Students from various majors flocked to numerous events hosted by the Center for Career Development on Nov. 1-16 during Biola’s first Career Month. From the student leadership fair to company tours and recruiter panels, the two-week-long program gave students opportunities to explore career advancement.

Career Month consisted of 14 diverse events, starting with a tour of The Boring Company followed by speaker series, panels, fairs and workshops, and ending in the Nov. 16 tour of Taco Bell Corporate.

SAME CENTER, NEW OPPORTUNITY

The event series was created by Career Department to correspond with “National Career Month,” which occurs each November. Director of Career Development and Success Tiffany Lee described November Career Month as an experiment to test future interest in similar career-related events. 

“We want students to thrive in their careers. So there’s a lot of things that students can do here to help them get to that place,” Lee said. “We focus on three things: explore, experience and connect. And so pretty much everything that we are doing is to focus on helping students lean into those areas.”

Lee stated that the center exists to help all students—those trying to figure out their interests and those who have a major but are unsure of their professional future—explore how their talents and passions culminate post-graduation.

AN EVENT FOR EVERYONE

Through a large variety of events, the Career Center focused on accommodating each field represented at Biola.

“We tried to do a variety [of events] to meet a variety of needs,” Lee said.

Some of the most popular events were the company tours, where students had the opportunity to hear from The Boring Company, Union Rescue Mission and Taco Bell Corporate. Other events included a recruiter panel, career exploration events, and the Peer Internship Ambassadors’ “Coffee and Careers.”

Senior journalism major Nicole Vogt, this year’s PIA for her major, said one of the original difficulties of Career Month was spreading awareness of major-specific events without overwhelming students with the detailed, all-inclusive schedule.

“There are a lot of events, and making sure that the right events stand out to the right people has been challenging but I think that we’ve done a really good job at connecting with students via email and visiting classes and connecting with people—making sure people know what’s out there for them.”

Once the events were successfully communicated to students via cards, posters and emails, their accessible locations across campus allowed for active engagement.

“I think a lot of students that we’ve engaged with are new students that haven’t come into Sutherland [Hall] before, so we got to be way more hands-on and outside of this [Career Center] space, which has been nice,” said Career Specialist Ryan Dea.

FROM EDUCATED TO EXPERIENCED

Many of the services the Career Center offers, such as guidance on creating a LinkedIn account and resume, connect students with internship positions. Because of Biola’s emphasis on the importance of internships, Career Month offered seminars, like the Nov. 6 Recruiter Panel, “Insider Tips into Getting Hired,” which highlighted practical professional development.  

Vogt, who has interned with Spinitar, Saddleback, Giving Children Hope and KOAA 5 NBC News, says internships are extremely important because they provide “a practical way to apply your skills.” While the internship requirements vary according to major, Vogt says gaining work experience outside of the classroom makes any resume stand out.

According to Dea, internships also help students beyond building their resumes.  

“Internships are important because they give students a glimpse into the real world. It really helps a student identify whether or not they possibly like that area,” Dea said.

A SUCCESSFUL BEGINNING

Lee, Vogt and Dea each called the first November Career Month a success and are optimistic about its future.  

The Career Center will also send out a survey that will provide feedback to ensure the event “feels relevant” to student needs.

“Our hope is probably to continue doing this next year, looking at the success from this year,” Lee said. “Whether it’s November Career month [or something else], students will definitely be seeing more things happening from the career center—more events around those themes [of] explore, experience, connect.”