One of the biggest stressors for college students is what occurs after the completion of their degree: facing the job market. Finding a job or even an internship in one's desired field can leave students feeling overwhelmed, anxious and even hopeless at times. Students should feel relieved to know that Career Services at Kean is here to help through this time and can alleviate some of the doubt.

Located in the Center for Academic Success (CAS), Room 201, Career Services has many tools for students to utilize regarding jobs, internships, resumes, interviews and more. They offer guidance and skills to students who are proactive about their professional endeavors.

Laureen Delance, assistant director of internships at Career Services said, "Here at Career Services, we reduce the ambiguity and develop career readiness skills for the 21st century, creating connections between employers, students and alumni, provide high quality internships and professional employment opportunities."

Students and alumni can visit Career Services for a multitude of reasons. Their mission is to guide students to educational and professional success through the Four Steps to Career Success: Self Awareness, Career Awareness, Academic Awareness and Professional Awareness.

Some of the services geared toward students and alumni are as follows:

• Career Development Workshop: This aids students who may be unsure about what career they want to pursue after their time at Kean. It asses one's interests and skills and compares it to the opportunities that are available in the job market. It is done in an interactive forum so students can also get feedback and collaborate with their peers.
• Job Search Skills: This is a workshop for those that want to enhance or become informed on how to manage searching for jobs. Attendees will become informed on new strategies and techniques to use when managing their job search.
• Interview Preparation: One of the most vital aspects of finding a career is being fully prepared for an interview, which can be a daunting task to many. This is a workshop that will inform students and alumni on how to beneficially present themselves as well as techniques to use to succeed when faced with an interview.
• Resume Writing: Presenting a good resume is one of the best first impressions one can give an employer. Located at Career Services there are handouts for students to take that can help enhance their resume. In addition, they can also have their resume critiqued by reaching out to Career Services.
• Individual Career Consultation: Students can contact Career Services to have an individual meeting regarding career-based matters.

Furthermore, there are services for employers to utilize to help them find future employees, as Kean has more than 50 undergraduate and more than 60 graduate degree programs. Career Services uses a job posting system called College Central in which companies can post for new hires that they are in search of. They share postings such as part-time and full-time positions and internships for credit or financial compensation.

Employers can also participate in the Career Fairs, which occurs multiple times throughout the semester. Here, students and employers alike can meet and network with each other to find great opportunities. Similarly, there is a Teacher Job Fair which transpires every spring in which school districts come to recruit for their schools.

When asked what advice she would give students that may be nervous about finding the right job or internship for them, Delance said, "There's this old school of thought that in order to get the right job or right internship, you have to wait until everything is aligned. The plot twist in that circumstance is that you will never be 100% ready."

She continued, "What you should have is a solid academic foundation. You should also be teachable, open to learning and accepting feedback so you can be better than the person you were yesterday."

To learn more about Career Services, be sure to stop in to the Center for Academic Success, Room 201. Their hours of operation are from Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.