1/28/2019 - Jackson, Miss.

Through classwork and extracurricular activities, students gain the knowledge, skills and abilities to be successful in their first jobs. However, getting the first job can be a daunting task. Career Centers at Mississippi Public Universities provide a vital link between the campus and the career fields students seek to enter. University Career Centers also play a vital role in helping businesses meet their workforce needs. The Mississippi State University Career Center is a member of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

At Jackson State University, the Career Center helps students select a major by providing them with career resources, coaching and a career interest assessment. They also hold a number of special events throughout the year, including Graduate and Professional Schools Day, Fall/Spring Career Expos, Business Etiquette Dinner, Teacher Recruitment Day, and Professional Development Seminars.

The JSU Career Center provides ongoing assistance to students, including:

• Tigers2Work: Online Registration System for Employment Opportunities
• Resume/Cover Letter Assistance
• Interview Stream/Mock Interviews
• Internship/Co-Op Opportunities
• On-Campus Interviews
• Computer Resource Center
• Tiger Career Closet

Jackson State's Career Services Center offers services to assist employers in connecting with potential candidates. Employers can use the university's Web-based recruiting system, Tigers2Work, to list job, internship, and co-op opportunities, arrange campus interviews, register for career fairs, and view electronic resumes. To provide more visibility to organizations, the Career Center's staff encourages employers to host information sessions, attend career fairs, and consider joining JSU's Corporate Partner program.

Services available to students at Mississippi State University include: Individual Appointments with Career Center liaison/staff for identified majors, career assessments, in person Mock Interviews/online mock interviews, resume assistance, on-campus interviews, presentations of various professional topics, Cooperative Education opportunities, internships, and guidance on participating in the Disney College program, Washington, D.C. Internships, the Demmer's Scholars Program and the Workforce Recruitment Program.

The MSU Career Center hosts several events every year, including a campus wide career fair, co-op and internship interview day, a part-time jobs fair, major fair, dinner etiquette programs and resident hall popup shops.

Services for employers include on-campus interviews, campus information sessions, hosting campus tours and visits and faculty meetings, networking and luncheons.

Over 570 companies recruited on the MSU campus in 2016-2017. Employer outreach initiatives include employer site visits for maintaining, building and establishing employer relationships, congressional office visits to meet with staff regarding internships in Washington, D.C., and collaborative partnerships with campus departments to host workshops and events. The Career Center has an employer relations manager on staff to serve as the point of contact for employer needs and requests.

The Career Services Center at Mississippi Valley State University has a number of programs and services designed to connect students and alumni with the people, resources, and organizations that will take them where they want to go, whether it's a full-time job or a post-baccalaureate degree. Both students and alumni take advantage of the services and opportunities available.

Services offered by the MVSU Career Services Center include:

• Career Counseling: Individual counseling appointments are available to students and alumni to discuss their career interests, career goals, and job/internship concerns.
• Programs & Workshops: Workshops and programs are presented to student organizations, residence halls, classrooms, clubs, chapters, teams, groups or academic departments.
• Mock Interviews: The Career Services Center offers mock interviews to help students and alumni practice and gain confidence in their interviewing skills. A career counselor conducts the interview and provides feedback and a critique of interviewing skills.
• Career Assessments: Career assessments help generate ideas for choosing majors and identifying potential careers.
• Walk-in Advising: CSC counselors are available Monday through Friday for walk-in consultations. Walk-in advising provides an excellent opportunity for resume and cover letter critiques, quick job or internship search assistance, and getting information on our services, programs, and events.
• Career Lab: The Career Lab is a career library and small computer lab that offers information and resources to assist students and alumni career development. Handouts on resume writing tips, job search strategies, interview preparation and more are available in the Lab. A printer, fax and copy machine are also available for students and alumni working on career-related research and correspondence.

