With the excitement of the new school year, it can be hard for students to think about what is going to happen once it is all over. The fact remains that life here at Chapman is only temporary, and in order to for students to make the most of their time here, they must constantly make sure that they are doing everything necessary to land the career of their choice upon graduation.   This is a daunting task for most students, but luckily the Office of Career Planning and Placement (OCPP) is here to guide our business undergraduate students through the entire process.

To help us learn more about OCPP, its Associate Director Sandra Hague answered a few questions for us.


Where can I find OCPP?

On the 4th floor of Beckman Hall (across the way from Academic Advising) in Suite 403.  We are open Monday through Friday, between 8am – 5pm.

What is your advice to someone who does not know how to start their career or know what they want to do?

I have a couple of suggestions.  One, a student could stop by our Open House this coming Thursday, September 6 from 1:30pm – 4:00pm to introduce themselves and get acquainted with our services. If they couldn’t make the Open House – then I would suggest stopping by during our drop-in hours or make an appointment with one of our career advisors to get the process started. Students can see our drop-in hours or make an appointment by clicking on the Career Resources/ Career Advising link on our website.

How would you advise an incoming Freshman?

Depends on what the Freshman is coming in to see me about! If they are seeking advice about careers – I would say, get acclimated to your classes, the campus, and your peers this semester. It’s important to understand the demands of being a college student. I would also say, get familiar with all of your campus resources. Chapman offers so many student resources and we are all here to help you get started in your career as a Chapman Panther!  Resources would include everything from your faculty, career services staff, academic advising, the Center for Global Education, student clubs and much more.

What does the OCPP do?

Well, we do quite a bit!  We mainly provide career services for business students. We help students with their job/internship search, creating or updating their resume, cover letters and preparing for their interviews. We also oversee our Accounting Recruiting Program which runs year round – providing students the opportunity to meet, interview and recruit with local and national accounting firms. Finally, we also work with and help employers in the community — by connecting them to our business students through one-on-one applications, meet and greet events or on-campus interviews.

What are some other services that OCPP offers?  

Something not widely advertised — is that we will order business cards for our business students — and they are official Chapman University Business Cards.  Students do need to pay a $20.00 fee.  They can be ordered through Brittany Deneau at deneau@chapman.edu and they are great for networking!

What distinguishes OCPP from the CDC (Career Development Center which is career services for the whole campus)?

The most distinguishing factor is the fact that we only serve business students and employers who want to recruit them.  Second to that is our size!  Size being – small number of staff.  We are a staff of three full-time staff and a student employee.

What are some common interview mistakes?  

Oh where do I begin?  One of the biggest mistakes that students make is not preparing for the interview.  What I mean by that is — students often overlook preparing their “success stories” or their “failures” and lessons learned from them.   They also often overlook their true strengths and what they can truly offer an employer or organization.  A candidate needs to be prepared to answer questions like, “Why should we hire you?”

What advice would you give to job hunters in the current economic climate?

Be open, flexible and willing.  But, don’t be too hasty and jump into just anything — job hunters should be diligent about seeking out the right job for them.

Where can students find part-time jobs with OCPP?  

Another excellent question.  Our biggest source of part-time jobs is listed online through ASBE Connect.  Employers in the community specifically post jobs just for Chapman students.  It is located on our website here:  https://argyros-chapman-csm.symplicity.com/students/

Another place to locate part-time jobs is right here on campus — through our Student Employment office.  An on-campus job can be a great way to build skills, and a resume.  They are available in most departments on campus to work study and non-work study students.

– Jared Moriarty

About the author:  Jared is currently a MBA/MFA student at Chapman University.