By : Kamelia Kilawan, Peers for Careers/SCDC Correspondent

One piece of advice that the career office is always trying to share with students is to take advantage of the great network that your student colleagues can provide to you.  Often, we in the Career Center will hear stories about students helping students with their job/internship search.

The Starr Career Development Center (SCDC) provides excellent resources for students to utilize in order to harness their true potential. With growing digital media and with the student population becoming more tech-savvy, it is evident that students will begin to use the Internet as a primary source for career advice, influence and guidance from all aspects ranging from academics to professionalism.

All over the country, we are beginning to see a new trend, one where we no longer carry a daily newspaper, where textbooks are becoming fully digital and where we take to social media to reflect upon our lives.

This new development is becoming more obvious, and students who do not keep up with the efficiency and effectiveness that is social media and blogging will be missing out on information that not only comes by the second, but is as influential and informative as what the professional themselves would advise face to face. To build on this, the SCDC has launched a new resource for students to use to stay abreast of trends and to help them further their own professional development.

To help keep students informed about the SCDC’s announcements and to facilitate peer-to-peer learning, the SCDC is launching a new blog.  Starrlights, the Center’s new blog is designed by students for students.

The members of the Peers for Careers program are uniquely prepared to write the blog, as they are both undertaking their own career exploration and building processes as well as having been trained by the Center staff to help students with skills ranging from resume and cover letter writing to mock interviewing.

Since it first launched in the Fall of 2012, Starrlights has featured weekly stories ranging from lessons learned about phone interviewing, reflections on how to make the most of your time at Baruch, to career journeys in journalism and game development.

During the spring semester, Starrlights will highlight the career journeys of noteworthy Baruch students and post exclusive interviews with Baruch alumni from a variety of career paths.

If you are a Baruch student interested in sharing lessons learned from your career, please email Dr. Ellen Stein, deputy director and Peers for Careers coordinator, at [email protected].

Ultimately, what is most important while creating this blog was to address the collective career experiences and issues that students face. The blog is a space that highlights common challenges faced by students and keeps you informed about what other students have accomplished.

By: Paulina Jankovic, Peers for Careers/SCDC Correspondent

The new semester is upon us!  The first week of classes is always exciting—seeing friends, finalizing ones’ class schedule and making plans.  Additionally, now is the ideal time to start thinking about summer internship plans.  Given the freezing temperatures, the month of May may feel far away, but the next 15 weeks will quickly unfold.

To help students jumpstart their semester and their internship search, the Starr Career Development Center (SCDC) has been busy planning events that will ensure you are prepped and ready to focus on an internship search.

Regardless of your major or career direction, it is important to seek out internships or volunteer experiences that will help prepare you to enter the working world.  The Career Development Center has many tools that will help students get their foot in the door.

There are many benefits to doing an internship.  Internships are key to gaining exposure to your field of interest and providing you with hands-on, real-world experience. It can be a great way to your strengthen your skills, build your network and even test-drive your career options in order to find the best fit.

Before you apply for an internship, it is important to have a resume.  The Career Development Center’s staff and peers can provide valuable advice during a resume review. During the semester, the center has walk-in resume review appointments from 3-5 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Additionally, Resume Rush events are held periodically during the semester to ensure that even more students can get help with their resume.  The first such Resume Rush event is going to be held on Tuesday, February 5, in the afternoon.

Another way to jumpstart your internship search is to consider attending the Internship Fair on Friday, Feb. 8. Career fairs are always a crucial for an internship search. They allow you the opportunity to personally connect with a recruiter, which is the purpose of the fair: networking.

It is recommended that you research the companies participating and apply on their website before the fair.  Many students are frustrated by career fairs because they expect the recruiter to make a decision about their candidacy on the spot.

The purpose of the fair is really to activate your networking.  On Wednesday, Feb. 6, the Career Development Center is hosting a Career Fair Preparation Workshop, which is designed to address the myths and realities of a fair.

In addition to the career fair, there are several companies participating in our On-Campus Recruiting program for internships.

If you have not already done so, take the Internship OCR tutorial (it can be found on the Media section of the SCDC’s website).  As a part of On-Campus Recruiting, several corporate information sessions are scheduled.