Welcome to our monthly segment of 5 Questions with a Career Champions Challenge Finisher! Each month, we will talk to a Career Champions Challenge Finisher and share their wisdom.
What is your name/title:
Diane Dreifuss Assistant Director of Club Sports & Reservations for Recreation & Wellness
What was your favorite Career Champions Challenge Module?
My favorite module of the Career Champions Challenge was the Career Readiness Competencies topics. A lot of the time students get overwhelmed with the job hunt and are worried they do not have the right skills for the job. I think making students aware of these competencies early on in their college experience is extremely important to give them as much time possible to work on improving these competencies so they feel more comfortable when they get to the interview process. Many of these competencies can be met through transferable skills they gain through on-campus involvement and having the validation that what they are involved in can contribute to their success as a professional can help make entering the working world less overwhelming.
How have you incorporated the Challenge into your work?
When teaching First Year Experience I have incorporated a lot of the activities available on the Career Champion Website. My favorite activity was the Career/Major Exploration Assignment where students complete various assessments on Focus2. This helped launch our career discovery unit by first having students truly reflect and consider their interests, values, and personalities. In order for students to feel confident in knowing what to major in and choose as a career path, they must first understand who they are inside. Having them reflect and acknowledge their own personalities then provides a solid foundation for them to move forward with the job search and interviewing process. We spent multiple classes completing these assessments and comparing and discussing the results which led to a better understanding of why the students are genuinely interested in completing college and getting a job in their intended field.
In my professional role in Recreation I have referred many senior student staff members to the Career website when working on their Resumes. I always require staff to send me a resume if they are asking for job recommendations. After receiving their resume I usually give them critique recommendations to improve their resume and also recommend they schedule a meeting with a Peer Career Advisor for further suggestive edits. The feedback I have received from staff from having them work on their resume as part of the job application or grad school application process has been wildly successful as they have stated it helps them feel more comfortable with the application process as a whole.
What advice do you have for a Challenger?
Advice I would give to a new Career Champions Challenger is share the news about the opportunity to coworkers! Especially if you are new to the university as a professional staff member, knowing the services and resources the Career team provides can help you connect students and give accurate advice. Many students aren’t aware of the great things the Career team can do to help, and are often too nervous to go directly to the office to meet with a Career Counselor. So if they are coming to you for advice you want to make sure you are as informed and trained as possible so you can assist them accordingly. The more people that become Career Champions the more we are all able to better serve the campus community through individual and natural interactions with students.
What is your favorite Podcast?
Stuff You Should Know
