Parents
The Career Services Office at SUNY Geneseo and parents have a common goal of assisting students to prepare and make informed decisions about their career paths. Facing career uncertainty during college is common. We recommend that you support your student's exploration, discuss their interests, skills, values, major choices, and career options with them; but also to listen and be patient as your student embarks on this decision-making process.
The services and resources offered by the Career Services Office and other campus departments will allow your student to achieve academic success, develop work experiences, and enrich their lives through involvement outside the classroom.
Career Services
Here in Career Services we offer a variety of services to all students. Students can schedule a 45-minute appointment with a career counselor for assistance with major section or job search issues, resume and cover letter assistance, the graduate school application process, mock interviewing, or locating internship resources.
Career Exploration
Most students at some point during their college career struggle with their career direction and goals. If your student is having a difficult time answering the questions, "What do you plan to major in?" or "What will you do with that major when you're done at Geneseo?", encourage them to explore the Career Planning section of our web site and to visit with one of the career counselors on staff. We can talk to them about their options based on their interests, skills, values and personality traits. Our career assessments, the Strong Interest Invetory and FOCUS are great places to start!
NEW! Geneseo Career Partners
The Career Services Office is pleased to expand our Alumni Career Partner mentoring program to include "parent career partners" creating a new name - Geneseo Career Partners. Share your career expertise with current Geneseo students in the form of informational interviewing, networking, and particpating in on-campus programming such as workshops and presentations. To register as a Geneseo Career Partner, simply click on the KnightJobs logo to create a profile. You will be added to the Mentor database in which students can search for Geneseo Career Partners on criteria such as job title, organization, or industry to name a few.
Workshops
Career Services and its professional staff offer a variety of workshops for your student to attend. Not only do we have office sponsored workshops and events, but we've teamed with GOLD (Geneseo Opportunities for Leadership Development) program to offer workshops in the Emerald Career & Employee Develoopment Leadership Certificate.
Career Library
Career Services has its own Career Library in Blake A 104 with over 300 resources for your student to use. We have a book for nearly every major at Geneseo, plus bookshelves with job search materials, graduate school resources, and information for those looking at alternative post-graduation plans, such as Peace Corps or Americorps. To discover what books are available, go to http://library.geneseo.edu, click on GLOCAT and search by Call Number. Our Call Number is career services library.
Internships
There is nothing more valuable than having the opportunity to gain work experience related to one's career goals prior to graduation. Through Student Employment Services and the career counselors, students can receive guidance and resources for locating internships. If parents utilize interns in their places of business, we encourage you to post your opportunities with us on our KnightJobs site. Simply send your posting to ses@geneseo.edu.
Graduate School
Forty-two percent of the Class of 2008 went on to graduate school or professional studies. Graduate school counseling is a key piece of the services we offer to Geneseo students. In addition to individual appointments, we offer a The Graduate School Application Process workshop each semester. There is a large section of graduate school resources located in the Career Library covering selecting a program, financial aid, entrance exams, and personal statements.
The Job Search
Job searching can be an overwhelming process if you don't know where to start. The career counselors develop personalized job search plans and resources to move students in the right direction. We direct students to resources that include workshops, job postings on KnightJobs, the On-Campus Recruiting schedule, and notification of regional career fairs. If your organization would like to hire a Geneseo graduate forward your job descriptions to us for posting at wilcox@geneseo.edu. You can also post positions yourself through the KnightJobs website for employers.
Networking
All job search discussions with students include the importance of networking. We help students define and understand the importance of networking while offering them resources that include networking workshops in partnership with the Undergraduate Alumni Association and GOLD, and utilizing Alumni Career Partners for career exploration and networking with Geneseo alumni.
Involvement Outside the Classroom
Extra-curricular activies make up a very important element of your student's college experience in addition to building other aspects of one's resume. Employers like well rounded students! We encourage our students to explore their interests through joining a student organization though Student Activities, or volunteering through Service Learning, and staying healthy through Athletics.