PARENTS Career Development FAQ's

General Questions

Internship Questions

  • I've been hearing a lot about internships, are these important?
  • When should my student start looking for internships?
  • How many internships should my student have?
  • What else can my student do besides an internship?
  • Are internships paid? For Credit?

Job Search Questions

  • What can the Pomerantz Career Center do to help my student find a job?
  • When should my student start applying for full time jobs?
  • Can you help my student with their resume?
  • What is a Career Fair and should my student attend?
  • What do employers look for in a candidate?
  • How can the Pomerantz Career Center help with school to work transition?
  • What should a student be doing if they are interested in graduate study?

Q. When should my student visit the Career Services Center ?

A. The short answer: Right now.

The long answer: It's never too early or too late for your student to start thinking and planning for their future career. The Pomerantz Career Center helps students in all phases of their career journey - from helping with major selection to searching for that first full-time job the Pomerantz Career Center can help your student. Encourage your student to visit us in person at 100 Pomerantz Center, Suite C310 or email us at careercenter@uiowa.edu

Q. Who does the Pomerantz Career Center serve?

A. the Pomerantz Career Center serves all students in the College of Business and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. This includes all open majors and "pre-" majors (i.e. pre-med, pre-nursing, pre-business.) and graduate students in these colleges.

Other career services offices on campus:

Q. My student can't decide on a major, can the Pomerantz Career Center Help?

A. Definitely! It's not uncommon for a student to be unsure of their major and/or career. This is a big decision and students are wary to commit for a variety of reasons. The Pomerantz Career Center has many resources available to guide students through the process of selecting a major and/or career.

Students can take advantage of one of our many assessments, make an appointment to talk with an advisor, attend a seminar, or visit the Pearson Career Library located inside the Pomerantz Career Center .

Q. What is the difference between a walk-in appointment and a scheduled appointment with an advisor?

A. the Pomerantz Career Center employs both full-time Career Advisors and Peer Advisors to meet with student and help with their career strategies. Peer Advisors are undergraduate and gradate level student who are extensively trained to help students with basic questions, full-time Career Advisors are assigned specific majors / career areas and their job is to work with individual students in a more in-depth way.

Walk in appointments are staffed by peer advisors and are the most popular options for student wanting to get an overview of services, have a quick question, or need some basic help with job searches. Their obvious appeal lies in the fact that they are "walk-in" and therefore students can access them anytime they need to. Walk-in hours are from 9-4, M-F.

Students who want more help in selecting a major, planning a career strategy, or have multiple questions will find that making an appointment with a Career Advisor will be more beneficial . Appointments will generally need to be made 1-2 weeks ahead of time and scheduled in 30 minute blocks.

Q. What are career assessments and are they important?

A. Career assessments are tools that Career Advisors use to help identify a student's interests and abilities and how these relate to the world of work. The Pomerantz Career Center uses several assessments and a brief description of these assessments can be found here.

Career assessments will NOT tell you what to major in or choose as a career. They will help your students Career Advisor to identify career areas that may be a good fit for your student. They are also valuable in aiding in the discussion of possible career paths. In these ways assessments are very important. However - there is not one assessment that is perfect for everyone and it is not necessary for EVERY student we see to take and assessment.

If your student is interested in taking an assessment they will need to schedule an appointment to talk to a Career Advisor. The Advisor will be able to asses which test is the best fit for the student and also follow up with an interpretation.

Q. Do you have a timeline that students should follow during their time at UI ?

A. Yes! An outline of what we at the Pomerantz Career Center endorse as a successful career strategy for a student's time at UI is located here.

Q. How can I help my student with their career search?

A. There are several things you can do to help your student to identify and follow a successful career path.

  • Make sure your student visits the Pomerantz Career Center early and often
  • Encourage your student to take advantage of all types of campus activities including career or major related student organizations. A list of student organizations at UI can be found here.
  • Help your student network - introduce your student to friend and aquatics that are in the field that your student is interested.
  • Motivate your student to participate in Externships and Internships
  • Become familiar with our entire website and the services we offer. Check the home page often for upcoming events!
  • Learn about ways to get involved with the Pomerantz Career Center