There is an office on campus located in a building that used to be an old residence hall, where six women devote their time and energy to help find every student’s “AHA” moment.

Career Services, on the second floor of Grace Wilkie Hall, is a portal to endless connections and great advice for any job-seeker that was or is a Shocker.

“One of my favorite things in the world is when you say, ‘tell me what you want to do,’ and you find (a job) that lights up their eyes, and you know in that moment they are figuring out who they are and what they want to do,” Jill Pletcher, director of Career Services, said.

“It’s important to get the word out to students that our office serves students the first day they set foot on campus after graduation,” career counselor Rachel Gibson said.

From finding a different major, learning how to find a job and networking with future employers, the offices and personnel at Career Services has the resources to help students though the job search.

“Our initial focus is how we can help students to decide what avenues they want to go and then to encourage them to get related experience while they are in school,” Pletcher said. “Some students say ‘I love my major, but I don’t know what to do with it.’”

From this point forward, the office takes a step-by-step approach to meet the student’s needs through Career Counseling.

“I ask them a billion questions,” Pletcher said. “What are you good at, what classes do you like, what are your family members’ expectations, what things don’t you know we can help you with and we fill those gaps with resources.”

Pletcher can schedule students with a professional appointment or have them take strength and self-inventory quizzes.

For students who are pursuing a major, but don’t know how to use it in the real world, Career Services brings in professionals to tell students about their job.

“We bring in people from business or pharmaceutical representatives to talk to students,” Assistant Director Jan Mead said.

Students can also attend a workshop or shadow a professional in their work environment.

“We want to expand on the workshops we offer,” Gibson said. “We are thinking about doing a full-time and a part-time job search workshop and in the distant future having a pre-session dealing with how to find a job.”

They realize that every student needs help finding a job, whether it’s been one, two or 20 years since graduating.

“We see a lot of older alumni that come to us because they are unhappy with their career,” Mead said.

“I also feel like we serve our alumni really well,” Gibson said. “I feel like they have a place to come if they have any questions.”

The career office offers mock interviews (call the office to make an appointment), resume critiques, Hire-A-Shocker, job fairs and articles on their website.

Hire-A-Shocker is an online database that allows students to make a profile and search for jobs that employers post on the website.

“All the latest jobs are updated on the website every morning, Monday through Friday,” Recruiting Coordinator Karen Gillenwater said.

From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday there will be 61 employers in Koch Arena looking for new employees.

Career Services hosts a job fair each year to give students a convenient way to meet future employers.

There will be a lot of employers representing engineering, business, sociology, chemistry, biology, criminal justice and graphic design, Gillenwater said. All students have to do is look great and bring their resume and business cards.

An education interview day and a physical therapy fair will be offered later in the year.

The website also has a wealth of information ranging from how to write the best resume, tough interview questions, what to wear to an interview and how to request Career Services to speak at a student meeting or event.

“Part of what makes our office special is being in a metropolitan area,” Pletcher said. “In some small schools, it is a one-person office.”

With the amount of resources Career Services supplies students and alumni, and more than 28,000 people in their email pool, their days are filled with activity.

Once a student walks through their doors there is no telling what great mystery they will uncover about themselves before they leave.