Overview of Services

Mock Interview Service
Internship Services
CareerSearch
Vault Online Career Library
WetFeet Career Library
Credential Services
Alumni Career Services

Career Advising

The Office of Career Services provides individual career advising to assist students with:

• exploring careers
• making occupational choices
• creating customized job- or internship-search plans

Ideally, the staff strives to assist students in formulating and implementing career plans that reflect the quality and depth of their educational preparation and personal development.

Topics of discussion include:

• resume critiques
• interview skills
• graduate school selection
• job-search advice

Students uncertain of their career goals may also be referred to the Career Exploration and Testing Center (CETC), part of the Student Counseling Service, which is located in 196 Health Services Building. The CETC assists students in identifying their interests, abilities, and values through computerized career guidance programs and vocational interest testing and interpretation.

From time to time, referrals are made to other appropriate sources of information as well. In all cases, emphasis is placed upon providing personalized assistance to each student who seeks career guidance. Appointments at the Office of Career Services are advisable and may be easily arranged by calling 529-3831.

Self-Instructional Guides

The Office of Career Services provides a series of booklets to assist students with their job search or graduate school plans. Known as the Miami University Career Development Series, these comprehensive instructional guides are available free of charge, and include the following:

• Resume Preparation
• Cover Letters & Other Job-Search Correspondence
• Interviewing
• Job-Search Strategies
• Careers in Nonprofit Organizations
• The Graduate School Option
• A Career Guide for Liberal Arts Students
• Employment Guide for Teacher Candidates
• A Job-Search Guide for International Students

Career Resource Center

In providing comprehensive career information to Miami students, the Office of Career Services maintains an extensive Career Resource Center in 205 Hoyt Hall. This library contains information on a wide variety of career fields and literally hundreds of employers. Among the resources available are books concerning:

• various occupational options
• industrial outlooks
• job-search strategies

For students with an interest in attending graduate or professional school, the Career Resource Center contains directories on virtually all schools in the United States. A variety of reference guides and files containing information on internships and summer jobs are also available.

In addition to these printed materials, numerous videotapes are maintained for student viewing. Some of these tapes are instructional in nature and address such topics as:

• resume preparation
• interviewing
• job-search strategies
• profiles of employers that recruit at Miami

A listing of Career Resource Center materials can be accessed through the Office of Career Services Web site. Students are strongly encouraged to use Career Resource Center materials as they conduct their job or internship searches or plan for graduate school.

Job-Search Workshops

As a means of assisting students in organizing and conducting a successful job search, the Office of Career Services sponsors a series of workshops pertaining to various aspects of the job-search process. These workshops are repeated at a variety of times throughout the academic year and focus on such topics as:

• job-search strategies
• resume preparation
• interviewing techniques

Attendance at these workshops is strongly recommended, but students are also encouraged to arrange individual appointments with members of the Career Services staff for personalized assistance with their job-search concerns. Students who need accommodations (e.g., sign language interpreter, materials in alternative format, etc.) for any of the workshops or functions sponsored by the Office of Career Services should contact the Office of Disability Resources at 529-1541 (V/TTY) at least 48 hours prior to the event.

On-Campus Recruiting

While students are discouraged from restricting their job-search activities to on-campus interviewing, this remains one of the most well-known and popular services administered by the Office of Career Services. Each year approximately 300-350 employers visit campus to interview registered graduating students for entry-level positions with their organizations. Some employers also use on-campus recruiting to identify intern candidates. On-campus interviewing is an inexpensive and convenient means of establishing initial contact with prospective employers.

Miami CAREERlink

When students register and upload their resume(s) on Career Services' Miami CAREERlink, employers have access to their resume in the Master Student Resume Book. Many employers use the Master Student Resume Book to identify candidates and invite them to interview on-campus. Students also gain access to job and internship listings of employers who may not come to campus to recruit. In addition, Career Services notifies registered students of upcoming programs, career fairs, and information useful to their job/internship search. It is important for students to routinely (at least once a semester) update their account and resume(s).

Both intern candidates and graduating students should register on Miami CAREERlink. It is in your best interest to register as early as possible.

Career Fairs

As an extension of its on-campus recruiting services, the Office of Career Services sponsors three career fairs each year:

• The Fall Career Fair is held every September and is one of the country's largest collegiate career fairs. The event gives students the opportunity to obtain career advice and explore career options with more than 150 employers. Many employers use this event as a prelude to their other recruiting activities at the Office of Career Services each year.
• The Fall Career Fair is complemented by the Spring Internship & Career Expo (Spring ICE), which is held in February. This event provides students with the opportunity to discuss full-time and internship positions with selected employers.
• In addition, the Office of Career Services hosts a special job fair for teacher candidates in late March. The Teacher Job Fair provides an excellent opportunity for aspiring teachers to meet with several school districts all in one day and to interview with those in which there is mutual interest.

Each of these career fairs is held in Millett Hall and all interested students are encouraged to attend.

Optimal Resume

OptimalResume is a comprehensive, web-based application for students to create, present, and manage resumes that is fully customizable to achieve maximum impact. It not only helps students build their best resume, but also saves them significant time and helps create an online marketing presentation of their skills and abilities.

Mock Interview Service

To assist students in preparing for the employment process, the Office of Career Services provides an ongoing mock interview service. One-hour appointments can be arranged by calling 529-3831. These practice interviews are digitally recorded and then critiqued by a trained interviewer. Students receive helpful insights on how to improve their interviewing skills and become more comfortable with the interviewing process.

In addition, the Office of Career Services sponsors two special "Mock Interview Days:"

1. The first takes place the day following the Fall Career Fair in September. This is open to seniors registered with the Office of Career Services, and the schedule is filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
2. A second "Mock Interview Day" is designed specifically for education majors and is held in late November or early December.

Both of these special events are staffed by professional interviewers who volunteer their time to interview, evaluate, and provide helpful advice to Miami students.

Internship Services

A variety of services are available for students wishing to pursue internship opportunities. These services include:

• individualized career advising to discuss the internship-search process
• on-campus interviewing for selected internship opportunities
• various workshops on internship-related topics

Students wishing to research employers and internship opportunities should visit the Career Resource Center in 205 Hoyt Hall. Numerous resources, including employer literature, internship files, and directories are available.

CareerSearch

A powerful online database of more than 2 million employers from every major sector of the economy. Students and alumni may search for organizations by industry type or geographic location and receive business profiles and contacts. The results can be saved or downloaded in a convenient format to use in targeting a job or internship search. Call (513) 529-3831 for the username and password.

Vault Online Career Library

The online Career Library helps to make researching employers, industries and career topics more efficient. It contains over 80 downloadable Vault Career Guides and Employer Profiles in addition to:

• Company profiles
• career advice articles
• industry and occupational profiles
• access to the Electronic Watercooler where questions may be posted and insider information can be found

WetFeet Career Library

Wetfeet assists job seekers with hundreds of articles on compensation, interviews, career and company profiles, as well as resumes and cover letters.

Credential Services

Students seeking teaching or administrative positions in the field of education, as well as candidates seeking admission to graduate programs may wish to utilize the confidential credential service. Most teacher candidates elect to maintain their own credentials as part of their professional portfolios, but for those who wish to establish a confidential file with the Office of Career Services, complete instructions are available upon request. Credential files typically contain students' letters of recommendation from professors and previous employers, and are mailed to school systems and institutions of higher education as requested for a nominal fee.