For many years, the highly acclaimed Career Resource Center, or CRC, has served the Gator community by connecting potential employees to current employers — and it has proven wildly successful. The CRC has consistently placed in The Princeton Review’s Top 10 of career resource centers throughout the nation, coinciding with UF’s high ranking as a university companies enjoy recruiting from. With the help of a top-notch staff, the CRC works to aid students as they prepare for their transitions into the professional world.
Ja’Net Glover, the senior associate director for career services, strongly encourages students to take advantage of the CRC by utilizing the resources, programs, events and other services provided. She believes the CRC has been incredibly successful as an informational guide and networking tool.
“Our job here for the university is charged with being able to facilitate employment connections and educate students about possible careers or other opportunities that are available after they leave the university,” Glover said.
In addition, Glover emphasizes the wide scope of students the CRC can assist, ranging from undergraduate freshmen to graduate seniors and everyone in between. Glover said that the CRC is valuable to students of all ages because it’s never too early to start thinking about what they want to do. The center also provides assistance for students with varying degrees of career preparation.
“We work with all seniors, from those who have secured a job opportunity to those who don’t have any idea what they want to do,” Glover said. “Regardless of where a student is in that stage of career planning, we understand there are so many unknowns in the process.”
As mentioned above, the CRC is able to guide UF students through various means. Career Showcase, the most noteworthy example, is an annual event hosted by the CRC that facilitates faceto- face interaction among students and hundreds of companies.
“The event allows students to connect with recruiters, learn about companies and businesses and start developing these relationships,” Glover said.
Each year, UF students willingly take time away from their hectic schedules to swarm the Stephen C. O’Connell Center for the chance to impress. They arrive by the thousands in their best attire to meet with representatives from all types of companies, including Facebook, PayPal and TripAdvisor, to name a few.
“Students are exposed to employers they haven’t considered, broadening their horizons to who’s hiring and who’s out there,” said Susan Crowley, UF’s assistant vice president for community relations.
Crowley, a mother of three college graduates, understands that the career planning process can be lengthy and difficult. For this reason, Crowley encourages students to capitalize on the valuable resources offered by the CRC, which she considers to be “one of the most outstanding career centers in the country.”