General Questions

1. What can parents do to help prepare their student for career or graduate/professional school?

2. How involved should a parent be in the career development process?

3. How involved should parents be in the negotiating process?

Employment-Related Questions

1. When should a student contact Career Services?

2. How can a student make contact with Career Services?

3. What is the best way for a student to use their summers?

4. What are job fairs/interview days, and how do students find out about them?

5. What are the best internet job search sites?

6. When should a student complete the Strong Interest Inventory or MBTI with the Career Report?

7. How does a student manage salary expectations? What are the industry standards for salary and benefits and does Southern Wesleyan offer any tools for students?

8. What other careers can my student qualify for with an accounting major?

 

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General Questions

1. What can parents do to help prepare their student for career or graduate/professional school?

Answer: There are several things that we would advise parents to do in helping a student prepare for career or professional school. The first is guide the student and not dictate to the student. The student may have different interests and goals than the parent and so parents should help facilitate that discovery and then lend support to its development. Secondly we would ask parents to encourage their student to come to the career center early (preferably early in the second year) and start the career discernment process. Finally, I would ask parents to have an open mind and heart about their students’ career choices.

2. How involved should a parent be in the career development process?

Answer: As stated before, we believe parents are very important to the career development process. Parents should express sincere interest in the student plans and help the student in developing the plan; the caution is that parents should not dictate a plan but help facilitate one. I believe that parents should be involved in every aspect of the students’ career development – again not as a dictator but as a voice of reason and a sounding board for ideas. Allow your student to express himself/herself and work with career services to develop a rich and rewarding experience for your student.

3. How involved should parents be in the negotiating process?

Answer: Parents should be unseen in this process. Of course they will provide wise counsel to their student, but a parent should never get on a phone or appear in an office to discuss salary and compensation on behalf of the student. Students are advised to take an offer letter and discuss it with their loved ones and then make a decision.

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Employment-Related Questions

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1. When should a student contact Career Services?

Answer: Students should contact career services as early as the first year. We won’t tell a student to wait but we do encourage students to spend at least one semester experiencing college and getting accustomed to college life; however, all incoming freshmen will be given a career assessment as a part of their freshmen orientation classes. Career Services is available for students once they have been accepted to the college.

2. How can a student make contact with Career Services?

Answer: There are several ways to make contact with the career services office. Students can call extension 5150 and speak with a career advisor, visit the career services center Web site at www.swu.edu/careerservices or stop by the office on the third floor of the Campus Life Center, room 215.

3. What is the best way for a student to use their summers?

Answer: We recommend that students prepare their four years strategically. Starting with a career assessment (Kuder Career Planning System), students can plan experiences that will enhance their undergraduate experience through internships, part-time jobs and even summer jobs. We advocate that those experiences be tied to the career that the student hopes to pursue.

4. What are job fairs/interview days, and how do students find out about them?

Answer: The career services office at Southern Wesleyan University will offer several opportunities to introduce students to employers and post graduate programs. One of which is an Interview Day which is a day of interviews, where a student sits down and talk to a recruiter who is interested in recruiting Southern Wesleyan’s students –these are real job interviews.

5. What are the best internet job search sites?

Answer: Please go to the career links section on our Web site to view our list of Internet job sites. Students should use discretion in applying for online positions and check out our virtual resume workshop before submitting a resume online. Students can use (the College Network Central;) to connect to secured and approved job listings from client companies.

6. When should a student complete the Strong Interest Inventory or MBTI with the Career Report?

Answer: Students can take the Strong Interest Inventory and MBTI with Career Report at any point in their college career.

7. How does a student manage salary expectations? What are the industry standards for salary and benefits and does Southern Wesleyan offer any tools for students?

Answer: Students should recognize that salary is always tied to a few factors including: academic major, work experience (internships, part-time jobs, work-study), and current market demands. There are several tools we use at Southern Wesleyan University to help students become fully aware of salary expectations. Go to www.swu.edu/careerservices and click on salary expectations.  

8. What other careers can my student qualify for with an accounting major?

Answer: There are many fields in accounting such as:

• Public accounting
• Teaching
• Auditing/Assurance Services
• Environmental Accounting
• Forensic/Investigative Accounting
• Information Technology Services
• International Accounting
• Personal Financial Planning
• Research

The Career Services Center can help with various aspects of learning about areas of employment in a perspective field. The Career Center can also help with strategies for placement in accounting and other fields.

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