Written by Janelle Farkas, Chapman Alumna Class of 2015. Career Educator at the Office of Career and Professional Development
Hi Panthers! My name is Janelle Farkas and I am a Chapman Alumna Class of 2015. I now also work at Chapman in the Office of Career and Professional Development as a Career Educator. I am extremely excited to be one of the first people to welcome you to the Chapman Family. You are joining a truly special place and I can’t wait for you to experience the magic for yourself. In order to make the most out of your Chapman Experience, I wanted to offer a couple of quick tips from the perspective of both a former student and now as a member of Chapman’s Career Team:
1. Visit the Office of Career and Professional Development EARLY AND OFTEN! There is a common misconception that you don’t need to start thinking about your career or your next steps after Chapman until your senior year, but, by that time, you have missed crucial career development time! We recommend visiting our office to meet one-on-one with a Career Educator during your first year at Chapman to talk about your career goals and how to meet them. We also host a series of events throughout the academic year that are open to *EVERYONE* on campus including Career Fairs and Lunch and Learn Workshops that we would love to see our new students at!
2. Develop strong relationships with your professors. One of the biggest advantages of Chapman is that your class sizes are small which gives you the amazing opportunity to get to know your professors. Professors are experts in their field, and if you maintain your relationships with them, they might be able to help connect you with internships and/or jobs when you are looking for them. They also are great people to write letters of recommendation should you need one for a job or graduate school application. My relationships with former professors allowed me the opportunities I had as both a Chapman student and an alum and their partnership on campus now in my professional role has been extremely influential.
3. Get involved in on-campus activities to start exploring your interests! It is also never too early to have a job or an internship. There are a variety of on-campus clubs and organizations to be a part of as well as on-campus jobs that are open to our new students. It is a great idea to start developing transferrable skills that could help you be more marketable with future internships and jobs! Not only that, most of the key career readiness skills that employers look for (critical thinking, verbal/written communication, and more) can easily be obtained through experiences on campus. Please visit the Office of Career and Professional Development for help with your application materials.
It might feel really early to start thinking about what happens “After Chapman” but you can never be too prepared. Take advantage of the next few years and make the most of every opportunity. The Office of Career and Professional Development is here to help in any way we can; from helping you look for internships and jobs, to conducting mock interviews and helping you with your resume and cover letters, we want to ensure that you are getting the experiences you want. Welcome to Chapman!!