After months of renovations, SRU’s Office of Career Education and Development is back in Bailey Library, after being located in Vincent Science Center last semester.
While the office layout remains the same, there have been changes made provided by the professionals in the facility. The Career Education and Development Office will also be adding a new program starting in April called “Junior Job Jolt”. The program will help students in their junior year prepare for career fairs rather than having them wait until their senior year at the last minute.
“We wanted the office to look even more crisp, professional and corporate-like, so that when employers visit-and our number of employers are increasing sharply- they have the impression of the high level of graduates we produce at SRU,” John Rindy, the director of the Career Education and Development Office said,
Some of the physical changes to the office include new carpeting, new ceilings, brighter and more energy efficient lighting, the conversion of some cubicle offices to real, private offices for more private career discussions with students, new ADA compliant entrance doors, a fresh new paint scheme and, soon to come, new signage that will include a list of the staff, just outside the office.
Students will notice new welcoming features in the upcoming weeks that will amplify the professional look of the office.
The last upgrade the Career Education and Development Office received is the dedication of two small rooms in the library that is referred to as “OCR rooms.” OCR known as on-campus recruitment.
In the past, the Career Education office had to ‘borrow’ space in other buildings including the Smith Student Center, to Carruth Rizza, to the Alumni House.
“When interviews are being held all over campus, that takes one of our career coaches out of commission as they have to run all over campus to tend to these employers-it was not ideal and not good employer service in my estimation,” Rindy said.
The Career Education and Development office now has three interview rooms, one outside the front door and two just outside the back door. On the days when they have four or five employers at the same time, they can also block off the group study rooms on the second floor of the library and reserve them for job interviews as well.
“We are delighted to have dedicated access to some rooms and flexible access to others and are so pleased with all of the cooperation we have received from Jen Bartek, our library manager and the other faculty and staff members in Bailey Library,” Rindy said. “They are wonderful neighbors and are supportive of students’ career development in so many ways, and it starts with being great friends and partners with our office.”
