Liz Horgan, director of Career Services here at Nichols College, describes herself in five words: caring, open-minded, self-motivated, sarcastic, and impatient. If you know Liz, right now you’re smiling because those words so embody who she is. If you have not yet met Liz Horgan, there’s no time like the present. She’s more than just five words though — Liz is a person who knows how to succeed, and knows not to take success lightly. As we sat down to lunch recently, Liz let me know that her favorite time of day is not a particular time, but those moments when students come in to share their success stories. Not just because they have had a great moment in life, but because they took the time to share it.
Liz taught my 3rd-year PDS (professional development seminar) at Nichols. As an adult student and a recent transfer, I am not even going to pretend I was an easy student. I initially refused to create a LinkedIn account, complained constantly about the portfolio I needed to produce, and was just a complete brat at the start. Clearly Liz saw something in me, because she listened to my nonsense, put me (gently) in my place, and formed one of those student-mentor relationships I am certain will continue beyond my graduation. Liz looks at each student for who they are, not what they offer. She saw that I was a good student and wanted to cultivate that. She took into account that I was having a hard time adjusting and took the time to guide me where I needed to be. You should see my resume — seriously. I thought I had nothing and maybe even felt like I was nothing but according to my resume, I am reasonably spectacular. But enough about me!
In addition to her duties with Career Services, Liz also is an educator at Nichols College, teaching as many as two PDS classes each semester. Just this year Liz is educating her first 3-credit course, a class offering students the chance to learn about self-assessment, resumes, cover letters, using social media to your advantage…basically, a course in how to excel and succeed in the workforce. There’s no question she is the clear choice to teach such a course. For 22 years, Liz worked in property management. Eighteen of those years were spent in college recruitment. Now leading the team in Career Services, Liz is able to see both sides of the equation in hiring with a point of view from both employee and employer.
Career Services is located in the Fels Student Center and offers services for Nichols College day and evening students, as well as alumni. Even if you have graduated five years prior, you still have the option to come back to Nichols and seek help. Career Services has books for those wanting to read them, from guides on nailing an interview to workbooks about mastering the GRE. Career Services also offers web-based services to locate jobs such as Road to Success, which lists available jobs in the area; and CareerShift, an awesome new program that allows the job searcher to input criteria that will search potential employers as well as the employer websites. Why is this so awesome? Simple — at Career Services, the belief is that it is all about getting your resume in front of the right person. The technology behind CareerShift allows you to locate exactly who that person might be. Just how can you be sure your resume will impress? Try Optimal Resume, just one more service Career Services offers. Optimal Resume offers the user hints, tips, and tricks to get your resume near-perfect — definitely a must-use website for those writing a resume! There are so many things you can get from a visit to Career Services. If you want to bring in a list of companies you want to work for, Career Services will do their best to reach into their vast networking system and pluck someone they know, using social media and alumni to their advantage. They also offer one-on-one career coaching by appointment.
It’s important to know about the annual Career & Internship Fair here at Nichols. This year the event takes place on Tuesday, February 25, from 1:00 – 3:30. You can head over to the Athletic Center and speak to one of over 70 companies regarding employment and internships. Commonly called the ‘Career Fair’, this event was spear-headed by Cheryl Alderman and each year just becomes better and better. Liz does what she can to assist, but insists all credit go to Cheryl for the successes of this event. Don’t miss out on this event — mark your calendars now!
If you have yet to do so, pay a visit to Career Services. There’s no time like the present.