Kacie Graves
Illinois Wesleyan University’s Hart Career Center advocates that in a technologically driven world, an impressive social media presence is crucial in the job search.
Career Center student-workers created an “IWU Career Dream” Instagram contest that enabled students to publicly display their pursuit of their dream jobs.
“The contest gave students a chance to self-promote themselves via Instagram,” said Karen Thul’ 15, a publicity coordinator for the Hart Career Center. Students who followed the Career Center’s Instagram account could submit a photo of their involvement in internships, campus leadership involvement, community service or other professional development activities.
Contest winner, Megan Win ’16, received a Kindle Fire HD6 Tablet for a photo of her volunteer work at the Lincoln-Way special-education summer school program.
“The contest helped me capture all that I’ve been doing to pursue my career throughout college,” Win said. “I thank the Career Center for being such a valuable resource, and for encouraging students to be more pro-active about their careers after Wesleyan.”
The Hart Career Center also hosted a program on the positive and negative effects social media can have on a career. Stacy Kaeding ’08, supervisor of global staffing operations for Honeywell International, and Mike Conti ’09, senior associate for the Overture Group instructed students on actions they should take in utilizing social media while seeking employment.
Kaeding donated a one-hour “Rock Your Profile” session to the winner of an attendance raffle, Yangyuan XU ’18. On behalf of Kaeding’s professional help, XU created a social media presence that is ready for employers’ eyes.