Toolkit Workshop aims to guide students to jobs

CELINA — College students got a lesson in job preparation Tuesday morning as many are preparing to navigate the workplace during unprecedented times.

Wright State University – Lake Campus hosted their “Job Prep Toolkit Workshop” event on Tuesday which gave students tips, tricks and sound advice on topics ranging from resume preparation to interview tips.

The event was held virtually through Blackboard Collaborate Ultra.

Katy Popplewell, Lake Campus Career Services adviser, stressed the importance of making sure student’s social media is appropriate for employers to see, adding that potential employers will research you when you apply for a position.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had students not get positions,” Popplewell said, because of posts or photos that students had on their social media platforms. “Cleaning up your social media; maybe going through and getting some things off of there prior to applying. That includes your Instagram, Twitter, all those fun things.”

Popplewell mentioned the importance of developing a new skill set while you can, saying that now is as good time as any to start learning something new.

“Right now is actually the perfect time to do this be

cause we’re in the midst of a pandemic; there’s several resources out there with one of them being LinkedIn Learning,” she said.

LinkedIn Learning began in 1995 as Lynda. com and it’s a website that offers video courses in categories like software or business.

Handshake is another online tool that Popplewell said is underutilized by college students.

“I feel like a lot of students don’t know what it is,” she said. “It’s a wonderful resource, it’s a university-wide tool.”

Handshake is a job and career site where students can find job and internship postings, resources and events.

Each Wright State student gets a Handshake account and they can log in to it with their university credentials.

“Essentially it’s a one-stop shop for both careers and internship opportunities,” said Popplewell.

In addition to career postings, students can also find campus job openings on Handshake as well.

“Not only is it great for co-ops, internships or full time jobs upon graduation, but if you’re currently looking for on-campus jobs or if you’ve been awarded work-study through your financial aid package, those postings are also listed on Handshake,” said Sheryl Kent, a career consultant for the main campus in Dayton. “Handshake is nationwide. There are many schools in the Miami Valley that use Handshake.”

Kent said the website can connect students with employers all over the United States.

“[It’s a] great place to get started to look for entry-level positions.

Another big topic that Popplewell and Kent discussed was the importance of networking and growing relationships to help students in their career fields.

“It’s not always what you know, it’s who you know,” said Popplewell. “It’s really all about networking; getting yourself out there and meeting and greeting with employers.”

“Networking is more important than ever,” said Kent.

She said learning about family history is a good idea because you get a sense of where family members worked and that can help get a foot in the door at some companies.

She also said speaking with classmates and professors will help build relationships that could be beneficial down the road.

“Classmates — you may have a friend that has an internship working for Ethicon Endo-Surgery. Why not talk to them and find out how they got that position, how they got started,” she said. “Professors — there’s a lot of companies that reach out to professors before they even reach out to career service staff or post on Handshake … When you’re networking, I would encourage you to ask for advice versus asking for a job. Ask them how they got started, learn about their career path and maybe you can learn a little bit about what skill sets you might need to develop before applying for that position.”

Students can find more helpful information pertaining to career services on Wright State’s website at Wright.edu/studentsuccess/career-services.