May 28 – The University of Texas Permian Basin offers a variety of resources to help students prepare for job interviews and the workforce, from a Career Closet to Career Champions.
The Career Champions program has been around for about a year now.
“We saw a lot of students looking for industry advice, and we want to get our partners involved too. We want our students to have the latest and greatest information. While we do a great job of staying informed of trends and staffing needs, we serve the entire campus and so what better way than to go directly to industry professionals, so we just brought them in. Then the program was developed and we just added to it.. “We live in a very blessed community that many partner employers want to be involved in helping students achieve their professional goals,” said Megan Baeza, Director of Internships and Employer Relations.
It also helps companies connect with talent early.
“There’s also a positive side to being a champion. Go to campus and meet students, identify talent and create those conversations very early on,” Baeza said.
Many faculty members have also participated in the Career Champions program.
“We have a dedicated career page online. We feature spotlights of different people. One of our newest, Clark Moreland, made a financial donation to the Career Closet so we can purchase new clothing in some sizes we don’t have. He also worked joined us to have industry professionals come to his writing class and speak about how writing is important in the workplace. They were able to hear from journalists, engineers and doctors about the importance of writing and communicating in the classroom. We have a lot Career Champions, even here at the university – faculty and staff who are really just career-oriented and, again, want to support students’ career goals,” Baeza said.
The Wardrobe has professional clothing that students can wear and keep during job interviews, such as suits and ties. Companies, alumni and social partners donate the items.
All of these things add value to help students in their future careers, Baeza said.
“I think these are quite innovative. We’ve seen some other career centers take the same approach. But I love it. I love that it’s all hands on deck. You know, there’s a career motto everywhere. That it really is Everyone is thinking about a career, where it fits in – athletics, in the band and in student government, in the classroom, that all of these things add value to really help the students in their future careers,” she added.
As has become known, employers are starting to come to UTPB to engage, ramp up their recruitment and start internship programs.
Awards, called the Freddys, are given for a variety of achievements, including highlighting student involvement on campus.
The Career Center also awards a Career Champion, which goes to a faculty, staff or community member for their participation over the past year.
There is an intern of the year, who is voted on by the intern’s supervisors. At the State of the University, Baeza said that a call was made for people who host interns to let UTPB know if they could be nominated for Intern of the Year.
“We had a partner from a large CPA firm submit their nomination on site by April 15 and I loved that this student made such an impact that they felt they had to build in time to review the student’s work. show and nominate. I thought that was very exciting and it shows how much employers invest in careers, student success and internships,” says Baeza.
The winners receive a plaque with their name engraved on it for Intern of the Year. She added that that semester they called on students to report their internships and get a Falcon Hired T-shirt.
“We want to know how we can support you in your career path. …Southwest Bank across the street has two finance interns this summer, but we also have a finance student going to Delaware to intern at JPMorgan Chase. Internships are available it happens everywhere, all the time, and we love it,” Baeza said.
The Career Center has an online job board called Handshake, which connects students with career opportunities, so their partners post vacancies there and then bring these positions to the attention of students.
“Before they apply, we also help with one-on-one coaching with their CV, job interviews and professional attire that they need to wear to the interview. So there’s a lot of professional and career development that happens before that and maybe even sometimes afterwards. , whether that’s a second interview is either a follow-up interview with a thank you note or things like that. We have a lot of resources and again, one-on-one coaching that we do with students to help them connect with these internships,” Baeza said.
She added that they want students to have a competitive advantage so they can make a positive impression of themselves.
“It’s just coaching. What’s the process? How can I do this? What are best practices, and that’s where we come in and provide those resources,” Baeza said.
For more information, visit careers.utpb.edu
