Going Digital

For undergrads seeking degree progress, career planning events and internship resources at their fingertips –– there is an app for that.

The Career Center has launched Georgia College’s first free, mobile app, Bobcat Tracks, which allows students to stay in-the-know about on-campus job fairs, networking opportunities and more via iPhones and Androids.

“Students know that they have to go to class, but they often don’t think to visit the Career Center,” said Career Center Director Mary Roberts. “This app allows students to keep up with all that the Career Center has to offer.”

Bobcat Tracks took over a year to develop and gain approval from Apple and puts GC on the map as an innovative, tech-forward campus.

“I push for the community and our campus to become more tech-savvy because it gives my field more opportunities,” said senior management information systems major Alex Parton. “The app is also a good way to stay up-to-date with all of the information that’s on campus.”

Bobcat Tracks has not only received praise from students, but also from professors who hope to see students excel in the workforce.

“We made an application that prepares students for the workforce,” said Gita Williams Phelps, associate professor of computer science, in a recent press release. “The Career Center application grooms them for the job market, and it’s all in the palm of their hands.”

The helpful app features tabs such as self-assessment, degree exploration, job and graduate school search tools, work experience, networking, campus involvement and leadership to steer users in the direction of success while completing an undergraduate degree.

“The sections of the app are categorized by topical importance, with self-assessment at the top as a major feature,” Roberts said. “Bobcat Track also features degree checklists and allows students to save their progress as they use the app.”

Some undergrads never take advantage of the abundant resources readily available in the Career Center and leave GC without a resume, internship experience or networking contacts.“Some students graduate without engaging in on-campus career resources or ever visiting the Career Center,” Roberts said. “However, we are looking to change that with this innovative new app.”

The accessibility and convenience of Bobcat Tracks is what makes the new app appealing to students who are constantly on the go and may not have time to visit the Career Center.

“Long gone are the days where we will have to go up to a community bulletin board to see a bunch of messy papers,” Parton said. “Instead, we will have a clean, sleek app to help students know what is going on at Georgia College.”

All on-campus career events are listed on   the Bobcat Tracks Career Connection tab, including the Career Center’s upcoming Senior Picnic.

The Sept. 7 event will be held on Front Campus from noon to 2 p.m., for all seniors, with the first 400 guests receiving free food, T-shirts, calendars, job magazines and graduate school guides.

“This is a new event that prepares students for their job search, and we hope to make it a yearly tradition,” Roberts said. “My best advice to students is to be proactive. Most job searches typically take six to nine months, so seniors should begin looking for jobs months before graduation.”

The Senior Picnic will also host 17 diverse employers and organizations including GEICO, Enterprise Holdings, Lowes, SouthernCare Hospice, Georgia Professional Standards Commission and the U.S. Department of State.

To download Bobcat Tracks to iPhones and Android devices, search keyword “GC Career” on appshopper.com or the iTunes store.

Posted by Lindsay Shoemake on Sep 1 2011. Filed under Lead stories, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.