Student's Guide to Career Services
Career Services staff members 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
- Career Search®
- Alumni Mentors
- Job Search Resources
- On-Campus Recruiting
Career Resource Library - 200 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.
top
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.
top
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a personality preference assessment tool that may help you identify work environments that would compliment your personality.
top
Career Development Workshops: Professional staff members offer interactive workshops throughout the academic year. These sessions are marketed through the Career Services Web site. 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
To conduct company research, students can use one of Career Services' several computers with Internet access. Job search advice and links to many recruiting employers and job search engines also are easily found on our Web site. 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 who set up a free UMass Lowell Career Services online account. To set up your online account, please call us at 978-934-2355.
top
Career Search® is available 24 hours/day to students who have opened an online account with Career Services. Career Search® is a powerful industry research tool that contains over 1,500,000 records. To begin an organized job search, you can identify and research potential employers by key words, industry type, geographic location and size.
top
Alumni Mentors: The Office of Career Services is continuously adding to a database of professionals who have volunteered to act as an information resource. Many are UMass Lowell alumni. These individuals have agreed to talk with students about their career interests and networking sources. Volunteer advisors represent a broad range of occupations and industries. Students with an online Career Services account can easily access this database.
Job Search Resources: This series of job identification services is designed to connect students and employers. They include:
- Job Binders - Employers fax, mail, and email job opportunity descriptions directly to UMass Lowell and Career Services places them in the job binders categorized by areas of interest. You may also be able to access many of these postings through your free online account with Career Services.
- Career Fairs & Events - The Office of Career Services 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 Services Web site. Of course, you should be familiar with a variety of other online job search sites.
- Co-ops, Internships and other Career-Related Work Experience - Career Services acts a clearinghouse to list internship, cooperative education and pre-professional opportunities. These postings are organized and maintained in a system of binders and directories. Many also are posted in our online on-campus recruiting system.
UMass Lowell has an online recruiting program called "eRecruiting" through which employers can post job, internship, and co-op opportunities for viewing specifically by UMass Lowell students.
Students apply for opportunities posted in eRecruiting in one of several ways: 1) Some employers direct applicants to submit resumes through the employer's own Web site. 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 eRecruiting system. In this case, students must first upload their resumes (and any other required documents) to eRecruiting, 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.
Career Services reviews resumes and other documents uploaded into eRecruiting, 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 Career Services at 978-934-2355 so we can expedite the process.
top
Phone: 978-934-2355 Fax: 978-934-3073 Contact Us