Career Services Is One-Stop Shop for Student Workers

Career Services has always been the place to go for finding employment on campus, but now students have even more reason to visit the center, located in the Student Union.  Although returning students will find Career Services in the same place, they will find new faces eager to help them with their employment needs.

Director Jacqueline Smith spent the summer assembling a team to work with students in their job searches. New services and training are available for students.

“We want to train students with practical, real-world experiences,” Smith says. “We teach them everything from how to shake hands to how to prepare an ‘elevator speech.’ We want to give students the confidence and skills to compete in the world.”

Career Services will conduct required training for all campus student workers. The training will prepare them for their new role on campus, as well as for their future career pursuits.

A crucial part of that training program is Student Worker Training Manager Connie Sugarman. She has transferred from the Student Contact Center, where she created and provided training for all student workers in that department. She will now develop and train all student workers across the campus.

Along with Sugarman, Career Services has added Sheila Easter as office supervisor, Catherine Sybrant as a career adviser and recent GCU grad Brittany Mony as a career specialist. Several returning student workers are back with the team, including Jeanette Montenegro and Keleigh Norman.

Smith has established Career Services as a one-stop shop for all students looking for work on and off campus.

Opportunities for students to work on campus have grown significantly. New students can meet with campus hiring managers at a job fair in the Student Union on Aug. 26 from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. The following week, all students will have access to three days of campus job fair, Aug. 29-31 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Student Union.

For students who want to work off campus, Career Services will be bringing businesses to campus weekly. The first companies to visit include College Nannies and Tutors (Sept. 13), Chase Bank (Sept. 14) and Sherwood Hotels (Sept. 21).

Along with bringing companies directly to campus, Career Services has further expanded its job-search resources for all GCU students, on campus and online. A new website is set to open in September that will feature listings of off-campus jobs. The new site will compliment the Taleo site that currently houses on-campus jobs as well as the center’s several social media resources, which include Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

“This couldn’t happen without the great relationship we have with GCU’s Human Resources department,” Smith says. “Shelley Johnson and Marcey Denney have been wonderful partners to work with.”

Smith also praises Joyce Hatch and Trisha Scott in Financial Aid for their invaluable assistance in qualifying students for federal work study programs.

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