We believe that it is our responsibility to advocate for and empower students and alumni to pursue their own power-oriented goals. We demonstrate our commitment to create equitable experiences by challenging our own policies and processes as well as employer partners’ awareness of equitable recruiting practices. Through intentional programming and readily available resources, we help students and alumni develop competencies that will enable them to be knowledgeable and capable in their personal, meaningful career journeys.
resources for students
Students Moving Forward - UNC Charlotte edition:
Expanding the excellent work done by Wesley Wade and NC State, our office has joined this initiative to provide UNC Charlotte students who identify as Autistic/being on the autism spectrum with professional development and career branding activities, and to connect them with opportunity. Students do not need to have an official diagnosis to join.
“Students Moving Forward (1) provides evidenced-based career guidance for students who are Autistic/on the autism spectrum; (2) cultivates a sense of community for students and strengthens their social and professional networks; and (3) helps students obtain and successfully navigate paid, degree-related internships and full-time postgraduate opportunities.” - NC State Career Development Center
Workshop Series and Registration: You may register at any time during the semester and registration does not obligate you to participate in every meeting. Each session is 60 minutes long and can include presentation, panels, Q&A, discussions - all to help you in the transition from student to professional. All sessions for Spring 2022 will be via Zoom.
- January 20th, 4pm: Preparing for a Career Fair
- February 17th, 4pm: Building a Resume
- March 3rd, 4pm: LinkedIn Profile Work
- April 14th, 4pm: The Job Search
Students Moving Forward Interest / Registration Form
How to Partner & Support - if you are interested in connecting with this program, please contact Dr. Patrick Madsen at pmadsen@uncc.edu. We are always eager to speak with organizations serious about hiring a neurodiverse workforce in the Charlotte area.
The North Carolina Autistic Career Summit - annual event complete with keynote, learning opportunities, and career fair. Coming Fall 2022!!
Questions? - connect with Dr. Patrick Madsen at pmadsen@uncc.edu if you are a student, employer, faculty/staff, or parent.
CommunAbility Mentoring Program - First College/University in N.C. to have this!
Initiated by a grant from the Chancellor’s Diversity Fund, a new partnership between DisabilityIN NC, Office of Disability Services, and the University Career Center was established that will increase resources, mentorship, and student services to help our students with disabilities better prepare and connect to the workforce. The goal of CommunAbility is to create an inclusive and productive community by expanding economic opportunity and financial literacy for students with disabilities through meaningful relationships with business mentors.
Our strategy in motion
Our office seeks to always improve, develop, and enhance all that we do. Take a look at some of our work.
Selected Programs and Services:
Inclusivity Mixer: Established in 2017, the Inclusivity Mixer is the premiere diversity engagement event connecting students and employers at UNC Charlotte. The event welcomes all applicants and employers and aims to promote inclusivity and equity no matter the race, ethnicity, citizenship, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability, socio-economic status, special abilities, and religion.
Professional Clothing Closet: We believe access to good quality professional attire can help our students feel more confident in themselves and present a more polished representation of their “career selves”. In 2017, partnering with the Jamil Niner Food Pantry, our office provided new opportunities for student education around professional presentation and an expansion of acquired clothing to meet the student need. Over the past three years, this operation has blossomed into providing professional clothing to students the day of career fairs, collaboration with Alumni groups which brought in more than 500+ items, sponsorship from local employers,individuals, and the university’s Diversity Fund, and a newly renovated space (check it out in our office tour video!) within the career center with a special thanks to IKEA and Sherwin Williams for helping us get everything established!
Summer Internship Scholarship Fund: Internships are an important way to get insights into a career field, obtain valuable professional experience, and develop new skills. There are some students that find themselves in a position of having to decide between a part time job that pays for college and taking on an unpaid internship that can provide greater career opportunities in the future. In 2018, our career center made the strategic decision to reinvest revenue from our career fairs towards an internship scholarship that provides a stipend to alleviate financial obstacles. Since inception, the program continues to see an increase in applicants, alumni and employer sponsorship, and a partnership with the 49er Family Fund!
Office Initiatives
Career Engagement: our office continues to actively review all career educational programs, services, and resources to ensure inclusivity. Our team analyzes office usage data, the diversity of our invited guest speakers, and specific career topics so as to represent society’s multicultural/multiethnic work ecosystem.
Education & Training: our office continues to review, reflect, and implement both formal and informal opportunities to provide diversity training to UCC staff, students, employers, and campus staff/faculty on topics relating to career education and talent acquisition.
Intentional Collaborations: our office continues to review and develop avenues to collaborate, partner, and communicate with student organizations, support offices, and other entities and initiatives to fully integrate career education and talent planning into campus life.
Disrupt the System: our office seeks opportunities at our department level, university wide, and the greater “systems” to wield our influence and power towards greater change in talent development and acquisition. Our team will review policies, procedures, and systems as they affect the career education and success of our students.
Tell our Story: our office seeks opportunities to both show and provide substance to the ways that we are tackling inclusivity and diversity in the realm of career education and talent acquisition at UNC Charlotte.
Inclusivity in the Workplace: Best practices for recruitment and retention
Here are selected recommendations from our Employer Relations Team to help your organization with your own work around identity, equity, and engagement
Dismantling Fit in Higher Education and Corporate Culture
How to Minimize Unconscious Bias During Recruitment