Job Shop opens with new opportunities

Hernan Goicochea thought it would be a regular Tuesday consumed with studying in the Library — until he heard singing.

It was the a capella quartet Men of Note, live performers for Busch Gardens. The group was singing for the grand opening of Job Shop, located inside the Library, between the entrance and exit doors. The initiative will be an extension of the Career Center and will provide eight computers, and a Career Center representative to give students a jump start into job hunting.

The group’s performance made students stop, listen and wonder what was going on. The hook allowed students to meet Busch Gardens representatives who were present and offering information on part-time job openings, especially for Howl-O-Scream. It was a moment Goicochea, a senior majoring in international business, took advantage of.

“I heard the singing. I had to come and see it,” he said. “I was asking them about part-time jobs that are available and if their part-time jobs are flexible for students. In my last year, I want to have a job but have my weekends back.”

Drema Howard, director of the Career Center, said Job Shop computers will provide links to job search engines for students to find opportunities on campus, in Florida, around the country and outside the U.S. 

Monday to Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., at least one Career Peer, a student trained to assist with job-related preparation, will staff the shop. A final schedule for other Career Center employees is still being finalized.

Howard said since the first week of school, when 300 students stopped by the Job Shop to ask questions and use the computers.

“You have to be an active job seeker,” Howard said. “(Employers are) asking for college students because they want a workforce that can be critically thinking, they can communicate. … They also like that with a college student they can guarantee they are bringing new ideas.”

Tiffany Nguyen, a pre-med freshman, spoke with the Career Center for the first time at the Job Shop.

“I talked to them about my major,” she said. “They talked to me about what classes I should be taking and how to maintain your GPA.”

She said she is also considering applying for a job at Busch Gardens.

Howard said each month a company will be stationed in Starbucks to discuss employment opportunities with students as part of “Careers and Coffee.” The first was Nabisco on Sept. 4, and the next company will be Nielsen on Sept. 18 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“We know job searching can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be frustrating,” Howard said. “We really want to help students do what they can to plan and connect.”

Finding a job is like finding a significant other, Howard said. First, students must ask themselves when meeting an employer: Is there a spark?

If there is, Howard said, then you get to know the employer and eventually, if a job is offered and accepted, a committed relationship is formed.

“It’s relationship building. It’s the same concept but we’re not suggesting flirting. … But the analogy fits,” she said. “(It’s about) what employer fits you.” 

Howard said the Job Shop and upcoming events are there to help students as much as possible.

“(It’s about) learning how to do a career search and career planning and learning how to be an articulate job seeker,” she said. “Students here are professionals in training.”