Success Stories: Ryan

How have you benefited from using the Career Center services?

Deciding to go to the Career Center at TCU, was one of the best decisions I made during my time at school. I was able to do everything from mock interviews, talk with someone about where I wanted to go in my career/what I was interested in, and make valuable and meaningful connections with individuals from both the University and professional fields.

How did working with the Career Center impact your internship/job search?

The Career Center provided a tremendous amount of help when it came to landing an internship, as well as a job postgrad. The connections the Career Center were able to provide to me led me in the right direction when looking for a job. The alumni that TCU has is always willing to help out fellow Frogs, however, I would not have found those connections if it weren’t for the Career Center providing me with those contacts.

What was the most helpful advice given to you by the Career Center?

The most helpful advice that was given to me by the Career Center was to keep my head up and never get disappointed. Even if something did not work out how I had hoped, they were always right there to help me find another opportunity, and push me to pursue it.

 What challenges were you facing and how did the Career Center help you solve them or motivate you to solve them?

A challenge that I faced when looking for a job postgrad, was not having any personal connections in the field that I was interested in. The Career Center helped me with this by providing me with some contacts, as well as encouraging me to do some research and reach out to people myself, in order to get my name out there.  Another challenge I faced, was waiting too long to start looking for jobs.

What advice would you give others facing the same challenges you did?

Some advice I would give to someone else facing the same challenge as me, is to not be afraid to be vulnerable and put yourself out there. It might be intimidating at first to reach out to people that you do not know, but it really does help and shows people that you are driven and dedicated to find a job. It shows you are not afraid to go out of your way in order to form a relationship with someone who could be the next step in helping you find a job. In regard to my second challenge, it is definitely never too early to start looking for jobs in addition to prepping for interviews!

Where there any specific events you went to that were beneficial? If so which one and why was it helpful?

I went to multiple Career Fairs that were set up by the Career Center and those were very helpful in getting some practice facetime in front of professionals in your field of interest. It also opened my eyes to companies and opportunities that I did not know existed until then. In addition, one of the most beneficial things for me was the one on one meetings I had at the Career Center with my Career Advisor. She was always there for me and willing to meet with me whenever I asked. She provided the opportunity to have those meaningful conversations with someone who genuinely cared about my interests and career in postgrad.