The MVSU Career Services Center conducts outreach and creates strong business and industry partnerships to connect students to career professionals for real-world experience and job opportunities. Representatives from businesses participate in career fairs held during spring and fall semesters, conduct table outreach to students, conduct mock interviews, participate in panel discussions, serve on advisory panels and conduct other on campus programming as needed. CSC also hosted an Internship/Local Area Career Fair to promote the importance of internships to help students develop new skills and knowledge to be successful in their chosen careers.

Students are provided opportunities to attend professional development conferences to network with top recruiters from fortune 500 companies. Those conferences includes: Thurgood Marshall College Fund in Washington, D.C., HBCU Career Development Marketplace Conference in College Park, Md., and the International Organization of Black Security Executives and conference location varies. Also, students are exposed to entrepreneurship opportunities and empowerment conferences.

The University of Mississippi offers students career counseling and assessments; a career resource library; computer and internet-based applications designed to assist students with diverse career-related issues; outreach activities, including workshops and seminars; personal assistance with resume and cover letter development, job search strategies, interview preparation, career exploration and graduate/professional school research and admissions correspondence; opportunities to connect with employers for part-time jobs, internships and full-time positions; and a Career and Life Planning course (EDHE 301) for junior- and senior-level students.

The UM Career Center connects students to job openings through several career fairs held during the academic year and Handshake, a Job Postings/Career Opportunity Listings for employers that UM students can view. These postings are also distributed to professors and departmental contacts in related departments for announcement in their classes and listing on their student list-servs.

The university provides students with access to the Am I Job Ready? software application to help them identify, assess and improve transferrable or "soft" skills.

The university also hosted Women in Entrepreneurship Week and coordinates visits to more than 100 employers in the local area to engage them in UM's Job Location and Development Program for part-time, off-campus employment.

The Career Center also scheduled other employer visits, both in-state and out of state, throughout the year. These visits are geared toward internship and full-time employment opportunities for UM students. University of Southern Mississippi Career Services has an extensive resource center containing information on all things related to a student's major or chosen career, such as books, files and periodicals. At Career Services, students can find information on graduate schools, employer profiles, job search skills and techniques, salary/job demand information and employer directories. Students will also find more references on interviews, resumes, and information specific to their major or field.

Other resources include:

• Workshops: Career Services Staff routinely present to classes and teach students valuable career skills and also host workshops in-office.
• On-Campus Interviews: Employers who are looking to fill open positions within their companies come to Career Services and conduct interviews with students.
• Cooperative Education (Co-ops): The Cooperative Education Program affords the student the opportunity to gain a complete education with periods of work related to the student's major.

The results are impressive:

• The most recent data available for Mississippi State University shows that of the graduates that responded to surveys, 51 percent of graduates from the 2016-2017 academic year were employed full time, with another 21 percent enrolled in a program of continuing education. Another five percent were planning to continue their education but had not yet enrolled. A majority of those employed, 55 percent, were employed in Mississippi.
• In 2017-2018, the MSU Career Center helped place 632 students in co-op programs and 171 students in internship programs, providing valuable work experience for students as they prepare for their careers. Since 2014-2015, placement in co-op and internship programs has increased by approximately 20 percent.
• The ranking takes into account 10 years' worth of data on job placement rates as part of Zippia's rating for the best colleges in each state for finding a job. Zippia rates colleges for their graduates' ability to find a job, using 10 years' worth of data on job placement rates. The data shows that after 10 years, 90.8 percent of University of Mississippi graduates are still employed with a median income of $52,700.
• The Career Services Center at Mississippi Valley State University administered 328 graduation surveys and 46.7 percent of respondents reported having employment.
• 68 percent of December 2018 Southern Miss graduates reported that they will be employed or are continuing their education.

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The Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning governs the public universities in Mississippi, including Alcorn State University; Delta State University; Jackson State University; Mississippi State University including the Mississippi State University Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine; Mississippi University for Women; Mississippi Valley State University; the University of Mississippi including the University of Mississippi Medical Center; and the University of Southern Mississippi.

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