A new semester means it’s back to the grind, not only for classes but also for internships.

It can feel so confusing at first not knowing where to look, how to tailor your resume, or even how to prepare for an interview. Of course, Penn State has a natural fix for problems like these.

Nittany Lion Careers serves as a central hub for Penn State students to search for internships and opportunities. Students can also seek professional help from career counselors in their respective academic colleges.

Here’s how are some of the benefits and ways to navigate the essentials of Nittany Lion Careers:

Why It’s A Great Resource

Nittany Lion Careers is a hidden gem that students should take advantage of while they can. When using other sites like LinkedIn and Indeed, it can be confusing to find what you’re looking for.

Unlike other Penn State websites that opt for fashion over function (read: LionPath), Nittany Lion Careers is actually an easy site to navigate with different resources organized in one central location. When searching for jobs or internships, you can actually get the results you want using the filters that best fit your major or future career.

Not to mention, it also includes the opportunity to meet with faculty that will help you with your professional development.

If you’re struggling with polishing up your resume or writing a cover letter for an internship, getting feedback and help from counselors — who are literally getting paid to help you — is one of the most essential things you can do. All it takes is scheduling an appointment with one of them.

All in all, not taking advantage of a valuable resource like Nittany Lion Careers is a huge missed opportunity. Like many things at Penn State, you only have so long to take advantage of it.

How To Navigate It

Once you log on using your Penn State credentials and go through the hell that is the two-factor authentication, you’ll be brought to the page below. The important stuff is on the lefthand side of the page, though.

Once you get to the job search page, you can use the filters under “Position Type” and “More Filters” to tailor the options to what type of job or internship you’re looking for. Under “More Filters,” you can select your major or academic college.

After making your choices, your customized jobs and/or internships will show up.

Students can also schedule appointments with career counselors to review their resumes and cover letters, do mock interviews, or receive professional advice. To request an appointment, you guessed it — click on the button that says “Request an Appointment.”

From there, you can select a range of dates, the time range, the length of the appointment, and the career counselor you’d like to meet. Once you have all of your criteria filled out, you can check the availability of the selected career counselor.

After selecting an appointment with your chosen counselor, you can select from the following appointment topics, which range from career exploration to resume reviews to job search strategies.

Once you confirm your appointment request, you’ll receive an email confirming your request. The career counselor you’ve selected will have to accept your request to officially set up your appointment.

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Searching for an internship or job isn’t the easiest. Thankfully, Nittany Lion Careers makes it a little bit easier to navigate the job search. Happy hunting!