I believe career development should be an ongoing part of a student's education, not something that starts when they are ready to graduate. Giving students opportunities to explore career paths, develop professional skills, and connect with employers along the way helps build confidence and prepares them for the workforce. Career Services plays an important role in guiding students through that process and helping them understand the opportunities available. Building strong employer relationships and providing consistent support can make a lasting difference in a student's success.

Staying motivated often requires mind over matter, especially when you’ve served your time and still face barriers that can leave you feeling discouraged. It can be exhausting to keep going through processes long after you’ve completed your sentence. Still, your past does not erase your worth or your right to move forward. Understanding your rights and exploring options, such as expunging or sealing a record where available, can be an empowering step toward rebuilding your life.

Re-creating how you communicate about yourself is highly important. Also showing up physically in a space is helpful. Reaching out to show your interest often set you apart and  being confident in what you can offer can be the difference in the outcome.

As I am growing in my career, I've found myself re-evaluating my counseling/advising theories after every appointment. We are constantly learning from students, and every situation is based on the student's identity at certain stages in their life. Considering every student comes from a different set of beliefs, a different level of resilence and sometimes even just a gap in age, our strategies need to pivot to hold students accountable. What ways can we practice holding students accountable for their goals and their efforts? 

This module allowed me to re-evaluate the verbiage I've been using when facilitating a conversation with a student about their future. I need to be able to hear them out and listen closely for key words that can give me an indication of how confident they are.  

This module taught me the importance of getting to know institutions and taking the time to build those relationships. 

Preparing for event and then following up after an event are both vital and very important in order to make a career event a success! 

Documentation is everything in building a relationship and saves time.

Do some research to have a list of benefits that the employer would consider this a cost effective partnership.

I loved that this module focused on preparing students before the career fair! This is often something that gets lost in the busy-ness of everything, so I learned a lot of great tactics and ways to help students prepare so they can get more out of the career fair experience.