There are many opportunties to gain experience on and off-campus that will help you test your career preference and build skills that employers seek.
Types of Experience
Employers value many different types of experiences when considering you for a job:
- Internships or jobs (on or off-campus)
- Research positions
- Volunteer work
- Active participation in student clubs, residential life, athletics, or professional associations
How Employers Find Candidates
Connecting to the right candidate happens in a variety of ways:
Job Boards
- LionSHARE
- Non-Columbia-specific aggregate job boards such as Indeed or SimplyHired
- Industry-specifics job sites
Recruiting and Networking Events
- Career fairs
- Employer information sessions
- Campus speaker panels, networking events, competitions, and other activities with departments, faculty, alumni, and student organizations
Direct and Online Outreach
- Employee and other referrals
- Social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.)
Hidden Job Opportunities
Some employers only post opportunties on their websites and prefer that you do research to find them. Others don’t post the opportunities at all. You can find these “hidden” jobs by networking.
