Career Center in Becker Hall

A message to parents

Dear parent of a Union student:

Making the transition from college to career, from full-time student to professional, is no small feat. It's an exciting, and often daunting, transition.

At the Becker Career Center, we're committed to helping students make that transition with all the grounding and skills a Union College liberal arts education provides. Our professional staff will guide them in developing confidence and independence while directing their passions toward fulfilling work.

This isn't something that happens overnight, or with just a few workshops or visits to our office. It's a process that entails self-reflection, exploration, planning and execution—steps students will revisit many times.

The Career Center prepares students for postgraduate success. At Union, we define success as employment, admittance to graduate school, fellowships and/or service. As importantly, we prepare students to lead both their professional and personal life with courage, empathy, and wisdom. As students prepare for their postgraduate endeavors, they will inevitably face a world of multiple tomorrows and will need to navigate the future of work.

Our goal is to educate students on the skill sets and competencies needed to manage a VUCA World:

Volatility

Uncertainty

Complexity

Ambiguity

We do this through one-on-one advising, workshops, collaborative programming, and a variety of resources.

The Career Center encourages families to engage with students to support their abilities to lead with courage, empathy, and wisdom. Together, we all contribute to preparing students for postgraduate success.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us.

The Becker Career Center Team

careercenter@union.edu

Union College Parent, Alumni in Residence (PAIR) Program

The Union College Career Center's Parent, Alumni in Residence (PAIR) program is a way to engage with Union students and assist with preparing them for the future of work. We invite you to mentor, present on a topic, facilitate discussions, workshops and/or a combination thereof. The program allows for flexibility including in-person or virtual meetings, and group presentations or meetings with individual students, or both.

Please complete this form to volunteer your experience and/or expertise in support of Union students! We will be in touch with you to discuss next steps.

Union College Parent, Alumni in Residence (PAIR Program) Volunteer Form

Career Center Signature Programs

UReady

UReady is a professional development co-curricular program designed to facilitate professional education, starting first-year fall. UReady integrates an innovative co-curricular application (success steps) within the program that synchronizes academic, personal, and professional development. Student participants are assigned “success steps” each term. Students explore and reflect on their community involvement, experiential learning, course experiences, and learn to articulate their value proposition to employers, fellowship advisors, and/or graduate schools.

SparkLab

SparkLab is an entrepreneurship program designed to help students gain the knowledge needed to bring a business idea to market. Participants are mentored by alumni and employers and will learn basic business principles, receive information on how to launch a new venture, hone presentation skills and more - all while competing for a chance to earn start-up capital.

GarnetGrove

The Career Center’s GarnetGrove platform increases interaction between and among students, alumni, parents, faculty, and community leaders. GarnetGrove fosters communities around existing student and alumni groups. Moreover, through technology, we have created and are currently positioning specific engagement opportunities for international students, academic divisions, housing communities, alumni associations, and athletics. GarnetGrove also builds communities around DEI work and a network for regional stakeholders (local municipalities, chambers of commerce and businesses) to contribute to both student and alumni professional development while providing a pipeline of talent to local enterprises.

Additional Career Center Programming

Career Advising
Career Advisors meet with students to review resumes and cover letters, help with job and internship searches, provide LinkedIn profile and networking guidance, conduct mock interviews, support career exploration and self-assessment, and much more.

Workshops
The Career Center offers workshops throughout the year, open to all students on topics such as resumes, LinkedIn, networking, interviewing, and on utilization of resources.

Recruiting Program and Employer Events
Every term, the Career Center partners with a range of employers who want to recruit Union students for internships and employment. These employers host information sessions, workshops, industry symposiums, participate in our employer fairs, and conduct job and internship interviews through our office.

Entry-level and Internship Job Postings
The Career Center’s Handshake platform provides thousands of active job and internship postings. Students can search for new opportunities using a variety of filters. Students can save their searches, follow specific employers, and receive email alerts as new opportunities arise that match their interests.

Union Career Alumni Network (UCAN)
UCAN is a professional network of thousands of alumni who have offered to mentor students and fellow alumni, and share insights regarding their career paths.

Community Service Internship Funding Program

At Union, we are committed to expanding the availability of stipends for unpaid summer internships so that students don’t have to choose between taking a job they might not find fulfilling and accepting an internship in a field they are passionate about pursuing. Through generous support from alumni, parents and friends, Union students volunteer during the summer at community service non-profit organizations, and apply for a stipend from the College.