This spring, NIU students will have a new opportunity to gain knowledge, skills and professional connections to position themselves for early career success.
In alignment with university goals to enhance student success, Career Readiness Week will help strengthen and evolve career-focused student engagement opportunities at NIU.
Numerous events are scheduled for the week of April 7-11. Both in-person and virtual events will be available for students to bolster their career preparations.
“Students will be able to learn tips and strategies that will help them land an internship or job,” Tara Dickson, assistant director for Career Counseling and Education said. “We also will provide networking opportunities for students to meet employers and find out what they’re looking for in job candidates.”
“We have more than 60 employers interested in meeting our Huskies,” Steph Horgan, assistant director of Employment Engagement said. “This is a great opportunity to bridge the gap between students and employers.”
Two of the Career Readiness Week events will give students an overview of NIU’s new Huskie Career Launchpad program, in which students earn digital badges for their accomplishments on the road to being career ready. This program includes the Career Exploration Passport, which encourages students to engage and network with employers as they consider careers, and the Career Plan Badge, which helps students develop skills and gain experiences that employers and graduate programs value.
One event will provide information on how to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) for career planning and job searching, to enhance the career exploration process. Students also will have the opportunity to conduct mock interviews with NIU alumni and employers at another event, giving them skills and confidence to succeed during job interviews. Learning how to capitalize on an internship will be the focus of another event.
Students can attend a career success clinic as part of Career Readiness Week. This event will provide feedback on resumes, cover letters and LinkedIn profiles, as well as additional insights from employers. The week’s events also will include a Huskies Get Hired workshop, which will help students utilize this service for finding on-campus and off-campus internship and career openings.
“We are excited to launch Career Readiness Week as a vessel for students to prepare themselves for life after college, while enhancing their experience as Huskies,” Andrea Radasanu, assistant vice provost for Student Enhancement said.
Visit the NIU events calendar to register and learn more about all the scheduled Career Readiness Week events, including dates, times and locations.
