LSU Career Services holds Arts and Sciences workshops

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By Jalissa Bates

Career Services is a one stop shop for career planning. For those students in the College of Arts and Sciences, there is hope for you yet. Sara Crow, assistant director for communications, said she hopes students are aware of their options.

"Students in the College of Arts and Sciences are unique because they have a wide variety of majors and, therefore, career paths," Crow said. "There are gateways to lots of careers."

"What are you going to do with that?" This is a question many Arts and Sciences' majors hear. Crow said it is discouraging to receive such reactions from others. An entire week dedicated to Arts and Sciences' students was created from the direct response from students about their interests.

You have history, philosophy and religious studies majors. It's all about the right person with the capacity to develop a skill set. Usually these students keep their focus narrow when in fact there is much available to them.

There is a graduate school and law school informational workshop each semester. Internships and jobs with the federal government are emphasized in the workshops given during the week. Students should ask themselves if they really know what they want to do. Who do they want to work for? Where will they work? What kind of job? Lots of research should be done in the decision making process.

"People will arbitrarily say I want to make $50,000 per year," Crow said. "How reasonable is $50,000 in San Francisco or Baton Rouge?"

Along with full time staff members, the Internet should be used as a supplemental tool. Find out about the company you are applying to; impress the interviewer with your knowledge. A tip is to scour the Web site and become familiar with its missions, the products for sale among other things. During school, joining professional organizations affiliated with your major is beneficial.

For seniors who are biting their nails for lack of experience, Crow advised getting an early start.

"It's so much better and so much easier," Crow said. "You can't cram in experiences. You can't develop professional relationships. Ideally as a freshman, you should update your resume each year."

As a student, most don't realize how many people are available on campus and those who are paid to cater to their needs. Feedback is necessary in order for departments to stay on top of trends.

"We are truly a student services department," Crow said. "We always encourage students to tell us how to help them."

Originally Published: Issue 821 - October 28, 2009

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