Student engagement
Career development and career readiness
Career Services assists Redbirds with career development and career readiness. Career advisors assist and support students’ academic and career interests by laying a foundation that broadly prepares them for success in the workplace, as well as lifelong career management.
Career advising topics to # of students
Exploring careers | 212 |
Exploring majors | 80 |
Graduate school | 44 |
Interview preparation | 25 |
Job/internship strategies | 160 |
LinkedIn/social media | 17 |
Résumé/cover letter | 522 |
Career planning | 127 |
Meeting type to # of students
Virtual | 532 |
In-person | 440 |
Email | 182 |
Phone | 33 |
Engagement by class level to # of students
Freshman | 38 |
Sophomore | 98 |
Junior | 203 |
Senior | 619 |
Alumni | 73 |
appointments
During the 2021-2022 academic year, Career Services enhanced methods for providing career advising to students. To encourage student engagement, appointments were conveniently provided based on student preference and included virtual, in-person, email, and telephone appointments. While virtual appointments continued to be a preference for many students, more students elected to visit Career Services in-person than the previous academic year.
Student career development continued as Career Services also provided “drop-in” advising, résumé development, and other services for students. A total of 3,067 appointments were held.
Career Choice course
Career Services developed, coordinated, and instructed the Interdisciplinary Studies 106 course to provide an introduction to the theory of career decision making to sophomores and juniors. During fall 2021, 17 students were enrolled in the course, and nine students were enrolled during the spring semester.
“What I didn’t know before enrolling in IDS 106 was how extensive one could go into about exploring a major/career. What I think back to is the career plan cycle shown to us on the first day with the different stages one goes through, like learning about yourself and your interests, job shadowing and networking, developing your vision, gaining experience, and launching your career, along with the constant component of reflection to help you make those major and career options.
What I believe was most valuable in this class was not one specific project but how all the projects and assignments led to helping us find out and create our career plan, and how to go about achieving that goal and pursuing our dream job/career.” —Callan Ridgway ’22
“IDS 106 was a game-changer for me. One of the assignments was to interview professionals working in your field of interest. I didn’t know anyone in HR, so I decided to email ISU’s HR department. Two amazing women who had been working in HR for over 25 years got back to me. So, I came with a list of interview questions and picked their brains for about an hour. When I left the interview, I changed my major and haven’t looked back since.” —Taylor Denby ’21
Internships
Career Services emphasized, assisted, and encouraged students to seek internship opportunities to enhance their career readiness. By developing their professional aptitude and strengthening their personal character, internships helped students gain a greater door to opportunities.
Internship grants
Career Services coordinates and implements two internship grants.
The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Internship Grant (EDI Grant) was established in August of 2021 in collaboration with the Office of the Provost. The funding for this grant was provided by the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (G.E.E.R.) Grant. Monetary awards in varying stages and amounts were provided to Career Services to coordinate funding for students accepting unpaid internships in their academic fields of interest. The EDI Grant for 2021-2022 of $294,750 was awarded to 91 students in unpaid internships to assist with expenses incurred during unpaid internship experiences. Eighty-two employers provided internships to these students, including some that offered multiple internships to different students.
“I wanted to thank Career Services for the EDI Internship grant. Since I have to travel so much for my internship, it has been extremely helpful in paying my bills and has lessened my anxiety a lot. I have loved my internship so far, and I feel like I am really making a difference and learning a lot. Thank you so much for selecting me, it has really made a difference in my life!” —Erin Thompson, senior on her social work internship with the Champaign County school district
The Illinois Cooperative Work Study Program Grant funded through the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) has been a long-standing grant for Career Services. The IBHE continues to collaborate with department internship coordinators and employers to offer internship opportunities to students in credit-bearing academic disciplines. Thirty-three students successfully completed internships under the grant with 11 participating employers.
“During my internship I accompanied police officers. These responsibilities have taught me punctuality along with really paying attention to the small details. What I learned the most from this internship is that law enforcement is not for everyone. The people who do this love what they do and truly try their best every day on the job. It takes lots of maturity, emotion regulation, discipline, and mental strength to be a member of a police department.
I think internships are important because they allow you to see the aspects of a job before you fully get into it. It allows people to show you how you’d do the job before you get to it. I plan to carry the skills I utilized with me into my FBI profession.” —Omar Smith ’22 after participating in an internship with the Normal Police Department
Internship postings
In today’s evolving workplace, internships may be held in-person, hybrid, or fully remote. Redbirds can identify internship opportunities using Hire-A-Redbird, Career Services' online internship and job platform.
Internships posted on Hire-A-Redbird
Some employers may post internships with other job postings.
Internships | 612 |
Internships (posted with full-time jobs) | 168 |
Internships (posted with part-time jobs) | 38 |
Internships (posted with part-time and full-time jobs) | 19 |
Total | 837 |
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