Success Stories: Reilly
How have you benefited from using the Career Center services?
The Career Center helped me formulate some of my first resumes as a freshman and refine my most recent ones as a senior. I also benefitted from the mock interview service available at the Career Center. I have not had the opportunity to be formally interviewed many times in my life, so getting to participate in mock interviews at the Career Center made me feel better-equipped and more comfortable interviewing in the future.
How did working with the Career Center impact your internship/job search?
I was fortunate to have interacted with Career Counselors on multiple occasions within the classroom setting, per my professors’ invitation. As a Dance and History double major, the Career Counselors helped me realize how I can uniquely tailor my dance experiences toward certain types of job applications and my history experiences toward others. The Career Center made me feel confident in my preparedness to enter the professional world, regardless of which passion I decided to pursue.
What was the most helpful advice given to you by the Career Center?
The most helpful advice I got from the Career Center was simply a sheet of paper with strong action words on it. It feels so funny even writing that down now, but in all honesty, that sheet of verbs helped me improve the language on my resume immensely, but it also inspired me to think about what skills I really honed during my time at TCU. It’s easy to assume that a BFA performance major prepares you for dance and dance only, but this worksheet got me to more successfully articulate all the other academic and professional skills I acquired through my course work. I see this as being the first step in being able to self-advocate, speak to my own abilities, and interview more effectively down the road.
What challenges were you facing and how did the Career Center help you solve them or motivate you to solve them?
One challenge I faced was in writing professional cover letters once I started needing them to apply for full-time jobs post-grad. The Career Center provided me with useful handouts and advice on how to craft a cover letter that balanced eagerness and interest with professionalism and respect.
What advice would you give others facing the same challenges you did?
Take full advantage of everything the Career Center has to offer. They have more tools available than you may realize, and they want to help you succeed!
Where there any specific events you went to that were beneficial? If so which one and why was it helpful?
The Career & Intern Expo was beneficial for me in my job search because it opened my eyes to pathways and possibilities I never before thought I could be interested in or qualified for.