The start of the spring semester not only presents new classes and clubs to join, but also internships to stress about. Thankfully for Case Western Reserve University students, nestled on the second floor of Sears Library is a place to help students along with this process: CWRU’s career center, the office of Post-Graduate Planning and Experiential Education (PGPEE).

Formed in 2018, the office offers many resources. One of the least intensive services is known as Career Lab, where students can meet with staff for answers to any questions or help with any issues. These services range from reviewing cover letters and CVs, to helping with answering questions on an internship application. 

For students looking for a more one on one experience, the office of PGPEE allows students to schedule appointments with a member of its professional staff to explore different career tracks, develop a personal internship or job search strategies or schedule a mock interview. For interview preparation, students will come into the office with a description of the job they are applying for, their resume and cover letter, and a professional career consultant will interview them, as if it were a real interview.

As Drew Poppleton, the director of this office, notes, one can meet “in person or virtually, one-on-one or as part of a group, early in the morning or later at night; you can drop in tomorrow or schedule an appointment for next month—it’s totally up to you and we’re excited to meet you either way.”

In order to help students find their next opportunity, Post-Graduate planning hosts both large career fairs, but also smaller weekly newsletters. Poppleton calls these “career interest areas,” where students “will receive relevant communications from us featuring events, industry trends, employment opportunities and more. It’s easy to do and it helps us serve you better.” Students can sign up for this via Handshake. 

Regarding college fairs, Poppleton explains, “the first fair is our 2023 Spring Virtual Career Fair on 2/17 from noon to 4:00 p.m. on the Handshake platform.” This one is unique as “you can sign up for 10 minute one-on-one conversations with employer representatives or for 30 minute group sessions.” There is a second, in-person career fair slated to take place on March 3 in Veale Fieldhouse, in which employers and representatives from graduate school programs will be present. “Both fairs offer fantastic opportunities to network, explore and learn more about experiential and post-graduate opportunities,” Poppleton highlights, further mentioning that students can register for both of these events through Handshake.

Many of these same resources, including help looking at writing samples and mock interviews, are available to students looking at applying for graduate level programs. In addition, PGPEE offers a composite letter packet, where students applying to professional health science schools can request recommendation letters from their professors.

In encouraging students to visit his office more, Poppleton emphasizes that no matter where someone is in the career processes, even if they don’t know what their plans are, postgraduate planning is “here to partner with you on that journey and guide you through that decision-making process.”