ICC is Ready to Help
By Marcie Kirk Holland, Executive Director, UC Davis Internship & Career Center
It’s hard to believe, but The Holidays are here! The winter break is a great time for much needed down time, especially in a year as stressful as 2020 has been. It’s also a great time to focus on career preparation. The UC Davis Internship and Career Center (ICC) is ready to help! We have been busy preparing resources that are available 24/7.
Whether a freshman exploring careers or a graduating senior, the ICC has materials to support your student’s needs. This includes our YouTube Channel with an ever-growing list of short videos on topics from resume writing and interviewing to how to use LinkedIn. Some are even in Spanish.
Students are encouraged to begin looking for summer opportunities this time of year. Many firms make offers for summer positions six to nine months in advance. Handshake is our database of jobs and internships. It is also where we post events, including internship and career fairs. Despite higher unemployment rates, there are more positions available than most expect. In fact, many students assume that there are no positions and are not even searching. We want to change that! For example, our fall virtual career fair could have had several hundred additional connections between students and employers. Students can still access the list of companies that attended previous fairs, as well as those registered for the Winter Internship and Career Fair (more firms adding routinely). We encourage students to use winter break to update their Handshake accounts. They can make their profiles public and be contacted by employers searching for employees with their major or experience.
Though technology has changed the way we actually apply for positions, personal connections are still a critical part of both the internship and job search process. Despite the old saying, it is far more than who you know that lands someone a job. But, connections can direct people to new opportunities and open doors. Networking can be intimidating, but LinkedIn is a great tool for building one’s professional network – starting with UC Davis alumni. For guidance, we offer Linked-In Lunches. Students can also reach out to alumni through Handshake.
The 2020 Holidays still offer many ways for students to reach out to family and friends about their career aspirations which is a proven way to build a professional network. Phone and Zoom meetings are appropriate substitutes for the in-person gatherings of previous years. Many people are feeling isolated and welcome invitations to connect. There is also a great deal of compassion for students graduating in this difficult economy. Let your students know that there are people happy to assist, especially the Aggie Family. Feel free to share ICC “Recession Grads” videos which feature alumni who graduated during down economies and offer advice pertinent for today’s Aggies.
The Holidays will be different for all of us this year. Encourage your students to relax, recharge and embrace the support they have to launch their careers. From the ICC to the Aggie Community, we are ready to help!
For more information about UC Davis Internship and Career Center (ICC) resources please contact, Marcie Kirk Holland, Executive Director UC Davis Internship & Career Center, at makirk@ucdavis.edu, (530) 752-0752. You can also visit, http://icc.ucdavis.edu.