Kent State has a supportive system of career advisors, faculty, staff, peers, employers and alumni. In Career Exploration and Development, we refer to this system as career communities, which are designed to help students explore and engage with careers that align with their interests and goals.
It's never too early for your Golden Flash to start connecting their academic program to opportunities beyond the classroom. They can do this in several ways, including summer employment and summer internship experiences. More than 5,000 Golden Flashes work on campus each year and more than 10,000 complete an internship!
We know that students who intern or hold part-time employment are more likely to be hired directly into full-time roles after graduation. Career readiness is the focus of all our internship and student employment programs. By participating in these experiences, they will benefit from developing professionally and personally and can explore career paths and specializations to hone their interests.
FLASHES GROW
We use a process called Flashes GROW to create a conversation between the student and supervisor. The Flashes GROW conversation is guided by four questions:
- How is this job fitting in with your academics?
- What are you learning here that’s helping you in school?
- What are you learning in class that you can apply here at work?
- Can you give examples of things you’ve learned here that you think you’ll use in your chosen profession?
Supervisors regularly check in with student employees on tasks. Taking an extra minute to periodically check in on how students are doing in classes and asking them to relate what they’re learning on the job to coursework or vice versa can be all it takes to make positive connections.
EMPLOYMENT AND INTERNSHIP RESOURCES
- Handshake – Our career management system connects our students to more than 100,000 job and internship postings, including on-campus employment each year. All new students have an active account upon admission and can log in via FlashLine to start searching for opportunities today. To learn how to use Handshake, watch our video here.
- Career advising drop-ins – are designed to help students with questions about majors and careers, write resumes and cover letters, access and navigate Handshake, increase networking skills, learn interviewing tips, and more!
The best advice we can offer is for your student to connect early and often with our team in Career Exploration and Development. We are here to help them search for jobs and internships and will support them every step along the way.