CAREER ENTHUSIASM.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 

Career Enthusiasm: Broward Career Development Center Offers Motivation and Realistic Expectations of Life After College

FAU’s Broward Career Development Center helps students get ready for the world that awaits them after college through advising, practice interviews, resume workshops and networking opportunities. “Our aim is to prepare students for entering the workforce in their specific fields of interest. We want to provide them with a basis for realistic expectations of the post-collegiate world,” said Carolyn Stewart, associate director of the center.  “To aid them in this transition, we set up activities that are engaging and appealing and have real-world applications for the students.”

One example of this concept in action is Reality Bites, The Real Corporate Experience, FAU’s own reality television show starring FAU students. From wardrobe shopping to company tours and corporate interviews, cameras focus on what students can expect from the job-seeking process.  The center also held its first-ever career auction, where students used specially created “career bucks” to purchase career-enhancing opportunities donated by local companies.  Auction items included an eight-week FBI training course, an interview and lunch with the senior vice president of operations for City Furniture, job shadowing at InterMedia Marketing and leather bound portfolios from JM Family Enterprises, Inc. and 7-Eleven. 

Gian Amato, Broward campuses student body governor, fully supports the center and their efforts. “We try to help students through the transition as smoothly as possible by making these activities available to them. We hope they will gain the experience necessary for confronting real life situations and developing their performance as professionals.”

“The difference between students who have utilized the resources of FAU’s Career Development Center and those who have not is readily apparent,” said Steven McCarty, vice president of human resources at Enterprise Rent-A-Car.  “Students who have spent time at the center are far better prepared.  They come in with more professional resumes, better thought-out responses to interview questions, well-considered career goals and more realistic job expectations.  Overall, they come across more polished and professional.”