Stop slacking and go see your career adviser

The day SCAD Atlanta career adviser Katherine Mahany came to my writing class, I thought, “I’m a junior still looking for an internship, not a job.”

Career adviser is a title most people, myself included, misinterpret. The role of a career adviser isn’t just to help you find a career once you graduate. Career advisers help every step of the way to develop your professional skills while working toward the internship or job, you want. This includes perfecting your résumé, writing cover letters, making portfolio presentations, honing your interviewing skills, and developing networking and self-promotion techniques to prepare you for the job market. I soon realized I was embarrassingly behind schedule of where I should be as a junior. In a word, I was slacking.

I sat down at my first career advising meeting and once again realized how unprepared I was. I handed her my sloppy résumé from CMPA class while she looked up my LinkedIn profile. She talked about her own time at SCAD as she looked over my materials, and we began bonding over a shared interest in papermaking. She marked up my résumé until it was perfect and handed it back. I placed it in my bag, ready to fix it and upload it to the SCAD Job Portal.

I had created a LinkedIn page prior to the meeting, but had never really understood how to use it to its full potential. She walked me through the website, showing me ways to improve my profile, make connections and even find SCAD alumni. We created a SCAD Behance profile as well, which allowed me to create an online portfolio and add the link to my résumé. I once again realized how much I was slacking when she asked if I had a website and my answer was no.

We discussed my dream internships and how to make them possible. She instructed me to come back once I had my résumé and everything sorted out and we could do a mock interview. I left still feeling behind but at least knowing what I had to do next. I was finally prepared and the rest was up to me.

If you haven’t been to your career adviser yet, you are probably slacking. It doesn’t matter if you are only a freshman, you need to go immediately and get a jump start on your professional skills and dream career. The earlier you start, the more you are prepared, and the better it will be when you reach junior and senior years and begin looking for internships and jobs. Take thirty minutes out of your day next week and go see your career adviser, I promise you will be thanking yourself and them.