New blog helps students prepare for life after graduation

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/mikepett.jpg” caption=”Michael Pett is the author of Water Cooler Gossip, a new student-written blog run by Career Services. Photo by Matt Terry.”]Grad school applications are looming, you need to round out your volunteer experience and you still haven't lined up a summer job. Is there anyone who can help?

With the launch of their new student-written blog, McMaster's Career Services hopes to continue its mandate of helping students achieve their career and life goals.

Water Cooler Gossip follows the academic life of Michael Pett as he makes his way through his final year as a McMaster undergrad. Covering everything from how to find a job or volunteer placement to applying to grad school, Water Cooler Gossip offers valuable lessons for everyone at McMaster.

“Career Services offers so many ways to help students reach their true potential,” says Pett, a fourth year combined history and economics major. “But students end up missing out. They don't realize that when they get overwhelmed, Career Services can help.”

Offering new posts on a weekly basis, Water Cooler Gossip provides a platform for students to follow Pett throughout his own journey, allowing them to learn from his experiences. He hopes to help students with things like job searching and networking, and provide personal advice on the advantages of using Career Services for assistance.

“Hopefully, others can learn from what I do, don't do, and flat out do wrong,” says Pett.

The blog also promises to be highly interactive. This week, Water Cooler Gossip will begin its search for the worst summer job experience. Readers are invited to post their stories of employment horror, and the worst story will be awarded a $50 iTunes gift card.

In the coming weeks, Pett plans to write a series of posts on finding the perfect summer job (his tip is to start looking now!), as well as a series on applying to grad school, which will guide the reader from initial research to putting the application in the mail.

For their part, Career Services has embraced the use of new media in reaching out to students. Not only have they launched the Water Cooler Gossip blog, but they have also turned to podcasting to help teach students the basic skills they need to succeed in the workplace (current podcasts cover topics like interview etiquette and on-campus recruitment). By offering information and services through new media such as blogs and podcasts, Career Services hopes to reach students in a new, unique way.

“We recognize that students have hectic schedules,” says Jacquie Hampshire, Career Services' events and marketing coordinator. “Using new media allows us to get information to them whenever they need it, and also allows them to give us feedback, which we can use to better tailor our services to them.”

While you can access Water Cooler Gossip and other on-line Career Services tools any time, their physical offices are located in Gilmour Hall, Room 110, and are open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m..