Five in Five(ish): Career Tips

Welcome back to Spartan Orientation Station 💚

It’s another Top Five in Five(ish), and this time we’re talking all things careers.

Whether you already know your dream job or have absolutely no idea what you want to do after graduation, there are plenty of ways to set yourself up for success while you’re at MSU. We’re sharing a few simple tips that can make a big impact, from building your resume and gaining experience to networking and making the most of campus resources.

A little preparation now can open a lot of doors later, so tune in for some quick advice that your future self will thank you for. 💼🎧

What is The Spartan Orientation Station?

Nervous about starting at Michigan State? Worried about your class schedule, living away from home, or where to even start? The Spartan Orientation Station (SOS) is a podcast hosted by New Student Orientation staff and was created by students for students. This podcast will launch twice a week throughout the summer, and each episode will feature a unique interview with campus departments discussing their services, common misconceptions, and fun Spartan engagement opportunities. When you need help at Michigan State, it is okay to signal SOS! Don’t worry – MSU is there for you.

Narrator: 00:08

You're listening to the Spartan Orientation Station on Impact eighty nine FM, the podcast by students for students. Now this week's episode.

Aniyah T.: 00:19

Welcome to the Spartan Orientation Station. Today, we are going to be talking about Career Services Network. I am your host, Aniyah, and I'm a student coordinator with the New Student Orientation Office. Today I'm joined by three guests.

Kennedy A.: 00:32

Hello, I am Kennedy. I am a student coordinator as well and I also serve as a career peer lead for CNS.

Mary: 00:38

Hi, my name is Mary. I'm the director of employer relations for Career Services.

Janelle D.: 00:43

Hey good morning I'm Janelle Dougherty. I'm the Student Success and Employer Engagement Coordinator with Career Services.

Aniyah T.: 00:48

Just to kick things off and ask the obvious, what services does the MSU Career Service Network offer to students?

Kennedy A.: 00:55

We have a lot of different resources for students, some of them being resume and cover letter reviews, LinkedIn help either starting from scratch or just polishing it up. We also work with on campus job search, interview strategies. We have some good resources that are free to students such as the Career Closet where students can rent out professional attire for free, and then our professional photos where they can take pictures for LinkedIn or if they need it for like a headshot.

Janelle D.: 01:20

To that I would just add access to our career peers so we have advisors in our central locations and then also in each college so that they can talk about specifics that maybe a student is encountering regarding their resume or interview or job search.

Aniyah T.: 01:31

So with all these resources, when do you think students should start using them?

Kennedy A.: 01:37

I recommend the students to start using CNS services their first year, first semester coming from a student perspective. I met with my career advisor my first semester of my first year here at MSU and it was very helpful to just get an outline of different classes that will help me get a better understanding of different career paths I can go into or just overall getting an idea of post grad plans. So it's never too soon to start talking to a career advisor.

Janelle D.: 02:03

Yeah, absolutely. And just to that, I would add, you know, don't think of it as something that I have to worry about when I'm about to graduate. Only when I'm looking for a job. You want to have tapped into those resources, start building your network, start getting an idea how to talk professionally about maybe some of the skills or experiences that you've been gaining throughout college so that it's easy for you to talk about that when you're actually in those interview opportunities that come later.

Aniyah T.: 02:22

And so more on that note, how would you say CSN assists students with finding internships and full time opportunities, etc?

Mary: 02:30

We have thousands of employers that are looking to hire our students for part time, full time internship opportunities no matter what year in school you are. So getting on Handshake, first and foremost, filling out your profile, you'll be able to sift through all of the jobs that are there. You can filter by your major, by your skills, by location, so that you can find the job that's gonna be the best fit for you. We also have a lot of employers that come on campus for career fairs. They will table in your college.

Mary: 03:00

They will come and do coffee chats. They will come and speak in your classroom. So any of those opportunities that you see that you're interested in, we encourage that you come, connect with employers, and then begin to build your network. Again, no matter what year in school you are. What support would you

Aniyah T.: 03:16

say is available for students who are undecided about their careers or they just kind of want to explore and see what's out there?

Kennedy A.: 03:23

I would say meeting with a career advisor just to go very low stakes meeting just talk about things that you're passionate about and finding ways on how you can combine those passions. There's also a lot of resources on the website careernetwork.msu.edu. Yeah, and to

Janelle D.: 03:37

that I would just add normalizing career exploration. We have the career advisors that kind of cover multiple disciplines, okay? That can help you narrow down by talking to someone who has experience and knowledge in multiple areas, can help you figure out really what's going to be the best fit for you. So explore, explore, explore often and try different experiences. Sometimes you don't know what you're interested in until you talk to someone who does it or you really dig in, explore, and have an opportunity to maybe job shadow or have an internship or have a part time job at a particular industry.

Aniyah T.: 04:04

For students who are listening, if you had like your top advice or one takeaway you want them to have from this, what would it be?

Kennedy A.: 04:12

From a student perspective, mine would be to meet with your career advisor your first semester at MSU and the second one would be to network, build those relationships with your professors, classmates, join clubs, and just like get yourself out there and expand what kind of passions you may have and interest.

Mary: 04:29

To build off of what Kennedy said, networking does not come easy to most people, so while you're doing it, it will feel kind of awkward. You may say the wrong thing. That is all okay. Every time you do it, it will get better and easier. So again, to Kennedy's point, network everywhere you go, and it will get easier every time.

Kennedy A.: 04:51

Yeah, would say

Janelle D.: 04:52

thinking holistically about like the different experiences you have throughout college. I think students sometimes limit themselves to like their resume about like a job they were paid for or an internship, but there are so many different experiences that you'll have throughout college. Maybe keeping like an experience log or something like that so that you can tap into some of the skills and things that you've learned for maybe non traditional areas.

Aniyah T.: 05:12

Thank you guys so much for coming. This has been very informative. And this has been the Spartan Orientation Station. So we'll see you next week.

Narrator: 05:20

Thank you for listening to this episode of the Spartan Orientation Station on Impact eighty nine FM. Let us know what you think by connecting with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram at MSU underscore NSO.