One of the services offered by the Career Center is to meet with student career coaches. A student career coach is a peer Mount student involved in the Career Center who is available to discuss career questions, consider future career-related goals, and provide further mentorship or guidance. On top of this, student career coaches provide students with plenty of resources relating to a variety of topics like resume preparation, elevator pitch development and tips to utilize during the interview process.
Speaking from personal experience, the interactions I had with my student career coach, while few, proved to be very impactful when it came to my career search and preparation. In fact, those meetings made the difference between me getting hired or being passed up for another candidate.
In addition to emphasizing how incredibly useful student career coach appointments are to students, I also want to highlight the experience of the student career coaches themselves. Ralia Techur, C’23, the longest-tenured student career coach said: “Being a career coach has been one of my favorite experiences during my time here at the Mount. I started this journey as a sophomore when the program was newly introduced. Since then, I’ve made wonderful connections and grown closer with the Career Center [employees]. Helping students improve the skills they need to be successful has been my favorite part. Watching their stories of success come to flourish is rewarding and reminds me of why I decided to be a career coach.”
While the career coaches’ experiences vary, they share a sense of passion to help students along their career journeys, as well as a rewarding feeling when connecting with students and watching the progress they make. Cooper Griffiths, C’24, the newest student career coach offered thoughts about his experience so far: “Being a career coach is very enjoyable for many reasons. The Career Center staff I am paired with are great and do not fail to teach me something new every single day, which is something I pass along to the students I meet with. I feel very fortunate to meet so many different students at the Mount that I may not have had the chance to do so outside of being a career coach. Alongside meeting new students, I also get to share my knowledge of resume writing and webpage building on sites to build their network to increase their professional view from possible employers. I have learned so much that I feel like I am ready for the real world more and more every day I walk into the Career Center, and I try to replicate that feeling within students as well. This opportunity has provided me with much more of an understanding as to how to become more noticeable and how to reach out to employers for opportunities.”
From these interviews, it is apparent that student career coaches have a strong dedication to connecting with students and seeing them succeed. It is this dedication to success, as well as a personal connection between the Career Center staff and Mount students that inspires so much growth professionally and better prepares students for the professional world. Mount students deserve coaches who genuinely want to see them succeed. If you are interested in learning more about, meeting with, or even becoming a student career coach, schedule an appointment on Handshake or stop in the Career Center.