The Office of Career Services at Georgia Southern University offers a wide variety of resources for students to be successful while in college and post-graduation, such as professional development classes and non-academic internships, which can be applied as course credit on a student transcript.

Professional Development classes

The professional development classes are worth two credits hours that will reflect on students’ transcripts. Some focus on career exploration while others stress the importance of emotional intelligence.

Courtney Smith, a graduate assistant in the career services office, says the classes are one of many hidden jewels that many students aren’t aware of.

“The first one [development class] is good for freshman and sophomores that are looking into what they are going to do and then the other one [development class] is good for juniors and seniors who kind of already know what they want to do but are looking for some of those soft skills,“ Smith said.

Yazmen Settle, senior multimedia journalism major, is currently enrolled in one of the professional development classes.

“My class is very helpful because it teaches me how to control my emotions on a day-to-day basis,” Settle said. “It has helped me interact with others on a professional and personal level.”

Non-Academic internships:

Another resource many students might be unaware of is the non-academic internships. The non-academic internships allow students to maintain their full-time or part-time student status and still receive credit.

“This is a big deal because if you get an internship even after you graduate, this can help defer your student loans,” Smith said. “That’s one hidden service a lot of people don’t know about.”

Students are able to use online applications like “Interview Stream” to practice their interview skills. Students will give answers to a mock-interview via webcam and someone from the career services office will critique it.

“It’s a different experience and a lot of people who are going to be interviewing for jobs in other parts of the country, their preliminary interview might actually be a virtual interview.” Smith said.

To learn more information about what career services has to offer or to look at upcoming events, visit the Office of Career Service’s website.