The Department of Career Services held its social and informational workshop “Career Café” which focused on how to conduct an informational interview.
The meeting held on Sept. 25, unfortunately saw attendees lower than expected.
Career Counselor Traci Ukita said that lower attendance is attributed to the relocation of the Career Services.
Career Services was originally located in the Administration Building which made it easier for students to find and access.
It now resides on the second floor of the Multipurpose Building, mixed in with other classrooms.
In addition, the map of the campus no longer has the Directory of Career Services; making it difficult for any student to find it.
“We want students to know where we are,” Ukita said, “invite them in and welcome the environment.”
In response, the counselors established a Career Café.
Career Café helps students gain insight on the career choices they may have in mind.
It helps students network with other professionals in their field of study and ask questions on how they got to the level they are today and their average day-to-day schedule.
The workshop, led by Ukita, gave students tips on how to conduct a thorough informative interview with someone that has experience in an area of study they are interested in.
Ukita stated that many of the students that have developed a mentor-student relationship with the skilled workers they conversed with, eventually lead them to opportunities such as internships, scholarships and job placement.
The Career Café would also help students by becoming unique in these interviews and to be ready for any scenario the interview might go.
Alex Santa Ana, pharmacy technician major, has been attending to these workshops for over two years after seeing the event flyer online.
“It helped me a lot with presentation,” Santa Ana said.
He also stated that the workshops have increased his chances of job placement as well as creating study groups with other students.
“Everyone should try it,” he said.
Career Café is held every last Monday of the month in MP 201.
Jeff Neil • Sep 28, 2017 at 7:32 pm
Informational interviews are a great way to get accurate and unbiased information about new career options – so you can be confident you’re choosing the right job and career. In case it would help your students, there are 40+ great articles on how to conduct an informational interviews at http://www.informationalinterviewarticles.com – including how to find people for informational interviews, how to get their contact informational, sample request letters, questions to ask, and how to stay in touch to learn about future job openings.