When Tijanni Clarke learned he was selected for a second interview for an internship last spring, he knew he needed to prepare.
Clarke, a computer science major at the University of Miami, was vying among dozens of others to be an instructor at a coding camp run by Lavner Education. It was the first time he had been asked to do a technical interview, so he consulted a peer career coach at the Toppel Career Center. In recent years, Toppel has tried to make sure its peer career coaches can help students in similar subject areas, so Clarke met with Natalie Gutierrez, also a computer science major, who helped him brush up his resume.
The two worked together so Clarke was prepared for his interview and in case he was given a coding test. A few weeks later, Clark received a job offer.
“Only 3 percent of the people who applied for this job got it, so when I got that news I was ecstatic knowing it was in that margin, and Natalie played a big part in that,” said Clarke, who is now a guest experience assistant at Toppel but still keeps in touch with Gutierrez, now working at a medical device company.
While Clarke’s success happened early in his college career, staff members at Toppel want more students to know about the benefits of working with a career coach throughout their time at the University. Toppel offers both in-person and virtual advising sessions Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a goal of helping students prepare early for whichever career path they desire.
“Building your professional knowledge and experience is crucial in today’s job and internship market, and we have a host of expertise at Toppel, with coaches and alumni who are ready and eager to help Hurricanes succeed as they begin their careers,” said Ali Rodriguez, executive director of Toppel.
To start, students should first tap the expertise of the many peer career coaches during drop-in hours (no appointment necessary), where they can work on their resume and cover letter and get a headshot if they visit in person, said Carly Smith, director of career education at Toppel.
“We want students to meet with someone who has been in their shoes, and all of our peer career coaches have had internships or gotten into graduate school, so the coaches will show students the lay of the land and the resources,” she said. “We try our best to match the student with someone who will relate to their career goals, so each student has the best experience possible.”
After students meet with a trained peer career coach, they can schedule an appointment with the ideal staff member that relates to their field or industry to delve into more complex conversations.
“Toppel staff members are regularly talking with recruiters, so we have that knowledge we can bring into the conversation,” Smith said.
This can typically happen shortly after seeing a peer career coach, and Toppel staff members can often help students with more nuanced career coaching on things like interview prep and navigating job offers, Smith added.
“By the time students leave a session with a peer coach or a staff coach, they should have next steps of what to do, and ideally, they know that we are here to help them achieve their goals,” Smith said.
According to data collected in the last year from Toppel, 99 percent of students leave a drop-in coaching session with a clear idea of next steps, and 94 percent of students found the session very or extremely helpful.
Peer career coaches are thoroughly trained each summer on how to help students improve their resume, as well as all the tools students can utilize through Toppel, such as its main career search platform, Handshake, and a host of other tools. They can also join a career circle based on their desired field. In addition, all students and alumni can find a mentor on Cane2Cane, a platform where students can connect with professional alumni across the range of careers. Smith also encourages students to reach out to family or friends in their desired fields.
Also, if their school or college has its own career center, like the Stein Family Career Office at the School of Communication or Career Services at the Miami Herbert Business School, students should also meet with staff or faculty there, Smith added.
“We truly believe that students should tap into their whole community of career support to help them and that should be supplemented with knowledge from professionals in the field,” Smith said.
To learn more, visit the Toppel Career Center.