Are you familiar with the UMGC’s career tools available to alumni and students? Whether you are entering the workforce, changing careers, or climbing the corporate ladder at your current job, check out UMGC’s complimentary career tools to aid you in any step of your career progression.
UMGC’s career tools are accessible in the Tools menu in CareerQuest, UMGC’s career portal. The tools provide assistance with resumes, interviews, career research, career preparation, and professional development.
Resume
Your resume is a marketing tool and is often the first opportunity that you have to impress a prospective employer. Visit the Resume Preparation Tools menu in CareerQuest to help create, optimize and customize your resume using:
- VMock: Get instant resume feedback and LinkedIn profile critiques on VMock. Choose the career type that fits your needs and click the link to get started!
- UpKey: Don't have a resume? Build a customized resume with UpKey, an interactive resume-building tool. Additionally, you will have access to tools to edit and improve.
Interviewing
Interviewing is a critically important part of the hiring process. UMGC provides tools to help students improve their interview skills at any time and in any location. Visit the Interview Tools in CareerQuest to practice how to put your best foot forward to a hiring manager.
One tool UMGC students and alumni have access to is VMock’s Elevator Pitch. The tool prepares you for both in-person and video interviews. It sets up a mock interview simulation to allow you to practice, providing you feedback on your responses, body language, eye contact, and voice quality to gain the confidence you need to sell yourself to a hiring manager.
Networking
According to many career experts, networking is the best way to find a job. It's been reported that as many as 80% of all jobs are not published anywhere publicly. Here are a few tools to help you access the “hidden job market” through LinkedIn and to expand and connect with your UMGC network.
Many recruiters use LinkedIn to look for candidates to fill their open positions. Optimize your LinkedIn profile to attract recruiters with VMock's Aspire module. Visit the Career Networking Tools in CareerQuest to get started. Select the best career type that fits your experience level then get feedback on how to tailor key LinkedIn profile elements to your targeted career.
UMGC students and alumni can also connect with each other through the UMGC Alumni LinkedIn Group. Join now to access your global UMGC community with information on career advice, job postings, University news and so much more.
Additionally, UMGC has to opportunities to expand your professional network using Community Connect to start connecting with your peers and UMGC career mentors on CareerQuest. Either sign up for a quick informational interview to learn more about a particular industry or employer, or join to complete a full mentorship to further maximize your professional opportunities. Click here to learn more and get started today.
Career Research
Start researching for your next job opportunity with real-world stats about your major, interests, and career. Get actionable insights and current resources with a few simple clicks with these tools.
- Vault: Receive industry-specific advice on resumes and interviews, check out day-in-the-life profiles, and more in Vault’s extensive library of electronic career guides. Also review lists of top employers by industry, top internship lists, and more.
- Candid Career: Choose from hundreds of videos to learn more about specific careers directly from professionals in those fields. Review career preparation advice from these professionals on topics like networking, resume writing, navigating a career fair, etc.
Job Search
In addition to the tools, there is a Search Alerts feature in CareerQuest that allows users to set alerts to receive an email when specific types of jobs or internships are posted on CareerQuest’s Jobs page. Search Alerts can also let you know when new mentors who match your career preferences. Simply visit the Open Positions menu in CareerQuest and select the “Set Search Alerts” in the right-hand corner to get started.
All of these tools are exclusively for UMGC students and alumni through the CareerQuest portal. Don’t have a CareerQuest account? Visit careerquest.umgc.edu to create one today!
If you have any questions about CareerQuest or any of these tools, please reach out to careerservices@umgc.edu or (240) 684-2720.