American River College’s Career Center, which offers up-to-date information on careers, occupations, and trends in the job market, held an open house on Feb. 23 to allow students, faculty and staff to view their newly remodeled offices and lab space.
The event also highlighted some of the services that the center offers, including job counseling, résumé workshops, interview training and personality-assessment tests.
All of the services are free to students.
Kolleen Ostgaard, Student Services supervisor at the Career Center, said that students who visit the center are better positioned to secure jobs after graduation. “We want students thinking about what career is best for them and then knowing what career is best for them,” said Ostgaard. “It’s important for students to get ready for future employment.”
Ostgaard recommends that students take a 10-minute personality test, which will help them determine which jobs would best suit them. Finding out what occupation best fits an individual’s personality can prevent wasting time and money on classes that are unnecessary.
At the recent open house, many students lined up to take the assessment. “It was interesting,” said student Patricia Baltz. “It confirmed my best choice of job is business and I am a business major.”
Cynthia Goodenough, 39, also a business major, said the assessment contained “good relative questions and was easy to maneuver.”
The Work Experience and Internship Program is also located in the Career Center.
“We assist students in referring them to employers,” said Connie Ayala, Program Coordinator Cooperative Work Experience. “We have a class, Work Experience, which allows you to earn units if your job or internship is related to academic or career goals.”
Ayala urges students to come in and get registered in the Los Rios Internships & Career Services, called LINCS. It is used throughout the Los Rios district and contains information on full-time and part-time jobs, as well as paid and unpaid internships.
Iris Pogue, a recruiter for Verizon Wireless, was on hand to speak with students about job openings at their Rancho Cordova call center. “We look for people who are tech-savvy, fast learners and flexible,” Pogue said. “Definitely flexible, because of the scheduling. We recently hired an American River student from business technology.”
The Career Center is located in the Student Services building. Fall and spring hours are 8 a.m to 5 p.m. on Monday, Thursday and Friday and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday. Students can walk in to use the computers for résumés, job searches and personality testing. An appointment is needed to meet with a counselor.
For additional information call 916-484-8492 or visit the website at www.arc.losrios.edu/career
