Every student has a dream job in his or her mind and a vision for the future. Maybe the dream job is being a teacher or a nurse, or maybe it is having a novel published or running your own record label. CareerU can assist students in their path to greatness, whatever the ideal plan may be.
CareerU is a new, accessible online feature for Union students powered by Symplicity and the National Association of College and Employers (NACE) network, NACELink. It is a career management system that serves as a tool and allows its users to access over 4 million part-time, full-time and internship positions nationwide as well as on-campus Servant Leadership Program (SLP) positions. CareerU can serve as an effective way for students and alumni to connect with employers in order to network and search for job opportunities.
According to the NACE website, “the NACELink Network includes more than 700 participating college career centers, more than 3 million active employer contacts and more than 7.2 million active students and alumni.”
“As a member of the National Association of College and Employers, I have spent several years tracking the development of the NACELink system,” said Dr. Jacqueline Taylor, assistant dean of students and director of the Vocatio Center for Life Calling and Career. “During our January 2015 winter retreat, the Vocatio Center team participated in a demo of the system and tested the software throughout the spring semester.”
Ultimately the team unanimously decided to invest in the NACELink system, as it best tailored to student, faculty and employer partners’ needs, Taylor said.
The new CareerU system offers increased student data security, communication capabilities and career opportunities—more than 4 million worldwide. The system lets employers post their own positions throughout the year.
CareerU allows students to search by using a keyword, tag his or her favorite positions, be alerted by employers of his or her interests in student and alumni candidates and offer hiring process updates.
The system gives students single sign-on capability with Union’s portal, so students can easily log in to the system without having to create a new profile and remember an additional password. Each student can access CareerU by using his or her Union University email address and password.
“CareerU offers students the ability to upload their professional credentialing documents, manage all of their draft and finalized applications, participate in virtual recruitment and even schedule virtual chats with recruiting employers through the Virtual Recruitment fair, which allows students to register for workshops, information sessions, events and participate in résumé book referrals for employer review,” Taylor said. “Our sponsoring employers have access to our résumé book and will gladly follow up with students who qualify for their competitive employment opportunities.”
CareerU also allows students the opportunity to schedule counseling appointments online and can send out automatic counseling appointment reminders.
Students are encouraged to post his or her credentials—cover letter, portfolio documents and résumé—to CareerU for employer review and check the system daily to remain updated of the many opportunities available. CareerU provides students with the access they need in order to be proactive in their own life calling and career success.
“It has been a wonderful experience to implement a new system that is integrated and designed to promote connections between students and the Vocatio Center for professional development and intentional networking between students and employers that lead to challenging and competitive experiential learning and recruitment opportunities,” Taylor said. “CareerU is exciting, and we are confident that it will provide students with the access to ongoing life calling and career opportunities through the Union experience and after graduation.”
Taylor said ultimately, CareerU helps the Vocatio Center for Life Calling and Career to remain true to their mission: “to help students understand more clearly who God has uniquely created them to be and to assist them in discovering opportunities to live out their calling in service to others.”
CareerU may be accessed in this link: https://uu-csm.symplicity.com/students/
