Graduate finds Career Center crucial to career journey

Kwajalein Dodd, Capella University graduate

When you think of career services typically available at a university, the first thing that comes to mind might be resume support.

Capella University’s Career Center is a great resource for resume support—but it’s also much more, as Capella graduate Kwajalein Dodd* learned. She found that the Capella Career Center has counselors, tools, and resources for all stages of a person’s career—and the amount of both content and direct human help makes all the difference.

A world of information and support

Dodd’s journey to Capella began when she decided to seek out a master’s degree in clinical psychology in order to become a therapist. “I was working full-time, and my schedule was not flexible, so I began looking at online courses,” she says.

After graduating in 2010, Dodd decided that what she really wanted to do was go into the field of higher education. She soon realized that making that transition would be tricky.  “I started substitute teaching and volunteering in education-related roles to get the experience I needed,” she says.

As she was considering the career change, Dodd recalled that while at a residency, she met another student who advised her to contact the Career Center. She briefly looked into it at the time but turned her full attention to it after graduation.

Today, Dodd views the Career Center as instrumental to her finding work after graduation. “If I hadn’t called them, there’d be no job for me,” she says. “For example, I really didn’t know how to interview properly. The first interview I had, the employer said, ‘Tell me about yourself.’ I took that at face value and talked about my hobbies and interests. I also didn’t realize that the volunteer work I’d done in teaching could be put on a resume.”

Career Center resources

The Center Career supports learners and graduates in learning how to manage their careers.  Using the online training materials and conversations with career counselors helped her redirect her career aspirations and prepare for interviews in ways she’d never considered. “The Career Center gave me videos about how to interview, information about how to structure a resume, and advice specific to my resume,” she recalls. “They taught me how to prepare, and from then on, I was always ready for every single interview.”

The Career Center can be a valuable part of degree work and also helpful after graduation. Besides Career Exploration content, the Career Center also offers these educational content on:

• Networking how-to’s and advice
• Effective job search strategies
• Interactive resume builder
• Interview preparation, practice tools, and tips

Learning to be shared

Dodd is presently an academic advisor at Southwestern Michigan College, and what she learned with the Career Center is still part of her day-to-day life. “I ask students questions to guide them to the things I learned,” she says. “I talk about dressing for interviews, timing, skills needed during an interview, what to do after an interview, networking. I know how valuable these things are. Capella’s Career Center is a wealth of information.”

The Capella University Career Center counselors, resources, and tools help students and alumni manage their careers at every stage and move toward the careers they want.

*Actual Capella graduate who agreed to appear in promotional materials for Capella.

Results vary. Multiple factors lead to job offers, career advancement, and salary growth. Capella does not guarantee a job or any particular career or salary outcome.