Career Center offers post-grad assistance

by Desiree Quintero
Staff Writer

The school year is coming to an end, and many graduating students are deciding what to do with their lives.

Graduation day, once considered so far away, is now coming up in less than two weeks.

After having spent four years at the University of La Verne, it is finally time to face reality, and the awful truth sinks in: What do I do now?

Some students will go back to school; some will go into the work force; and others are still undecided of where life is going to take them.

Senior Sara Kears will be graduating with a degree in anthropology, but just two months ago she decided that what she really wanted to do was teach. Kears plans on going back to school in the fall to get her teaching credential.

"I feel like even though I'm not going out there and looking for a career right away, I feel confident because I have interview experience and a resume, all through the Career Center," Kears said.

To help students with their future, the Career Development and Placement Center is holding a resume workshop for students from 4:15 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday, May 12, in the Career Center.

The workshop is a step-by-step run-down of what students need to do to complete their resumes.

The Career Center is also offering students free resume paper and 9"x12" envelopes with a scheduled counseling session. Without a counseling session, one can purchase paper and envelopes for 10 cents each, or three for 25 cents.

"Students should stop by the Career Center as soon as possible to finish writing their resumes, and if they have not started one, they should stop by to begin one," said Laura Kiralla, director of the Career Development and Placement Center.

"(In the Career Center), we have seen a senior class that is experiencing anxiety and frustration," Kiralla said. "A lot are finding it more and more competitive and difficult, but the students who use the Career Center services have myself and the counselors to help support them."

According to an article published in the Los Angeles Times, U.S. companies cut their payrolls again in April. This has pushed the nation's unemployment rate to 6 percent.

The Labor Department reported that job losses in the last three months are above the half-million mark.

Graduating students are finding it a little more difficult than usual to find employment because of the depleting economy, but just need to push a little harder to find a job upon post-graduation.

"University of La Verne seniors need to be flexible and open to different types of job opportunities," Kiralla said. "They might not start in their dream job right away, but need to be open to working in different job environments."

"This is one of the toughest job markets for the economy," Kiralla said.

In spite of the dropping job market, Kiralla feels that graduating seniors have an advantage in that they are, "fresh to the job market, have high energy, are ready to commit and can be shaped and trained to fit company needs."

"At first I was anxious about finding a job and being prepared, but I have been working in the Career Center and feel a little more prepared," Kears said.