I thought mid-semester came quickly, but here we are in May, a few weeks away from finals. I’m sure plenty of you are graduating this Spring, so congrats! Maybe you know what you’re doing next, or maybe you’re still trying to figure that out. The Career Center is still here to help you even after you leave UMBC.
UMBC grads can schedule a career counseling appointment with the Career Center up to 6 months after they graduate at no cost! After 6 months, we offer career counseling appointments for a fee of $30 per every 45 minutes. These counseling appointments have a number of different uses; you can review resumes or cover letters, or you can discuss a course of action meant to help you navigate the job search process. You can practice for interviews, or you can discuss and review the grad school application process. These are only a few of the services available; you can find more here.You can also continue using your UMBCWorks account for free post-graduation. You’ll have access to the system for a year after you graduate, and subsequently, the system needs to be reactivated semesterly. UMBCWorks is a great way for you to connect with employers that are specifically looking for UMBC students and alum. Check out our calendar for events geared towards alumni. For example, on June 8th, there’s an alumni only Career Fair located off campus. You can find more information here.
For those of us not graduating, we have at least another semester to look forward to here at UMBC. Even though we’re staying in school, we should still be focusing on ways to develop our professional profiles over the summer.
So what are some things you could do over the summer?Work on your professional documents! I’ve said it time and time again, but that’s because it’s so important. Update your resumes; add in the experiences you’ve gained over the summer, and make it look great! Tips on resumes can be found here.
Work on your LinkedIn Profile. Online media presence is becoming an extremely important part of application processes. Make sure you’re presenting yourself in the best way possible by tailoring your LinkedIn Profile to reflect who you are and what experience you have. Tips on how to do this can be found here.If you plan on going to grad school, start looking at what that path requires. Start studying for standardized tests (as someone who is preparing to take the LSAT in June, I can tell you that I wish I started studying two years ago), work on personal statements if you’ll be applying soon, and talk to people who have gone to grad school! You can network and also get some insight on whether or not this is the path for you.For many, the purpose of coming to college is to build a career, so investing time in planning out that career is vital to our success. Take some time during the summer to make sure you’re making progress in taking your next steps!
