On the GCC website in the section for Career Services, it says this, “In support of Genesee Community College’s mission and vision, Career Services is committed to providing assistance in navigating career and educational planning. Our office develops and sustains positive relationships with students, alumni, faculty, staff, employers, and our community members. These meaningful partnerships, in addition to customized educational experiences, are designed to coach, prepare, and support individuals to become a career confident citizen in the global work environment.” The key phrase from that statement was, “Our office develops and sustains positive relationships with students and faculty,” and their office was doing just that by Jamie Edwards, a Career Services Specialist, coming into Mr. Dudkowski’s Professional Sales class this past Friday to talk with our class.

Freshman, Kourtney Shearer, invited Jamie to come in and speak with our Professional Sales class about Career Services and what they do. Doing this presentation was a way for the Career Service office to develop and sustain positive relationships’ with the students in the class along with the fabulous, Professor Dudkowski. Jamie had a wealth of knowledge that she shared with our class about the services available to students and how we can best take advantage of the wonderful opportunities offered to us by Career Services.

There is so many opportunities offered by this office. One of them being Purple Briefcase. This is an amazing website for any GCC student to participate in. This website allows you to create a visual resume. You can virtually get in contact with businesses who participate with Purple Briefcase and explore the job opportunities around in a efficient manner. Along with the resume there is other parts to the website, such as the job bulletin, that allows you to search through all available job posts. You can easily apply and learn about the company by clicking on there posted profile. Also there are career tests you can take which will evaluate your strengths. weaknesses, and interests to narrow your career choices to ones that best fit you.

The information Jamie provided us was invaluable and will definitely help GCC students apply and get jobs or internships during and after their GCC career. Along with Purple Briefcase, Jamie’s job responsibilities include, but are not limited too:

• Providing career orientation, job placement, and the advisement of students and community members
• Coordinating job placement functions including job fairs, maintain a job bank, and employer on campus recruitment
• Designing and implementing workshops, career networking events, and opportunities for students that promote career exploration and job search strategies

After Jamie presented the information, we were able to ask her questions about the programs and her job. A student asked what her favorite part of her job was and her response was, “working with the students.” A great response to go along with a fantastic presentation!

Guest Contributor Kourtney Shearer