Career Services
Some MCC students arrive here with a clear idea of what they would like to study, some have no clue, and yet others change their minds (and majors!) a few times. All of these are normal.
In partnership with other resources available to our students, Career Services plays a role in helping students find their way onto their career path. Here are some of the services we have to offer:
Co-operative Education & Internships
Most students benefit from the opportunity to get a first-hand look at a job or career by talking to professionals in that field or by working in some aspect of it. For example, becoming a radio DJ sounds exciting, but that job requires long hours, night shifts, getting up in the wee hours of the morning and possibly working holidays & weekends. Health care is a wonderful career, but requires both solid science & math grades and exceptional skills in working with & caring for people. What better way to understand the challenges of any career than to live it for yourself?
At MCC, many of our programs include "Field Experience" classes - 3 credit classes in which students work in their field and take an evening seminar class to develop professional workplace skills. Also called Co-operative Education, students enrolled in these courses have performance goals they develop with their supervisor on the job and are visited by MCC staff/faculty during the semester.
Internships and Volunteering are also great ways for students to gain practical experience. Internships, paid or unpaid, are entry-level temporary positions many companies offer to provide students that experience; MCC students can use internships for their Co-operative Education class or can take on internships outside of the classroom.
Professional Services
Career Services also provides services to MCC students to ready them for a job search: Resume Writing, Interviewing Skills, Job Search Assistance. We do not place students into jobs, but - far better - help them learn to help themselves. Each semester, we run workshops on these topics both in individual classes and open to the general student population.
Job Searching while an Active Student
Its important that students focus first on their academics. That's why they are here, after all. But we realize most of our students need to work to pay for gas, car insurance, bus transportation. After their 1st semester, all students with a GPA of 2.0 or better are eligible to work with Career Services to find a job. We have job postings on our web page, and hold Job & Internship Fairs and other on-campus events when employers come looking for our students.
So what about those first semester students or those with a GPA below 2.0? We highly recommend that those students who still need to work but who are struggling a bit academically look for a local job with flexible hours that will not intrude too much into the students' study time. Supermarkets, super stores, fast food restaurants - these are great jobs that will provide a source of income and can contribute very positively to the student's resume.
Job Searching for Our Graduates
MCC graduates are encouraged to work with Career Services to prepare themselves for their job search. Many of the jobs posted on our website are from employers seeking MCC graduates.
How can a family member help?
Among the many, many ways you help your student, we enourage you to help them help themselves as much as possible. They need to learn how to advocate for themselves effectively; its a critical life skill. They also need to begin planning, looking ahead to determine what they need to do to get themselves to where they want to be, and then take action now. Arm yourself with information and gently point them in the right direction. Do they have a great lead on a job but haven't started a resume? Ask if they have met with Career Services in ED-100. Are they ready to look for a job related to what they think they want to study in school? Suggest they look at the opportunities posted on the Career Services web page. Perhaps you and your student would like to take a moment now to explore together some of the information available to them in Career Services by checking out our website here.
