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The Role of Parents

The involvement of parents in students’ career development is vital! Many of students’ career goals are shaped by their family upbringing. Parents who want to learn more about SU Career Services’ resources, events and services can follow the links from this page. Career Services values parent influence on students to encourage them in their exploration of major, graduate school and occupational options and in their development of lifelong career-related skills such as assessing their interests, values and personality, resume writing, networking, job searching, interviewing and negotiating position offers.

How does Career Services help students?

Career services staff encourage all students, from first-year to senior, to get involved with career development, a four-year process which complements students’ academic pursuits. In addition to numerous resources offered online and through our Resource Center, Career Services hosts a wide variety of workshops and events throughout the year to help students develop skills and make contacts. Students can also meet one-on-one with a professional staff member for personalized advising and assistance. In addition, all students interested in internships should meet with the Internship Specialist to set goals, explore options and secure positions. For more details on what students can do throughout their university tenure toward their career development, see the “Four Year Plan to the Future” on our Handouts page.

About 25 percent of SU students typically enter graduate and professional school programs within one year of graduation. Career Services provides general guidance and resources to students exploring graduate studies, in addition to the major-specific graduate school advising available through SU faculty.

Students who desire to pursue employment upon graduation can get tremendous assistance from Career Services. Each semester a number of recruiters come to campus to conduct information sessions and on-campus interviews. Students can also search for jobs and internships through a variety of online options, including SU’s primary online partner, PirateLink. Information about a broad range of career fields and employers in diverse geographic areas is also available in the Resource Center. Finally, the intimacy and personal touch of the SU experience provides important networking opportunities with alumni, parents and other contacts.

Please do not hesitate to call us at (512) 863-1346 if you have additional questions!

What can I do to help students?

First and foremost, encourage your student to make time each year to visit Career Services. This website is a convenient way to begin exploring from the comfort of a student’s room. Secondly, consider contributing your own expertise to Career Services’ efforts.

Career Mentor Network

Career Services needs assistance from parents to help current students explore a variety of majors and career fields. Serve as a point of contact for your major and/or current occupation, whether you took a direct or indirect route from one to the other. Topics students may want to ask Career Mentors about include how they chose their career, advice for preparing for careers, resume preparation, realistic idea of entry-level salary, suggestions for professional organizations to join, suggestions for courses to take, daily activities of your job, whether you recommend grad school for your job, etc.

The mentorship you provide can help shape the career path of SU students. They will most certainly value your real-world experience and be appreciative of any advice you are able to provide. To register to serve as a career mentor or indicate interest in talking with Career Services about other activites, described below, please contact us at career.services@southwestern.edu.

Programs

Each semester Career Services offers numerous workshops featuring professionals from a variety of career fields sharing advice with current students.  If you would consider serving on a panel or making a presentation about your work, employer or career path, please let us know.

Internships

Parents can be great contacts for current students and alumni interested in participating in an internship experience. If you and your organization would like to consider sponsoring an SU intern, please click here for more information.

Externships

Each semester, Career Services takes students on half-day field trips (“externships”) to employer worksites for tours, visits with entry-level staff and other job shadowing activities. If you and/or your organization would be interested in hosting a small group (5 or fewer) of SU students or an individual student, please click here for more information.

On-Campus Recruitment

Career Services welcomes parents who are employers or who work for employers interested in recruiting SU students for post-graduate employment. To learn more about recruiting opportunities for employers click here.

How can Career Services help parents?

We know that parents themselves may have career-development questions.  Please note that most of the advice on this website is transferable to seasoned job seekers, as well as applicable to new entrants to the world of work.  Advice about resume writing, interviewing and the most effective job search strategies is all available to parents from this site.  In addition, valuable networking links and advice that is targeted at students and alumni may also pertain to parents, such as using LinkedIn.com and accessing the alumni associations of colleges you attended or professional association affiliated with your industry.  Finally, the Resource Center library at Career Services is available for browsing to parents.