Introducing the School of Communication Career Triathlon!

Beginning March 17, The Career Center and the School of Communication will kick off their annual Career Triathlon competition. To find out more about this exciting opportunity and how to get involved, we talked to the intern helping to plan it, Chelsea Gallagher.

Hi Chelsea! To start with, can you just explain what the Career Triathlon is and how students can compete?
Sure! The Career Triathlon is an event sponsored by ISU's Career Center and offered to only School of Communication (SOC) students. It's a three week long competition where students compete to see who can submit the best overall job application. Students are asked to submit a particular component each week.

Judges will pick the best applicants evaluating students on three parts including: a job application, an online interview, and a LinkedIn profile. Four finalists will be chosen from each SOC sequence and one grand prize winner will be announced during COM Week.

Great, thanks! So is the Career Triathlon open to any School of Communication student?
Yes! Every School of Communication student is able to participate, and will be competing against students in their sequence (Public relations, journalism, communication studies and mass media) to become a finalist for their declared major.

What are some of the prizes students can win and benefits of competing in the Career Triathlon?
One grand prize winner will be given a tablet, and the four finalists will be invited to attend the COM Week Awards and Scholarship luncheon, where they will have the opportunity to network with industry professionals. 

This is the first time the Career Institute has done an event like this. Why did they decide to partner with the School of Communication?
The School of Communication is filled with passionate students who are eager to gain experience and improve their professionals skills. The Career Center thought this would be a great opportunity to help SOC students improve themselves professionally, as well as educate them on some of the beneficial services they offer in the process.

Can you tell us a little bit about the planning process with the Career Center?
The planning process was a lot of collaboration between the Career Center's COM advisor, Renee Carrigan, and School of Communication advisors and interns. We tried to make the competition as convenient as possible for busy students, while still allowing them to reap the benefits this program has to offer.

Finally, as a fellow student and intern, what do you think is the number one reason students should compete in the Career Triathlon this year?
The Career Triathlon is just a great way to gain valuable experience in applying for jobs. Since a lot of us are nearing graduation, it's a great opportunity for seniors, juniors, and even underclassmen to get some practical experience while they begin their job search. Not to mention, you have the chance to win a tablet in the process.

For more information about the Career Triathlon, click here.


By Abby Brennan

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