The Career Resource Centers (CRC), reference and loan libraries, provide information regarding a broad range of career and educational alternatives for students, potential students, faculty, staff, and the public. The information is valuable in career, educational, and transfer planning. It can assist you in exploring the potential of broad occupational fields and specific job titles.

For more information or to make an appointment, please contact the advisor at your location.

SIGI

SIGI is a free, easy-to-use online exploration system which allows you to assess your personal characteristics and preferences and match them with compatible career options. Staff are available to assist you as needed and you may keep a printout of your information.

SIGI helps you to:

• examine your values, interests, & skills
• learn about careers that match your preferences
• connect your past jobs with new possibilities
• explore colleges and graduate programs
• learn about scholarships and grants
  
  

SIGI is available in the UMA Portal:
1. Hover over the Academics tab near the top of your portal.
2. Click on Academic Advising.
3. Click on the link at the bottom of the page in the SIGI section to create your account.

Contact the Advising Center if you have questions about accessing SIGI.

 

 

UMA Career Workshops and Events

Workshops and events are free to students and community members, unless otherwise noted. To register for a workshop or event, please contact the UMA Advising Center or University College nearest you:

Augusta: 1 (207) 621-3149

Bangor: 1 (207) 262-7808

TTY: 1 (800) 516-3600

E-mail: umacareer@maine.edu

University College Centers: www.learn.maine.edu

**Or, try our new online registration form: 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1RJzY5UJq8y1iyb2q9QComK0294axDEqjUUtP2fYcuKU/viewform

 

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 Summer 2013 Workshop Dates

Resume Writing

Wednesday, June 12th, 10:30am-noon

Locations: RSC 208 (Augusta); 110 Lewiston Hall (Bangor)

UC Locations: UC Bath/Brunswick (Room 120); UC Ellsworth (Room 2); UROCK (Room 410); UC Rumford/Mexico (Room 8); UC Saco (Room 8); UC South Paris (Room 209)

 

 Create an effective resume or improve the one you already have - this workshop will go over the nuts and bolt of writing resumes and cover letters.

 

Applying to Graduate School 

Thursday, June 27th, 3-4:30pm

Locations: RSC 208 (Augusta); 110 Lewiston Hall (Bangor)

UC Locations: UC Bath/Brunswick (Room 120); East Millinocket (VC Room); UC Ellsworth (Room 2); UROCK (Room 412); UC Rumford/Mexico (Room 8); UC Saco (Room 6); UC South Paris (Room 208)

 

Is graduate school in your future? Learn about the application process, how to choose the right school for you, and things to consider when looking at advanced degree programs.

 

Successful Interviewing

Monday, July 15th, 12 noon-1:30pm

Locations: RSC 208 (Augusta); 110 Lewiston Hall (Bangor)

UC Locations: UC Bath/Brunswick (Room 120); East Millinocket (VC Room); UC Ellsworth (Room 2); UROCK (Room 410); UC Rumford/Mexico (Room 8); UC Saco (Room 8); UC South Paris (VC Room)

 

Preparation is 50% of any interview. This workshop will show you how to best prepare yourself to ace a job interview.

 

Putting Your Personality To Work

Monday, July 23rd, 3-4:30pm

Location: RSC 208 (Augusta only)

 

Find out which career areas are most compatible with your personality. Interpret the results of a personality style indicator (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) to gather insights for satisfying career and life choices.

(Free to UMA students, $20 fee for community members)

 

Shakin' It Up With SIGI

Thursday, August 1st, 10-11am

Location: RSC 255 (Augusta only)

 

 Are you unsure in your major? Do you want to know what job opportuntiies can exist with your degree program? Come to this workshop and use SIGI 3, UMA's career exploration tool to discover your options and learn more about yourself at the same time!

 

Getting Connected on LinkedIn

Wednesday, August 7th, 1-2:30pm

Locations: RSC 208 (Augusta); 110 Lewiston Hall (Bangor)

UC Locations: UC Bath/Brunswick East Millinocket (VC room); UC Ellsworth (Room 2); UROCK (Room 410); UC Rumford/Mexico (Room 4); UC Saco (Room 8); UC South Paris (VC Room)

 

Want to bring your job search into the 21st Century? This workshop will give an overview of how to use LinkedIn to strengthen your job search skills. Topics will include networking, maintaining a professional online presence, ways to find job postings and more!

