Career Services held its first Work Experience Week, which included work experience seminars in addition to its annual Summer Jobs Fair.Seminars were offered on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Monday’s workshop discussed the value of internships, Tuesday’s gave students information on how to find them, and Wednesday’s gave students an in-depth look at jobs in government.Sara Crow, assistant director of communications for Career Services, said this was the first time Career Services workshops were grouped together in one week. About 20 to 30 students attended each workshop, she said.
“It’s really difficult for us to get students to attend workshops when we’re not connected to a specific class or student group,” Crow said.
The annual Summer Jobs Fair was held Thursday, and approximately 140 people attended, said Kayla Lato, coordinator of Career Services Experiential Education. The fair’s performance will be evaluated, and officials will determine its success.
Crow said the fair may be discontinued altogether, or Career Services may revamp the program to offer students more assistance in finding internships and work experience.But internships are not the only way to get experience, Crow said.”There are dozens of non-profit organizations in the Baton Rouge area alone, and they are often very receptive to students looking to do pro-bono work,” Crow said.
Lato ran the workshops and said that at each one, she stressed the importance of making appointments with Career Services to get personalized advice.
Web sites mentioned at the workshops that help students find internships include Internships.com, Indeed.com and Career Services’ Careers2Geaux. Lato said Career Services encouraged employers to post job opportunities on Careers2Geaux this month to better assist students.”I just hope students know there are a multitude of job opportunities out there,” Lato said.Ashley Brouwer, communication disorders senior, said she will graduate in December and hopes to fill a semester with an internship.”It’s comforting to know there’s so much out there, and they bring the resources to you,” Brouwer said.
Crow said students who have previous experience in a field earn more money than those who don’t.
Lato said Career Services constantly stresses the importance of work experience in any form — internships, student organizations, part-time jobs or volunteer work — because it gives students a better idea of what they want to do.
“It’s kind of like stepping out of being a student and being in the real world for a little while,” Lato said.
—
Contact Rachel Warren at [email protected]