Section III.
Office of Career Development
Smith University Center, Suite 210
A. Mission
The Office of Career Development provides a comprehensive, educational approach to career development as a life skill by offering specialized programs, services, and strategies that target Francis Marion University students and alumni. In accomplishing this goal, the office develops and maintains internal relationships with faculty and staff as well as external relationships with businesses, industries, and the community. OCD is the pivotal access point of FMU students and alums, the professors who train them, and the employers who want to hire them.
B. Staff
Dollie Newhouse
Director
843-661-1678
Janice Smith
Senior Administrative Specialist
843-661-1676
C. General Office Operation
1. Telephone
Staff members are to answer the phone with a positive, upbeat tone and to identify the Office of Career Development in their greeting. If the staff member answering the phone cannot address the caller’s needs, he or she transfers the call to the appropriate staff member or takes a detailed message and delivers the message to the appropriate party as soon as possible.
2. Intra-Campus Mail
Incoming mail is collected and distributed by Janice Smith. Ms. Smith places each staff member’s mail in that staff member’s designated mailbox. All staff members are assigned a mailbox when hired.
3. Scheduling Office Appointments
OCD advertises 843-661-1676 as its “official” phone number. Ms. Smith is primarily responsible for handling all calls that come to the number, so she is the staff member who schedules appointments and maintains the office schedule, following the guidelines below:
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Any requests to meet with the director are forwarded to Dollie Newhouse. Ms. Newhouse maintains her own appointment schedule and coordinates with Ms. Smith as necessary.
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Any students requesting resume critiques, to take the Discover Program or Strong Interest Inventory, or advisement about choosing a major or exploring a career will be scheduled to see either the writing tutor or the graduate assistant. The writing tutor and graduate assistant will have designated times during which they are available for appointments.
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Ms. Smith will make every effort to schedule students during the designated times. Students are strongly encouraged to accept appointments during the designated times.
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When Ms. Smith schedules an appointment for the writing tutor or GA, she will place the appointment on that person’s schedule. If possible, Ms. Smith will notify the writing tutor or GA as soon as she schedules an appointment for one of them. The writing tutor and GA will also “check” their schedules upon arrival for each shift to see if any new appointments have been made.
D. Managing Student Files
OCD maintains folders for every student (or alum) who meets with an OCD staff member. A student’s folder consists of the following documents and the information is used in the following ways:
1. Career Counseling Form
Each student or alum who schedules an appointment with a staff member in OCD completes a “Career Counseling Form” for each visit. The information provided on the CCF is keyed into OCD’s student tracking database by Ms. Newhouse or an assigned undergraduate student worker. The database allows OCD to track student and alumni use of the office and its services and better understand the needs and expectations of students and alums regarding OCD.
When a student completes a CCF, that document becomes part of the student’s OCD folder.
2. Career Counselor’s Form
Each time a student meets with an OCD staff member, that staff member briefly summarizes the work accomplished during the appointment and places that summary in the student’s folder.
3. Maintaining Confidentiality of Student Records
Student records are kept in a locked file cabinet and are only accessed when a student returns for additional appointments. The electronic database is kept on the Director’s computer, which is password-protected.
At the end of each semester, the contents of student folders are destroyed. The student tracking database is purged of records upon the completion of all reports.
E. Office Services
1. On-site requests (Walk-Ins)
Students who arrive without scheduled appointments and make on-site requests are called “Walk Ins”. When a walk-in enters, he is she is greeted by Ms. Smith. If a walk-in requests to see the job postings, Ms. Smith directs the student to that information. If a student requests help with a resume, to use the Discover program, to take the Strong Interest Inventory, or assistance with career planning and exploration, Ms. Smith schedules an appointment with the appropriate staff member. If a staff member is available, and the student agrees, then Ms. Smith will arrange for the student to receive assistance at that time. If a staff member is not available, then Ms. Smith will schedule an appointment for a later date.
2. Classroom Presentations
OCD offers classroom presentations in Resume Writing, Interviewing, Job Search Skills, and Succeeding at the Job Fair Expo. OCD staff will also develop presentations on additional subjects at the request of faculty. Ms. Newhouse receives requests for classroom presentations and coordinates the events with faculty and OCD staff.
3. Assistance with Resumes and Cover Letters
Many students will request help with drafting, editing, and revising resumes and cover letters. OCD staff members who assist students with writing projects are to approach this work as an opportunity for students’ education. No staff member writes any part of a student’s writing project.
Students may ask to “drop off” writing so that a staff member can evaluate it. This is prohibited. Any student asking for help with his or her writing is required to participate in a tutoring session with the writing tutor or another qualified staff member. No staff member keeps, under any circumstance, student resumes that are works in-progress.
4. Career Counseling
OCD’s approach to career counseling is shaped by the theories of Howard Figler and Richard Bolles, both of whom stress that career counseling is a means of empowering students in their pursuit of successful, fulfilling careers as students and members of the workforce. Counselors encourage students to explore their own academic and non-academic goals, interests, strengths, and weaknesses. Counselors also encourage students to research the job market they are entering: starting salaries, job demand, and room for advancement.
