Resources Available at a Career Services Center

When you are trying to find the right job or career path for you, a career services center can be an invaluable resource. Many community colleges and universities will have a career center on campus, and you should take advantage if you are a student in search of the perfect career. If you are a job seeker who isn’t in school, you can also find many career centers in your local community. Often, a municipal chamber of commerce or local unemployment office will have a career or job center available for job seekers in your area.

A career center has many different resources for individuals who need help finding the right career as well as individuals who are searching for a job. Here are some of the services your local career center might provide.

Career Counselors

At a career services center, you can find counselors who specialize in helping people find the right career and honing their job skills. Counselors at a career center may help job seekers in many different ways: by administering job aptitude tests, helping prepare a resume, honing interview skills or simply by talking about different careers with the job seeker.

Career Aptitude Tests

If you are not sure what you want to do for a living, you can take a career aptitude test at a career service center. These tests examine personality, personal preferences and skills in order to determine the best career path for an individual. Your local career services center will usually have more than one kind of test available so you can see which factors most affect which career you might be suited for, and you can really narrow down your career search by taking more than one kind of test.

Job Skills Development

Often, a local career center will also offer classes, reading materials or counseling in order to help job seekers develop their job skills. Computer classes, interview skills classes, resume writing classes and other types of job skills development classes may be available from your local career or job center.

Office Services

As well as job skills and career choices, a career center might also offer things like copy machines for making copies of resumes. Many centers have computers for online job searches, filling out online applications or emailing resumes. A career center might also have a fax machine for faxing resumes and other paperwork for job seekers to use.

Networking

One of the most often overlooked benefits of utilizing a career or employment center is the social interaction that a center can provide. Talking with other job seekers and sharing tips about available positions, interview questions, career choices and other topics can really help a job seeker get ahead. If you are considering using the resources at your local career services center, don’t overlook the people you might meet while you are there.