Workshops are a great way for us to lean-in to our mission statement of creating a dynamic space for students to get inspired and feel supported in their post-graduation plans. It's also a great way to meet new people and engage in activities outside of academics.
Throughout last year, we...
- facilitated 200+ workshops focused on career development for various student groups and populations.
- partnered with 178 student organizations, departments, faculty, and staff.
- averaged 30 students in attendance.
You can stay on top of our current offerings by checking out Handshake! Most of our workshops are around 50 to 60 minutes in length and are interactive -- they may require 10-15 minutes of pre-work before attending. Please, RSVP in Handshake for the event to make sure you are aware of the assignment and to confirm if you are able to attend. Some workshops may be closed for a specific student group/class.
For Fall 2018, the University Career Center will offer the following workshops, open to all majors & schools (registration required on Handshake):
Ready, Set Intern! for First Year Students
Fall 2018 dates
As a first-year student, figuring out what you need to do to get an internship or understanding what interests you have is hard -- 100 emoji. It’s difficult to know what employers look for or how might your interests equal a job or a major.
No worries, we designed an experience just for you.
During this 50-minute workshop, we hope to...
- Walk you through what employers look for in interns
- Help you set goals to prepare yourself to be a GREAT candidate
- Bullet point three, what’s up!?
- Debunk major and career connection
- Guide you on how to use our office to gain experience
You should come if you…
- Are a first-year student!
- Want to know what experiences employers look for and how to get it.
- Have been asked at least 50 times already, “what’s your major?”
- Aren’t totally sure on what the “Career Center” does.
*RSVP is required for this program.
Resume Labs and Internship Labs
Designed as a space to get real time, personalized help, Labs are your one-stop shop to get to work on your resume and to get that internship search started. Click here to check our upcoming lab dates.
For more exciting upcoming events and workshops, stay updated on Handshake!
SIGNATURE PROGRAMS
If you are a student organization, staff, faculty member, or campus partner we would love to work with you to meet your needs.
Lightning Talks
As a new program, we now have 15 minute Lightning Talks available to be requested! They are short, power workshops that are perfect for the beginning of student org meeting or big event to get a great amount of information in a short amount of time. Below are a few of the content areas that we cover:
- Resumes and Bullet Plus
- Interviewing Tips and Tricks
- Introduction to the University Career Center
- Dress for Success
Workshops
The following workshops are available upon request:
- The Essentials: Intro to UCC, Handshake, and UCAN (University Career Alumni Network)
- Acing the Interview
- Are You LinkedIn?
- Building Your Network
- Give 'Em What They Want: Career Competencies all Employers are Looking for and How to Get Them
- Ready, Set, Intern! for First Year Students
- Medical School Interviews or MMIs
Descriptions of each workshop can be found below.
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
All of our workshops are interactive opportunities to build and practice your skills. Because of this, it is expected that all participants will agree to watch or read 10-15 minutes of prepared materials prior to the workshop.
ACE YOUR INTERVIEW
Did you know that failure to make eye contact is one of the most common mistakes in an interview? How do you know if you’re answering questions the best way? Come join us to learn about tips and tricks on interviewing, practice some interview questions and learn what you should wear during an interview.
You should request this workshop if you…
- Kinda freak out about interviewing
- Answered an interview question by saying only “yes” before
- Read this and had TFW you’re not sure if you’re doing it right
- Are graduating and want to get a job
- Want to land that sweet summer internship
What you’ll do…
- Learn the 3 R’s of prepping for an interview
- Understand how first impressions impact your decision
- Test out tips and tricks on interviewing with your friends
ARE YOU LINKEDIN?
So, what's the difference between a resume and LinkedIn profile? 87% of recruiters are using LinkedIn to attract and find their next employee. 92% of recruiters prefer to hire through LinkedIn rather than any other social network. Additionally, learning from what alumni and other professionals have done in their career is a great way to explore areas of interest and majors.
This workshop is designed to walk students through building their own LinkedIn profile and the value of a LinkedIn profile.
You should request this workshop if you...
- Have been putting off making a LinkedIn profile, and ask yourself, "why should I even make one?"
- Want to learn ways to connect with alumni and friends
- Are looking for ways to boost your internship or job search game
What you’ll do...
- Understand differences in a resume vs. a LinkedIn profile
- Build a LinkedIn profile that has at least 5 sections completed
- Recognize ways to utilize LinkedIn and UCAN for building connections
BUILDING YOUR NETWORK
70% of jobs/internships are found through networking, wait, what? But, how do I start “networking?” This workshop will give you the confidence and tools to examine personal and potential connections with alumni and professionals. We will go into how to conduct informational interviewing to use as a tool for connection building.
