UNC Charlotte University Career Center
Submitted by Denise Dwight Smith ddsmith@uncc.edu, Rebecca Cody, and April Gonzalez
UNC Charlotte, located in the second largest financial center in the country and the largest city in the
Carolinas, is uniquely positioned to help its undergraduate, alumni, and graduate students develop and
test out 21st-century UNC Tomorrow skills to incorporate into their career decision-making, planning,
internship, and full-time job searches .The mission of UNC Charlotte’s University Career Center (UCC) is
to provide a comprehensive approach to career preparation and development with experiential learning
as a key component resulting in enhanced and engaged academic and life long career experiences for
students. The Center’s staff is committed to helping students connect with careers in all sectors and
locations-whether it be corporate, nonprofit, local, international, or government focused. In recent
years, the UCC has been recognized by students and colleagues for its service to students through
election into the Golden Key National Honor Society and Phi Kappa Phi. Central to student success, over
92% of the 2010 traditional undergraduate population are graduating with university sanctioned career
related experience; over 1,500 students participated in the University Career Center Experiential
Learning programs and over 560 Experiential Learning Courses were offered at UNC Charlotte (i.e., the
Career Center tracks these as a central coordinating unit and provides support to faculty incorporating
internships into their courses). The University provides five unique experiential learning programs, two
of which are administered by the Center. One of the programs, named appropriately the 49ership after
the 49ers, provides flexible transcript notation options to traditional internships for credit. Other realworld learning experiences in the region occur through the Career Prospector individual and career site
visit job shadowing program.
To students, the UCC is a “one-stop shop” for work, service, and internships which is ideally located next
to the main library. Never have the programs within this academic student service- the UCC’s seven
annual career fairs, NinerJobNet job database, experiential learning program, Twitter and Facebook
presence, peer career assistant coaching, and online career tools and information – been so important
until the current recession rocked the job market for college graduates and affected the way current
students view major and career planning. The UCC is also uniquely positioned in Academic Affairs
Academic Services unit shared by the Honors College, Athletic Advising, Office of Disability Services,
University Center for Academic Excellence, Multicultural Academic Services and in close alliance with
academic advising, freshman seminar programs, learning communities, student affairs, and university
relations. The director of the center is the university's academic liaison to NC Campus Compact bringing
faculty and staff together monthly to discuss initiatives and practices that incorporate service learning as
part of the classroom curriculum, better positioning students interested in service careers. Students
rated service and corporate related 49er ships as providing them with a better understanding of their
career fields and has contributed to their career decision making (4.71 on a 5pt scale). Participants also
indicated that they were more motivated to stay in school as result of the experience (4.68 ); thus, the
UCC services have a significant impact on retention. According to the postgraduate surveys, more
students who participated in Experiential Learning reported: Employment before graduation, working in
fields related to their major, higher GPAs, and more satisfied with their full-time career positions. Lastly,
almost 90% of employers surveyed indicated that they would hire one of our Co-op or 49ership students
for a full-time position if available. Students, earning $10.85 to over $17 an hour report satisfaction with
their position (90%). The center works closely with the UCC Employer Advisory Board and top
experiential learning employers include NC State Government, Wachovia/ Wells Fargo, Bank of America,
TIAA-CREF, Carolinas Healthcare, The Mint Museum, Time Warner Cable, General Electric, Duke Energy
Corp., Lowe’s Companies, Inc., FBI, Microsoft, Vanguard, BB & T, Family Dollar Stores, Blumenthal
Performing Arts Center, Charlotte Bobcats, Food Lion, and US Marshals.
In response to the current job market, not only has the UCC continued to offer students tools for the job
search through individual career advising and ongoing programming, but it has also sought to offer
students network connections, hope in the face of negative media, and encouragement to stay engaged
in the job search and career development process. A personalized letter regarding the job market was
even sent to parents. Other special opportunities led by our graduate students in counseling help
students cope in a down economy through our job search groups for seniors stuck in their job search
and in need of ideas, encouragement, and accountability. In these groups, students explore what career
fits best, develop job search skills, uncover the hidden job market, learn how to manage stress, and
become effective communicators. Increasingly more students have also engaged in our self-assessment
programs which assist students in focusing in on their 21st-century skills identification which helps in
internship site targeting and interviewing for all types of positions. Traditional on-campus recruiting
programs and targeted corporate strategic internship partnerships are important vehicles for connecting
students with employment opportunities. Career Center staff is integral to supporting these
partnerships and serve on the University-wide Corporate Relations Strategic Task Force which looks at
ways the community can best work with our varied programs. University Career Center staff has
strategic goals to conduct site visits and engage daily with employers as key partners, and have provided
active support for the Chamber of Commerce in attracting new companies to the region. External
activity to assist students in the job search includes over 36,500 student resumes being directly referred
to employers for full-time, post-graduation opportunities, internships and co-ops; 2,500 on-campus
interviews being conducted at the center and through Career Expos; as well as 450 in-house employer
consultations. 93% of students indicated that as a result of participating in the recruiting program, they
are more motivated to take action toward their career plans while 93% of students indicated that the
experience increased their knowledge base of careers. 97% of employers indicated planning to offer
second interviews to students as result of on-campus interviews.
The “2008 Great Recession” has brought an increase in questions like “what should I be doing right now
to help my chances for success?” from students, and as a last example offered, the UCC Career Success
Certificate Program is a prescribed recommendation for each student on which services, programs, and
events offered by the UCC (and across campus) can help them through specific stages in their career
planning. Along with helping students develop the skills they will need for a positive transition from
campus to career, the Career Success Certificate helps dispel the myth that career planning is something
tied to the senior year. Eventually, the UCC hopes to use the success stories, similar to those which
follow, of our first certificate program graduates to inspire future students embarking on job and
internship searches.
Student Success Stories: 49ership Success
Vishrut
Konijeti
Experience Type:
49ership Success
Major:
Computer Science
Employer:
Verian Technologies
Student Quote:
This was my first work
experience off-campus, and
it is has been very
beneficial. I am learning a
lot of new things and
updating my skills. I never
knew that Open Source was
so widely used by industry
and the depth of this
resource. An internship is a
must for any student. You
develop a whole new
perspective versus what is
studied and how it is
applied.
Job Description:
R & D Intern
Mandeep Gill
Student Quote:
The most valuable part of my experience was working independently on projects and
being a fully integrated member of TIAA-CREF. My communications classes helped
when I made recruiting phone calls for conference speakers.
Experience Type:
Service Learning 49ership Success
Major:
Job Description:
Researching guest speaker biographies for conferences; writing research reports for
presentation to supervisor.
Communication Studies
Employer:
TIAA-CREF
Jessica Schlegel
Experience Type:
49ership Success
Major:
Marketing
Employer:
Bobcats Sports & Entertainment
Student Quote:
I loved my internship site, the opportunity to work with other people, and interact in a
professional work environment. I believe that an internship gives you real life job
experience and is a valuable learning tool. I would recommend the Experiential
Learning Program and my internship site, Bobcats Sports & Entertainment to other
students.
Job Description:
Title: Premium Sales Intern-Assisted the Premium Sales Team by researching other
teams, providing tours to prospective clients and with special events such as the
Charlotte Jumper Classic