USAHS is pleased to welcome Naomi Kinley, MA, as our new Director of Career Services. Kinley comes to us with 28 yearsโ experience working in HR, recruiting, and university career services; she also earned two masterโs degrees in the field from UCLA.
Naomi Kinley, MA, Career Services director
โWe strive to deliver lifelong career services to our students,โ she says. โFrom the very start of their studies with us to graduation and beyond.โ
Kinley joined USAHS in December 2021 and has been working virtually so far. But in May or June of 2022, she plans to move from her native New York to St. Augustine, Florida. โIโm excited to begin working on campus,โ she says. โBut even virtually, Iโm enjoying the student interactions and getting to know faculty and our employer partners.โ
โSo many lives have been changed by our cliniciansโitโs great to support their good work.โ
We spoke to her about current and future offeringsโthe most immediate of which is a virtual career fair happening in April; see the invitation below for details.
Join Our Virtual Career Fair April 13!
Current Career Services
Career counseling: Kinley offers strategies to help students and alumni understand themselves so they can make optimal career, educational, and personal decisions.ย
Job coaching: She helps students identify job and career advancement opportunities based on their needs, objectives, and skill sets.
Career fairs: Happening every spring and fall, our career fairs are currently held virtually to improve access for students, alumni, and healthcare employers across a wider geographic area. The fairs feature a group information session, breakout rooms with recruiters, and virtual one-on-one interviews with hiring managers. In the future, Career Services may return to hosting smaller on-campus career fairs, as in pre-pandemic days.
In-class career workshops: Kinley and other guest speakers host in-class career workshops about success strategies for finding the right position after graduation. Topics include resume writing, creating a LinkedIn profile, interviewing skills, job search strategies, workplace etiquette, shadowing, negotiating job offers, and personal branding.
Help with resumes, cover letters, and mock interviews: USAHS uses OptimalResumeโข, an online career and talent suite. Students upload their cover letter and resume, and then Kinley personally edits the materials and offers feedback. Students can practice mock interviews on OptimalResume as wellโor schedule an appointment to practice with Career Services.
LinkedIn profiles: Kinley helps students optimize their LinkedIn profiles and their searching and networking skills on the platform.
Job postings: We use the Handshake database to gather job postings that are free for students, alumni, and employers. Handshake features thousands of listings posted by hundreds of healthcare employers nationwide and internationally. Students upload their resumes here and apply for jobs.
Connections with recruiters and employers: Kinley also works with recruiters and headhunters who are connected with hospitals, outpatient clinics, long-term care facilities, schools, community centers, and moreโespecially to help experienced alums find their ideal new positions in their field.
Site visits: When possible, employers and alumni who work in clinics near our five campuses conduct site visits with students.
Professional association resources: Students connect with relevant professional associations for networking and advocacy opportunities.
Future Plans
Kinley has some exciting future plans and aspirations for Career Services, including:
- Alumni meet and greets so that alumni can network with each other virtually
- Career networking nights, where current students network with alums in a kind of โspeed-datingโ format, both virtually and in person
- Lunch-and-learn events on campus with presentations, Q&A, and food
- Career spotlights where top employers host a sort of informational interview with students, discussing opportunities and challenges in the field
- Information sessions in-person with faculty and employers from a particular discipline
- A formal mentorship program in which the mentor (an alum or other clinician) can also offer site tours and shadowing
To set up an appointment with Career Services, contact Naomi Kinley at (904) 423-2008 or [email protected].
