Faculty & Staff Resources

Career Center topics include

• Introduction to Resumes
• Advanced Resume Workshops
• Intro to Career Center
• Intro to Career Center (University Classes)
• Exploring Career Pathways
• Preparing for the Job and Internship

Additional tools and resources:

• For faculty looking to incorporate Career Center resources into their classes, please visit the Career Center Student Toolkit and/or review the student links above for resources on different career topics. In addition, we have a Faculty Toolkit available below. For questions or access to the Career Center Student Toolkit in Canvas, please email [email protected].
• Handshake - Our curated job and internship search tool along with events and career fairs, employer connections, and experiences. All students have access, all staff and faculty can create an account to be approved by our Career Center staff.
• Focus2Career - Career and major exploration and career assessments along with job data, any SSU community member can create an account with their sonoma.edu email and by using the code "seawolf" when you create your account.
• JobScan - Resume creation and review site that integrates job data into resume feedback (coming soon!)

Requesting A Workshop: Complete our Workshop Request Form. Workshops must be requested at least 2 weeks prior to your requested date. Classroom presentations are limited to one workshop per unit, per semester. 

*All workshops are scheduled for 60 minutes, except for "Introduction to the Career Center" which is scheduled for 5–10 minutes. If you have a 50-minute class, we can adjust our workshop, but we ask that you let us know in advance. Thank you!

Questions? Please contact Becky Sandoval Young, Career Center Coordinator, at [email protected]

• Focus2Career: Encourage your students to reflect on their skills, interests, competencies, personality, and values. We offer a variety of self-assessment tools, as well as information about competencies and career readiness, including practical ways that students can strengthen workplace skills. Utilize our Focus2Career tools here as a course assignment. Sign up for an account using the Code SEAWOLF. All faculty, staff, and students can access this resource.
• Suggest Career Center resources: Tools like Focus2Career and other sites listed on our Explore Careers page can be used to research career options for a variety of majors. Students can also schedule 1-on-1 appointments and complete an intake with us to determine the next steps.
• Debunk major and career myths: We believe that a major does not determine or limit students’ career options. Unless a student is planning to enter a technical field, such as engineering or accounting, he/she can obtain the skills necessary to succeed in a variety of careers. We encourage students to study what they enjoy, assess their values, interests, and personality, and explore careers related to what they have learned about themselves. We invite you to partner with us in encouraging this flexible career mindset and mentor students from a coaching perspective. What do they want to do? Explore? Learn more about?
• Feel free to send students our way! Drop in hours are 10AM - 3PM and they are able to make an appointment via Loboconnect. 

Here are a few suggestions for helping students more intentionally focus on competencies:

• Critical Thinking/Problem Solving
• Oral and Written Communication
• Teamwork/Collaboration
• Digital Technology
• Global/Intercultural Fluency
• Leadership
• Professionalism/Work Ethic
• Career Management

Make explicit which class sessions/assignments/projects link to building particular competencies. Discuss it during class and include them on your syllabus with definitions and further resources.

• We offer numerous resources for finding jobs and internships, including tools just for SSU students, field-specific career sites, and much more!
• We meet with students in 1-on-1 appointments to discuss resumes and cover letters, internship and job search strategies, and more!
• Handshake is our online, mobile-friendly platform that connects students and early alumni to employers for jobs, internships, and career events. Students can find postings for thousands of external jobs and internships, on-campus student employment, career resources, virtual and in-person career events, and announcements. Additional information about Handshake and other job search resources can be found on our website on the Finding a Job page.

References and recommendations are an essential aspect of students taking their first steps as professionals. A great reference can make or break getting a good job and impact their career trajectory and earning capacity for their entire lifetime. This is especially critical for women, people of color, and any underrepresented groups. As faculty, you become some of the best references and recommendation writers. A reference typically means agreeing to share your contact information and being called or emailed with a reference request that you can respond to in a timely manner - responding right away is key in the job search process.

A letter of recommendation is “expert testimony” to a student’s ability to perform a task: contributing to a team project, succeeding in graduate school, or learning from a particular experience (such as foreign study/travel). You need to be confident of the applicant’s ability to be able to write convincingly. You could put your professional credibility at risk if you consistently write letters for applicants who are not qualified.

Recommendation Letters for Graduate School Applicants

For graduate school, there is a kind of “code” for levels of confidence. Letter writers use these phrases at the beginning or end of the letter to express their professional evaluation. Generally speaking, there are four levels of confidence as suggested by graduate school forms themselves:

• Strongly recommend – You are very confident in the applicant’s ability
• Recommend – You are confident in the applicant’s ability
• Recommend with reservations – You are somewhat confident, but have specific areas of doubt (include an explanation)
• Do not recommend – You do not believe in the applicant’s ability to succeed (include an explanation)

Tips for Successful Recommendation Letters

A letter of recommendation succeeds on the same merits as any form of persuasive writing: good vocabulary, solid essay structure, appropriate content, and relevant details.

• Vocabulary – using strong, vivid language in both nouns and verbs
• Essay Structure – Structure the letter as a four-to-five-paragraph essay with a thesis
  1. The first paragraph should state how long the writer has known the applicant, in what context, and a general “thesis” statement regarding the applicant’s abilities/suitability for the position.
  2. The main body should provide two or three examples of qualities that inspire confidence (or lack of confidence) in the applicant’s skills or character.
  3. Conclude with an explicit level of recommendation (strongly/highly, recommend, recommend with reservations [must provide explanation], do not recommend [must provide explanation]).
• Appropriate Content – Avoid exaggeration or speculation outside your knowledge base
• Details – Include a few well-chosen examples of why you recommend this individual. The examples should be obvious within your sphere of knowledge
• Be aware of your own biases and your language regarding the student. The following resources provide things to keep in mind:
  • Avoiding Racial Bias
  • Help That Hurts Women
  • Writing Reference Letters for People with Disabilities 

Format of Recommendation Letters

These are official documents and should be written using the following professional/business format:

• On professional or organizational letterhead; Appropriate addressing
• Block flush-left paragraphs; Appropriate greetings and closings
• 11 pt. font; One to two pages long