Career Services Video Transcripts

Career Services Welcome Transcript Welcome to Walden University's Career Services Center!

I'm Lisa Cook, Senior Director of Career Services - I work with our team of talented Career Services Advisors in our academic offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Most Walden students are busy working professionals looking to advance their careers. Our mission is to educate, coach and advise you to proactively manage your career. Whatever your personal career goals, we offer individual and group career advising, webinars and web-based resources to support you in achieving your objectives. We have a 3-part formula for you to consider as you complete your Walden degree. Like you might use GPS to move your car forward, we'd like you to use EPS to move your career forward! EPS is based on a well-known book by Herminia Ibarra called Working Identity. Career transition happens when you gain new EXPERIENCE, meet new PEOPLE, and tell a new STORY. Now our career advisors will walk you through strategies for building your experience, meeting new people and telling your new story. They'll share an example of how a Walden alumnus used these strategies to go from being unemployed to landing a great job. First, Career Services Advisor Denise Pranke will share ideas for building your experience. (E) Experience Whether you are pursuing your degree to gain a promotion in your current field or transition to a new field, how do you gain experience to build your qualifications and accomplish your goals? If your goal is to advance in your current field, consider taking the initiative to solve problems, improve processes, and take on leadership roles for your current employer, professional association or your local community. If your goal is to transition to a new career field, volunteering is a great way to gain experience, new contacts and references and tell a new story. Tyra was a Walden alumnus who graduated with her PhD in public health. She applied for jobs but lacked experience in her new career field. We advised her to gain experience through volunteering. She landed a volunteer role as a community health promoter with her local County Board of Health. Now Career Services Advisor, Nicolle Skalski, will share strategies for connecting with new People to grow your professional network and tell how Tyra used this to her advantage. (P) People Connecting with people during your Walden experience is a great way to build your professional network. In her volunteer role, Tyra built her reputation and network through working on a high profile initiative created by First Lady Michelle Obama and volunteering at a women's health conference where she met the District Director for her County Board of Health. Making these key contacts was instrumental to her later career success. We encourage you to connect with your Walden colleagues both offline and online. What resources do we offer to connect you with other members of the Walden Community? Our Walden University Career Services Center LinkedIn Group is a great way to connect with students and alumni, join career-related conversations and view job postings. Please include your degree program on your LinkedIn profile to make it easy for others to connect with you. If you are interested in connecting with a local Walden alumnus, feel free to reach out to Walden Alumni Relations to ask if there is an Alumni Ambassador in your area. Lastly, Senior Career Services Advisor, Dina Bergren, will cover your evolving career Story and how Tyra used her new story to launch her successful public health career. (S) Story: What can you do to promote your career story?

• Update your LinkedIn profile to include new experiences, your degree progress, presentations, publications and new connections to broadcast your evolving story to your whole network. 
• Use your OptimalResume tool to update your resume or curriculum vitae to include in an electronic portfolio and personal website.
• Keep an ongoing journal of your accomplishments and contributions to bring your story to life.

As Tyra finished six months of volunteering, she had a new story to tell. She had been awarded a "Volunteer of the Month" award, she had worked on high profile public health projects and volunteered at a conference, and she had connected with local leaders in her field. The happy ending is that Tyra was offered a position as a community obesity prevention coordinator. We hope you have enjoyed our Career Services Center welcome and hearing Tyra's story. We encourage you to start your journey with Career Services by attending one of our Overview webinars and joining our Career Services Center LinkedIn group to tap into our diverse Walden community. We look forward to supporting you in meeting your career goals and wish you great success as scholar practitioners.

[This text is being provided in a rough-draft format to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings]