Start building your career the moment you walk on campus.

Translate your academic focus into a promising professional future with the help of our Office of Career Services. 

Career Services can assist with the following:

  • Career exploration
  • Internship planning
  • Resume and cover letter reviews
  • Preparation for job interviews
  • Career planning
  • Career fairs, workshops, and events

Meet the team

Staff

Gerald Pinotti

Director of Career Services

Staff

Jacqueline Boatman

Director of Student Internships

Resources for students

Career Information

Learn about potential occupations on these sites:

Candid Career - Access thousands of video clips featuring professionals sharing their career experiences and job preparation tips. Utilize the Candid Career Activity sheets (attached) and take notes to review.

O*Net Online - tool for career exploration with descriptions of occupations

Occupational Outlook Handbook - career information on duties, education and training, pay, and outlook

Career Videos on CareerOneStop

Local Employer Visits

Career Services arranges visits to local employers for students to learn about career options and opportunities.  Recent examples include visits to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Northern Trust Bank.

Employers visit campus throughout the year to both recruit and inform students about open positions. Recent examples include representatives from the Chicago Blackhawks, BKD (Accounting firm),

You & Your Vocation

Considerations and advice about finding your unique purpose and talents – You & Your Vocation

Assessments

Identify your career-related interests with these two interest inventories:

My Next Move

Interest Assessment (Career OneStop)

Informational Interviews

Conversations with people in occupations of interest to you are a great way to learn more and make connections – Informational Interviews

Internship standards & requirements

  • Each department as Concordia University has different requirements for their particular majors. That being said, we would suggest using the following steps to determine what works best for your situation:
  1. Speak to your Department Advisor to see if your major requires completion of an internship in order to graduate. Some major require one and some are optional for your own benefit.
  2. If you’d like to receive credit for your internship, speak to your Academic Advisor to sign up for an internship course.
  3. Your next step includes searching for internship opportunities. Once you have secured a position, you’ll have to coordinate further with your Academic Advisor and Department Advisor to receive approval and fill out any necessary paperwork.
  • How to find an internship: There are many websites and resources that you can use to find internship opportunities. To help you get started, use this quick-tip guide!  One of the resources listed is internships.com.
  • Successful Internships: Check out some of the students from Concordia University and the type of internship roles they have had with various employers!

Internships (PDF)

Volunteer Opportunities

The CUConnect Portal contains links to volunteer opportunities. To locate this section on the portal:

  • Log in at cuchicago.edu/ using your CUC login info
  • Click on the CUC Experience tab
  • Scroll down to “Career Services”
  • Click the links under “volunteer opportunities”

Download a copy of our new Career Planning Guide! Access quick tips for cover letters, resumes and more with links to sites that can help you along the way. The Guide also provides information on the Office of Career Services resources available to assist with career exploration, interview preparation, and job/internship searches.

Resume Writing: If you would like to meet in person for help with your resume, please contact our office.

The following resources are also available:

Cover Letter Writing

Interviewing Skills

Networking

Preparing for Career Fairs
Career fairs enable students and many employers to meet face-to-face in one place.  Concordia partners with various organizations to offer career fairs and events in the Chicagoland area and on-campus, including CCCI, ACI, and Athlete Network.

Here are some tips related specifically to career development for international students:

Resumes – U.S. resumes are different than international resumes.  View this PDF for more information on the differences and how to write a U.S. resume and cover letter - International Student Resumes & Cover Letters (PDF)            

Employment – On-campus employment, Curricular Practical Training (CPT), and Optional Practical Training (OPT) 

Concordia international students have had CPT and OPT experiences with a variety of companies including Bulmen, Consultant Group, Inc., Groupon, and Language Stars. 

Job Search

Jerry Pinotti, our director of career services, is an expert at building relationships with employers from many fields to connect our students to career opportunities.  In addition, there are many career events in the Chicago area that are open to Concordia students that we publicize through our newsletter and online.

The CUC Student Portal contains links to on-campus student jobs, part-time and full-time positions. To locate this section on the portal, do the following:

  1. Log in at cuchicago.edu using your CUC login info
  2. Click on the CUC Experience tab
  3. Scroll down to “Career Services”
  4. Click the links under “employment opportunities” and to view current positions

The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities Career Center connects passionate people with meaningful careers in Christian higher education, church ministry and faith-based nonprofits. Registration is free.

  1. Go to careers.cccu.org/jobseekers/
  2. Click 'Your Profile'
  3. Select the Sign Up tab and create your account with access ID and password
  4. Complete registration and submit
  5. You can now upload your resume, search for internships/jobs and create alerts for positions matching your skill set

AthleteNetwork.com is a resource for student-athletes to create a profile page and upload your resume. You can also search employers and apply to internships and jobs. Concordia hosts a job fair in cooperation with Athlete Network each year for students to make connections with employers.

We also recommend searching for jobs on the following websites, and see our list of sites by specific career areas:

Specific Industry Job Search Sites

Education (PreK – 12)

  • www.k12jobspot.com - draws from job vacancy lists for school districts that use Applitrack for their online applications and vacancy listings. 
  • www.illinoiseducationjobbank.org  - Illinois Education Job Bank (searchable by categories and locations)

Various counties in Illinois list education vacancies:

Specific types of districts or jobs:

Catholic, Lutheran and other private and independent schools:

Resources for targeting and researching schools/school districts

Education job sites that include out-of-state schools:

Higher Education

NON-PROFIT/SOCIAL SERVICES

SPORTS-RELATED

Employers

Jerry Pinotti, Concordia’s Director of Career Services, connects with employers throughout the Chicagoland area to help you fill your open positions with talented Concordia students.

Here are some of the logistics of posting positions and recruiting on-campus:

  • Posting a Job or Internship: In order to have open jobs or internships posted onto our student portal, please contact career.services@cuchicago.edu with the information, including how students should apply for the position (i.e. to which email address they should send their resumes).  Attaching a PDF job description is also helpful, if possible.
  • On-Campus Recruitment and Job Fairs: Concordia works with employers to set up on-campus tables where they can speak to and recruit students for jobs or internships. To be considered for an on-campus table, please send an e-mail directly to career.services@cuchicago.edu with the information including the roles you’re recruiting for, and the specific majors you are targeting. If you are interested in Job Fairs, please e-mail us with that information and we will add you to our employer list. However, Concordia does not usually host job fairs throughout the year as we work with CCCI, ACI, and Athlete Network to host our students at fairs.
  • Developing an Internship Program: If you are an employer that is just starting to develop an internship program and are interested in our standards and requirements, please contact career.services@cuchicago.edu to set up an appointment.

Feel free to contact Career Services with any questions: 708.209.3033, career.services@cuchicago.edu.