Center for Career & Professional Development

The mission of the Center for Career & Professional Development (CCPD) is to offer relevant and timely career development training to ±«Óãtv students. The Center provides opportunities for students to explore career options, obtain career-related experience and to research and find meaningful employment appropriate to their knowledge, abilities, aspirations and interests. The CCPD website provides resources for students and alumni to research career options, explore job postings, apply for actual positions, learn more about career-related subjects and view activities and events offered by the Center for Career and Professional Development.

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    CCPD Mission and Values

    The Center for Career & Professional Development accomplishes its mission by providing students with

    • Opportunities to learn and implement lifelong career development and career management skills through courses, workshops, seminars and online career resources
    • Opportunities to network with recruiters through campus interviewing, career fairs, employer information sessions and online career management software
    • Experiential learning opportunities through mentoring, internships, externships, informational interviews, etc.

    The CCPD core values:

    • We are committed to empowering students to make purposeful career-related decisions.
    • We are committed to building and fostering partnerships with employers, faculty, staff and administration to facilitate the accomplishment of the CCPD mission.
    • We are committed to supporting the University's mission to provide excellent student-centered education in a welcoming and supportive environment.
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    Career Services

    The Center for Career & Professional Development offers many services that will assist undergraduate students in making career choices appropriate to their personal goals. The resources and services offered can assist graduate students in the development of a plan to advance or change their career.

    Handshake

    The online recruitment system provides ±«Óãtv students and alumni with access to thousands of part-time, internship, and career job postings. A Job Agent can be created to alert you by email when new employment opportunities are posted in the system.

    Handshake Benefits

    • Upload a current resume to apply for job opportunities
    • Create a Job Agent to receive notification of new employment opportunities
    • Track and manage job search activities
    • Access career development resources
    • View and register for upcoming career development/job search workshops and career fairs
    • Schedule an appointment with a CCPD career advisor/coach

    Self-Directed Career Resources

    The CCPD website contains resources to assist ±«Óãtv students and alumni with a self-directed career search. The site contains information, links and articles on career development and planning; job search, resume tips; and provides additional online links to employment resources available on the Internet. The site has everything from "What can I do with this major?" to interactive personality/interest inventories (Focus 2), to resume writing tutorials, practice interviews (Big Interview), to salary negotiation and a link to the occupational outlook handbook.

    Career Advising/Coaching

    Career advisors assist students and alumni in determining the best career options for their interests, career goals, values and personality types. Career advisors are available to assist with job search skills, salary and employment trend information. The Advising appointments can be made through or contacting the center by email careerlink@udmercy.edu or by phone 313-993-1017.

    Career Development & Job Search Workshops

    The CCPD staff and/or professionals in the field facilitate workshops and career information panels on a variety of career and job search related topics including resume writing, job search strategies, self-assessment and interviewing skills. Workshops are open to all ±«Óãtv students and alumni. The current event schedule is available on .

    Networking Opportunities

    The CCPD coordinates several career networking opportunities for students and alumni. Expos allow students and alumni to meet representatives from companies in their industry of choice and to establish a network of contacts. Annual expos include the Fall Career Fair and the Spring Career Fair.

    On-Campus Interviews are scheduled in fall and winter with employers recruiting for cooperative education, entry-level and experienced employment opportunities. Employer Information Sessions are often held prior to Campus Interviewing to familiarize applicants with the employer. Practice interviews help students prepare for the actual interview and are conducted by actual employers or by retired ±«Óãtv alumni executives. Big Interview software allows students to use web-cameras to practice interviews at their convenience.

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    Experiential Education

    Experiential education is an umbrella term for student work and academic integration. Participation in the experiential education program is a privilege extended to those students who meet certain criteria and who demonstrate their ability through their initial academic work. Experiential education opportunities may be classified by the employer as cooperative education, paid or unpaid internship, or student employment.

    • Student employment is defined as part-time/seasonal jobs on or off campus. The position must be related to the student's major or career goal. Some students may be able to use financial aid work-study awards for off-campus employment in designated non-profit agencies.
    • Internships are defined as one-time work or service experiences related to the student’s major or career goal. During the internship, students work in professional settings under the supervision and monitoring of practicing professionals. Employers may offer paid or unpaid internships. (Note: The issue of pay is dictated by the Fair Labor Standards Act.)
    • Cooperative education (co-op) is defined as multiple periods of work related to the student’s major or career goal and typically alternate terms of full-time classroom study with terms of full-time, discipline-related employment. Virtually all co-op positions are paid and the vast majority involves some form of academic credit.

    The CCPD provides opportunities for students to network with employers to secure experiential education opportunities via job postings on the online recruitment database, campus interviews, employer information sessions, sponsored career fairs, and announcements about other area career networking events.

    Students in all majors are strongly encouraged to participate in an experiential education program. Students in Architecture, Business Administration (5-year accelerated), and Engineering may be required to participate in experiential education.

    CCPD Coordinated Experiential Education

    Students in programs that do not require co-op or do not have an internship component may complete two to three academic work terms through the Center for Career and Professional Development. Students seeking academic credit through the CCPD for co-op/internship work terms must register for the appropriate course during the semester they engage in the learning experience. The Center for Career and Professional Development does not provide academic credit retroactively.

    Participants must be "full-time" matriculating students carrying a minimum of 12 academic credit hours during the fall and winter semesters. Students must successfully complete the Cooperative Education Preparation (CEC 3000) course; meet the minimum grade point average requirement and coursework appropriate for their major.

    Because experiential education integrates work with classroom training, students in non-required programs will not be allowed to enroll for credit through the CCPD in the final semester of study.

    NOTE: Students in required experiential education programs in Architecture, Business Administration and Engineering should follow guidelines and policies of those schools/colleges.

    International Students & Experiential Education

    International students are subject to the same prerequisites as all other ±«Óãtv students who wish to participate in cooperative education. International students should be aware that many employers may have citizenship requirements that exclude opportunities for international students. ISO will certify international students who have requested permission to complete an experiential education work term with the Center for Career and Professional Development and with the Department of Homeland Security.

    International students in required experiential education in Architecture, Business Administration and Engineering should follow guidelines and policies of those schools/colleges.