AHS Career Services strives to guide students through the career development process to enable them to be the most competitive candidates for whatever their next step after graduation may be. This is a process that begins when a student first steps foot on the University of Illinois campus and continues through graduation.
AHS Career Services helps improve career readiness competencies through:
- Academics building
- Experiential learning
- Employment skills
Make an appointment by emailing AHS Career Services to plan how you will gain experience. Services include:
- Program searching guidance
- Career exploration coaching
- Pre-health advising and health professions advising
- Pre-health at Illinois on Canvas
- Resume and cover letter building
- Personal statement review
- Informational interview guidance
- Social media assistance
- Career competencies building
- Experiential and extracurricular planning
- Mock interviewing
Health Professions
Many AHS students plan to work in a health profession after graduation. The AHS advisors are great resources who are familiar with the requirements and activities necessary to enter different types of health professions. The Illinois campus Career Center also offers resources vital in preparing to work in one of these fields:
I’m interested in a health profession. … now what?
Here are some steps to help put yourself in the best position to pursue your chosen career:
1
Tell your advisor your plans to pursue a health profession.
2
Join The Career Center’s Canvas page, Pre-Health @ Illinois.
3
Join a pre-health Registered Student Organization (RSO).
Students
Take Charge of the Career Development Process
The National Association of Colleges and Employers developed a list of career competencies that college-educated people need to build in order to be prepared for the next step after graduation, whether that be continuing education or the workforce.
The Eight Career Readiness Competencies
- Career and Self-Development
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Equity and Inclusion
- Leadership
- Professionalism
- Teamwork
- Technology
Students can build skills in these competencies in many ways:
Academics Building
Complementary Minors and Certificates
Here is a sample of some of the minors that AHS students often choose:
AHS Minors
- Aging
- Recreation, Sport and Tourism
- Speech and Hearing Science
- Disability Studies
- Health Technology
- Kinesiology
- Public Health
- Health Administration
Minors from other colleges at Illinois
Refer to the catalog for a complete list of all undergraduate minors at Illinois.
Courses to Build Skills
Here is a sample of some of the academic ways students can build their career competencies via coursework:
Communication
- CMN 101: Public Speaking
- CMN 102: Introduction to Communication
- CMN 230: Introduction to Interpersonal Communication
- CMN 260: Introduction to Health Communication
- CMN 462: Interpersonal Health Communication
- HK 201: Health Sciences Research Methods
- HK 390: Research Experiences in Health and Kinesiology
- HK 416: Applied Health Data Analysis
- PHIL 102/103: Logic and Reasoning
- RST 370: Research Methods and Analysis
- SHS 291: Research Lab Experience in SHS
- EPSY 202: Exploring Cultural Diversity
- EPSY 203: Social Issues Group Dialogues
- HK 271: Health Equity in the United States
- HK 463: Adapted Physical Education
- RST 199ID: Inclusive by Design
- RST 230: Diversity in Recreation, Sport and Tourism
- LEAD 230: Leadership Communications
- LEAD 260: Foundations of Leadership
- RST 200: Leadership in RST
- FSHN 398 Lifelong Nutrition for Sport & Physical Activity
- HK 360: Applied Experience in Health and Kinesiology
- HK 470: Orientation to Internship
- HK 471: Health Internship
- HK 495: Clinical Experience in Exercise & Sport
- RST 480: Orientation to Internship
- RST 485: Internship
- SHS 475: Pre-practicum in SHS
Any course utilizing group work/project development
- CS 124: Introduction to Computer Science I
- HK 203: Introduction to Health Technology
- HK 401: Health Behavior and Technology
- HK 402: Tech-Driven Health Intervention
- HK 403: Technology, Health, and Aging
- RST 216: Technology in Recreation, Sport and Tourism
Experiential Learning
RSOs
Registered Student Organizations are a wonderful way to get involved on campus, get to know other students and participate in activities that are important to you. They can also provide you opportunities to build your personal and career skills.
AHS Student Organizations
- AHS Council
- I-HEAL
- Kinesiology Student Association
- Sports Business Association
- I-LEAP Student Advisory Board
- James Scholar Student Advisory Board
- Alpha Epsilon Delta Pre-Health Society
- American Medical Student Association Pre-Med
- American Medical Women’s Association at UIUC
- Aspiring Women in Health
- Autism Speaks U at UIUC
- Bilingual Organization of SHS Students
- Delta Delta Sigma (Pre-dental fraternity)
- (eye)TEACH
- Future Healthcare Executives
- Health and Elder Law Society
- Illini Medical Screening Society
- Interdisciplinary Health Educators and Leaders
- MEDLIFE UIUC
- Mentors in Medicine
- Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students
- National Student speech Language Hearing Association
- Nutrition in Health
- Operation Smile
- Positive Pre-Meds
- Pre-Dental Club
- Pre-Health Latino Undergraduate Society
- Pre-Occupational Therapy Association
- Pre-Optometry Club
- Pre-Podiatry Club
- Student Academy of Audiology
- Student Nurses’ Association
- Campus listing of RSOs
Undergraduate Research
Participating in research provides an opportunity to learn new skills and interact with graduate students and professors in a new setting. To help learn whether research is an area you would like to pursue, explore some of these resources:
- AHS Undergraduate Research Expo
- Illinois Office of Undergraduate Research
- Health and Kinesiology research labs
- Recreation, Sport and Tourism research labs
- Speech and Hearing Science research labs
- Center on Health, Aging and Disability
- Office of Recreation and Park Resources
- Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology Clinic
Volunteering
A fulfilling way to build your career skills is by giving back to the community in the form of service. There are agencies and organizations that need volunteers to make sure they are able to help others. Many Registered Student Organizations offer opportunities for students to volunteer. The Office of Civic Life on campus is a great first stop for volunteer opportunities.
