Amanda Wooden is shouting from the mountaintops, she wants you to know her, and you’ll be better off for it.
Wooden, who joined Columbia College in March as the new director of the Grossnickle Career Services Center, has put the call out for students to be aware of everything available to them when it comes to their future employment.
After learning all of the things she did wrong in her own job searches – she joked with one of her former bosses at the University of Missouri that she couldn’t believe he hired her – she’s loving passing that knowledge on to CC students. “I had a six-page résumé; I didn’t know how that was too long. But the folks hiring me saw my passion and excitement for the job I was applying for, and that was what they needed.”
Wooden certainly understands where students are coming from when they say they never knew the center existed. “I never used the career services center [when she was an undergrad at the University of Central Missouri],” she says. “If you talked to my friends, no one did.”
Now that she’s on the other side of the desk, Wooden has advice for every student. “We’re not an area that you should be ignoring until the month before you graduate,” she says. Whether you’re a first-year student needing to find an internship, an adult learner needing to brush up – and more likely, trim down – your résumé, or an upcoming graduate seeking help with nailing mock interviews, Wooden and her staff are here to help with those things, and many more.
The other point Wooden emphasizes is that her office isn’t just here to support you while you’re a student at CC. “Whether your 22 or 62, we’re here for life,” she says. “It doesn’t matter if you’re six months out of college or going back to the workforce after being a stay-at-home parent the last 20 years. We’re here.”
To get in touch with the Grossnickle Career Services Center, visit ccis.edu/careerservices, email careerservices@ccis.edu or call (573) 875-7425.
