PARENTS Career Development FAQ's

General Questions

Internship Questions

Job Search Questions

General Questions

Q. When should my student visit the Pomerantz Career 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

Internship Questions

Q. I've been hearing a lot about internships, are these important?
A. Yes! Internships are definitely important, especially in this economy. Most employers seek to hire students who have participated in multiple internships during their academic careers. Internships provide studnets with real world experience and help them to develop and hone their interpersonal, organizational and leadership skills.

Q. When should my student start looking for internships?
A. A student must be at the sophomore level or above (must have completed at least 12 hours of UI coursework) to participate and register an internship for transcript notation. Students may participate in an internship in the fall, spring or summer semester. Pomerantz Career Center recommends that students begin an internship search early. Each organization follows its own recruitment schedule, however; our recommendation is that a student should begin six months in advance of the start date for the internship.

Q. How many internships should a student have?
A. Students should participate in one more more internships. The number of internships is a personal and professional choice. Pomerantz Career Center recommends students participate in one or more internships that will help develop skills or experience related to a major or career area of interest. These skills and experience will assist in solidifying interest in a major or a career, as well as increast marketability to an employer upon graduation.

Q. What else should my student participate in besides an internship?
A. Internships are not the only way to gather valuable knowledge and experience that can assist a student in career development. Other recommendations include, but are not limited to - participation in a student organization, volunteer experience, working in a part-time job, or studying abroad.

Q. Are internships paid? For Credit?
A. Regarding pay, internships vary by employer. Some are paid and many are not. Pay doesn't indicate the value of experience at a work site - internship experience is valuable whether paid or not. Credit for internships largely depends on your major. Some academic majors offer a credit course associated with performing an internship in a field that pertains to your course work. For those majors that don't offer a specific course, students may choose to speak with their advisor or a faculty member in their department to try to set up a guided independent study during the time they are in their internship. All students seeking university recognition for their internship experience (transcript notation) may register for a 0 credit hour internship through the Pomerantz Career Center.
Details can be found here.

Job Search Questions

Q. What can the Pomerantz Career Center do to help my student find a job?
A. A Career Advisor can meet with a student to assist in creating a job search plan that fits their personal needs and interests. Pomerantz Career Center has many job search resources that can assist your student with a job search related to their specific interests. Students can take advantage of UI Employment Expo - our online database of jobs and internships, in addition to participating in one of our job and internship fairs.

Q. When should my student start applying for full time jobs?
A. Short Answer: Beginning of their senior year
Long Answer: Each organization and industry is unique in terms of it's recruiting schedule. Pomerantz Career Center encourages students to begin a job search approximately 6-9 months prior to their intended graduation date. Starting early increases a student's awareness of potential job opportunities and allows the student more time to go through the research, application and interview process.

Q. Can you help my student with their resume?
A. Yes! During the semester, students can stop by during our walk-in hours to have their resume reviewed. Or, they can always schedule an appointment by calling 319-335-1023.

Q. What is a Career Fair and should my student attend?
A. We encourage all students to attend a career fair! A career fair is a great opportunity to network with over 120 employers! Each semester, the Job & Internship Fair is attended by employers seeking to hire students from all majors to fill their full-time and internship opportunities. We also offer smaller fairs in the spring for specific groups of majors - arts and entertainment, health and science etc. Even if a student isn't quite ready to look for an internship or full-time job, attending the fairs is a great way to research organizations and build a network of contacts for the future.

Q. What do employers look for in a candidate?
A. Employers working with Pomerantz Career Center encourage students to be well rounded in their development. This includes gathering experience inside and outside of the classroom through course projects, volunteering, studying abroad, student organizations, part-time work and internships. Many employers also stress the need for new employees with "soft" skills. These skills include, but are not limited to: leadership, communication, flexibility and integrity. The Career Leadership Academy is a great opportunity for students to gain many of these skills.

Q. How can the Pomerantz Career Center help with school to work transition?
A. Advisors at Pomerantz Career Center are available to speak with students regarding the transition from school to the workplace. They can help students identify job search resources. Students may also take advantage of our on-line resources created to assist in the transition process.

Q. What should a student consider, if interested in post graduate work?
A. Please visit the Consider Iowa link - Continuing your education or work.