Now is the time for students to begin looking for a job or summer internship. Many companies are actively recruiting Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder students for a variety of positions. Your student can find support and resources from Career Services to help in their search. 

Use Handshake  

Your student’s Handshake account is an effective job search tool and the main job search platform used by Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder. Career Services has customized tips and keyword searches for students to use to help maximize their search. They can use filters and set up saved searches with criteria that match their interests to receive email notifications when employers post new positions that match their search. 

Your student can benefit from completing their Handshake profile to showcase their skills and experiences. Students with a more are more likely to get job recommendations matching their skills, experience and preferences, and employers can contact them directly about available opportunities. They can also use Handshake’s AI tool, Coco, to ask questions like: Where are interesting places to work in the Denver area? What industries are currently in high demand for people with my skills? 

Plan to attend career fairs   

Students can find opportunities and connect with employers at career fairs this spring. Career fairs are free online and in-person events where your student can network and meet with recruiters who are hiring. 

Encourage your student to review the schedule of upcoming career fairs and mark their calendar for the ones they’re interested in attending. They can sign up to participate on Handshake and check the list of employers attending.  

Students with complete Handshake profiles have a better chance of meeting one-on-one with employers at virtual fairs. Students can review these steps to complete their Handshake profiles and make sure they’re on the ‘public’ setting so employers can view them.    

Work on application materials  

Students need to act fast when they find an internship or job posting of interest to them. It can help to create a template resume and cover letter with their experience, skills and accomplishments. These core documents give them a starting point to tailor their experience and examples for each application. They can save time and focus more on adapting their documents rather than starting from scratch each time.  

Your student can review tips from Career Services on how to perfect their resume and personalize their cover letter. These documents usually make the first impression with potential employers, so encourage your student to take the time to represent themself well.    

Meet with others  

Your student may feel like they don’t have a professional network yet, but they may be surprised to know they already have one. Their network includes previous employers, supervisors, advisors, professors, family friends—anyone who has supported their career growth or has the potential to do so. Now is a great time for your student to reconnect and see if anyone in their network knows of upcoming opportunities.  

Your student can also build professional relationships with others in their field of interest. They can join the Forever Buffs Network to connect with Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder alumni. These connections can help with resume feedback and interview preparation. And some may be open to informational interviews or mentoring. Your student’s LinkedIn profile can help them build their network and find opportunities throughout their professional career.   

Start today  

Job and internship searching can feel intimidating, but if your student spends 10 minutes four times a week on their search, those small bits of time will add up. Sometimes, students may talk themselves out of applying if they don’t think they meet all the qualifications listed in the description. If they’re interested in a position and believe they can do it well, they can apply—even if they don’t meet every item on the list. Most employers will interview candidates if they meet most of their criteria.  

It can take some time for your student to find an internship or job that’s right for them. Encourage them to be patient and persistent and remind them that Career Services is here to help every step of the way.   

For more tips, your student can check out weekly programs and workshops from Career Services. These free workshops will share best practices for finding internships, preparing for career fairs and more. 

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Developing friendships in college can benefit your student’s quality of life and create more opportunities to them have fun and develop a sense of belonging. One way your student can make friends this semester is to get involved and find people with similar interests and passions. Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder offers many programs, organizations and other ways to connect and build relationships. 

Here are a variety of interests your student can explore. They can also check out other ways to meet Buffs with similiar hobbies for more ideas to get involved and meet people. 

Travel

Does your student love to travel, explore new cities or learn about new cultures? Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder offers ways to travel during college based on their interests. There are options for different budgets and timeframes. 

• The  program includes hundreds of programs across the globe, with options ranging from two weeks to entire semesters. . 
• Students can join a student organization with opportunities to travel. Whether they enjoy sports, outdoor adventure, performing arts or comedy, many student orgs on campus travel to compete, perform or volunteer. 
• Outdoor Pursuits offers resources to help students plan their next adventure, including personalized recommendations, camping meal ideas, equipment rentals and guidebooks. 

Food and cooking

Is your student a foodie who loves to try new cuisines, or do they love to cook and master recipes? They can connect with fellow food lovers to dine or learn new cooking skills. 

• Students can sign up to attend . This free cooking class teaches how to prepare a new recipe or apply new culinary skills. 
• Students can join a student organization focused on food like Cooking Through Cultures, Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØCooking Club or Food Not Bombs.  
• An on-campus job in Campus Dining Services offers students a way to earn money while working in food service. 
• Students can volunteer to serve others in need of food assistance through the Buff Pantry.

Skiing and hiking

Colorado is known for its outstanding skiing and hiking locations. If your student loves to get outdoors and be active, there are countless ways they can get involved and meet new people. 

• Students can sign up for a day or overnight hiking or backpacking trip through Outdoor Pursuits. 
• The Ski Bus takes students to different resorts on the Ikon Pass to ski on select Saturdays this spring. 
• Students can join a student organization focused on skiing or hiking like Boulder Freeride, Backcountry Club at Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØor Hiking Club at CU. 

Music

Whether your student enjoys singing, playing an instrument, checking out the latest band or taking in a classical music performance, there are opportunities to explore musical interests at Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder. 

