Sree stepped foot into the cold of Cleveland for the first time in January of 2018. In search of a significant software engineering program, she stumbled upon CSU and traveled here from Bangalore, India.
She hit the ground running and began to gain experience from a few different on-campus jobs. Although gaining noteworthy experience, she was still searching for an opportunity where she could develop her professional and interpersonal skills in a more relevant way.
A friend of Sree’s was working in Career Services at the time and encouraged her to attend the Resume Rx event in February 2018. This was Sree’s first time being exposed to Career Services and the resources they offered, which she discovered included resume reviews, mock interviews, perspectives on different careers and advice for the job application process.
This compelled Sree to seek out a position with Career Services.
“What I like about the office is that this is something completely new to me being an international student. I like the idea that you can help students in their career search."
It’s good to know that there is a department that can help you with career assistance – that’s one of the main reasons that I wanted this job so badly.”
Sree’s Role at the office
Sree works with the rest of the Career Peers to run the front office and meet students and alumni needs. She started the position earlier than the rest of the team, so she was essential in training and educating the incoming Career Peers.
Sree is able to apply what she has learned from her coursework from computer science and software engineering to assist with any of the office’s technological needs. Some of her tasks include helping with Career Service’s Hire A Vike job board and generating data reports for the office.
She has served an important role in assisting IS&T with the transition to a new hosting software for Hire A Vike. They didn’t know what Career Services needed from the new software, so she was able to provide her insight about the necessary features to analyze data and improve the efficiency of the overall system.
Her Biggest Takeaway
“It is important to dedicate your time.”
Sree is juggling many things as a master’s student, working, and preparing for graduation in December. Sree noted that she would have so many things on her mind at once, and she struggled to stay on task. She learned that it was important for her to dedicate her 100% effort to one task at a time rather than multitasking.
“At one point I realized that [a way to] show my gratitude for having this job is by doing the tasks I am supposed to do in the best way possible. I feel like this is something I will really take away from working on campus.”
What should students know?
“We are not just a resume chop shop,” said Sree. “Don’t come to us at the end of the semester, please come to us as many times as you can and before the semester ends!”
What should international students know?
“Everyone should come to Career Services right from the beginning of the semester, but especially international students. They are here to get as much exposure as they can. They have traveled all the way from their home, leaving their home to come to a foreign country for better education, and Career Services is here to help them get the job they want or progress in their professional development—especially if some of our services aren’t well-implemented in their home countries.”
“We are just a call away”
Any light bulb moments for you?
“What really helped me was the mock interview. I was applying for a few summer internship positions, and when I actually got a call for an interview, I decided to schedule a mock interview for practice. That helped me to be more confident in my interview. I could see the difference.”
“I had practiced on my own by asking myself questions, practicing in the mirror, writing my responses, but getting feedback from the mock interview of what I needed to improve and what I was good at – that boosted my confidence. I would suggest everyone have a mock interview before going to an actual one.”
Sree will start the Fall 2019 semester as the Graduate Assistant for Career Services.
More about Sree
Sree obtained a Bachelors of Engineering in Computer Science from VTU in Bengaluru, India. She will graduate from Cleveland State with a Master of Science in Software Engineering in December 2019. Sree thinks she has a natural talent for cooking, but her mother is not so sure. She dreams to go on a cross country road trip in 2019.
More about Career Peers
A Career Peer’s role is to make sure the front end of the office runs smoothly by managing student, faculty, and employers’ requests via phone, email, and walk-ins. Career Peers serve as ambassadors to other students on behalf of the Career Services office, helping their peers understand all of the professional development tools, resources, and strategies they need to be successful as aspiring and evolving professionals.