Career Services Center

Our vision: The Career Services Center aspires to empower students with knowledge and opportunities that will lead to a meaningful career.  

Our mission: The mission of the Career Services Center is to educate students and alumni on career development and connect them to opportunities in the areas of education, healthcare, business, industry and government. 

Meet Our Staff

The Career Development Plan through the Career Services Center can help start you on your career path. First step: Schedule an appointment with your Career Advisor to discuss your career and/or graduate school opportunities. Download the Career Development Plan Checklist to ensure you’re on the right track to your future.

The plan covers:

• Resume Assistance & Referrals: Stop by our office during our resume help days (as advertised), and we’ll help you create a resume that stands out from the crowd. Once your resume is ready to go, you can upload it to your Handshake account and give permission for your resume to be released to employers or referred out from Career Services staff. 

• Mock Interviews: Through practice or “mock” interview sessions, you’ll be able to role-play a job interview with your Career Advisor. We’ll videotape the session and then review it with you to provide feedback and help you sharpen your interviewing skills. Dress professionally and plan on 30-45 minutes for your interview and 15 minutes for feedback. Bring your resume, too, and we’ll review it with you.

• Hands-on Experiences: Secure an internship, practicum, part-time job or volunteer opportunity in your field of study or related field. Spend the day job shadowing an experienced professional and learn first-hand if a particular career is for you. You’ll have opportunities to ask questions, and you’ll expand your professional network.

• Career Events & Workshops: The Career Services Center sponsors career events and workshops throughout the academic year. Explore career options, plan your job search and connect with potential employers. To view upcoming events, log into your Handshake account and click on "Events". 

Internships 
Through a semester, or summer-long internship, you can apply classroom theory in the real world and gain practical work experience. Your internship will also help you make more informed career decisions and expand your professional network. Internships can be paid or unpaid. Talk with your department internship coordinator to see if you can earn college credit for your internship, too. Review the Internship Checklist to learn more and/or contact us for internship search assistance. Access your Handshake account to view internship opportunities.

Jobs
Access your Handshake account to view off-campus work-study, internships, part-time and full-time jobs. 

The Career Readiness Course is a one credit hour class designed to help you with career development and transition to the workforce. You can obtain a certification in Career Readiness that is certified by the UCM Career Services Center.

The program covers:

• Teambuilding, Leadership and Communication Skills
• Building Your Brand
• Networking and LinkedIn
• The Hidden Job Market
• Interviewing Skills and Professional Dress
• Targeted Resume and Cover Letters

The Career Readiness Course is offered in the Spring and Fall at the Warrensburg campus. You can enroll through MyCentral using course number Univ 3000.  You must earn an 85% in the class and turn in key assignments to obtain the certificate. After you successfully complete the program,  the course will appear on your transcript, indicating to future employers that you actively prepared yourself for the workforce.

Deciding to go to graduate school is a complex process, with many factors to consider. Graduate school is a major commitment of several years, money, intense coursework and research. It’s much more demanding than your undergraduate program. Examine your personal motivations and educate yourself about graduate school. Both are essential to making an informed decision.

Here are a few resources to help you:

• Take the Right Steps
• Create Your Personal Statement
• Build Your Curriculum Vitae

Here are a few websites to research:

• Peterson’s
• Accredited Online Schools
• Accepted
• ThoughtCo.
• GRE
• GMAT
• LSAT
• MCAT

Each year the Career Services Center produces an annual report that provides statistics and information on the successes of our graduates. Please take a moment to complete this brief survey to tell us about your plans post-graduation!

When requesting a presentation, please keep in mind that we require at least one weeks notice from the date of the request.

Student Org/Classroom Presentation Request Form: Click Here 

The potential to be targeted for a scam exists everywhere. Scams are often designed as an attempt to obtain monetary gain in a fraudulent manner. Students are urged to please be alert to the potential of fraud when approached in person, by telephone, or through other electronic communication.

Businesses and agencies generally will not contact you by telephone or through electronic communication and ask for passwords or other sensitive personal information. Those who do could be looking for ways to steal your identity or to transfer funds from an account. Many scams are initiated with the promise of turning a small amount of money into a larger amount. Sometimes perpetrators will even give individuals a fraudulent check to deposit in advance of any services performed. 

The Warrensburg Police Department and UCM Department of Public Safety urge everyone to be aware of the different types of common scams. The FBI provides good information on its website concerning common fraud schemes. Please see the link provided, http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/fraud. New scams by electronic mail also are posted by the FBI at http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/e-scams.

Anyone on campus who believes they may have been the victim of an attempted scam is encouraged to contact the UCM Department of Public Safety at 660-543-4123.

 When you work with the Career Services Center, you assume an obligation to abide by the policies and procedures set forth by the Office, as well as the rules and regulations prescribed by the University of Central Missouri.

