Career Development Office

http://www.fredonia.edu/cdo

The Career Development Office (CDO) provides students with a link between the campus and the workplace. Professional career counselors help freshmen through alumni to:

• explore options and make career/major/job choices
• plan strategies to gain experience and skills to become competitive
• identify and apply for internship opportunities
• develop skills to implement a successful job search
• learn how to apply to graduate or professional school
• locate information and opportunities to make decisions or implement plans
• get connected to employers and graduate schools

CDO Services

Individual Counseling. Students are encouraged to make an appointment early in their university experience to examine the expectations they may have for a degree program, major, and possible occupations. Career assessments, career information, and informational interviewing are used to supplement counseling appointments. A counseling appointment is also recommended to find internships, review cover letter and resume drafts, identify job search strategies and resources, apply to graduate or professional school, or to prepare for interviews.

Career Videos and Information. Students can explore careers by viewing over 4,900 online video interviews from professionals in a wide variety of careers. Career advice videos and links are available on the CDO website, containing information about work tasks, desired academic background, personal qualities and experiences, salary, hiring organizations, and the job market. A series of Fredonia intern videos and Wall of Fame web page are also available for students considering internships.

Career Pathways. Learn about career pathways and get connected to programs at Fredonia. Explore majors, career outlooks, sample job titles, internships and job opportunities, student organizations and clubs, as well as industry-specific professional associations. Videos of professionals working in related industries are included.

Internships. An internship is a learning experience gained by working in a position related to a student's major or career field. Internships provide hands-on experience that can confirm or reject tentative career choices; help to develop useful career building skills; show potential employers evidence of the ability to apply skills in a related work environment; and make students more attractive candidates for employment or graduate school.

Internships are available in a variety of disciplines, including: art and photography, biology and environmental science, business and accounting, chemistry, communication, computer and information sciences, counseling, law enforcement and legal offices, journalism and public relations, health administration, music industry, sound recording technology, sport management, exercise science, and theatre arts.

Credit bearing internships are open to any registered student who has completed at least 30 credit hours and has a minimum GPA of 2.0. Internships may be in a student's major or in another department. Students may earn up to 15 hours of internship credit per semester and may count a maximum of 24 hours of internship credit toward the 120 hours required for an undergraduate degree. Students must complete a Learning Contract and have it approved by their faculty sponsor, internship site supervisor and the Internship Coordinator in the CDO. In addition, they must register for the appropriate course and pay the registration fee to receive credit.

The Internships section of the CDO website lists a wide variety of internship opportunities, resources to find internships, and current internship policies and procedures. Career counselors can help students find internship opportunities related to their interests and goals, as well as create an effective resume and cover letter.

Job Search Information. Online job search videos, employer directories, resources and links are available in the Looking for a Job section of the CDO website. Advice about how to look for a job, interviewing, writing cover letters and resumes, as well as sample resumes, are available online and on the job search information shelves in the resource area.

Job Vacancy Listings. FREDNetwork, powered by Handshake, is a web-based system that each enrolled student has a personal account in. The platform provides access to internship, student employment, summer, and professional job listings; an employer database; and a listing of career-related events. Search agents provide email alerts of job and internship opportunities. Additional job databases, directories and resources are available with over four million organizations represented.

Resumes/Cover Letters. Assistance is available in developing resumes and writing cover letters, including individual appointments with career counselors, access to sample resumes, handouts, and online resources.

Practice Interviews. Students can practice interview skills by scheduling a mock interview with a CDO counselor or practice from home with Big Interview. With Big Interview, students with Internet access and a webcam can also practice and record interviews whenever they want and email these to counselors for review. Suggestions for improving interviewing skills will be discussed.

Graduate School. Assistance is available in finding and applying to graduate and professional school. Directories of graduate programs, online information and books on financial aid, how to write an application essay, as well as test preparation software, books and videos for the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT and PCAT are available in the resource area. Each year the CDO sponsors a Graduate School Fair on campus with over 70 programs represented.

Workshops. Career counselors make customized presentations to student clubs, classes and residence halls about career options, internships, summer jobs, resume writing, job searching, social media, interviewing, and graduate or professional school applications.

Career Resources.  Explore careers by viewing over 4,000 onlinev video interviews from professionals in a wide variety of careers and browsing the Careers/Majors section of the CDO website. Check out the CDO’s Pinterest page to learn about interviewing, writing resumes and cover letters, researching employers, conducting a successful internship or job search, applying to graduate school, and more. The CDO library consists of books and magazines about a variety of career fields; directories of potential employers, internships and graduate school programs; and how to write resumes, cover letters, find a job and interview successfully. A series of handouts on career choice, internships, resumes and cover letters, interviewing, job search, and graduate school is also available. Resources are organized for easy browsing online and on shelves in the resource area.  These materials are also available for sign-out.

Recruitment and Networking Events. Each year employers visit the campus to interview students about prospective job and internship opportunities. Students can participate in special annual events such as the Job & Internship Expo, Network on the Go,Teacher Recruitment Day, and WNY Career & Internship Fair.  Employers also visit the campus to make presentations about career fields, as well as internship and job opportunities through the Network on the Go and CDO Spotlight programs.

First Destination Survey. Each year the office contacts the graduates of the university to determine their plans for the first year after graduation. Members of each class choose to accept diverse opportunities for further study and employment. Education organizations are the most frequent first-time employers of Fredonia graduates, followed by business and industry; non-profit/social service; government; media or arts organizations and self-employment.

Graduates are pursuing advanced degrees in science, law, business, education, music, medicine, and a variety of other disciplines at graduate institutions across the country, many widely recognized for their excellence. Information about the first year plans of recent graduates is available on request from the Career Development Office.

Contact Information. The Career Development Office is located on the second floor of Gregory Hall. Appointments can be made online from the CDO website at http://www.fredonia.edu/cdo/, in person at the reception desk or by phone at (716) 673-3327. The CDO can also be contacted via fax at (716) 673-3593 or by email at careers@fredonia.edu.