In spite of a suffering economy that looks dismal for recent graduates, there is a glimmer of hope with the South Carolina State University Career Center. The interim director of the center, Joseph Thomas, says, “I am proud of our students and I am also proud of our staff. We are working hard within the career center to turn the corner of excellence.”

This “corner of excellence” has been evidenced in the internships, co-ops, scholarships and full-time job opportunities that students have obtained by working with the career center. According to Thomas, the U.S. Customs Service has 1,000 available jobs. Last month, 10 students signed contracts in part because of the educators’ day recruitment fair held on campus on on April 2.

Most recently, five S.C. State University students received internships with Bi-Lo Corp. According to Thomas, “Bi-Lo had eight internship positions for the summer and S.C. State students received five of those eight, and we are very proud of that.”

In spite of a tough economy, “the career center will continue to prepare students for the world of work,” Thomas says. This preparation has not only resulted in the recent Bi-Lo internship recipients, but has also resulted in a number of other opportunities for S.C. State students.

On April 27, four students were recommended for second interviews in Charlotte, N.C., with the Charlotte Housing Authority. In April, student Montina Myers finished her internship with the Tyra Banks Show in New York. Student Kirsten Pratt received the $1,000 Geico Achievement Award in May.

Pratt was also one of two recipients for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Transportation Scholarship. Mustafa Salaam received the scholarship in the category of mechanical engineering. Recent graduate Sade Morris-Hinton has begun working full time with Geico.

These are just a few of the examples that “in spite of the economic downturn, students are still getting jobs,” Thomas says. Thomas also owes much of this success to Dr. Valerie Fields, interim vice president of student affairs, as well as his staff, including career counselors Rudine Williams, Sherry Mack-Michael and Kristal Hutchinson, as well as administrative specialist Anquanetta Darby. Executives such as Ken Peterson, Bi-Lo vice president, Deborah Lipsey, a plaza human resources manager for Geico, Kevin Fullington of Duke Energy, Harvey Brown of Wal-Greens, and Ralph Martin with the FBI should also be credited with keeping the torch alive. Establishing a rapport with companies can mean full-time job opportunities and co-ops for students. However, this success can only be obtained if students establish a relationship with the staff at the career center.

So, where do you begin?

n Step 1 -- Career counselor/student career tracking system

Any student who wishes to work with the career center must first contact his or her career counselor. The student must register online through the career center’s student career tracking system. This online registration service gathers pertinent information about students, including a resume. This information will allow the staff at the career center to better market students.

“As companies call and we market students and as we talk to our employers, we can just sit at the computer, point, click and send information instantly,” Thomas says. He also notes that the career center is experiencing a milestone with the online student tracking registration system. Over 1,000 students have registered with this new form of point/click technology. The online technology will provide a better means of satisfying the customers, students, as well as our stakeholders and employers.

Fields says that Thomas has met and exceeded the challenge to increase registration. “Thomas and his staff members have been challenged to increase registration by 25 percent each year, as well as to enhance their tracking system to inform the university community of the number of permanent job assignments, co-ops or internships and the number of students referred for an internship or co-op assignment.”

n Step 2 -- Resume/mock interviews

After registering with the career center, a student must prepare for the “real world of work.” The career center assists students with developing their resumes and coordinating mock interviews. “We try to give the students enough tools to use so that they can go out there and defend themselves,” Thomas says.

A resume is a tool that a student should use to express his or her talent, skills and ability. Students should also practice interviewing skills through mock interviewing. The career center has several mock interviewing stations, and upon completion of the interview, students are reviewed by the career center staff. These sessions will develop students’ soft skills.

James Hampton, S.C. State graduate y and a systems engineer with Lockheed Martin, says these soft skills are significant in any corporate environment. “A lot of schools don’t communicate that having a 4.0 grade-point average is great,” Hampton says. “But you still must have soft skills.”

He notes that soft skills include dressing professionally, presenting yourself well and giving good presentations.

n Step 3 -- Business and industry cluster

Merely uploading a resume and becoming a member of the student career tracking system is not enough. Thomas advises that students get involved with the business and industry cluster, comprised of a variety of representatives from non-profit organizations, member businesses and government business. Members also include faculty, staff and students from S.C. State. Students meet with cluster members to learn about the employment programs offered to them.

Hampton says the business and industry cluster benefits students and the company. “The business and industry cluster has benefitted Lockheed Martin by exposing the company to young engineers getting ready to come out of school and tapping into a base of prospective employees,” Hampton says. In turn, students are exposed to the aerospace and defense industry and to cutting-edge technology.

Gary Krafft, human resources director of QS/1, agrees with Hampton. Krafft says, “I think that the business and industry cluster presents an important, additional forum for QS/1 to provide outreach in our state.” He is also pleased that the health care company can do their part annually to provide some measure of financial assistance to SC State, ultimately supporting deserving students.

According to Thomas, in spite of the tough economy, the business and industry cluster provides students with access to member organizations that may be a great fit for co-op, internship and permanent employment opportunities.

To find this great fit, Fields said, “the career center has partnered with Institutional Research to better utilize data when making decisions regarding placement,” she says. “This has served as an excellent assessment measure.”

For more information, contact the career center at 803-536-7033.

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