Editor’s Note: Lauren Herr, junior and Career Center employee collaborated with other student employees Bud Davis and Jordan Grimwood, to write this Letter to the Editor.
Last week’s Graphic staff editorial, “Facing the employment front lines, grads call out for real advocates,” voiced concern over the Pepperdine University Seaver College Career Center’s ability to help students acquire desirable jobs upon graduation. The following article is a response to the editorial from those who work at the Seaver College Career Center, as we feel the assessment of the Career Center and its services lacked factual and researched evidence.
The Career Center’s primary Student Learning Objectives clearly state students are to “Understand, make and synthesize diverse career options and be able to delineate paths to reach them” as well as “Demonstrate professional skills in identifying, securing, and participating in internships, jobs, and other career related opportunities.” While the Career Center does want to serve as a go-to, one-stop-shop for people to come to get support for internship and job search, our intention is not to distribute or hand out jobs. Although Pepperdine does place students into IP internships abroad, in the United States, career center staff is expected to follow equal opportunity laws to ensure that internship and job options are available to all students without discrimination. The process of handing out jobs is simply unrealistic and does not require students to learn the steps necessary for securing a job in the real world after college. This of course places significant responsibility on the student to synthesize the multiple resources the Career Center provides, whether it be through on-campus networking opportunities, resume and cover letter revisions, mock interviews with Career Counselors or browsing CareerSpace and the online Pepperdine Alumni Network (PAN). Although the Career Center exists so that Waves can get their dream jobs, our objective is, more specifically, to provide students with the guidance and tools to get those jobs themselves.
Last week’s editorial also gives the impression that the Career Center’s services have not proven effective help for the professional success of students. The fact of the matter is that students have responded with overwhelming praise and support for its numerous events including Project e(X), Career Coaching, Night2Network, Career Week and Career Fairs. It is those students who put forth the effort and willingly take advantage of these programs who get one step closer to securing that dream internship or making personal connections with company representatives. The editorial talks at length about needing a professional network that you rely upon when perusing the job market — and these events provide that opportunity! More than 60 percent of jobs nationwide are secured through networking. In fact, Pepperdine outperforms the colleges across the nation when it comes to students having jobs on graduation day, by almost twice the national average. And while UCLA charges $475 for two hours of alumni counseling, Pepperdine provides alumni with free career services for life. Pepperdine students who take advantage of these opportunities work at some of the most respected companies in the nation, including Lionsgate, Dior, Fox, Paramount, Walt Disney, Hillstone, Target and more, while others work with various political, religious, educational and non-profit organizations. Therefore, it seems the issue at hand is not the Career Center’s ability to provide effective resources for students, but students’ own motivation and commitment to utilizing those readily available resources properly.
Student feedback is constantly incorporated into the development and growth of the Career Center and the Career Center has proudly received positive response from many of its programs. Through the implementation of the Career Ambassador program in 2005, the number of students with approved professional resumes increased 856 percent.
This fall, senior and member of the Student Programming Board, Veronica Merrick, stated, “The Career Coaching Program has been one of the best additions to my curriculum here at Pepperdine. I am humbled to have learned from such exceptional professional mentors, and am confident that their lessons and guidance will contribute to my entire professional career.” Junior Phoebe Gan responded to last week’s WavesConnect event stating, “It was really insightful to get the chance to listen to a professional in the business commercial world share networking tips and connect with students. This event has the potential to benefit students every year.” The Career Center strives to aid as many students as possible in their job search as it has done for these students, but ultimately the power to attaining your dream job is in your own hands. The Career Center encourages any student who feels anxious about career related matters to stop by and see for themselves.
