Career Readiness, Thanks to ODU

In my first year in the Master's Program here at ODU, I have not yet explored the full suite of resources available here. Juggling my graduate assistantship, classes, and a part-time job at a marketing agency has not left me too much time to explore campus, both digitally and physically. Though it feels like I've just begun, completing my first year full-time here means I am at the halfway point of my degree, and it's time to get cracking. Reviewing The Center for Career & Leadership Development was immensely surprising and helpful to me as a professional who has been in the marketing space for 6 years already. With that in mind, I found only a few resources tailored to graduate students already in working industries in the Monarch Internship and Co-Op office, as I feel I am past the internship phase. Working closely with the MICO team, however, I love supporting them and undergraduate students in advancing their career development.

I saw many graduate-specific resources, such as a Graduate Career Plan, Salary Negotiations, Leadership Career Series, Networking, and Finding Full-Time Jobs. These were especially beneficial to me, as I do not necessarily need access to beginning resources on how to develop myself initially in an industry. I think a few meetings with the Career Center would allow me to achieve some of the goals I am looking to achieve and discover even more resources. Additionally, I am looking to do a slight career pivot away from my traditional marketing B2B, client relations, account management, and paid, digital media campaign management-focused career that I've developed so far. Being in this degree program has greatly inspired me and reminded me why I entered mass communication in my undergraduate program at Louisiana State University.

I joined because I thought media studies and working in media had a profound role in society, and I wanted to enter the industry to aid the industry in doing so in an efficient, ethical manner. These were lofty goals, and as I entered the industry full-time at the start of COVID-19, I took the safest option in the wide world of media at the time, which happened to be an entry-level marketing role. After spending many a year in the marketing industry, having to hop from agency to agency (job security is actually not synonymous with marketing), crunching numbers, and helping brands achieve the cheapest leads to gullible audiences, I have found that marketing has very little of my initial vision for my career. The Center for Career and Leadership Development, through its many resources, can help me revise my resume and the narrative of my current experience to get me a new role that more closely aligns with that vision. I'd ideally like a larger network, a refreshed resume, and some promising leads for a new role before I graduate from the program.