The start of the school year ushers in a slew of questions that most students would prefer to push off for another day. These questions may include anything from “How can I get an internship next spring?” to “What should I major in?” to “What am I going to do when I graduate?” and “What do I want to do in life?” For these questions and many others, the Career Center on campus is the place to turn.
Yeshiva University’s Career Center has a wide scope of resources available to make job and internship searches much less stressful. In-person, one can sit down with a career counselor and look over a resume, receive assistance on a job or internship search, and take part in a mock job or graduate school interview. For a quick question, the Career Center has walk-in hours between 1 and 3 pm, Monday through Thursday, or—for more in-depth assistance—students can make an appointment. The Career Center’s walk-in hours guarantee on-the-spot, one-on-one time with someone who can provide a quick answer or begin a discussion that can be continued through follow-up appointments.
YU Career Link is a valuable online resource. Students can search through listings of frequently updated jobs and internships and upload a resume to be viewed by potential employers. The Career Center website gives students access to a wealth of information on different careers, majors, and industries, as well as practical tips. For help navigating the website, students can check out the revamped Career Link guide on the website.
Another valuable asset that the Career Center offers students is YU InfoLink. The Career Center has spent the past two years compiling this database of over three hundred volunteers, around eighty percent of whom are graduates of Yeshiva University. These individuals are available to speak with students about countless different career paths. Terry Sabri, career advisor and recruitment coordinator at the Career Center, notes that “there is nothing like having a conversation with someone who is in the industry.” In addition to the knowledge with which they can provide students with, alumni can potentially make great connections or referrals, which can be helpful in the search for an internship or job.
Besides for its in-person counseling and online resources, the Career Center also hosts around fifty on-campus events per semester across the Beren and Wilf campuses, including career panels, networking events and career fairs. Netanya Bushewsky, a 2013 graduate of Stern College, spent the spring semester of her senior year interning for Kenneth Cole, an internship that she found through the Career Fair. Said Bushewsky, “the Career Center’s career fair offers great opportunities to meet companies you may not be in contact with otherwise. A lot of companies, such as Kenneth Cole, like to hire interns from Stern College, because they view us as reliable!”
Others have benefited greatly by having meetings with a Career Center counselor throughout their years at Stern. Hannah Dreyfus, a senior majoring in Journalism and the current Editor-in-Chief of The Observer, said, “I worked with Rebecca Weiler at the Career Center since my first year on campus as a sophomore. At that point, I had many ideas of things I wanted to do – journalism, law, maybe academia – but wasn’t sure how to get started. Working with Rebecca, I realized journalism was my main passion. Since then, the Career Center has helped me land several different internships, including my most recent summer internship at Parade Magazine. I’m not sure where I’ll go from here, but working with the CDC has given me the confidence, help and encouragement to take my first steps towards what I hope will be a very exciting career.”
Another Stern senior, Yael Farzan, had similar success through frequent appointments with the Career Center. Double-majoring in English and Psychology, Yael received great career advice and assistance from Terry Sabri and Naomi Kapp over the past year. Said Farzan, “They were so responsive and gracious when I needed something–say, a resume or cover letter check–in a hurry. And I called up Terry a bunch of times this summer to ask questions about my internship—what’s proper work etiquette in this scenario, what’s the professional thing to do in this case—and she was always so patient and helpful. When she was unsure, she’d double check with her colleagues. It’s honestly like having a personal career coach.”
The beginning of the year is a great time to turn to the Career Center. First-time-on-campus students, in particular, are advised to go to the Career Center to discuss majors and classes. A new school year can cause enough stress as it is—don’t let career stress create more.