For the past few semesters, the Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD) has offered UMW students the option of meeting with a peer (Peer Career Consultant, or PCC for short) for many topics including resume and cover letter reviews and internship searches.
We’ve found that this service not only benefits our student workers in terms of the training they receive, but also has been well-received by the students who meet with their peers.
According to Saga Briggs, in How Peer Teaching Improves Learning and Ten Ways to Encourage It, there are many reasons that this model is successful, including the fact that students feel more comfortable with their peers. In our office, we find that the evaluations that students leave for their peer counselors are almost always positive. Some recent comments include:
- “I didn’t feel judged, and the PCC I worked with what I already had to make my resume more powerful.”
- “It just felt really helpful and helped me to better mentally prepare for re-writing my resume.”
- “The PCC was super friendly and helpful and gave me lots of good information!”
The students who work in our office also find that helping their peers is one of their favorite tasks. We had six individuals working with us in 2018-2019 and are going to have some very big shoes to fill as five of them are graduating in a few weeks. Here are some of their impressions and advice!
Michelle Munoz, a Sociology major with a Business Administration minor said that one of her most rewarding experiences was when she and another student worker helped a shy student who was looking for a job. “We were able to…offer them advice on how to navigate Handshake and how to present themselves to companies…It was really cool to help this person and see them leave feeling much more confident…It’s really great to be part of moments like this because that’s exactly what the Career Center is for!”
Andrew Zimmerman, who is majoring in Business Administration with a minor in Sports Management joined our staff only this year, but found that his friends quickly gravitated toward him and relied upon him for career insight, “Many of my friends have come up to me and asked if I can help with their resumes. Some I did on my own, many I referred to the Career Center. Everyone always feels as if they received tremendous help from the center.”
Our lone junior, Abby Cassell, who is working on a BA in International Affairs with a minor in Business French had some solid advice to offer her peers. This is something you may have told your student, too, but they might ‘hear’ it better coming from a peer. She suggests, “Start small when using the Career Center. Come in for a career assessment or resume review.”
Finally, Jessie Whitmer who is majoring in History and will be a secondary teacher soon built upon Abby’s advice when she said, “It is so difficult to know what you want to do in life…we all get frustrated, we all second-guess our choices, we are all worried about jobs, but just know that you will be OK. I recommend starting early. Do not wait until the last few months of your senior year. But, if you have not visited the Career Center by your senior year, come on in! We’ll help you search for jobs, build your resume and cover letter and we will even set up a mock interview for you!”
As the year winds down, we wish ALL the members of the class of 2019 much happiness and success. Whether their plans are to work, attend graduate school, or pursue other adventures, we are cheering them on. Our office is here to help them and is open most of the summer. Send your newly graduated students back to us for help if they need it. The Career Center is here for them, too!
Mary Becelia, Career Coach, UMW Career Center