The Career Center’s extended resources and knowledgeable staff offers students, as the Center’s Director Marilyn K. Albert puts it, “help to find out how their major will transfer over into the world of work.”

Albert has worked as a counselor for nearly 18 years and has been the Director of the Career Center for the past 2.5 years. She seems honestly sincere when she says she is “really committed to this field.” Albert also says that the rest of her staff of counselors, made up of professional career specialists and graduate students pursuing a master’s degree in school counseling, is more than qualified to help with any career questions students may need answered.

Albert says the most popular services offered by the Career Center are the walk-in sessions. During a walk-in session a student is able to talk with one of the counselors regarding general concerns they may have about finding a job or internship. Counselors will go over questions a student may face during a job interview, work on a resume with a student or just talk to the student about what careers are available for any given major. Although walk-ins are first-come first-serve Albert suggests students take advantage of them before scheduling an appointment.

Once a student has been to one or two walk-in sessions, has a final draft of their resume and feels they need more in depth information, they will be referred to a counselor specializing in their specific needs.

If students are interested in doing job research on their own the Career Center is a veritable library of job postings and career information.

The Career Center offers two extensive databases for students to browse for internships, full-time and part-time jobs. For nationwide job postings that can be accessed from the Internet students can search www.monstertrak.com. But before searching the site students must obtain a password from the Career Center.

The other database offered is the Job Opportunity Bulletin Board (J.O.B. Board) and is only available at the Career Center. The J.O.B. Board, which contains over 300 jobs at any given time, is unique in that the jobs are local and employers are specifically targeting CSUS students. Employers fax job opportunities to the Career Center and the database is updated daily. Another perk about the J.O.B. Board is that employers are more flexible when dealing with student schedules. Albert feels the J.O.B Board is especially nice for students who commute to school because it offers job opportunities all along the Interstate 80 corridor. This allows students to choose a job close to where they live, by school or anywhere in between. The J.O.B. Board will also be available at the Student Access Office (located on the first floor of the University Union) in a few weeks.

Matt Love, a junior at CSUS majoring in English was back for a second visit to the Career Center and searching the J.O.B. Board for internships. He agrees that “they’ve got lots of resources here” while gesturing to the shelves of books on career information. Love also says, “the staff is really nice and helpful.”

Even if you don’t have enough time to talk with a counselor or search through the resources, the Career Center can quickly assist you with a variety of helpful dittos and brochures located in the front of their office. These handy guides offer a range of tips from dressing for success to organizing a resume.

In addition to everything they offer on a daily basis the Career Center also offers special events. On-campus recruiting is one event they offer where students are able to meet with hundreds of employers. The Career Center also holds career workshops on a variety of topics. To find out about upcoming events check for postings in the State Hornet, around campus, or on their Website at www.csus.edu/careercenter.

While students who are close to graduating may be most interested in what the Career Center has to offer; Albert encourages freshmen and sophomores to visit the Career Center to get a head start on career planning.

Alumni from CSUS as well as all other CSUs are welcome to the Career Center’s services. Services are free to Alumni for up to six months after they graduate and are available for a $25 annual fee thereafter.

Open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday (walk-ins are available everyday until 4:45 p.m.) the Career Center is located on the second floor of Lassen Hall in room 2000.