There are a number of reasons why an individual looks for new job–maybe he was recently laid off, is planning to relocate, wants to make more money or is looking for something new or more challenging. Regardless of the reason, K-State Alumni Career Services can help.
Created as a partnership between the Alumni Association and Career and Employment Services, the program provides career service assistance to K-State alumni and Alumni Association members. A broad range of free and fee-based services are available to assist individuals with resumes, CVs, cover letters, networking, career decision-making and job search strategizing. Individuals can also search job postings and post resumes for employers to view.
In addition to individual career consultations, individuals also have access to several online career services, including CareerShift, Versatile Ph.D. and many others. The program also offers access to a Career Webinar Series that focuses on career-related issues such as networking, job search strategies and interviewing skills. The seminars are presented live online the first Wednesday of every month. An archive of all presentations and handouts is also available.
Angela Hayes, assistant director at Career and Employment Services and the Alumni Association, is responsible for providing career services to graduate students and alumni. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and her master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology from K-State. Her doctorate is in professional coaching and human development. Hayes has been providing career coaching to alumni since 2007. She can be reached at (785) 532-3392 or angelagh@k-state.edu.
Career Service Success Stories
Fired to hired
Several years ago, Jane*–an alumna with an impeccable resume and GPA–contacted K-State Alumni Career Services. During the previous 15 years, Jane never had any trouble finding a job, but she had been fired from every single job during that time.
To begin her career consultation, I had Jane complete a variety of assessments so I could determine what the proper job “fit” might be based on her skills and personality type. The assessments reveled that Jane had been in the worst possible jobs for her personality and preferred skill set. She admitted that she had been miserable in all of her previous jobs.
Armed with this new knowledge, we began looking at the types of jobs that would be a good fit for her and started creating a plan to find those types of positions. I also helped Jane completely re-work her resume to highlight the skills that she actually enjoyed using and searched for organizations that would be a good culture fit for her.
Within two months, we had narrowed down the options and Jane approached her top three organizations. She was immediately offered a job at her top pick and moved up in the organization within six months. By her eighth month, Jane was being groomed for second in command of the organization. Jane is still at the organization and every indication suggests that she will take over when the current CEO retires.
Layoff to payoff
Logan* contacted me out of concern that his company might be laying people off. He had only heard rumors—which upper management denied—so he did not want to cause problems by searching for another position for fear he would be fired. Logan emailed me in the evenings through his personal email account and did not post his resume anywhere.
To start, I asked Logan to begin searching for what he considered the perfect position. I then asked him to make a list of his absolute perfect job situation. In addition to wanting to do work that was similar to his current job, Logan wanted a company with a solid financial future and that was closer to his home so he could attend more of his children’s activities. He also added that he would like to make more money than he was making at his current job.
After making sure his materials were perfect, Logan sent them off to his top two companies. Logan was offered interviews at both companies so we worked on two separate presentations that directly addressed the needs and culture of each organization for him to present during his interviews.
Logan received job offers from both companies, but accepted the position that was eight minutes from his house and paid $23,000 more than what he was making at his current job. When Logan went to give his thee week notice the following Monday, his supervisor, and most of the department, had been laid off.
As told by Angela Hayes; *names changed for confidentiality purposes