On Wednesday 13th February, 2008, Dr Eugene Daniel President of the Caribbean Union Conference of SDA, delivered the feature address and declared open the Career Development Services Department (CDS) of the University the Southern Caribbean launched.

Among those attended were specially invited guest from the Banking and Insurance industries, Faculity , staff and students of the University.

Mrs Carol J. Daniel, Director of the Career Development Services Department Department in addressing the launch stated that the Department was established on July 1, 2007.

It is staffed with a Director and an Administrative Assistant, with the responsibility of advancing the academic vision of the University of the Southern Caribbean by educating and empowering enrolled students to make correct and fulfilling career decisions in a competitive and rapidly changing job market.

She emphasized that career counselling services are free and available to all current students and employees of the University.

Mrs Daniel explained that good career decision making involves the fruitful pursuit of self-knowledge, learning to know what motivates us, what abilities or aptitudes we possess and where we can best apply these skills/competencies. She noted that CDS assists students in cultivating career management skills as an integral part of their university learning experience.

These skills are achieved through ongoing experience and reflection: understanding oneself, interests, values, skills, and personality style. In essence, the goal of CDS is to help students navigate their career path, with poise and happiness, starting with choosing the right academic major, and subsequently, a befitting career.

Career development Services will assist in The following Areaas
Job Search
At some time, nearly all university students look for a job, whether it is part-time while in school, full-time after graduation or an internship to complete degree requirements. Efficient job hunting skills are essential in finding jobs today.

Special Career Workshops and Career Fairs
Throughout the year, the Career Development Services department will host workshops for USC students on a variety of career related topics. It will also sponsor a recruitment symposium on campus, whereby employers of different companies/businesses will be invited to the campus to talk to the seniors about jobs/job security and careers with their company.

Graduate School
Some students may want or need to follow up their under-graduate degree with a post-graduate degree to prepare for their chosen profession.

CDS will provide information on researching graduate schools and registering for graduate exams to assist these students.

Services Offered at CDS

• Confidential Individual Career Counselling
• How to prepare a Cover Letter
• Resume Writing (do’s and don’ts of resume writing). Why one need a résumé?
• Preparing for Interviews (do’s and don’ts of an interview) Understanding the Interview Process
• Mock Interviews: careful preparation for confidence, control and the ability to deal effectively with any questions asked at the interview.
• Dressing for the Interview.
• Job search assistance —Networking with employers, businesses and industries throughout the year, both on and off campus.
• Recruitment Symposium —CDS will host a yearly recruitment symposium whereby companies/industries will come on campus to interview graduating students
• Summer internship—Designed to give students the opportunity to undertake a professionally supervised and planned work experience that relates to their academic programme and career
• CDS Resource Library—A modest collection of career related books and information for students’ perusal.

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