Behold the power of resources. Saint Louis University’s Career Center is hiring additional staff members, improving its technology and enhancing its services to aid students in career development and job placement.

Kathy Day, a SLU alumna with more than 20 years experience in business, some of that in Fortune 500 companies, was hired earlier this month as director of the Career Center.

New plans consist of enhancing their two main focuses on career development/counseling and employer relations/placement.

Tom Hilliard, who was recently promoted to assistant director, will head the career development/counseling side.

This staff will target all freshmen in the hope that they will use the Career Center’s services throughout their college years. Day said that career development is not just something completed in the second semester of a student’s senior year but instead is a program for all students.

The counseling staff includes specific counselors for students in every major. In addition, counselors will contact each student to increase awareness and get them involved with the Career Center early to help them develop career decision-making skills.

“Ideally we want students to think about what they like to do and what they’re good at and then put the two together,” Day said.

She emphasized the Career Center isn’t simply about students’ finding a job.

“We are teaching skills for life so [students] will be ready when changes occur,” Day said. “We want students to go out there with some self-awareness. If they can build some good skills, that will help them throughout their lives. Changes will come and they’ll be less fearful.”

The employer relations/placement staff works with recruitment, job placement, internships and enhancing relationships with employers. The Career Center plans to expand staffing in this area.

The Career Center is especially important in today’s changing job market. “The economy is good right now although it’s a very competitive job market,” Day said. “SLU has a lot of good student candidates, but recent college graduates are competing with people who have a couple years’ experience in the field. We want our students to get their fair share of the opportunities that exist.”

Counselor Susan Gale reflected on changes that have occurred in job hunting since she started. “It used to be that if you did a good job you got promoted and you were set. Now you need skills to compete globally.”

She also stressed the growing importance of internships. “A person with no related experience will definitely have a more difficult time. I’m dealing with situations like that right now.”

What about students who rely solely on the Internet or who already have jobs lined up? “The Internet is a wonderful tool,” Day said. “It’s a great way to research companies and post resumes, but it’s only one avenue. It shouldn’t be the only tool students use.” Day said students should expect to switch companies and career paths several times, which makes the services offered by the career center invaluable.

As part of the Career Center’s efforts to improve technology, it has redesigned its website during the past few weeks to include a Web-Walkup program. This allows students to post their resumes into an employer referral database at their own convenience. The center is trying to make the system easier to use. “Our ultimate goal is to have employers query our database themselves,” Day said.

Down the road, the Career Center would like to expand their facilities to include areas for video-conferencing. “We will be working in close conjunction with deans and faculty members. We would also like to start an advisory board of employers, faculty and students in the upcoming year,” Day said.

About 55 percent of students currently use their services, based on student surveys. “Our goal is to have virtually 100 percent of the students benefit from our services in some way,” Day said.

The Career Center is in the process of changing its name to Career Services, emphasizing the fact that there are numerous services that students can take advantage of.

The Career Center offers an overnight resume review, on-campus recruiting, job fairs and mock interview sessions. Also available are materials that detail job descriptions, full- and part-time job openings, internships and relevant coursework for various majors. A decision making course taught by career center counselors is also offered. This is mainly for students who are undecided about their majors or need practice making decisions under conditions of risk and uncertainty.

Students wishing to take part in on-campus recruiting are strongly encouraged to attend one of the Career Center’s seminars. Seminars take place every Friday through April 7 in Davis-Shaughnessy Hall, room 173, from 3 to 4 p.m.

Upcoming events include the Health Care Careers Fair on March 16 and Summer Jobs Expo 2000 on March 21. For a complete list of events, students can stop by the Career Center in DuBourg Hall 150 or visit its website at www.slu.edu/services/cc.