Student's Guide to the Career & Co-op Center

The staff of the Career Services & Cooperative Education Center help students develop the understanding and skills needed to make informed choices throughout their careers. We firmly believe that students who use our services from the beginning of their academic experience -- freshman year is not too early -- will gain a competitive edge in the employment marketplace. Over time, they will learn how their particular abilities, interests and values fit into the world of work. This knowledge, along with well-developed job search tools and skills, will help UMass Lowell graduates secure enjoyable and meaningful career opportunities throughout their lifetime. Following are the services we provide.

• Career Resource Library  
• Focus  
• The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator  
• Career Development Workshops  
• Career Guidance  
• Online Career Resources  
• Job Search Resources  
• On-Campus Recruiting

Career Resource Library - 328 Southwick: A variety of career-related books, trade journals and directories are available in our office. Videos and handouts in the office help students prepare effectively for interviews, job fairs, networking and the job search.


Focus is a vocational and career exploration program that can help you learn about career paths that match your interests, skills and life/work values.


The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a personality preference assessment tool that may help you identify work environments that would compliment your personality.

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Career Development Workshops: Professional staff members offer interactive workshops throughout the academic year. These sessions are marketed through the Career & Co-op Center website. Typically they focus on job search tools such as:

• Resume development
• Cover letter writing
• Interview skills
• Job search strategies
• Career fair preparation
• Skill identification
• Networking
• Negotiating  

 
Career Guidance:  Individual appointments typically are scheduled for 50 minutes. Walk-in hours also are offered each week for quick (15 minute) consultations and resume reviews. A career counselor can help with:

• Identifying your marketable skills and areas of interest
• Developing a targeted career search strategy
• Vocational assessment
• Practice interviews 

 
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Online Career Resources:  Job search advice and links to many recruiting employers and job search engines are easily found on our website. In addition, our site offers several online tools designed to help you fine-tune your career goals and research potential occupations. Additional services are available to students through their online CareerLINK account. All current students have a CareerLINK account.  If you need assistance accessing CareerLINK, please call us at 978-934-2355.


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Job Search Resources: This series of job identification services is designed to connect students and employers. They include:

• Career Fairs & Events - The Career & Co-op Center hosts several job fairs and events to bring job seekers and employers together. Each fair is preceded by workshops to help you prepare yourself and your job search tools. Check out our Web site for details about our upcoming career events.
  
  
• Job Postings on the Web - Through our online recruiting system, employers make job listings accessible to UMass Lowell students through the Career & Co-op Center website.  Of course, you should be familiar with a variety of other online job search sites.
  
  
• Co-ops, Internships and other Career-related Work Experience - The Career & Co-op Center acts a clearinghouse to list internship, cooperative education and pre-professional opportunities. These opportunities are posted in our online on-campus recruiting system.

 
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On-Campus Recruiting

UMass Lowell has an online recruiting program called "CareerLINK" through which employers can post job, internship, and co-op opportunities for viewing specifically by UMass Lowell students. 

Students apply for opportunities posted in CareerLINK in one of several ways:

1. Some employers direct applicants to submit resumes through the employer's own website.
2. Other employers ask applicants to email cover letters and resumes directly to a specific company contact. 
3. And some employers instruct students to apply electronically using the functionality of the CareerLINK system.

In this case, students must first upload their resumes (and any other required documents) to CareerLINK, then follow the system's directions for forwarding their selected resume to the recruiter.  The system then allows employers to view submitted resumes and notify those students they'd like to interview.  Frequently, these interviews take place on the UMass Lowell campus. 

The Career & Co-op Center reviews resumes and other documents uploaded into CareerLINK, and will either approve them for use in the on-campus recruiting system, or provide instructions for revising the resume.  This process can take a couple of days, particularly during busy periods during the semester.  If you need this review and approval process to take place more quickly (e.g., to meet a fast-approaching application deadline), please contact us at 978-934-2355 so we can expedite the process. 



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