Free Career App Available to Help Students
As students job search this spring — for summer gigs or full-time employment — they can use all the help they can get. Luckily, there's an app for that!

The career services office at Texas Christian University added a Career App to iTCU, the university's smartphone app, in the late fall. The resource can be accessed using an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. It's also available at https://careers.tcu. edu/resources.

"I remember sitting in the waiting room and flipping through magazines before a job interview," Susan Nethery, director of student-affairs marketing at Texas Christian University, told The Chronicle of Higher Education. "The main idea was, What if you could instead spend that time brushing up on how to answer interview questions, or even look at some questions you may want to ask your potential employer?"

What's Offered
The Career App offers this type of information through six sections:

• Business Etiquette — Includes tips on social media, email and small talk
  
• Creating Your Personal Pitch — How to sell yourself, with examples to tap into
  
• Dining Etiquette — What fork to use, ordering tips and more
  
• Interview Preparation — What to wear, what to bring, how to determine our salary range and ways to improve your interview skills
  
• Interview Questions — Review the questions and get suggestions on how to respond, whether you're a current student or experienced alum
  
• After the Interview — What steps to take, like writing thank yous and following up with potential employers

So, interviewees can turn to their iPhone for tips on answering "describe your biggest weakness" as well as help deciphering their business lunch napkin usage.

A few short video tutorials are also available, reports the Chronicle, on topics like negotiating salary.

The app is part of an approach to giving students the tools they need to succeed in an iffy job climate. As Nethery told the Chronicle, "We're instead going to where the students are and delivering this information to them, because it is crucial to prepare students with the skills they will need to find a job in this economy."

Sources: iTCU from iTunes; Chronicle of Higher Education, 12/8/10; https://careers.tcu.edu/ resources/