Meet the OCS Team at XULA
The one piece of career advice we hear repeatedly from recent Xavier graduates is to encourage students to START EARLY! It’s never too early to begin your career preparation. The Office of Career Services (OCS) at Xavier University of Louisiana is thrilled to work with students from their first year here until graduation!
The OCS staff works with students to help identify and successfully develop a career path that aligns with their skills, values, and interests. Through one-on-one sessions and workshops, students can learn more about themselves and the career development process. Students receive assistance with resume construction, mock interviews, self-assessments, and online job postings in addition to various programming and workshops relating to all aspects of the job search process. Additionally, some Career Services staff serve as Embedded Career Advisors whose offices are located in the academic buildings of their focus to ensure that staff members are easily accessible to students across campus. The Office of Career Services is pleased to offer an on-campus career fair each fall, as well as several opportunities to connect with recruiting employers – for full- and part-time employment – and network with Xavier University of Louisiana alumni. Be sure to follow OCS on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram to learn about upcoming events, giveaways, and paying opportunities!
Xavier offers a variety of ways for students to obtain pre-professional experience as well. These include job shadowing, externship, and internship experiences. Job shadowing provides students with a short-term experience where, rather than having specific responsibilities, they observe the workday in a specific professional work environment. Externships are also short-term; however, students are responsible for specific, supervised duties. An internship is a supervised work experience usually related to a student’s field of study, for which the student may or may not receive pay and academic credit. A summer internship usually lasts from 10 to 12 weeks; however, many organizations offer internships through the academic year as well. Students are strongly encouraged to complete at least one internship during their matriculation to become marketable to employers and graduate and professional schools.
Deciding what career to pursue is exciting! But, because there are so many career paths it can be hard to choose. How do you decide which to choose, or even where to start? The Strong Interest Inventory test is an assessment used by OCS that helps students match their interests with potential educational, career, and leisure activities, using an individual’s preferences in a variety of areas to aid them in discovering what they’d most enjoy doing with their work and their free time.
The Office of Career Services is ready and available to help students make informed decisions about their career paths and foster professional development. We’re dedicated to working with you from start to finish to ensure you have a successful and thriving life after Xavier!
Impact. Inspire. Motivate.
