Notre Dame College has launched a virtual internship and career fair curated especially for its students.
The College’s Career Services Center has created a new website at CollegeToCareer.org to serve current, future and former Falcons, following the cancellation of Notre Dame’s annual spring hiring exposition due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The online service allows Notre Dame students to search for jobs and other work experience opportunities tailored to their majors. All postings have been vetted in advance to confirm they remain active and have been advertised for 30 days or fewer.
Career Services team prequalifies students before linking them to opportunities, too, so employers can be confident in the match.
“This is a concierge service for employers as well as for students. It allows us to provide better preparation for our students to express their abilities in direct connection with positions available,” said Bill Leamon, internship coordinator at the College. “This is a really good way to leverage opportunities from partners of ours who have reached out to us and say they want Notre Dame students.”
More than 75 employers were scheduled to recruit Notre Dame students at the College’s annual Career and Internship Fair on campus in March. These organizations and even more now are connecting directly with Notre Dame’s career team to hire students during this new social distancing climate.
The center also is serving an increasing number of alumni who may be experiencing challenges due to the COVID-19 effects on the economy.
The CollegeToCareer.org site even has spawned virtual sessions between employers and students in which companies can outline their missions and positions and talk to the prospective employees one-on-one in video conference meetings.
“Our team has established relationships with many employers and are connecting with new ones. This virtual service is not only about meeting these employers’ needs but also provides multiple branches in service of our students and alumni,” said April Kennedy, certified career coach and coordinator of the work-study program at Notre Dame.
Personalized Resource
The CollegeToCareer.org online resource is right in time for the Notre Dame Class of 2020, graduating seniors whose career searches may have been delayed due to the social distancing and stay-at-home orders that have caused some businesses to downsize or even close and have limited opportunities for in-person job interviews.
Additionally, the personalized portal is an essential service for sophomores and juniors earning a Bachelor of Arts at Notre Dame, who are required to complete an internship to fulfill their degree requirements.
The College career team is in process of adding access to work-study options in its portfolio of virtual service offerings.
Virtual Offerings
The innovative use of virtual technology for career services includes internship orientations. More students than attend on-campus sessions tend to tune in via video conference, according to Leamon.
The Career Services team continues to provide interview coaching, reviews resumes and application letters and facilitates career interest assessments for underclass students who may be undecided in their majors—all through technology.
The Career Services Center also continues to teach a career success course via virtual delivery.
“We have built lasting relationships with students. We just needed to change the modality of our contact,” said Franceska Jones, career coach with the Notre Dame Career Services Center.
Family Atmosphere
Notre Dame is known not only for its individual attention and personal touch, but also for its family atmosphere, which continues with career services even through these virtual means.
In addition to the customer service orientation for students’ career planning, the team’s connections with graduates from this year or past years and with current and even newly admitted students include attention to their overall well-being. The Career Center connects students with other services at the College, ranging from counseling to campus ministry, as needed.
“We address the personalized immediate career needs of our students and make sure they are holistically prepared for all of their opportunities,” Kennedy said.
April 2020
About Notre Dame College
For almost a century, Notre Dame College has educated a diverse population in the liberal arts for personal, professional and global responsibility. Founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1922, the College has grown strategically to keep pace with the rapidly changing needs of students and the dramatic changes in higher education. But it has never lost sight of its emphasis on teaching students not only how to make a good living but also how to live a good life.
Today, the College offers bachelor’s degrees in 30 disciplines plus a variety of master’s degrees, certification programs and continuing and professional development programs for adult learners on campus and online. Notre Dame College offers NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletic programs for men and women and is located in a picturesque residential neighborhood just 25 minutes from the heart of Cleveland. Hallmarks of the Notre Dame experience include stimulating academics, personalized attention of dedicated faculty and staff, and small class sizes.
Notre Dame College is located at 4545 College Road in South Euclid. For further information contact Brian Johnston, chief communications officer, at 216.373.5252 or bjohnston@ndc.edu.