Editorial: Career Services serves career hope

When you’re in college it is often hard to envision your plans for the night, let alone your future career plans, and as students, we all share that same gut-twisting fear of unemployment after graduation and moving back in with mom and dad.

The unemployment rate for college graduates between the ages of 20 and 24 years old has been fluctuating through the years, and as of November 2011 was at 7.7 percent, according to The Wallstreet Journal. Knowing this, it’s hard to say for sure whether you will have a job on lock after graduation, but it is nice knowing that you are not alone if you don’t.

Though this leaves many students with a feeling of anxiety about their seemingly-insecure future, Career Services provides a helping hand for all of the schools at Rider through tools such as counseling services and career fairs, among many others. Being apprehensive about having a future job is an understandable concern but there are things you can do throughout your time here at Rider that can help ease your worries.
In order to achieve all you can in your four years in college and beyond, Career Services suggests that all students need to start right from the get-go. Getting involved with clubs and organizations that have to do with your field of interest, researching careers that your major has to offer and beginning to create your résumé are all things that can help in building a better career in the long run. By getting started freshman year, you will end up with a big advantage come graduation day.

By simply visiting the Career Services page on the Rider website you will see a variety of career opportunities to further advance your job search and skills. One of the tools offered is individual career counseling, in which you can meet with a counselor to develop your résumé and enhance career skills. Counselors also hold mock interviews where students can practice interview skills and receive feedback. In addition, the university holds various career fairs each semester, which allow students to meet with and give out their résumés to potential employers.

Some students come into Rider without a clue as to what they want to major in. Those students see this as a stressful decision; Rider and Career Services see this as the right path that freshmen should be taking. For these undecided students, there are many opportunities to work with Career Services to figure out individual interests and work your way to a major.

Another option undeclared students have is to take the Myers Briggs and Strong Interest Inventories (MBTI), which is a personality test that determines interests you may have and possible careers that go along with them.

Even if you believe it is too late in your college career for Rider to help you to find a job, there are still opportunities for you. For alumni, Career Services has a Career Center Library to assist students and alumni in researching career options and finding graduate programs and employers. Also through the resource Broncs Career Link, job openings are put up for recent graduates to check out.

Though the future can seem murky at times, and it seems as though the “real world” is fast approaching for some, you don’t have to go through the process alone and Rider’s Career Services offers many opportunities to give you a clearer outcome.

This weekly editorial expresses the majority opinion of The Rider News. This week’s editorial was written by the Opinion Editor, Kristy Grinere.