“Career Services” is a term that refers to a unit at an academic institution where counseling and practical training are provided to students, with the aim of helping them get gainful employment, internship placements, or juicy graduate school positions. Students planning to enroll in a school should ensure that its career services office offers the following services.

Career decision making: The counselors at the career services office can help students choose a career, whether they’re leaning toward a specific occupation or have no idea about what they want to do. The counselors will use self-assessment tools to examine students’ values, interests, abilities, and personalities. Based on the findings, they either suggest some possible options or help students figure out if the career they’ve in mind is suitable for them. The career counselors will also help students decide what academic major will help them meet their goals.

Resume and cover letter writing: Career services help students write resumes and compelling cover letters. They sometimes conduct workshops and organize one-on-one sessions during which they evaluate resumes and cover letters.

Interview skills: A major benefit of using career services is that they help students find and prepare for interviews. Sometimes career services conduct workshops and simulated interviews to develop students’ presentation skills and boost their confidence in an interview situation. Some may even help students obtain endorsements or credentials from professors or university staff to support their application. Therefore, students can increase their job opportunities and prepare for their upcoming job searches.

Recruiting: Career services host job fairs during which potential employers visit the campus to choose and recruit students who’re about to graduate. Sometimes, the offices maintain student files with letters of recommendation from faculty. They can forward these letters to graduate schools and potential employers upon the students’ request. Students can also access a school’s job portal or career management system to look at internship and employment listings, schedule appointments with on-campus recruiters and counselors, and register for workshops. Additionally, they can upload their resumes into the school’s searchable database that employers can use to recruit applicants.

Insights into starting own business: Some students don’t want to be employed at another person’s company. Instead, they study with the intention of starting their own business and becoming an entrepreneur. Career services can also help students with this. Whether it’s starting up a business, business planning, applying for loans, or registering a company, career services can help or at least point students in the right directions.