I enjoyed meeting with Pam at the beginning of the semester to discuss summer opportunities and ways to utilize Handshake in a more useful and narrowed-down way. Before this meeting, it was difficult to grasp how many opportunities there were, and I was overwhelmed and felt intimidated by how much I had to do and how many options there were to look at. As someone who is still not entirely sure what career they want to pursue, or even where most of my passion lies, it is difficult to find opportunities that fit me best. However, Pam was able to help me use the filters on Handshake to find opportunities that are related to Wesleyan, to my general interests, and what would fit me best as a freshman. Pam also helped me navigate Handshake as a whole more efficiently and to its maximum use. I figured out the different resources there are for cover letters and resumes, and the interesting meetings that there are for careers through the Gordon Career Center.
Furthermore, Pam helped me get some guidance on my next steps on where to go forward with my resume, on the jobs that I do on this campus, and on how to approach these summer opportunities that are available to me. In terms of my resume, she pointed to how I can use Handshake to see how the format works, and how I can set up a meeting with another career advisor to help me go line by line to look through my resume. Her words led me to schedule another meeting with a peer career advisor and go through my resume. The student I met with was extremely helpful in terms of strategically formatting my resume so that it would fit onto one page, and how important it is that I try to pick the activities that are most connected to how I want to present myself, and my passions. She also helped me cut down lines that were not important so that I could pack as much as I can onto this one-page document.
Pam advised me to go through Handshake every couple of days and look at the new programs that are posted and pick which ones I find interesting. It is better to do each part slowly rather than trying to cram it all into a short amount of time. Pam’s advice and guidance gave me a better practical perspective and gave me concrete steps on how I can approach summer opportunities and all career-related opportunities in general. She helped me feel less overwhelmed and clarified all the resources that are available to me through the Gordon Career Center.