5. Interview Coaching
OCD stresses the importance of professional dress and behavior in the interviewing process and explains strategies for answering interview questions in ways that spotlight the interviewee’s accomplishments and talents. OCD staff help students anticipate questions that may be asked of them and questions the interviewee should ask.
When time permits, students are encouraged to participate in a mock interview with Ms. Newhouse.
6. College Central Network
OCD provides an online resume service and job board through College Central Network. CCN is available, free of charge, to all FMU students, alums, and employers who want to use the service.
Employers learn about CCN through Ms. Newhouse and at the Job Fair Expo.
Students learn about CCN through flyers, classroom visits from OCD staff, and faculty who promote the service in their classrooms.
The overall operation of CCN is administered by Ms. Newhouse. She approves each employer registration and works with the undergraduate student worker to evaluate student and alumni resumes that are uploaded to the service. If a resume is not approved, Ms. Newhouse or the assigned and trained student worker sends the author an email explaining why the resume has been rejected. Once a rejected resume has been revised, its author can upload the new document for consideration.
Students who register with CCN and upload a resume agree to abide by CCN’s terms and agreements. Resumes that are uploaded to CCN can be viewed by every employer who registers with CCN and OCD staff members.
7. Job Board and Binders
OCD maintains a job board that features part-time and full-time job opportunities, internships, co-ops, and temporary or seasonal employment. When the job board is full, position announcements are filed in binders. When an OCD staff member receives a job announcement, he or she forwards it to Ms. Smith, who will determine the date on which the announcement can be discarded and stamp that date on the announcement. Ms. Smith, or a student worker under her direction, will place the announcement on the job board or in a binder.
8. Career Resource Library
Career-related books and journals are housed in OCD’s Career Resource Library. Students, staff, and faculty are free to use the materials in the library during OCD’s hours of operation. Students are not permitted to check-out materials from the library. If a faculty member requests to check-out a resource, he or she should be asked to notify Ms. Newhouse.
9. Discover Program and Strong Interest Inventory
The Discover program is a career guidance program that assists students in career planning and exploration. The Discover program is a free service. Students are free to use Discover whenever a computer is available in OCD’s student computer lab.
The Strong Interest Inventory is administered in OCD for a fee of $10.00.
F. Special Events Coordination and Execution
1. Job Fair Expo
OCD hosts a fall and spring Job Fair Expo. Ms. Newhouse and Ms. Smith work with other campus officials to schedule each event’s date and time. Ms. Newhouse and Ms. Smith work together to send invitations to employers with whom OCD has established contact. Ms. Newhouse works with FMU faculty and staff to publicize the event to the student body and prepare students to attend. As necessary, Ms. Newhouse assigns projects to OCD staff to facilitate each expo’s successful execution. OCD staff members recognize the expo’s importance and see it as a priority.
On the day of an expo, the entire OCD staff is expected to work. OCD staff assist in the set-up for the event, manage the event as it unfolds, and help tear down the event at its close.
2. Volunteer Fair
Ms. Newhouse coordinates the annual Volunteer Fair in the same fashion as the expos. OCD staff are expected to work on the day of the Volunteer fair and treat it with the same importance as the expos.
3. Assessment Surveys
Recruiters who attend an expo or the annual volunteer fair are asked to complete an anonymous survey and return it. OCD uses the collected data to assess the effectiveness of OCD’s program and services. The anonymous surveys are destroyed after reports are completed.
G. Staff Behavior and Office Environment
OCD provides FMU students with a model of professional behavior and decorum:
· OCD staff dress in a business casual style. However, on the day of the Volunteer Fair and a Job Fair Expo, staff dress in conservative business attire.
· OCD staff refrain from having personal visitors congregate in the office.
· OCD staff avoid foul or offensive language.
H. Issues Concerning Student Workers
1. Files For Student Workers
Each student worker has an employment file, which is kept in a locked cabinet in Ms. Newhouse’s office. The file includes the worker’s job description, confidentiality statement, resume, work schedule, and any evaluations. When a student worker leaves OCD, his or her file is destroyed after 60 days.
2. Evaluations
Student workers are evaluated each semester. Ms. Newhouse completes a worker’s evaluation and goes over the evaluation with the student. Ms. Newhouse and the student worker will sign the evaluation.
3. Confidentiality Agreements
Student workers must sign a confidentiality statement before beginning work. Student workers are prohibited from discussing in any way any of OCD’s student records.
I. Monthly Reports
For each calendar month, Ms. Smith creates a report that documents office use. The report includes the number of phone calls from employers and employer visits to campus, jobs posted on the message board or in the binders, student walk-ins, resume critiques, sessions on interviewing, workshops, and use of the Discover program and Strong Interest Inventory. To compile the data, Ms. Smith keeps an accurate count of daily activity in the office.
J. CCN Reports
Each semester, Ms. Newhouse runs a report that documents employer and student activity on CCN. The report is an optional feature provided by CCN to its subscribers.
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