Career Services were busy this semester as they hosted an array of events on the City College campus. Their first main event was an open house, followed by Dress for Success, a public safety fair and, finally, the All Majors Career Fair. 

The open house came first on Feb 7., as a way to celebrate the new space in the Business Building room 153 that they have been located in since August 2023. 

Jessica Diggs, employer relations specialist at Career Services explained, “The open house is a way for students to get acquainted with the new space, and know that it is a place where they are always welcomed and can get help with career-related topics.”

Internship developer and student personnel assistant, Monica Souza, felt the open house was important to help students understand who they are and what they are about, “Career Services is not a class, it’s job preparation that can help you with your resume, cover letter, knowing what to say during an interview and getting a job,” Souza said.

They also provide services that help students find internships and volunteer opportunities.

The Dress for Success event was held on March 6. Professional attire was donated for the event along with a photo studio set up where students could get a professional photograph taken of them free of charge. 

“I wish I could take everything because I feel like I’m going through a boutique, and then they took my picture and I felt very pretty,” said Elsina Kilpatrick, a sociology major who attended the Dress for Success event where professional attire was donated towards students’ achievement.

Lilly Saechao will be graduating in May and had her photo taken during the event. She felt the professional photograph would be handy for her resume and profile on Linkedin. 

Souza explained that they want to provide services for students so that they can find the appropriate professional look employers are seeking. 

“Whether it’s an opportunity now or in the future, it’s so they have the appropriate package for when an opportunity presents itself,” Souza said.

Two career fairs followed the Dress For Success. The first was the Public Safety Career Fair held on March 28, which focused on the industry of public safety. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation co-sponsored along with Career Services. It was estimated that around 40 public safety employers came out and promoted a job, volunteer or internship, according to Souza.

The All Majors Career Fair was the last of the four main events held on April 4. It had been four years since pre-COVID since they had one that was not remote, according to Souza. The career fair was an opportunity for students to look their best with a resume in hand to talk with potential employers, and to seek job prospects and career fields that students might not know otherwise.

Edith Pacheco, student personnel assistant for Career Services, had been a student at City College, and the education and support she had received at City College helped her transfer to Sacramento State where she graduated with a B.A. in political science and social work. 

What Pacheco felt helped her was the student organizations and the connections in the community, and that’s what she is trying to give back now that she works at the Career Services. “While students might have goals,” Pacheco said, “they need to support themselves or their families. We want to help them with employment any way we can, and by hosting these events on campus, it is a chance to build community with students.”  

Souza finds that students come to them with a lack of direction on how to move forward after graduation. She explained it like this: “How do you know what you don’t know if you don’t know that you don’t know it?” Souza feels that you don’t unless you have that experience or you are led to that opportunity.

“Going to the events and the information that we provide shines on that light, or turns on that light bulb, so a student says, ‘Oh, that was exactly what I was looking for,’ or in turn they may say, ‘That was not exactly the direction I was looking for, but I found something else over here,’” said Souza.

Souza feels that sometimes students decide the industry they want to be in, but they have no idea about the variety of opportunities that were there. 

“Students just see the status quo opportunity and think, OK, I’m going to apply for that, because that is always what I have heard,” Souza said. “But nowadays things have changed so much with jobs that now there are all these other opportunities that weren’t there before, and students will learn about them through the Career Services, and go, wow! I didn’t know that was truly an opportunity.”