Career Services

This five session, zero-credit class is offered in the fall quarter. Classes include:

• Who Are You and What Are Your Goals?: Understanding yourself to identify the right industry and job. 
• Developing Your Search Strategy: How to find the ideal first job
• Building Your Network: How to leverage your network (both online and in person) in your job search
• Who Are You On Paper?: Building Powerful Resumes & Cover Letters
• Who Are You In Person?: Mastering the Interview, Search Wrap-Up, and First Day on the Job

Career Night is an annual event during which successful alumni and industry professionals provide students with career advice in a conversational panel format. Panels typically include: Marketing & Public Relations, Advertising, Radio Television & Film, and Non-Profit Management. The event concludes with an informal networking session.

Previous Companies include:

The Entertainment Panel provides students an opportunity to interact with alumni in the entertainment industry. Speakers include actors, writers, directors, agents, and other industry professionals. Past participants have included Greg Berlanti, creator of Everwood; Marg Helgenberger, star of CSI; Richard Lewis, producer of CSI; Zach Gilford, actor in Friday Night Lights; and Laverne McKinnon, president of Shibui Entertainment.

The EPICS office collaborates with the Medill School of Journalism to organize an annual Communications Career Fair, where companies come to Northwestern to promote job and internship opportunities. Typically, over forty companies attend and over 300 students participate. The 2011 Career Fair is scheduled for April 13, 2011 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. in the Norris University Center on the Evanston campus. Career Fair preparation sessions will be offered prior to the fair.

EPICS will coordinate company information presentations for companies that are looking for interns, job candidates, or to enhance their connection to the NU community. Previous visits have included CAA (Creative Artist Agency), Taylor PR, Allstate (Marketing), Deloitte Consulting, and Burson-Marsteller. If you are a company representative interested in scheduling a presentation, contact epics@northwestern.edu.

The EPICS office launched a new program during the 2010 - 2011 academic year. Students have the opportunity to visit a company, theatre, hospital, or other facility to gain insight into the industry and ask questions about the leadership journey of NU alumni or friends of the school. Leadership Journeys include:

• Steppenwolf Theatre: Fall 2010 — Steppenwolf production manager Al Franklin led Northwestern students on a tour of Steppenwolf, which ended with a panel discussion on "Top Things to Know about Pursuing a Career in Professional Theatre" with stage manager David Schmitz; marketing director John Zinn; and Kimberly Senior, who served as program director for Steppenwolf's Fifth Annual First Look Repertory of New Work. Read more about the event.
• Northwestern Memorial Hospital: Winter 2011 — Twenty undergraduates, graduate students, and PhD candidates learned about a career in medical speech language pathology from clinical speech language pathologists Jeri Logemann, Kristin Larsen, Cory Atkinson, Sharon Veis, and Megan Schliep and toured Northwestern Memorial’s Voice, Speech, and Language Service and Swallowing Center
• Chicago Blackhawks: March 4, 2011

SoConnect is the new School of Communication internship and career database:

• Upload multiple cover letters, resumes, clips, and other documents
• Search and apply directly to SoC-specific internship and jobs
• Save settings for job searches to be used again at the click of a button
• Set automatic notifications to announce when new postings are in the system
• RSVP to upcoming events and register for workshops

Log in to SoConnect  using your NetID and password. You will need to register the first time you access the site. If you have problems accessing SoConnect, contact NUIT at 1-HELP.

Visit the SoC LinkedIn site to connect with alumni and view additional job postings.

School of Communication students are able to set up one-on-one internship or career coaching sessions with the EPICS Director during reading and finals week of each quarter. To schedule an appointment, contact epics@northwestern.edu.

Several career workshops are offered in conjunction with University Career Services. Read the bi-weekly EPICS email and visit the EPICS calendar to learn more.