By Danielle Young
From Compass
Tucked away on the fifth floor of Baker University Center is an office that all Bobcats – past and present – should engage with early and often in their academic careers and even after they graduate.
Ohio University’s Career and Leadership Development Center (CLDC) strives to ensure the success of OHIO students, supplementing their academic studies with online resources and year-round programs aligned with OHIO’s mission of fostering alumni who become global leaders. From career and leadership coaching to mock interviews, workshops and online resources, the center, its staff and its programs are available to all OHIO students and alumni.
“Our mission is to empower students to be proactive in their career and leadership development during college, and to provide support as they develop as professionals,” said Erika Peyton, the CLDC’s assistant director for employer relations and marketing.
The CLDC kicked off the new academic year with a revamped website. Providing Bobcats an expanded and easier to navigate menu of online resources and a calendar of CLDC events, the website provides an overview of services and resources while encouraging students to engage directly with the office.
Among its new online resources is Career Tools, an online searchable database of career development information and trending topics. The database offers information on everything from job searching to major and career exploration to graduate school preparation. In an effort to support diverse populations of students, the database also features information gathered specifically for international students, multicultural students, students with disabilities, LGBT students, and veteran and student service members.
The CLDC website also includes a valuable resource to any Bobcat seeking employment and internship opportunities. Bobcat CareerLink is a database that serves as a one-stop resource for students and alumni to store their resumes, cover letters, transcripts and other documents that simplify the process of applying for job and internship opportunities. It also serves as a place for Bobcats to access job and internship postings as the database is made available to employers who are interested in hiring Ohio University students.
In addition to its online resources, the CLDC’s staff offers several personalized programs designed to aid students in their professional development. Those programs include:
- Career Coaching. Providing students guidance on everything from job searching to preparing a resume to networking with potential employers, the CLDC’s Career Coaching is available to students five days a week. Ten-minute, no-appointment-needed drop-in career coaching is available from 11 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Thirty-minute, by-appointment sessions are available from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Mondays and from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays.
- Leadership Coaching. With a goal of helping students develop skills essential in any job, the CLDC’s Leadership Coaching consists of three, 30-minute appointments scheduled over the course of three weeks. Those appointments are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Mondays and from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays.
- Mock Interviews. An opportunity for students to hone their interview skills, the CLDC schedules mock interviews from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Mondays and from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. Appointments are necessary.
Among the center’s staff are two student employees who know firsthand the benefits of engaging with the CLDC.
Demari Muff recalled feeling a bit lost when he first visited the CLDC during his sophomore year. The center’s staff helped him develop professional development goals and even offered him a job, and today Muff, a senior majoring in journalism, serves as one of the CLDC’s student ambassadors.
“Go to the CLDC,” Muff advised his fellow Bobcats. “If you are uncertain about what you want to do, in relation to your schoolwork or career, they can give you some direction.”
Sophomore Bailey Simons has used the CLDC’s resources, is entering her second year of employment with the center and is a Pepsi Scholar, a first-year, application-based scholarship program administered by the CLDC.
Simons said Bobcats shouldn’t let fear keep them from taking advantage of the CLDC’s resources, programs and staff.
“You can come in here with nothing,” Simons said. “Our staff is just so open-minded. … They really do care about all students and are more than willing to help. It doesn’t matter where you are in the process – as long as you start somewhere – and this is the perfect office to do that.”
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