Once a Maverick, Always a Maverick

Over the last five months, COVID-19 has affected just about every aspect of life as we know it. One of the most severely impacted areas is the labor market. The United States economy has lost an unprecedented number of jobs, shattering all previous unemployment records—even those of the Great Depression.

One center on campus has been working diligently to help Minnesota State University, Mankato students and alumni with the tremendous job losses that have occurred: the Career Development Center (CDC).

When the CDC realized what was happening, it sprang into action to brainstorm what it could do to aid students and alumni during this time. The Center recognized that there are many unique challenges related to careers and job searching during a global pandemic. As a result, the CDC went to work and gathered lists of employers still hiring, pandemic specific career resources and job searching tips for students and alumni that has continuously been updated with new information.

The Center’s website provides information on scheduling individual appointments to go over resumes, cover letters and LinkedIn profiles. Students and new graduates can also sign up for practice interviews, graduate school planning and career assessments to guide them with their next career move.

The CDC has made a point to specifically reach out to all Maverick alumni through email communication, as well, to make sure they know that the office is available to help.

“We know that many of our Maverick alumni and their families have been impacted by job loss, and we thought it was important to remind our alumni that we are here to help and share some resources that are available through the University,” says Pamela Weller, the director of the Career Development Center.

Since then, the Center has been actively working to provide any information that could be beneficial, like which employers are still hiring and which are experiencing job freezes, how to get hired remotely and jobs skills needed to succeed in a post corona-virus world. The CDC wants to make sure that alumni know that even though they have graduated, they are still a part of the Maverick family and the University is still a resource for them.

“The mission of the Career Development Center is to ‘educate, equip and empower students and graduates to successfully explore, develop, and manage their career paths for a lifetime.’ We care about the well-being and success of our graduates,” says Weller.

As a result of COVID-19, the Center has transitioned the bulk of its resources, programs and services to an online delivery method. A huge benefit of this is that students and alumni can now access office resources 24/7 from wherever they are located. Many great career resources can be found on their website here to help during this unprecedented time.