The Fox School’s Center for Student Professional Development (CSPD) empowers students by helping them build skills and professional development experience to prepare them for the business world.
For first-year students, CSPD can provide unique opportunities for early skill development and networking. Here’s everything you need to know about CSPD as a first-year student, with advice from Marissa Kleinman, assistant director of undergraduate professional development at CSPD.
“Whether you’re just beginning or ending [your education], there’s resources and conversation to be had that we can support you with,” says Kleinman.
How To Find CSPD’s Resources
There are both online and in-person opportunities for Fox students to use CSPD’s resources.
Kleinman says students can sign up for appointments with a CSPD Career Coach via Handshake, or stop by Alter Hall 134 during drop-in hours for brief resume critiques or to address quick professional development questions.
For the fall 2022 semester, refer to the drop-in hours below.
Monday 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Tuesday: 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Wednesday: 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Thursday: 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Friday: 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
In addition to one-on-one appointments, Kleinman advises undergraduate students to add CSPD to their Canvas Dashboard.
“The CSPD undergraduate page is like your 24/7 career services,” explains Kleinman. “It has all of our resources on it and you can access it at any time.”
Getting CSPD’d
After understanding how to access these resources, the first action new students should take to connect with the CSPD office is completing the CSPD process, a four-step process commonly referred to as “getting CSPD’d.”
Aside from enrolling in the Canvas course and completing a welcome module, the process of getting CSPD’d focuses on resume development and a subsequent resume critique.
“For many of our students, they go through the process and get their critiques, and that’s the starting point of the resume that will continue to develop as they’re students here,” says Kleinman. “[Getting CSPD’d] is a foundational beginning to a student’s professional development.”
At the end of this process, students will be able to identify the resources available to them at the Fox School, create a professional resume in the Fox Signature format and participate in Fox Connection employer events.
Resources Available To You
Many first-year students come to Temple without a major declared or a clear idea of their future career. Kleinman says CSPD has resources available to help these students with major and career exploration—a solid first step in professional development.
“One of the things you can do during that first year is to learn more about majors and career paths. In our appointments, we can talk to you about different career paths and what your interests are,” says Kleinman. “The more information and knowledge students have about majors and career paths, the better career development decisions they can make moving forward. We have the resources available through the CSPD Canvas page, coaching appointments and our professional development strategies class BA2101.”
Another aspect of career development Kleinman says first-year students can begin to focus on is resume development. Although many first-year students don’t have full resumes starting out in college, looking into internships or how to get involved by getting CSPD’d is a starting point.
Kleinman explains, “Students are thinking, ‘Where can I fill in the gaps?’ Whether it’s getting a part-time job, student worker job or joining a club, take a look at how you can begin to develop your resume.”
CSPD Events
As the fall 2022 semester nears, CSPD is set to host various events and opportunities for incoming, current and transfer students.
On Tuesday, Sept. 13 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., CSPD is hosting ResumePalooza, a virtual resume review drop-in session. This is just one of many events CSPD hosts throughout the academic year that students can attend.