Policies

Students have an obligation to know and follow the policies of the Career Services Center.  These include but are not limited to the following:
1. Honesty in all endeavors is essential to the functions of the Career Services Center.  Individuals found to have provided false or misleading information on Handshake account face disciplinary action by the University.  Falsifying information includes but is not limited to grade point average, graduation date, work experience, work authorization, etc.
2. Assaulting, striking, intimidating, or in any way threatening the well being of any of the Career Services Center staff is strictly prohibited.
3. Destroying, vandalizing, stealing, or damaging the property of the Career Services Center is strictly prohibited. 
4. Misuse of computing resources contained within the Career Services Center is strictly prohibited.  All computers contained in the Career Library are reserved for career-related use only (e.g., resume construction, Handshake account, career-related sites, employer research, etc.). 
5. The student is responsible for providing the Career Services Center with a professional style resume.  If a student refuses to make recommended changes to a resume on their Handshake account, the student account will be suspended until an acceptable resume has been placed on the web-based recruiting database.

Procedures

Any student facing disciplinary action will receive notification of such action within five (5) business days of the act (level 1). After receipt of the letter, the student has five (5) business days to schedule an appointment with a Career Advisor in the Career Services Center (level 2).

If an appointment is not made, the student acknowledges acceptance of the disciplinary action.

At the meeting with the Career Advisor (level 2), if the matter is not resolved to both parties’ satisfaction, then a written statement should be submitted to the Director of the Career Services Center within five (5) business days (level 3) and a meeting scheduled.  At this meeting (level 3), should the matter not be resolved to both party’s satisfaction, then the matter will be referred to the Vice Provost of Student Experience and Engagement (level 4), should the matter still not be resolved it will be referred to the Provost (level 5).

At all levels the burden of proof as to the allegations of the complaint shall rest upon the student.  Any questions regarding the policies and procedures of the Center should be directed to a Career Advisor in the Career Services Center.

In an effort to maintain positive relations between employers recruiting Central students, the Career Services Center, and the University of Central Missouri, it is necessary for all patrons (students, alumni, etc.), as well as university staff members/students employed by the Career Services Center, to maintain the highest level of professionalism and integrity when interacting with and providing information to these employers.

Disclaimer

General:
The Career Services Center at the University of Central Missouri in its provision of services to students, alumni, and off-campus employers makes no representations or guarantees regarding the opportunities listed on its website, bulletin boards, print materials, and other resources, and is not responsible for the wages, safety, working conditions, or other aspects of off-campus employment. It is the responsibility of the students and alumni to take the necessary precautions when interviewing for and accepting part-time/full- time employment and participating in volunteer activities. In addition, the Career Services Center has provided links to Internet websites that are maintained by third parties, over which the Career Services Center has no control. The Board of Governors of the University of Central Missouri and the Career Services Center are not responsible or liable for the content, products, services, or other materials on or made available through the web links to other websites. The opinions and
views associated with the web sites are not necessarily those of UCM or the Career Services Center.  UCM and the Career Services Center shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any direct or indirect damage or loss caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, products, or services available on or through such sites.

The UCM Career Services Center encourages and permits links to content published on the Career Services website. However, any linking should not (1) implicitly or explicitly suggest that UCM endorses any third party’s causes, ideas, website content, products, or services, or (2) use Career Services content for inappropriate commercial purposes. The Career Services Center reserves the right to withdraw permission for any link. Please forward any concerns regarding links and/or disabled links to
careers@ucmo.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO):

UCM and the Career Services Center adhere to applicable federal and state EEO laws, regulations, standards, and guidelines, and offer employment information without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, citizenship, or identity as a military veteran, unless legally required. Furthermore, in good faith, the Career Services Center works only with those employers who subscribe to EEO guidelines. With regard to professional conduct of job seekers, employers and career centers throughout the recruiting process, the Career Services Center abides by the principles set forth by the National
Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

Handshake Disclaimer:

By agreeing to the Handshake terms and conditions when logging into your Handshake account, students and alumni and others who use the system are agreeing to allow their personal and professional information, e.g., name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, degree, etc., they provide, to be accessed by UCM's Career Services and approved employers seeking candidates for full-time/internship/part-time positions and volunteer opportunities.

Third Party Recruiter Policy:

In accordance with the NACE principles, the practice of the Career Services Center is to educate students regarding a wide variety of job search strategies, including third party employment services. Individuals can then determine whether utilizing these services will be of benefit to them. The Career Services Center does not investigate, endorse, or recommend any third party employment services.

Conditions:

By participating in these services, organizations agree that they will adhere to applicable federal and state EEO laws, regulations, standards, and guidelines, as well as the appropriate principles set forth by NACE, in all recruiting activities; that no fee will be charged to any candidate at any time; and that organizations will not disclose resumes or other applicant information under any circumstances to other entities without the applicant’s prior written consent. The Career Services Center reserves the right to discontinue services to students, alumni, and employers who have violated EEO and NACE guidelines.