UNCA jobs: Behind the scenes of employment

UNC Asheville Career Center offers many job related services to students like jobs, internships and events, but as of late some said the atmosphere has changed. 

“I don’t know a whole lot, I know that they can help with resumes and there’s the internship fest that happens like once a semester or something,” said Aspen Matosky, a sophomore who currently works at the UNCA bookstore.“I know the career center is in Highsmith, but besides that I have no clue.”

The Career Center’s front employees said they choose new hires based on certain criteria. 

“We evaluate employees who submit requests to be approved based on criteria specific to the career center,” said Abigail Sgan, a sophmore and Career Center employee. “For example, we approve employers who appear trustworthy based on our standards for Handshake so students can be hired safely.”

The Center turns out to be a resource UNCA provides that many students don’t use on a regular basis. 

“We help students with anything career related,”  said Isabel Baggett, a career peer and social media coordinator at UNCA. 

Students need to utilize this source more, especially as summer draws closer with internships and abroad programs.

Sgan said that the center gets roughly around 10 or less visits per day during the semester. 

“We provide a variety of career services to students including resume and cover letter reviews, major, job and internship exploration assistance, practice interviews, graduate things and much more,” Sgan said.

Sgan said the Career Center accepts in-person appointments made through online scheduling and drop-ins during office hours. Students then go through processes to help them with their specific needs. 

The Career Center also offers on campus events. 

Sgan said the Career Center hosts several different events that offer students to get more involved with jobs and internships. 

“We also host career related events like NextFest, our career fair, and various panels with guest panelists,” Sgan said.

The 2022 Spring NextFest is scheduled for  March 3. from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

“NextFest is one of our biggest events here at the Career Center, we host it every spring and fall semester, it’s really cool cause this semester we are having almost 75 employers come, including BMW, FBI, Biltmore Company, Bojangles and many more than can be found on Handshake,” said Sgan “Students can find more information about the event on our instagram page, @uncacareer.”

The Career Center employees like Sgan and Baggett said they encourage people to come in for help on internships, jobs and more.

“From resume building, career exploration. Mock interviewing or picking a major, we’re here to help,” Baggett said. 

Jobs on and off campus can be found through Handshake which encourages students to look further into jobs and provides a list of current openings.  

“Every campus job uses Handshake. I made a recent post with available jobs, which didn’t include Chartwells.” Baggett said. 

Handshake accounts are already provided to students through their UNCA school emails. 

“All jobs are approved by us through a handshake, so students can apply directly to the specific department that is hiring,” Sgan said. 

Students said they are more familiar with Handshake than the Career Center. 

“I am very familiar with Handshake and I’ve used it to find my current on campus job.” Matosky said. 

Sgan said that most students apply for positions for the Student Guest Services desk in Highsmith Student Union, and the Game room in the Union as well. 

Baggett also said the Career Center is currently looking for employees who will be able to fill the Highsmith Student Union position with current available shift times. 

The UNCA campus offers many different jobs and 

Students can visit the Career Center and talk to center employees for more information on jobs, pay and future opportunities with campus employment. 

“We check to make sure each employer is reliable and relatable and we choose employers based on what we think our student body will be interested in and the majors we offer,” Baggett said.