Whether you are a freshman or a senior, it is never too early to start preparing for your future. Despite popular belief, building up your resume and planning for the future does not have to be an expensive or time-consuming task. Follow along as we highlight five free ways you can advance your experience and career.
- Build up your LinkedIn
LinkedIn is not just for business students; it is an essential part of building and maintaining your brand after graduation. It allows you to effectively communicate with your potential employers, apply for jobs and learn more about your desired industry. LinkedIn is home to over 400 industries and your next employer is probably on there. The biggest ways to build up your LinkedIn include consistently updating volunteering, work and school information. Another way to improve your LinkedIn is to have a professional headshot — which you can take for free on campus at the Iris Booth. Even if you do not have the experience to back up your profile, having one is still important. Stay active and express your desire to learn and grow.
- Get online certifications
UTSA provides LinkedIn Learning free for students, faculty and staff. Normally $20 to $30 a month, this tool will help you learn more about your desired industry and work to build up your profile as well. There are certification opportunities in business, creativity and technology fields. The platform also offers code challenges to help perfect your coding skills. Other resources offered include academic credits, certification preparation, continuing education and professional certifications. This website is an amazing resource that provides thousands of hours to build your skills and make yourself more marketable.
- Perfect your resume
Another UTSA resource you should consider taking advantage of is the resume builder and assistance service. VMock is a platform where you can upload your resume and it will grade based on recruiter criteria. It will give you direct areas to improve to ensure your success. If you do not have a resume at all, UTSA’s career center provides all the tips and tricks you need as well as sample resumes to get this process started. Wherever you are in your resume creation process, UTSA has tools to help you.
- Gain experience
Gaining experience is definitely easier said than done, but with campus resources like Handshake and career fairs, it is easier than ever to get experience in your major. Handshake is an online job site for students and alums to use to look for jobs or internships, attend virtual recruiting or networking events and meet with career consultants. This resource is extremely helpful in finding experience, and it also allows for explicit criteria setting — like wanting your position to be remote only. Another helpful UTSA Career Center tool is their Career Expos. These events allow you to meet with different recruiters across various industries and learn more about a career that might interest you. There is a Fall 2023 all-major career expo coming up from 2 to 6 p.m. on Sept. 21 in the H-E-B Ballrooms and a virtual career expo from 1 to 6 p.m. on Oct. 12.
- Career Counseling
UTSA’s Career Center has endless opportunities and resources to aid in your career discovery. Aside from the resources listed above the center also offers meeting drop-ins, “What Can I do With This Major”, career assessment, interview assistance and guides, a job scam alert, salary negotiation, micro-internships and a “Texas Reality Check” to predict your future lifestyle expenses.
Growing up and moving into the workforce is scary but preparation early on will help relieve this stress and struggle. Above all, remember that you are more than the money you make or the job you have. Strive to be happy and do what you love and everything else will fall into place.