• Program Council and  offers live music events for students to attend. 
• Students can join a student organization focused on musical performance like Renova New Music Ensemble, Bluegrass Jam and Folk Club or Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØJam Society. 
• Students can take a class through the College of Music for students not pursuing a music degree like piano, voice, heavy metal, world music and more.

Gaming

Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder has an extensive gaming community with gamers at various levels. Your student can find a gaming community here, from competitive esports to casual games with friends. 

• Students can check out the new Alienware Buffalo Esports and Gaming Lounge in the University Memorial Center. 
• The Connection holds  most Wednesdays throughout the semester for students. 
• Students can join a student organization focused on gaming like Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØGaming, Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder Esports or Super Smash Brothers CU.  

Community service

Does your student love serving others or promoting their passion for a specific cause? Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder offers students many ways to make a difference and support the campus and Boulder communities. 

• Students can check out the Volunteer Resource Center (VRC) for opportunities to volunteer on campus or in the local community. The VRC offers one-time, short-term, long-term and group projects. 
• Students can join a student organization focused on community service like Be the Match on Campus, Collar Scholars or Project Kind.   
• Students can explore student leadership opportunities where they can influence change and make a difference for the campus community.

Connecting with others and building relationships can add value to your student’s college experience. The Center for Student Involvement aims to help students succeed and grow within a vibrant campus community.  

Students can also  to learn about more on-campus opportunities that match their interests.  

Your student can check out  to explore student organizations or start their own. The events calendar lists upcoming events of all kinds to help students find more ways to get involved. 

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In recent months, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a hot topic in the news. The advancing technology impacts different areas of your student’s life, including career development and the job search process. Tools like ChatGPT can help your student’s job and internship search; however, there are clear limitations. Remind your student that AI is a tool to help rather than to take over the entire process. They still need to ensure their uniqueness comes through in application materials and interviews.

AI is a powerful and accessible tool that can level the playing field in the job and internship search. Candidates who want to enhance their documents, preparation and communication can use AI to present themselves as organized and prepared.

Resume writing

It takes time and effort for students to tailor their resume to each position. A strong resume has succinct and compelling bullet points that reflect their experience. AI can guide students through the process. ChatGPT can suggest keywords, data points and relevant skills that mirror the language used in the job description. It can also identify unique experiences and transferable skills tied to specific job responsibilities and requirements.

While AI tools can help students write their resumes, the tools have limitations. AI tools make recommendations based on industry trends and norms, which could differ for the company or position your student is pursuing. Plus, the tools can only include the information provided. Your student should look for irregularities, details that don’t align with specific experience and repetitive information before submitting a resume generated through AI.

Career Services offers free access to an online resume review tool (VMock,) that leverages data science, machine learning and natural language processing to provide personalized resume feedback. Students can also review resume best practices offered by Career Services.

Cover letter customization

Writing effective cover letters can be tricky and time-consuming. Generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, can speed up the writing process. However, your student can’t rely on AI tools to do all of the work. While they can use AI to write cover letters, they must edit and personalize their letters to create a genuine and professional end product. To generate the prompt in ChatGPT, they’ll need the job or internship description, their polished and well-organized resume and a cover letter template.

Once your student has generated cover letters, they should edit them for accuracy and ensure the content is relevant to the job they are applying for. Remember, AI tools can make spelling mistakes and other typos.

Your student can also check out cover letter writing tips from Career Services.

Create effective emails

During the job search process, your student will likely need to communicate with potential employers using email. We recommend responding to emails from an employer within 24 hours. Identifying what to write and what not to include can feel overwhelming, especially if your student is not used to writing professional emails. ChatGPT can be helpful when they’re under pressure, have writer’s block or want to ensure they communicate professionally.

Students can ask the AI tool how to respond to an email subject. However, direct communication by email requires a personalized response. Your student will want to ensure the tone of the response matches the intent of the email. AI can be used as a guide or starting point for an email response but requires proofreading for accuracy and relevance.

Prepare for interviews

Answering interview questions can be challenging, especially for your student’s first few interviews. They may not know what interview questions to expect or how to answer them best. ChatGPT and Interview Prep help students practice and prepare for interviews before arriving so they feel more confident. 

Students can prompt ChatGPT with a job or internship description and ask for sample interview questions for that position. It’s important to remember that humans and not AI will conduct their interviews. While AI-generated responses are helpful, they cannot replace your student’s creative and thoughtful interview responses.

Career Services offers an online tool to help your student practice interviewing (Interview Prep). They can also work with a career advisor to practice and prepare for interviews. Your student can schedule time with a Career Services advisor.

Understanding how companies use AI

At the 2023 career fair, employers shared their opinions about using AI in the workforce.

Many companies have started using AI to assist with the hiring process, including reviewing resumes, writing job descriptions and providing hiring insights. Some companies are now looking for candidates with the skill and experience to use AI. 

The bottom line is that many companies will use AI in some parts of their operations or hiring process. As AI improves exponentially, more companies will use it to solve problems and gain a competitive edge.

Take the job search to the next level

We are in an experimental phase of AI adoption with massive room for advancement. AI will begin to span all industries and embody existing technologies in unimaginable ways. Your student can benefit from learning how to leverage AI technology today.

Career Services is here to help your student learn how to use AI effectively for their job or internship search. We are available to meet with them, answer questions, provide resources and offer training to support their career goals.

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