Goals

• Through workshops and individual appointments, assist students in crystallizing, specifying, and implementing their career goals.
• Provide on-campus interview programs.
• Provide career counseling/guidance by qualified career counselors.
• Foster and develop positive relationships with potential employers to insure the efficient exchange of employment information and opportunities.
• Provide for career planning/career resources library which includes job search, career planning, labor market, and employer information.
• Provide computerized career resources -- DISCOVER, WWW, and Nittany Lion Career Network.
• Make available part-time, full-time and co-op/intern opportunities.
• Provide career assessment counseling.
   

Outcomes

• Students will be able to actively engage themselves in career planning.
• Students will be able to implement their career/educational plans.
• Students will be able to effectively conduct a job search and market themselves to prospective employers.
• Students will be self-empowered.

• Career counseling
• Career planning/development
• Assistance with developing cover letters, resumes, and interviewing skills
• On-campus interviews with prospective employers
• A resume referral system
• A web-based employment opportunities posting system
• Career library with career development, job search information, employer literature, and employment information
• Lifetime assistance
• Workshops - career decision making, job search, resume writing, interviewing
• Technology based resources - WWW, Nittany Lion Career Network  for on-campus interviewing, job postings and  internship/co-op opportunities. 
• Polycom Interactive Video Distance Interviewing
• 48 hour resume critique

The office brings together the graduating student seeking a position and employers searching to fill an opening. To this end, Career Services maintains contact with a variety of employers. An active on-campus recruitment program affords our students the opportunity to participate in interviews at Penn State Harrisburg, Penn State Behrend, Penn State Altoona, Penn State Berks, and interviews held at the University Park campus. In addition, the office offers the opportunity to link with employers visiting the other Penn State campuses and employers worldwide who have a compatible system, using the Polycom Video Conferencing System.

The Nittany Lion Career Network provides alumni and students with access to the On-Campus Interviewing system, job postings for employers not visiting campus, career/intern fairs and the opportunity to post resumes in on-line resume books.  The Nittany Lion Career Netork is one of the most comprehensive on-line job posting and recruitment services on the Internet, providing a direct connection to full-time, part-time, internship and co-op opportunities and linking the opportunities listed with all Penn State campuses. Opportunities are posted daily! Participating students and alumni can access the system from anywhere in the world -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

An important component of the office is our educational mission. The Career Services office has moved from an office that was more "placement" focused to one that is more developmental and educational in nature. Assisting individuals in connecting with employment opportunities is a part of our mission, but we also place an emphasis on teaching our students self-empowerment, career development, career planning, and job search skills. The emphasis is to provide them with the tools and resources, and for them to assume responsibility for their career plan.