Career Center Programs

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The Career Center Programs include Career Exploration, On-Campus Recruiting, and Job Searching. Read about each below for more details on how to participate.

Career Exploration | On-Campus Recruiting | Job Searching

Career Exploration
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The Career Exploration Program is for student who have declared a major but are uncertain of their career path. It involves Focus and the Self-Directed Search, described in the first two steps in the MTSU Career Success Plan. Undeclared students may receive assistance with declaring a major by contacting their advisor in the Academic Support Center.

Choosing a major is but an initial step in the Career Success Plan; for some majors, especially those in liberal arts, earning a degree does not lead into a particular career field. That's why exploration of the job functions that match your interests and skills is essential. Also essential in the career development process is knowing your own decision-making style. Start your exploration with these resources:

What Can I Do With This Major?	8 Common Decision-making Styles
The Systematic Style of Decision Making	CDC's Career Exploration Resources

8 Common Decision-making Styles (from Take Hold of Your Future: A Career Planning Guide)

The Systematic Style of Decision Making (from Emphasis Decisions)

Agonizing: Investing an inordinate amount of time and thought in gathering data and analyzing alternative. The agonizer gets lost in this process and never advances to the decision point.
Compliant: Going along with the plans of someone else rather than making an independent decision.
Delaying: Postponing thought and action on a problem until later. The decider never even gets to identifying the decision to be made.
Fatalistic: Leaving the decisions to environment or fate.
Impulsive: Taking the first alternative available, without looking at other alternatives or collecting information. Thos who use this strategy operate from emotion and move very quickly toward taking action.
Intuitive: Basing a decision on feelings and emotions that have not been verbalized.
Paralytic: Accepting the responsibility for a decision but then being unable to set the process in motion to make the decision.
Systematic: Following a well thought out process that includes identifying the decision to be made, gathering information, identifying alternatives, weighting evidence, choosing among alternatives, taking action, and reviewing the decision and its consequences.

planning

On-Campus Recruiting
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On-Campus Recruiting is for students graduating and looking for full-time career positions. It involves resume books, career fairs, and On-Campus Interviewing. Login to Lightning JobSource to upload a resume, view career fairs, and see posted positions and employers recruiting on campus.

Visit the Student On-Campus Recruiting page for more information on policies and guidelines.

Job Searching
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The Job Searching program includes postings within Lightning JobSource, job search advising from a career coordinator, and resources for assisting in the job search. Types of job postings through the Career Center include:

Student Employment - Off-campus
Student Employment - On-campus
Career Employment - Degreed Entry-level
Career Employment - Experienced hire
Internships
Co-op

Student Employment is for students seeking jobs on or off campus (campus jobs include those not funded by Financial Aid). Students are also encouraged to contact each campus department directly to inquire about employment. Login to Lightning JobSource to search for student employment.

Tips for Locating On-Campus Student Employment

Register with the CDC for a Lightning JobSource Account and check it frequently for positions posted by MTSU. Follow application instructions per job posting.
Inquire directly with various campus departments in which you are interested to see if they have any positions available.
Departments who typically hire students include: Campus Recreation Center, MT Dining Services, Housing & Residential Life, Library, Student Athletic Enhancement Center, Blue Raider Athletic Association, and Phillip's Bookstore.
Check with Financial Aid to see if eligible for College Work Study Program (CWSP). Most departments hire Work Study students.

Career Employment includes positions that require a degree and are either entry-level or require 2+ years of experience. These positions are the type included in On-Campus Recruiting and target upcoming graduates of recent graduates.

Internships and Co-ops are posted through the CDC's Lightning JobSource. However, arrangements must be made within the academic department (i.e., department chairperson) to receive credit for either type of position. The Career Center does not make arrangements for academic credit.

College Career Coordinators
Nicole Green Basic & Applied Sciences	Katy Francisco Riddle Business	Lucy Billings-Jones Liberal Arts	Lewis Gray Education & Behavioral Science	Nancy Stubblefield Mass Communication	Karen Austin Regents Online Degree Program