Are you looking for your first job or your next job? Interested in re-careering or furthering your professional development? Rio Salado College’s Career Services is here to help. Whether you’re looking for tips on how to write a winning cover letter or need advice on where to look for professional opportunities, our career services team can point you to resources and training that can help you get closer to achieving your ambitions.
Career services supervisor Carole Redden has been teaching and helping others develop personally and professionally for over 20 years. As someone who’s worked both as a communications instructor and as a director of career services, she’s seen firsthand how career services can support students.
“I think of career services as an essential service that runs parallel to the student’s academic journey,” Redden said. “Our role is to help develop them professionally and prepare them for their career change either during college or after graduation. We want to make sure that they know how to leverage all the things they’re learning while they’re in school.”
Career services involve more than getting help on your resume or tips on improving your job interview skills. Career Services offers a variety of research tools and self-assessment exams to empower students with knowledge about the marketplace and the professional roles they are working toward achieving. They also host a series of free virtual Career Change workshops that provide information on building a personal brand, writing an effective resume, honing your interviewing skills, and tips on job search strategies.
Redden developed the workshop series to help meet the needs of both students and employers, using data and knowledge gleaned from her years of experience working in education, Communication, and career services.
"I had the opportunity to build partnerships with over 500 employers and I just started asking them 'what are you seeing in the candidates that come to you? What do you not like?'" Redden said. “And I also started asking students 'what do you think you need? What kind of support do you want?'"
The growing adoption of A.I. technology across a wide spectrum of industries has brought with it a fair share of anxiety and uncertainty over how this can impact the job market in the future. For job seekers wondering what assets they can cultivate to give themselves a more solid footing in this shifting landscape, Redden emphasizes the importance of developing a personal brand.
“What that means is getting really clear about who you are, what you want, what your values and strengths are,” Redden said. “Because without that self-knowledge, it’s very difficult to make an informed career change. You’ll end up wasting time with that. You may cause unnecessary barriers for yourself—applying for 100 roles that you’re not qualified for.”
There’s one thing you CAN be certain of: if you’re looking for some advice on how to take the next step forward in your professional journey, Rio Salado’s Career Services team has got your back.
“We’re here, we want to help, and everyone’s welcome,” Redden said.
Career services is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call (480) 517-8785 or email career.services@riosalado.edu for more information.
Article by Austin Brietta
Career Corner
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