On every campus, the Career Resource Center is a room students seldom enter compared to others. However, to many students, the purpose of college is to find a career in order to obtain a prosperous and successful future; in other words, get a job. It follows, then, that the Career Resource Center’s assistance should not be overlooked.

The Career Resource Center helps assist students plan, train and implement their academic and career goals. Each HCC campus has a dedicated staff to guide and prepare students for their professional careers.

Lorraine Canalejo, Career Resource Manager on the Dale Mabry campus, says that the start of a semester always brings in students who do not know what to major in or students who have attended HCC for a few semesters and realize that they do not like what they are currently doing. The center offers the education needed to make such impactful decisions. It provides research materials, books, assessments and online resources that enable irresolute students to decide upon a career.

The Dale Mabry Career Resource Center holds workshops every month on such topics as resume writing, interviewing and social media. The workshops usually last an hour, sometimes providing lunch, for students who attend.

“Propel Your Résumé” is a workshop that gives a detailed breakdown of the perfect résumé. The lecture highlights how easy it is to get your résumé tossed into the trash. Some of the breakdown includes what your résumé should contain, how to format it, what to add and what to omit. The workshop provides supplementary resources such as sample résumés, objective statements and a job-hunting handbook.

The center’s “Ignite Your Interview” workshop does exactly that. “We discuss what to expect during your interview, what do you do prior to your interview, how to prepare and how to dress. We will have one that gives sample questions, what to say and what not to say,” says Canalejo.

What is appropriate attire for your interview? “Dress for Success” tackles the tricky question of what to and what not to wear to a job interview. In the same vein, the workshop “Tie One On” can elevate one’s interview attire. “We try to introduce a new one every semester. This year was ‘Tie One On.’ It teaches students how to tie a tie correctly, so we are going to have one of our counselors in here next week, and he is going to show how to do it. I know a lot of people do not wear ties anymore, but if you want to up your game a little bit, a tie with a shirt always looks nice,” says Canalejo.

The modern age of social media does not lend any favors to job-seeking college students and graduates. You can argue about whether it is justified for a hiring manager to probe your accounts, but they will do it anyway. “Galaxy of Social Media Mistakes” makes sure students are not making any career crushing mishaps online. Canalejo explains, “if you are looking for a job, a lot of employers now will go on to a Facebook page to see if they can find an applicant just to learn more about them. We make the student aware that there are some things you don’t have on your social media and there are some things that are appropriate.”

Students do not have to wait for a seminar to use the Career Resource Center. “We have software on our systems that help students create résumés. If they have one already created and want us to review it, we can do that for them as well. For interview skills, if they want to practice we can do a mock interview,” says Canalejo.

The Career Resource Center helps prepare students for anything that is going to help them land a job. It is a resource that no amount of financial aid or academic advising can facilitate a student. The center bridges the education students acquire in college and the skills required to landing the job.

Visit https://www.hccfl.edu/ssem/careers.aspx for more information about the next workshop and how to contact your campus’s Career Resource Center.