Career Connections

Need help? Connect with Career & Experiential Learning

Welcome to your Career Connection

Today's students* (and their parents) are more concerned than ever about their employability after graduation. For this reason, we want you to have good resources and information.*

It’s never too early or too late to begin a search! The Career & Experiential Learning office can also assist students create or polish their resume or cover letter as well as practice interviewing skills to get where they want to go. We're here to help!

Amy Beckman, Executive Director, Career & Experiential Learning

Phone: (620) 242-0467

Email: beckmana@mcpherson.edu

Sheridan Weinbrenner, Assistant Director, Career & Experiential Learning

Phone: (620) 242-0466

Email: weinbres@mcpherson.edu

Career Office Location: Miller Library, 1st floor (just past the Library Services desk)

Schedule appointment: Book an appointment with Amy or Sheridan

Your appointment can be scheduled in-person or via Zoom, just let us know your preference.

Career Resources

Career Advice Online

Career Guide (Indeed)

Career advice on how to find a job, write your resume and cover letter, ace your interviews, start a new job, and choose career paths.

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LinkedIn Learning courses

LinkedIn is offering courses to help build important skills such as finding a job, navigating today's job market, and coping with new stressors.

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Career exploration & job search

Career OneStop

Find career, training and job search resources just for you.

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O*Net Online (Career exploration, job analysis & salary info)

Find, search, or browse across 900+ occupations based on your goals and needs. Then use comprehensive reports to learn about requirements, characteristics, and available opportunities for your selected occupation.

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Candid Career (on YouTube)

Get the inside scoop and advice on careers via video interviews with industry professionals. With currently 4500+ video clips to explore, our extensive library can help you find your passion and land your job. Begin or continue your exploration today!

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Vault

Vault.com provides in-depth intelligence on what it's really like to work in an industry, company or profession—and how to position yourself to land that job. Take advantage of your FREE access:

Internship Database – find thousands of ratings and reviews of internship programs, requirements, sample interview questions, how to apply and more.
Vault Job Board – search thousands of new jobs and internships posted daily, sign up for alerts based on your criteria, complete a profile and be seen by top employers and recruiters.
Company Profiles – rankings and reviews on industry reputation, career advancement, quality of life, salary & benefits, interview process and more.
Vault Guides – over 100 titles of award-winning career guides, including interview strategies, job-search tips, and full-length profiles of leading companies.

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What can I do with this major?

What Can I Do With This Major? features 100 major profiles with information on common career paths, types of employers that hire in the field, and strategies to maximize opportunities. Scroll to the bottom of each profile for links to professional associations, occupational outlook information, and job search resources.

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Virtual experiences, job simulations, etc.

Forage

Explore careers and prepare for the job with hundreds of free job simulations designed by the world's top employers.

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Grow with Google

Training, certificates, tools, and resources to help you grow your skills, career, or business.

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Personal career interests & growth

Explore your interests by taking an interest inventory or exploring a variety of tools and resources to help you learn more about yourself and your work interests.

My Next Move

What do you want to do for a living? Discover your interests, browse careers by industry, and search for careers by keyword.

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Agilities Tools & Resources

The following resources are designed to help you use your strengths and interests – your Agilities – to affirm your goals, boost existing skills, and prepare for a successful tomorrow.

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Million Stories

Dive in to the power of entertainment and storytelling to take the fear, boredom, and discomfort out of learning how to be financially competent.

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Interest Assessment

Tell us what you like to do. And what you don’t like to do. We’ll show you careers that fit your interests.

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Skills Assessment

The Skills Matcher will help you:

Rate your current skill level in 40 areas
Create a list of your strongest skills, with skill definitions
Learn which careers match your skills

Visit

Work Values Matcher

In this quick card sort you'll rank 20 statements about your ideal job to see:

How your choices relate to the six core work values
Careers that match your personal work values
How to identify a workplace that fits your values

Visit

Job and Internship search

As a McPherson College student and alumni, you have an additional tool, Handshake, an online job platform for job and internship search. Check the site often as opportunities change daily. Create your profile in the system using your McPherson College bulldog email address.

**International students, for additional guidance to follow for off-campus employment, go to International student off-campus employment page for more information.**

Handshake - Campus Employment

All campus jobs are on Handshake

Handshake is an online platform, much like LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Indeed, ZipRecruiter, or SimplyHired, that allows you to search for a variety of opportunities from regional to national to around the world. Handshake also connects employers to students and allows students to browse not only job opportunities, but interview opportunities and company events posted by employers. Students are also able to connect with other like-minded students in their fields of study to share experiences and ask questions.

Start by following these 4 easy steps:

Download the Handshake App from your app store, OR, Go to https://mcphersoncollege.joinhandshake.com
Use your bulldog email address to create your account. After you have entered your email address, Handshake will send a verification code to your bulldog email account. Confirm your account
Create your profile. Upload your resume. If you don't have one, come see me! We can work together to create your basic resume.
To search jobs, go to "Jobs" and then filter for your search (ex. on campus, location, part-time, full-time, etc.)

Quick links:

Handshake Link

Getting Started in Handshake

Search for on-campus jobs in Handshake

Searching for jobs and internships on Handshake

Getting hired on campus

Important things to know about campus employment

How to find a campus job
- Search Handshake for campus jobs. See Jobs and Internship Search section (on this page) to learn how to create your account and begin your search.
- Apply to jobs of interest with one click.
If selected for an interview, you will interview with the supervisor.
- The supervisor will notify you and offer the position if you have been chosen. Learn about the job and when you will be expected to work.
- Supervisors do not always notify you if you have not been chosen, but you may follow-up with them and inquire about your interview status.
If offered a job, you will review and sign the student employment contract with your supervisor and be required to complete a new hire orientation and paperwork at the career office.
You will need original documents (not copies) proving your eligibility to work in the United States. See I-9 form with List of Acceptable Documents.
- Have them available and ready to provide to the career office for when you receive an offer of employment.
- You cannot start work until these documents and new hire orientation and paperwork are completed.
Submit the contract to the career office.
- Complete the required new hire orientation and paperwork. This will require you to have original documents (not copies) proving your eligibility to work in the United States. See I-9 form with List of Acceptable Documents.
- Review the Student Employment Handbook (downloads as a read-only Word document), and sign the acknowledgement form (provided with new hire paperwork).
Confirm start date with your supervisor.
Start your new campus job!
- Don't forget to enter your time worked every day on your timecard in Bulldog Connect. See Section 6.2: Daily Time Entry of the Student Employment Handbook for how to enter your time.