Ed Board believes one of the campus’ best-kept secrets is the strength of the Hegi Family Career Center. However, most students seem to wait to utilize the center’s tools until their final semester. All Ed Board can say about that is that it’s a HUGE mistake.

The center is located just inside the southern entrance to Hughes-Trigg if you still can’t place the actual location.

Aside from conducting mock interviews, on-site interviews with high-profile companies in Dallas, résumé tips, online job postings and a whole plethora of informative guides if you’re a do-it-yourselfer, director Jerry Alexander and the center’s staff are friendlier and more accommodating than a staff at a four-star hotel.

With the dreaded end of the 2004-2005 academic year, Ed Board’s willing to bet that most seniors are searching for a career. And one that pays well. The career center can’t get you your dream job, but it can provide you with all the necessary tools to put you on the right track.

Perhaps students don’t head to the career center because they’re afraid to face the inevitable task of finding a job. Trust the two seniors on Ed Board and believe the two of us when we say that jobs don’t fall from the sky.

It takes time to find a good job, and according to Helayne King, advertising professor, the more time a person spends looking for a job, the higher that person’s starting salary.

If that’s not enough incentive for the procrastinator in us all, Ed Board doesn’t know what else is. Money’s a strong motivator.

Most people aren’t overly eager to leave the Hilltop for the working world, but the career center is the perfect bridge to join that inevitable transition.

So once again, if you’re not familiar with the career center and feel your résumé, interviewing skills and general lack of knowledge about the professional world could inhibit your future, it’s time for change.

Ed Board encourages you to go in and start working on your résumé, interviewing skills and other skills necessary to get you that dream job, immediately. It’s never too soon to plan ahead for the future.

Think of the career center as an insurance agent helping you avoid unemployed the day after you graduate. The return of a career is worth the investment of your time.