The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin

Careers Office was set up on 1 March 2000 at John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin on the initiative of the University Authorities. On 15 December 2000 it became a member of all-Poland Network of Careers Offices, realizing the mission of the network within specific standards, helping students and university graduates in an effective entry and efficient functioning on the job market.

The main target for the office is free-of-charge assistance provided to students and graduates in the selection of their career path, effective methods on the job market and help in the acquisition of professional experience and subsequent qualifications. The second target of Office activity is the cooperation with employers from all Poland in order to facilitate the flow of information concerning job offers, trainings, apprenticeships, other programmes addressed at students and university graduates as well as requirements and recruitment plans.

Activities undertaken by Careers Office for Students and Graduates:
1. Individual professional counselling and providing professional information (information concerning widely defined job market, specification of preferences and professional predispositions, corrections of application documents, tips of advice concerning job interviews,  showing the possibilities of qualification upgrading).
2. Examining the professional predispositions by means of psychological methods.
3. Training workshops on job market mechanisms and building up soft skills (workshops on: writing CV and cover letter, job market mechanisms, job interviews, selection techniques, assessment centres, negotiation techniques, assertiveness, interpersonal communication, coping with stress, motivation techniques, self-evaluation and other).
4. Employment exchange (on the office website, various job advertisements are placed: permanent jobs, part-time, trainings, voluntary work and apprenticeships; job offers are then sent to those interested in them directly onto their e-mail accounts).
5. Job and Training Fairs (an event organized annually, hosting employers from all Poland).
6. “The Best employed by the Best” Contest for the paid summer practices in companies and institutions in Lublin (having finished their practices, many winners are employed in such companies).
7. Specialist meetings called “professional cafés” (specialists from selected branches of business present the specificity of their profession, qualifications necessary for the job and perspectives of future employment).
8. Presentation of companies at University with respect to their recruitment plans and requirements for potential employees
9. Organization of formal part of optional practices aiming at the acquisition of professional experience by students.
10. Co-operation with the EURES European Employment Services in order to gain access to job offers abroad for Polish students and graduates.
11. Giving access to information booklets (job market guidebooks, papers with job offers, specialist magazines, book publications, training videos, CD trainings).
12. Giving access to internet stands in order to search for a job.

Careers Office for Students and Graduates of KUL co-operates with numerous companies, institutions, offices, foundations and uniform services from all Poland within the scope of job exchange and trainings, apprenticeship programmes, student competitions, company presentations at universities. It also initiates and maintains contacts with local companies, national and international consortiums. Students have the possibility of participation in trainings in all Poland in such fields  as: sales, marketing, logistics, IT, audits, tax counselling,  Public Relations, Human Resources, credit analyses, customer services and many more.

The Office co-operates with EURES European Employment Services to facilitate job exchange abroad. Thanks to the co-operation and exchange of information with the Academic Enterprise Incubators and other institutions dealing with entrepreneur support, the Office spreads the idea of enterprise and presents the most vital information concerning the establishment of  economic activity.

The Office co-operation with AIESEC organization enables the transfer of information about foreign practice offers to those potentially interested in them. Co-operation with many Careers Offices in all Poland within the framework of All-Poland Network of Careers Offices results in new ideas and inspires to search for better and better methods of promotion of students and graduates.  The exchange of information with Public Institutions of the Job Market helps to reach with information concerning government programmes addressed at graduates (such as 1. Work, trainings upgrading qualifications). Co-operation with recruitment portals such as pracuj.pl and kariera.com.pl results in the obtainance of professionally prepared free-of-charge job market guidebooks.
Careers Office for Students and Graduates also co-operates with various media (press, radio, television, internet portals) in order to promote the initiatives which it undertakes and to present the information about the job market (interviews, radio and TV programmes).