Career and Alumni Success offer advice for professional world
By Jessie Ballard
The office of Career and Alumni Success (CAS) is a valuable resource that SCAD students have while at school and for the rest of their professional careers. CAS content and communications manager Liz Kelley detailed the many ways CAS can help students achieve their career goals.
Kelly explained that CAS offers resources, workshops, one on one advising and strategizing sessions that are used to help students navigate the professional world. While the office is always offering workshops in developing resumes, cover letters, and portfolios, they also offer specialized workshops quarterly.
“This quarter a career advisor is leading a social media seminar,” Kelley explained. “It’s an ongoing series of workshops where they are talking about different social media platforms, and how to develop your own personal brand online.”
Kelley also outlined a workshop series with the goal of helping students find financial stability and success as an artist. The workshop is led by a painting alumni and details how to brand yourself as an artist in today’s world.
Information on workshops including time and location can be found on the SCAD Job Portal, as well as the calendar on the SCAD app.
Apart from workshops, CAS also strives to bring a multitude of employers to SCAD. Employer visits are a unique experience for students because they open a dialogue between the student and the company. Students learn what employers are looking for in potential employees and what the working environment entails in the company. Kelley also noted that employers often discuss their own career paths which help students see that career paths do not have to be linear.
SCAD is a school with incredible opportunities, but this can sometimes lead students to feel lost or overwhelmed. Kelley’s advice to these students is to schedule a meeting with their career advisor and come in with questions. The advisor and student can then work on research strategies that help to define a career path or discuss new and alternative paths that are possible with each major.
If students are thinking about changing their major or discuss career opportunities that are outside of their declared concentration, all they need to do is email careers@scad.edu. The student will then be put in touch an advisor in the desired field and can schedule a meeting.
The offices of Career and Alumni Success is an amazing resource to students while in school and after their graduate. Alumni can continue to use the resources of CAS until they decide to retire.
For more information on CAS workshops, employer visits, special events, job listings, and career tips, students can subscribe to the Career and Alumni Success weekly newsletter though MyScad.
