Upcoming events and ongoing supports available to all students and recent graduates
With the 2022-2023 academic year coming to an end, many graduating students may be feeling anxious or unprepared for their upcoming careers, not knowing where to look for information.
Kaelan Ruddick, Mt. A’s Career Services Coordinator, has designed a variety of supports to help with this transition into work life. Ruddick designed the information sessions to address the existing concerns of students navigating the transition outside of school that have been observed by the Careers department throughout the years.
“At their core, I hope that they’re anxiety-reducing. Because I think people have so much stress around what to do after the structure ends of school, and around job searching, and around the idea that this career is this big choice,” she described. “I hope that these sessions can provide the proper resources and skills to help navigate the transition.”
The Get Ready to Graduate Workshop Series aims to prepare students for a well-rounded conclusion to their time as an undergraduate. On March 13, there was an information session on the importance of networking, and upcoming sessions will also shed light on some other areas to consider for postgraduate employment.
“Earlier years tend to question, ‘Am I in the right major? What am I going to do with this [degree]?’” Ruddick noted, whereas “third and fourth year tend to be more like, ‘this is going to be my major. What am I going to do with it after [Mt. A]?’” The sessions are aimed at narrowing down postgraduate plans for students and providing support to successfully achieve these plans.
“Recognizing how lucky I was to have a mom who poked me and said, ‘you need to update your resume’ going into postgrad job searching, I realized that not everyone has access to that kind of support,” Ruddick explained. “So I’ve tried to put together a workshop series to help ease some of the anxiety going into postgrad roles from Mt. A.”
An upcoming session on April 5 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. (location announced via social media and email) will host Mt. A’s Executive-in-Residence, David Cannon, to discuss ‘How to Survive and Thrive in Your First Six Months’ at a new job. “The first three and six months can be really pivotal to what your career trajectory looks like,” Ruddick noted, describing the importance of the session. Cannon will describe tips and tricks on how to successfully manage this time frame, based on his time working in Human Resources.
Another session, titled ‘Updating Your Resume for Post-Graduate Jobs,’ will provide skills and tips on how to improve cover letters and resumes for jobs outside of school. This session will be online from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on April 27.
Ruddick also provided some general tips for recent graduates apart from using Career Services. She suggested searching for jobs through websites like LinkedIn, TalentEgg, JobPostings, and Indeed — if you can handle Indeed’s overwhelming job bank.
Ruddick also suggested utilizing networks to search for jobs, because “networking can be a huge source of information, inspiration, resources, connections, and opportunities,” she explained.
“LinkedIn can be a career exploration tool just as much as it is a networking tool,” Ruddick said, encouraging recent graduates to explore what fields alumni work in to learn more about potential careers.
Ruddick also encouraged students to remain in contact with current connections after leaving Sackville. “Mt. A gives you such a unique opportunity to become so connected with so many of your classmates that I think that at larger schools you don’t necessarily get. So make the most of that, keep people close and keep your network open,” she said.
“Keep in touch with professors because you never know when you’ll be applying to grad school and will need reference letters,” she added.
Ruddick concluded by encouraging post-graduates to return to Career Services if they are experiencing difficulty finding employment. “You’re always welcome to come back for support for job navigation and searches, as well as other forms of career services,” she assured.
If you are interested in these sessions but are unable to attend, there are many resources available to fit your own schedule. Videos are available on the Mt. A website under the “Career Planning and Resources” page. Appointments can also be made to aid with interview skills, resume, and cover letter reviews, graduate school applications, LinkedIn navigation, and other job-related support by emailing [email protected].
