education and entertainment.

"They do offer a wide variety of services, whether you are looking for a part-time job during school or starting to look for a full-time job," Kato said. "All the resources are here."

The Career Development Center is located in Room 250 on the second floor of Brotman Hall. For more information, one may call (562) 985-8462.