The Online Reflector

The University of Indianapolis’ Career Services plans a number of networking opportunities for students in the second semester.

This past week, Career Services held the “Career Café” which was used to draw in students to connect with Career Services. Career Services’ Technology and Recruitment manager Karen Childers said the Café was a tool to garner the attention of students.

“We use it to outreach to students. I think they [students] may be more comfortable in that setting than coming in and making an appointment,” Childers said.

Career Services started the Career Café  last year as a way to make students aware of opportunities and allow students to get in contact with them.

Paul Gabonay, director of Career Services, said that they have seen more interest from the student body.

“We are pleasantly surprised by the number of students that walked by. There were some significant conversations [with the students],” Gabonay said.

Career Services also provided personnel to work at a booth located in the Schwitzer Student Center  last month. They handed out brochures of upcoming events, job fairs and networking opportunities for students who are looking forward to the job market.

The Career Café allowed Career Services to get students on their mailing lists and to set up appointments.

“We want to get their attention,” Gabonay said. “We spend a lot of time marketing to pull in students.”

Career Services continues to work with students who seek out the office’s help and encourages students to use the tools available to them.

“We do a lot of interview practice trainings. Students come in and sit down with professionals who know about interviewing,” Gabonay said.

Students involved in this process are recorded during mock interviews then shown the recording and coached by members of Career Services to help them develop.

“Students don’t become job search ready overnight,” Gabonay said. “We want them to at least have an idea and work to prepare themselves to compete for those opportunities.”

Members of Career Services do not solely seek the attention of juniors or seniors. They talk with freshmen in Freshmen Seminar courses to introduce them to career planning.

“It’s another outreach for young students and an introduction for them to plan their careers,” Gabonay said. “We want to connect with them early on.”

Career Services continues to encourage students to use their services to explore their options. Career Services defines its mission as assisting students in any way it can to connect them in various ways with employers.

“We help them get ready for the job search and connect them with our referral program, JobHound Connect,” Gabonay said.

JobHound Connect is an online networking opportunity. It is open to undergraduates and also has alumni candidates as well.

“It’s a good idea for students to use JobHound,” Childers said. “We have about 200 jobs at a time posted, whether it is a part-time campus job or an advanced full-time job.”

Career Services is located in room 206 of the Schwitzer Student Center and is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.