This Friday, University Career Services will sponsor a “Leaving the Lawn” conference that will focus on employment opportunities for upperclassmen. The workshop, entitled will run from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium.
Laura Craig, assistant director of career transitions for UCS, said students close to graduation oftentimes times need guidance.
“In January of 2013, we hosted a similar type professional development program focused on first and second-year students trying to choose a major or career path,” she said. “We recognized the need for a similar event, but for students who were closer to transitioning to internships or jobs in general in life after college.”
Rather than a career fair in which students can speak with potential employers and attempt to secure a job offer, Leaving the Lawn focuses on educating students about the job market and the process of securing employment following graduation.
“This is more of a learning opportunity for students to work with University recruitment,” Craig said. “It’s a great time to get some questions answered, and hopefully students will feel pretty accomplished and pretty certain of what their steps might be afterwards.”
The conference will begin with a keynote presentation by Steve Matuszak, adjunct faculty and doctoral candidate at the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech.
“The keynote speaker, Steve Matuszak, is going to talk about how [students] can be quality applicant[s] in today’s job market,” Craig said.
Following Matuszak’s speech, students will be broken up to attend two 20-minute “breakout sessions” on a topic of their choosing. The topics aim to help students with job applications, interview techniques, graduate school prospects and even how to effectively use LinkedIn.
“These are pretty quick sessions to introduce or perhaps review those concepts with students,” Craig said. “These breakout sessions are where we will get the employer involvement. It’s a great opportunity to hear advice and insight from employers but not in venue where you are being assessed as a candidate.”
For students experiencing difficulty finding a job, especially third and fourth-year students, Craig suggests seeking guidance from UCS.
“Reach out and come talk to us, because we are here to serve the needs of all students,” she said.
Career services walk-ins are held Monday through Friday, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Walk-ins with a career counselor last approximately 15 minutes. Drop-ins are held Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9-12 p.m. and last 10-15 minutes, and are specific to College, pre-law and pre-health students. Students can also call the University Career Services office to schedule an appointment with a counselor.
Though Leaving the Lawn is intended primarily for fourth-year students, third-year students are also welcome to register. Enrollment for the conference is capped at 150 students due to venue space limitations. Online registration closed yesterday through CAVLink, but walk-in registrations will be accepted.
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