You should request this program if you...
- Feel like you should be “networking” but not sure how to begin
- Want to learn ways to connect with alumni and friends
- Looking for ways to boost your internship or job search game
What you’ll do:
- Develop understanding of networking and the importance
- Examine your current and potential connections
- Identify ways to expand your network
- Recognize ways to utilize LinkedIn and UCAN for building connections
Give ‘Em What They Want: Career Competencies all Employers are Looking For and How to Get them
Most employers are looking for recent graduates that have these 8 career competencies. The hardest part is knowing what they are looking for an how to gain competence and skills in those areas. Join us as we explore what the competencies are, how to talk about your areas of strength, and how to build up your areas of growth!
You should request this workshop if you:
- Aren’t sure what skills and experiences you should be getting
- Want to learn how to give an elevator pitch
- Want to build up your strengths and develop ways to gain skills/experiences
What you’ll do...
- Develop a plan to develop an area that would be helpful in getting a job/internship
- Practice how to talk to employers or connections
- Learn what employers/graduate schools are looking for in candidates
The Essentials: Introduction to UCC, Handshake and UCAN (University Career Alumni Network)
Have you heard of Handshake? Did you think it was spam? You know networking is important, but stuck on how to connect with alumni? In this workshop, we will let you know the 5 ways to utilize our office. Then we will focus on demoing our most popular platforms; Handshake & UCAN (University Career Alumni Network).
This will be an interactive session, so laptops or tablet to demo the websites are necessary.
You should request this workshop if you…
- Aren’t sure how to use the UCC beyond resumes
- Want to learn how to connect to alumni
- Are looking for an internship or job
- Want to attend on-campus recruiting events
What you’ll do...
- Unearth 5 ways to utilize our office
- Learn why you should use Handshake, and setup a search filter
- Explore how to use UCAN and schedule an informational interview
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
HOW DO I REQUEST A WORKSHOP?
Before requesting a workshop, look at our workshop schedule to see if your needs can be met by our upcoming events. All resume and job/internship workshop occur in house and are open to all students. If you would like to request a topic from our "by request" list, please fill out this form: http://goo.gl/forms/27WWIaf8N0s6swOY2. We have a limited capacity for the number of workshops we can complete each semester, so priority will be given to groups that partner with other organizations. A staff member will follow up with you in 2-3 days.
If I request a workshop what am I responsible for?
- Discuss workshop content with your facilitator in advance
- Arrange room and AV equipment
- Print any handouts provided by facilitator in advance
- Market the event and get RSVPs from group; Make sure participants are aware of and complete pre-workshop assignments
- Start the workshop on time
- Ensuring your students are at the workshop! (i.e., advertise, advertise, advertise – and remind, too!)
- Providing feedback on the workshop to help us continually improve.
Can I have the workshop at any time or any day of the week? How about weekends?
Yes, we can schedule workshops mornings, afternoons or evenings. Evening workshops must end no later than 7:00 p.m. Monday - Thursday. We do not facilitate weekend workshops unless there are special circumstances. Due to staff availability we cannot always guarantee your requested date or time.
Where can I hold my workshop?
Consider these options:
- The Michigan Union, Pierpont Commons, Michigan League Classrooms
- University Career Center Program Room - Holds 40 in classroom style
- Reserving space at a local establishment (i.e., coffee shop – we drink coffee, too!)
Can we request a specific Workshop Facilitator?
Yes. However, you will need to be flexible in terms of scheduling to accommodate the facilitator’s availability.
How many people do we need to schedule a workshop?
We are excited to deliver workshops to both large (50 +) and small (10-15) group sizes. However, we require a minimum of 10 participants as the opportunity to learn from colleagues diminishes with smaller groups. Collecting RSVPs from your group in advance will help ensure a higher turnout.
Can we have the Career Center facilitate more than one workshop?
Sure. We are happy to come back for repeat workshops or to deliver a different workshop. However, if the demand for our workshops is greater than our ability to deliver them in a timely manner, preference will be given to first time requesters as well as based on the number of participants.
How much does a workshop cost to attend or request?
They are free for current UM students!
Accommodation Information
Persons with disabilities who anticipate needing accommodation(s) or who have questions about access to our programs may call the University Career Center 734-764-7460 or email at careercenter@umich.edu no later than 3 days in advance of the program, workshop, or professional event.