Your Career Liaison—Get to Know Me

I am so excited to be the new Career Liaison to the College of Education!

About me:

My name is Bonnie Rae Fisher and I started as an Academic and Career Advisor in Career and Academic Planning (CAP) this past May 2016. I worked in CAP as a graduate assistant through the CSPA program here at JMU for the 2015-2016 academic year and I am so happy I was able to stay! I attended Eastern Mennonite University for undergrad where I studied Psychology and Peacebuilding.

How I can help:

Think of the path our students take to their professional career as a camping trip. As faculty, you do an outstanding job of "filling the students' backpacks" with the knowledge and practical skills they need to thrive once they reach their destination. As the Career & Academic Planning Career Liaison for the College of Education, I work provide the maps and compasses, and serve as a guide for students conducting their career exploration, preparation, and job search.

 

How can I help you? The following are some of the services I can offer in my role:

• I can help your students find the right fit— If you are working with a student who is uncertain about teaching as a career, I can help students determine the right career for their interests, career goals, skills, values, and personality. Additionally, for students who need assistance in their job search and finding the right fit as they transition out of the university, I can provide resources regarding job outlook, salary, and employment trend information.
• Our career fair attracts many recruiters to one event—Our annual Teacher Recruitment Day provides an excellent opportunity for your students to meet representatives from a wide variety of schools and organizations, and establish a network of contacts. I will help your students research the employers beforehand and provide tips so they are prepared to effectively engage recruiters.
• We help students master the job interview—There is no better way to prepare for the job interview than by experiencing an "actual" interview. At CAP, we have a variety of resources to develop interviewing skills. Recruiter volunteers conduct mock interviews with your students on-campus and provide a constructive critique of their performance and effective interview strategies. We also have an online tool, InterviewStream, where students conduct mock interviews online and can email responses for critique. (See the attached handout for more information on InterviewStream).
• I am available to bring the information to your class—I specialize in conducting presentations to the classes you teach and the student organizations you advise about a host of career-related topics, such as resume writing, job-search strategies, and interviewing skills. I also can help out in a pinch: If you need to or are considering canceling a class, just contact me and I can schedule a presentation instead.

These are just some of the services I offer as your Career Liaison. Please do not hesitate to contact me to determine how, together, we can achieve student success. I look forward to working with you!