UW’s career services guide the way from classroom to career

When Zoey Ci Kue arrived at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she was "very headstrong" in pursuing medical school. But after her first semester of classes, she was already questioning her future. Now the senior legal studies major is instead preparing for law school after she graduates this spring. Thanks to the on-campus resources that helped her navigate this major shift, she's as confident as ever in her new career path.

Zoey's journey began with an appointment at the Career Exploration Center (CEC), an office dedicated to helping students from all schools and colleges explore majors and careers that align with their interests.

By working with CEC director Michelle Jackson, Zoey was able to explore her passions and interests and find a major and career path that fit. When she landed an internship with the governor's office a couple years later, it sealed the deal that she had found her way.

Zoey credits that initial meeting with the CEC with giving her the confidence boost she needed to explore a new career path.

"You're your worst critic, and I felt like they still saw the potential in me," said Zoey. "For that, I'm just so grateful."

"College is hard and at the end of the day, you don't need another person judging you and critiquing you," she added. "They were just really that network of support that I needed."

Spanning every academic area, career services offices at UW-Madison are guiding students like Zoey to their ideal majors - and giving them a big head start in their future careers.

'They're just friends helping you'

The Career Exploration Center is just one of more than 15 career services offices on campus. Many of these offices are housed in schools and colleges, and focus on supporting students enrolled in their majors. They offer all kinds of support, like one-on-one advising, Canvas courses or workshops to navigate career topics, tools to explore career paths, career treks to visit employers in the community, and events like career fairs and alumni panels.

"UW-Madison provides an incredible education, and we want to help students draw connections between their academic experiences and their future career goals," said Tara Milliken, Director for Institutional Career Services Strategy, who helps facilitate cooperation between career services units on campus. "Our large network of career offices do just that - they help ensure that all students find the career support and resources they need during their time as a Badger to prepare for life after graduation."

These offices try to offer a personal touch, which is exactly what Celine Cheng needed.

"They're not teachers, they're just friends helping you," said Celine. "And I feel like this is something all of us should know."

Celine is a senior majoring in consumer behavior and marketplace studies through the School of Human Ecology. She's an international student, and the summer before her senior year, she found a great internship that she was planning to use for course credit.

But after being accepted, she ran into a snag: The employer supervising her internship wasn't willing to sign off on the credits. That's when Celine turned to her career advisor in SoHE, Alex Seidenstricker.

Together, Alex, Celine, and Alicia Hazen, the Career Services Director at SoHE, got on a call with Celine's internship supervisor.

"The career advisors and the whole team in SoHE cared so much about my personal case," said Celine. It wasn't easy, but after a lot of back-and-forth, they worked out a solution with her internship supervisor. And Celine wound up with an A in the class.

Since then, she's stayed connected with the SoHE career center, scheduling meetings with her advisor and attending events.

Events form a major part of what all career centers offer. For instance, every year the College of Agricultural & Life Sciences, School of Business, School of Human Ecology, and SuccessWorks at the College of Letters & Science organize two All-Campus Career & Internship Fairs. The fall fair had over 230 registered employers, and the next one is coming up in February. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Career centers also host numerous smaller events throughout the year, including career fairs focused on specific industries, workshops on topics like resumes and interviews, panel discussions, and opportunities to network with employers and alumni.

'It was a relief'

Christopher Johns, a junior studying political science, knew he wanted to find an internship, and during a career fair his sophomore year, he found one - and not the way you'd expect.

"I saw [the recruiter] was having trouble setting up her table," he said. He offered to help, and the act of kindness led to a longer conversation.

She was recruiting for Baird, a financial company, and she introduced Christopher to the compliance internship. Christopher wasn't initially sure the internship would be a fit with his political science experience and interest in going to law school, but after some research, he decided to apply since he'd been curious about the world of finance. After a long interview process, he was accepted.

The internship was in Milwaukee, where he's from, so Christopher could live at home during the summer. But the cost of commuting to work was going to add up. To help offset the considerable expense, Christopher applied for funding from the SuccessWorks Internship Fund - and he got it.

"It was a relief for my mother and me," he said about discovering he received the scholarship. "Because just being in college it's challenging. Academically and financially."

Christopher appreciated the support that SuccessWorks offered.

"It's kind of hard navigating the whole college scene - the whole internship scene - especially when you're first generation and you're an underrepresented minority," he said. "Those resources aren't necessarily right in front of you or it's not your parents having friends who can help you."

"It's not something I dwell on," he adds. "But when these opportunities do come, and I do see them, I appreciate them for even existing."

And it's not just SuccessWorks that offers funding to support students pursuing internships. It's an opportunity offered by many career offices around campus, which can turn a possibility into a reality.

In the months since his internship ended, Christopher has been busy attending networking events such as "Political Science at Work" from SuccessWorks. He also secured another internship for the summer - this time in New York City. And once again, he's planning to apply for support to help offset the cost.

'Not just a one and done transaction'

Alisha Kulkarni has been on both sides of career services: advisee and advisor. She works as a career peer advisor at the Wisconsin School of Business. A senior planning to start her career in investment banking after graduating this December, she encourages all students to get connected early on.

"These people are here for your whole four years, not just like a one and done transaction kind of appointment," she said.

Alisha's first interaction with the Business School's Career Engagement Studio was her first year when she made an appointment to get feedback on her resume. She also used their support to land a job shadowing opportunity, practice interview skills, and work through the mental burden of career preparation.

"Being such a great business school, you can feel the pressure from other people," said Alisha. "Just being able to rationalize your thoughts and know that you're taking the right steps and you're doing everything right you just gotta keep working at - it was a big part for me."

Now Alisha helps students through those same challenges, offering a different perspective than the pro staff since she's been in their position so recently.

"You can learn so much from someone who's going through the same thing as you are," she said when asked about the value of peer career coaching.

It's important to feel like you have someone in your corner, and that's what every career office on campus sets out to do.

"I would definitely encourage that first interaction," said Alisha. "Schedule on Starfish and you won't regret it."

To get started with career services, find the career office that's right for you.

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