Get a job

Carolina’s Career Center helps students and alumni steer a course to career satisfaction.

“What am I supposed to do?”

Legions of college students unsure of their career direction—and not a few college graduates mired in unsatisfying jobs—ask that question all the time. Problem is, it’s not the most helpful question in determining career goals.

“Some people are self directed—they know what they want and how to get there, and others don’t have a clue,” said Larry Salters, director of Carolina’s Career Center. “For those in the latter group, the career planning process begins best with questions like this: Who am I? What’s out there? How does it fit with who I am? How do I get there?”

For years, the Career Center at the University of South Carolina has been helping students and alumni to answer those Zen-like questions, which, not surprisingly, help to focus vocational interests and in the pursuit of professional employment. For Carolina students these days, the process starts early on.“Years ago, we used to see lots of students who would wait until their last semester and show up at the Career Center in a panic,” Salters said. “Now we have all of the University 101 students—most of the freshman class—tour our office and find out what we can do for them and what they need to do long before they graduate.”

The center offers three annual career fairs that many students begin attending semesters before earning their degrees. The outlook for this year is good, by the way: college career centers nationwide expect a 17 percent increase in hiring of new college graduates.The center also offers testing such as the Myers-Briggs Personality Indicator and Strong Interest Inventory that helps students answer the “Who am I?” questions, which help determine career interests.

For those who are further along in their career planning, the center offers mock interviews that allow students to get professional feedback on their performance. There’s even a way to do the mock interview at home, using a Web camera and computer.

Carolina alumni have been served by the Career Center for more than 25 years, and their reasons for returning for assistance are many.

“I would say that most people who come to me are unhappy in some way,” said Sandy Tomes, program manager for alumni career services. “My job is to listen and help them figure out why they’re unhappy and how to get to a different place.”

When the economy is good, Tomes talks to many alumni who are curious about other career options. “If they’re even remotely interested in changing careers, they feel more comfortable exploring what else is out there when the economy is strong,” she said.

 Some alumni call the Career Center because they want to explore how much further they might go with more education or training. Others have been displaced in the job market and don’t know where to turn.

“Then there is the group that’s five to 10 years out of college, and they’re just unhappy and don’t know what to do. Some of that turns into additional schooling or figuring out how to repackage themselves in a new direction,” Tomes said. “Others are even further past graduation, maybe 20 years out, and they’re interested in doing something for a living that makes them feel good or they’re wanting to explore long-range plans for a different career down the road.”

For all of those groups, the same basic questions that students are encouraged to consider still apply. Who am I? What’s out there? How does it fit with who I am? How do I get there?” “With those contemplating a career change, I try to help them get at what is bothering them,” she said. “Some people are burned out and want to quit working so hard, but they can’t afford to take a lesser paying job. Maybe they have a new manager and things aren’t working out.”

Whatever the situation, the Career Center can help. Visit the center’s Web site at www.sc.edu/career or call 803-777-7280.