Employment Skills
Strengths and Interest Assessments
CliftonStrengths
In the course, HK 199: Undergraduate Open Seminar, section TP, you will take a CliftonStrengths assessment and participate in a workshop that will explain your top strengths and how you can use them in career preparation.
EPICS
EPICS provides activities to help you explore your interests, skills, values and decision-making process, along with personalized tips and resources.
Resume and Interview Tips
Resumes
The first chance an employer has to get to know you is through your resume. Luckily, there are many resources available to help you make a great first impression.
Resume Reviews
- AHS: In-person resume review: Email careers@ahs.illlinois.edu for an appointment.
- The Career Center:
Interviewing
Interviewing for a job or graduate school can be stressful, but the best approach is to be prepared. Here are some resources that can help you get ready:
Mock interviews are a great way to practice your interview skills and receive helpful feedback from professionals. Three options for doing a mock interview include:
- AHS Career Services: When you schedule a mock interview with AHS Career Services, you will choose the type of interview you would like: job, internship, graduate school, or professional school. After the interview, you will have a debriefing and receive written feedback. Email careers@ahs.illlinois.edu for an appointment.
- The Career Center: You can schedule a mock interview with a Career Center staff member.
- Big Interview: This is a platform to complete an online mock interview with a career professional.
Job/Graduate School Search Development
Job searching
- In the course HK 199, section AHS, you will learn about developing a job or graduate school strategy and how to remain organized in your search.
- AHS Career Services: We are here to discuss your search and help you get started. Email careeers@ahs.illlinois.edu for an appointment.
- The Career Center: You can schedule a career coaching appointment with a Career Center staff member.
- Campus and Community Jobs
Graduate school searching
A great place to start exploring which graduate programs interest you is Peterson’s Graduate School Search. This website allows you to filter programs by degree, location and many other criteria.
Recruit AHS
Thank you for your interest in recruiting the talented students and young alumni of the College of Applied Health Sciences (AHS) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. AHS Career Services provides career management services and resources to undergraduate and graduate students in the Health and Kinesiology; Speech and Hearing Science; Interdisciplinary Health; and Recreation, Sport and Tourism fields of study.
We look forward to helping you coordinate your recruitment plan to connect with our well-coached students and alumni.
The best way to engage our talented students is through our online job system, Handshake @ Illinois. Registration and job posting services on the system are available at no cost. Schedule on-campus recruiting and review student resumes through the system.
New users of Handshake @ Illinois need to click the “Register” button and complete an online profile. A registered user may access the system by entering their username and password. A new recruiter to Illinois with a national organization must receive permission from the organization’s designated employer administrator.
Check out our Hire Illini Recruiting Guidelines to learn more about recruiter policies and guidelines.
Faculty
AHS Career Services strives to create partnerships with faculty and staff to ensure we provide our students with a broad career readiness and development curriculum.
Instructors may choose to invite AHS Career Services to provide a class presentation on any of the following topics:
- Resume and cover letter writing
- Job or graduate school searching
- Using social media to your advantage
- Networking
- Interviewing
- Participating in research
Alumni
We value all stakeholders of the College of Applied Health Sciences. Alumni and new graduates are critical to keeping a vibrant pipeline that connects the students of today with the industries that they pursue. The AHS Career Services office provides alumni with free access to job postings through Handshake @ Illinois.
Additionally, we provide career coaching and access to various career-related resources to AHS alumni throughout the career lifespan. Email careers@ahs.illinois.edu to reconnect.
We love hearing success stories from our alumni and would love to work with you to illuminate for current students what life after AHS could be for them. If you would like to share your story or learn more about ways you can get involved, please complete our Stay Connected form.
If you’re interested in attending an upcoming alumni event, email Kathy Saathoff at ksaathof@illinois.edu. For other ways to support current AHS students, check out the AHS alumni page.
Illinois Success Stories
Since its inception, the purpose of the Illini Success initiative is to collect, summarize and share information about the immediate post-graduation outcomes of bachelor’s degree recipients, which is often referred to as first destination data. The Illini Success initiative generates important and high-quality information that is used by many stakeholders, including campus administration, public affairs, government affairs, prospective students and many others. It serves as a metric for assessing academic and institutional excellence, contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the value of a college education and enables students to make informed decisions as they evaluate higher education institutions, explore majors and pursue career opportunities. It is important to note that first destination is not the only metric that defines the success of Illinois graduates.
Contact Career Services
To make an appointment to speak with the director of Career Services and Honors Programs, or for any employers interested in hiring AHS students, please email careers@ahs.illinois.edu or call 217-244-1369.