 

 

 **Broadcasting of workshops to UC Centers is subject to room availability.  

Select workshops are available through delayed videostream in the UMA Advising Center Blackbard site! To enroll, please visit this link for directions. This is a free feature for UMA students!

 

 

 

 

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Past Events:

 

UMA Business & Public Administration Graduates: Where are they now? (4/25/13)

View the recorded broadcast here!

 

 UMA Internship Workshop w/UMA Interns (4/16/13)

 View the recorded broadcast here! 

 

 

The purpose of career planning is to help you identify career fields most satisfying to you. Below, you will find a suggested timeline for the career development process. The Office of Academic & Career Advising seeks to help you at every stage of your career search.

Self Assessment Stage (early in academic program)

In general, you want to identify your interests and explore your skills:

• Meet with a UMA career counselor to discuss your goals and plan self-assessment activities.
• Identify and prioritize your work-related values and interests by using SIGI, a computerized career planning tool. Use SIGI to identify your transferable skills gained during previous employment.
• Complete the Strong Interest Inventory through a UMA workshop to discover your areas of career interest.
• Try the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator through a UMA workshop to discover your personal preferences as they relate to career choices and work environments.

Career Exploration Stage (early to midway through academic program)

• Identify and research careers based on the results of your SIGI search.
• Compose a list of 15 possible career titles by looking through The Occupational Outlook Handbook and UMA's program brochures.
• Conduct informational interviews with people working in the career fields you find interesting.
• Test the waters by searching for part time, summer or internship positions that would provide exposure to different career areas.
• Attend career fairs and career planning workshops to gain exposure to the job search process.
• Write a resume and review it to see what other experiences you might need to obtain the job of your dreams.
• Review newspaper and online job ads, job information on academic department bulletin boards and descriptions of graduate programs to see what fields/jobs you are attracted to.

Career Decision Making Stage (midway to nearing completion of academic program)

Now is the time to be collecting as much information as possible about possible work settings and job descriptions.

• Start to reduce possible career fields or job titles to a manageable number.
• Talk with your faculty advisor about your career goals and options for networking within your career field.
• Try to find an internship or volunteer at a work site to see if you would like to pursue that career further.
• Consider whether you want to attend graduate school and take or prepare for the appropriate entrance exams. Use SIGI to research graduate programs.

Job Search Stage (nearing completion of academic program)

Finding a job can take 6-9 months. It can take longer if you are hoping to find a job in one limited geographical area.

• Develop your own sense of what you would like from a job and formulate 2, 5 & 10-year professional goals.
• Attend a job search workshop and/or a resume writing workshop.
• Develop a professional resume targeted for each job type for which you might apply. Plan to be able to update or change each copy to only include skills or experiences being sought by the potential employer.
• Identify people who could serve as employment references for you and ask them if they would be willing to serve as a reference and/or write a reference letter.
• Meet with a counselor to develop a job search strategy and have your resume reviewed.
• Tell everyone you know that you are looking for a job.  Job contacts exist everywhere.
• Join any professional associations in your career field of choice. They often produce publications that list jobs in that field. Ask your faculty members for names of associations for the field in which you would like to find a job.
• Participate in as many career fairs as possible. Maine students are invited to participate in career fairs offered by most colleges in Maine. For a current list of career fairs in Maine, please visit the Maine College Career Consortium website.
• Practice your job interviewing techniques.  Schedule an appointment with a career counselor to do a mock interview. 
• Apply for jobs.  Check on-line job listings, the Maine College Career Consortium website of Maine job listings, and the UMA Advising Center’s Blackboard site. 

Many students try to decide on a career without proceeding through a conscious career development process. Some students, for example, start by writing a resume without giving adequate thought to what skills they want to sell on the resume and to whom they will be selling those skills.

In addition, finding a job takes time and energy. If you want a job upon graduation, plan to start your search 6-9 months before graduation. Following a time line helps you avoid the trap of waiting until your last semester as a student to begin the career development process. Being well prepared should make your job search less stressful.

Professional staff assist UMA students and alumni with their job search efforts.  Resume reviews, cover letter reviews and practice interviews may be scheduled.  Students, alumni, and community members are invited to utilize the resources below:

Resume & Cover Letters

Assistance with writing resumes and cover letters is available through workshops or individual appointment.  Please contact the Advising Center to set up an appointment.

Interviewing

Mock interviews are a good way to become more comfortable with interviewing.  Contact the Advising Center to schedule a mock interview, or to sign up for the “Successful Interviewing” workshop.