Want to get a job? The Career and Pathways Support Services (CAPSS) office at American River College is here to help.
The CAPSS office offers a plethora of tools, services and events to help students get hired at ARC and by local businesses, according to Student Personnel Assistant Laura Adams.
The primary tool the office provides is JumpStart, which can be found on the Los Rios Single Sign-On Page, which is accessed by clicking on the JumpStart option. A link to JumpStart can also be found on the Career and Pathways page of the ARC website.
JumpStart is a job search tool available to students on all four Los Rios Community College campuses. According to Adams, students can use JumpStart to search for off campus and on campus jobs, as well as internships. There is also a career assessment on JumpStart called the Occupational Information Network (O*NET).
Adams said students can upload a resume onto JumpStart and choose to make their profile public or private. When a profile is public, employers can search for students based on skills, majors and needs, and reach out to them. If a student keeps their profile private, they can reach out to employers and positions that interest them.
Adams said she hopes to have all on-campus jobs be available through JumpStart, as applying for on-campus jobs right now is ununified.
Petra Tafoya, a first semester ARC student and a cashier at the bookstore on campus, said she thinks JumpStart could be a good tool for finding campus jobs.
“I’m new to [ARC] so I haven’t heard of [JumpStart],” Tafoya said. “It may be helpful to some people, especially if they’re really busy and don’t have time to go to campus.”
CAPSS also holds JumpStart workshops twice a month, where students are walked through how to build a profile, upload a resume and are given an overview of all that Jumpstart offers, according to Adams.
Students can also come to the Career and Pathways office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays to be assisted with JumpStart.
The Career and Pathways office also holds other monthly employment related workshops, namely about resumes and interview skills.
On Sept. 22, CAPSS held its second Suit Up Event in a partnership with JCPenney at the Arden Fair Mall.
“I’ve been collaborating with the corporate JCPenney office to schedule a private shopping event for any Los Rios Student,” Adams said. “It’s shopping for career wear apparel, specifically for job interviews, a job, an internship, things like that.”
At the event, students can get career apparel at a discount of up to 60% off.
According to Adams, there is no exact date set, but CAPSS is planning another Suit Up Event for the 2019 spring semester.
The ARC Fall Career Expo was held Nov. 6 and 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Center. Before the event, Adams said more than thirty local businesses and companies were scheduled to attend.
Students can also come to the CAPSS office to take an assortment of career assessments or receive links to take them at home for free, according to Adams. Students can also visit the office to pick up a variety of pamphlets and booklets with information about getting a job.
Adams encourages students to follow CAPSS on Instagram and Facebook, where events, workshops, and guest speakers that don’t always make it to the ARC website calendar are announced.
“We have big local employers such as the state of California, county of Sacramento, city of Sacramento, SMUD; various different local employers and organizations will come out here and we’ll have them as a guest speaker,” Adams said.
