The ritual of preparing for yet another job interview, styling the hair and pressing the shirt, can make any college student cringe from head to toe. However, with Career Services' BullsEye, the struggle to find the perfect job, on or off campus, is right on target.
BullsEye is a Web site that assists current students and alumni in searching for everything from part-time jobs and internships to full-time careers in a variety of fields.
"Our online program is all about helping students find a place where they can manage potential jobs," said Karen Nemeth, senior career planning and development associate for Career Services.
According to Nemeth, the program is in its third year at UB and boasts thousands of job postings and operates 24/7.
Students can log in to BullsEye, make an account and instantly begin their extensive job search. There is also a link for seasoned job seekers to upload existing resumes and cover letters, according to Nemeth.
BullsEye is the perfect source for those unfamiliar with the resume process. BullsEye's resource library, which includes programs such as Optimal Resume, Research Employers and FOCUS, offers all kinds of help for anything in the world of job searching.
"I highly recommend the Optimal Resume program because it allows students to create resumes from scratch, or review and edit existing documents with helpful tips and styles," Nemeth said.
While help with developing an effective resume may seem like a priceless tool, the main focus of BullsEye is searching for jobs.
CareerSearch, part of the resource library, is a database that allows registered users to research over one million companies and learn the specific responsibilities of various career fields.
"CareerSearch helps students find positions because the majority of entry level jobs are surprisingly not even posted," Nemeth said. "We encourage students to actually go out and look for jobs, seek out employers and take an active role in the job search process."
Another helpful tool in the BullsEye resource library is FOCUS. This program is a self-assessment tool that allows students to compare interests, personality and skills with the profiles of potential jobs, Nemeth said.
Furthermore, FOCUS works like CareerSearch in that it offers students the chance to learn about different careers and compare occupations in order to help narrow the list of possible choices.
After students have set up an account, posted a resume and conducted some research, it's time to start looking and applying for positions. Nemeth described BullsEye postings as being separated into two different categories.
"The first is for jobs from employers who have specifically targeted UB to find candidates," Nemeth said. "The second is through MonsterTrak, geared specifically for recent college graduates."
If students desire further help with the job search, Career Services and BullsEye offer the Meet-a-Mentor program. This program allows students to connect with alumni volunteers in a variety of fields.
"What makes the mentoring program special is that volunteers and students will meet one on one and work together," Nemeth said. "They receive each other's contact information through BullsEye but continue to interact on a personal level rather than e-mail."
Another great facet of BullsEye is the advanced notice for job openings and career fairs, Nemeth said.
Job Agent is a convenient feature that enables students to save job searches for future reference. BullsEye users will then be able to receive e-mails whenever a job is posted within their saved search, continuing to make the process of finding a job more relaxing.
Nemeth advises students interested in getting started with BullsEye to either log on to the Career Services Web site at www.ub-careers.buffalo.edu/student or to stop in the office at 259 Capen Hall.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
