Career Development held its first Resume Workshop on Mon. Feb. 9 from 10-11 a.m. in the Pride Room of the Sam Rayburn Student Center. The organization, an extension of the Career Services department, began holding events last fall and is headed up by Tina Boitnott, Director of Career Development/Veterans Affairs.
Boitnott, who became a faculty member last August, ran Career Development at Tarleton State University for a number of years before coming to Texas A&M University-Commerce.
“I was hired on to change the focus to Career Development and to take on career counseling,” Boitnott said. “The reason we call it Career Development is because we have taken on more of the development of the student. We help students pick a major and give them a sense of direction.”
The first event of the semester, Groundhog Job Shadow Day, held on Feb. 2, allowed students to spend the day at a company of their choice, working and observing everyday tasks in their preferred field.
“We accepted applications from about Mid October until we left for Thanksgiving break,” Boitnott said. “We then worked to locate potential businesses and placed students accordingly.”
46 students from the University shadowed businesses such as Ocean Spray, The Hunt County Hospital, and The Dallas Public Library among others.
Sarah Cunningham, Junior Animal Science major, shadowed DJ Quarter Horses in Klondike, Texas last Sunday, grooming, feeding, and lunging horses.
“It was a great experience,” Cunningham said. “Though I did a lot of manual labor, I had a lot of fun and really liked the people who work there. I’m actually going to go back.”
A detailed calendar of events for the spring semester, posted on the Lion Tracks website, boasts 19 opportunities for students to brush up on their interview and resume writing skills, along with a business etiquette workshop and job fair.
“We haven’t had a calendar of this many events before,” Tandee Moody, coordinator for Career Development said. “This events will help students be more prepared. Anything we can do to help prepare them for a job will be beneficial.”
Senior Week, scheduled for May 13-18, is aimed at helping graduating seniors prepare for important job interviews and business opportunities that they will be forced to come face to face with in the near future.
Activities include a money managing seminar, business etiquette dinner, dress for success fashion show, and a closing Super Saturday event.
“Super Saturday is going to be super,” Boitnott said. “We are culminating the senior week and partnering with the Alumni Association to bring back young, successful Alumni that were once right where are seniors are. Even though it’s advertised to seniors, everyone is welcome to come.”
According to Boitnott, due to the weakened structure of the economy, it is now more pertinent than ever that students be prepared for what awaits them after they graduate.
“Students going out into the world need all the skills they can get and must be competitive in their field,” Boitnott said. “They must think about their end result and keep their goals and Career Development in mind.”