FINANCIAL FRESHMAN #030
TL;DR → It’s in your institution’s best interest to get you hired. Because of that, there are likely resources on campus that can help you boost your resume, build an elevator pitch, network, and ultimately make yourself more marketable to employers. Your tuition bill likely funds these initiatives, so make sure you leverage them.
Back to School!
Depending on what college or university you go to, your semester is probably starting right about now. Welcome to the Spring semester of 2025! If this is your final semester of college, congratulations in advance for reaching the finish line.
A quick question before we dive into today’s topic: Have you ever looked at your tuition statement?
I don’t mean just seeing the total, I mean actually reviewing the itemized statement that includes your tuition, room and board, and all the mandatory fees. If you have, then you know that your actual tuition gets buried in a sea of line items, almost like your DoorDash total compared to the actual cost of your food.
Amongst all of these fees, there will probably be a line item there (worded generically) for student activities or support services. Let’s take a step back and think about these.
Getting You Hired
A perspective that you potentially haven’t considered, is that it is in your institution’s best interest for you to land a good job after graduation. For you undergraduate students, that means it’s in their best interest for you to land that internship experience you’re after, because it will make you more marketable down the road.
There’s a number of platforms that “grade” colleges and universities, one of which is the College Scorecard published by the U.S. Department of Education. What is included on these scorecards, you may be asking? Graduation rate, annual cost, and—you guessed it—income after graduation. There’s even a metric for all institutions that highlights the percentage of graduates that earn more than the average high school graduate, as a means to highlight the ROI potential of your degree.
With all this on the table, allow me to make a bold claim: If you’re in college and seeking full-time employment, it will never be easier for you to find a job than it is right now.
Your college very likely provides personnel and resources that are solely dedicated to getting you hired. I scoured the internet to understand what some of these benefits look like, but it’s up to you to leverage them wherever you are!
Perks to Land a Job
Across the landscape of institutions in the US, here are 5 examples of resources that make you more marketable or help get you hired.
Texas A&M Career Center
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Texas A&M’s Career Center describes their offerings in four simple statements: Explore majors and careers, develop your resume, apply for jobs and internships, and prepare for interviews. Amongst these offerings is VMock, a cutting-edge resume reviewing tool that is completely automated. Log in, upload your resume as a PDF, and prepare for personalized resume feedback, powered by machine learning. Oh, and it’s also available 24-7. When else in your adult life will you be able to solicit resume advice at 3 AM?
Penn State Student Affairs
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Your confidence walking into a career fair can certainly be boosted by your attire, but we all know that quality, business professional attire can be expensive. Penn State students have access to the professional attire closet, where they can access exactly what they need to dress for success. There is a limit per student per academic year, but it’s worth noting that the clothing is given to you, not rented short-term. They even partner with a local dry cleaner to make sure everything is fresh and ready to wear!
Syracuse Career Services
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Syracuse students have access to an extremely well-equipped career services group. Among their many support offerings is a partnership with Firsthand, a mentor/mentee pairing platform that helps students meet their professional development goals. If you make a Firsthand account seeking advice from someone in the automotive industry, for example, you may be connected with alumni that have landed themselves there. This tool can certainly help you build the right network for yourself as you approach graduation, and it’s offered completely for free.
Virginia Commonwealth University Career Services
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It’s no surprise that the internet is filled with resume advice, and we’ve even published some of our own. VCU’s Career Services team took on a much more tactical approach, offering incredibly thorough resume guides that are industry-specific. Each of these links takes you to a Google Doc with general resume advice, some industry-specific insights, and resume templates available for you to reference. Using these resources, I’m confident that you could go from a blank document to an impressive resume in just an hour or two.
Pomona College Career Development Office
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To end this list, I thought it would be appropriate to highlight these offerings at a smaller institution. Each of Pomona College’s 1,700 students has access to PCIP, the Pomona College Internship Program. This program provides students with a stipend to pursue an unpaid experiential learning opportunity, allowing them to grow their resume and make themselves more marketable after graduation.
Final Thoughts
I picked five institutions arbitrarily here, but know that this list could be hundreds of colleges long. It’s in your institution’s best interest for you to get hired, and you’re potentially funding these resources with your tuition bill anyway. The infrastructure is there, but the accountability falls on you to leverage it.
With the semester starting right about now, career fairs at your institution are likely just around the corner. Whatever these resources may look like at your college, they will certainly be utilized less at the start of the semester compared to the Monday prior to a career fair. Research what your institution offers you, and get in touch now to make sure you’re reaping the benefit!
