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Alumni Student Guide to CougarLink

Welcome to CougarLink! As a Columbus State University Alumni, you get to use this resource to look for jobs, network with students and post open positions/internships you may have in your industry. If you find you are having difficulties, please let us know. We are dedicated to serving you!

Access CougarLink now: https://colstate-csm.symplicity.com

Choosing the Student/Alumni Option

Step 1: Logging into CougarLink:

In order to use the online CougarLink services, you will need to register through Cougarlink online. The Career Center will approve your registration and you will be set to move forward with planning for your career.  Click here to submit an e-mail to the Career Center to begin your registration process.  Be sure to include the following information:

1.  Full Name (First, Middle, Last)

2.  Mailing Address

3.  Preferred E-Mail Address

 Step 2: Changing your password:

Click on the Profile tab on the Menu Choices, and then click on Password/ Preferences. Enter the old/current password in the old password field. Put your new password in the field for new password. Please choose a password that will be easy for you to remember, our office does not track passwords. Click on the save button to keep your changes.

Step 3: Completing your Profile:

Click on the Profile menu. Complete the fields in each of the three tabs: Personal information, Academic information, and Privacy. We recommend leaving the privacy page as is. Be sure to click the save button at the bottom of the screen or save changes and continue.

Step 4: Uploading your Resume:

The Career Center encourages students to view sample resumes on our website under Resumes and Interviewing Assistance. Once a resume is found for your industry/major, you can create a personal one using Microsoft Word. This provides you with flexibility to change and update your resume at anytime.

Click on the Resumes/ Documents menu, and click the Add New button. The label is the title or name of your resume. Choose the correct document type. Browse to find your document. Click on the submit button to upload your document. The process might take several minutes; if you have more than one document to upload just repeat the process. In the view column, you should see that you also have a pdf. version of your resume.

Step 5: Creating a Resume on Cougar Link :

Again, The Career Center encourages students to view sample resumes on our website under resumes and interviewing assistance. Once a resume is found for your industry/major, you can create a personal one using Microsoft Word.

CougarLink provides a very basic template for creating resumes. To utilize this, click on the Documents tab on the menu choices at the top. Click on Resume Builder tab to start a new resume for you to upload. Complete the fields under each of the tabs: contact information, objective, education, employment experience, additional experiences, skills, awards, and lastly once you start working on your resume make sure to hit the SAVE button on each page. To edit or continue working on your resume, click on the paper & pen icon on the far left to open your resume back up. When you are finished editing and building your resume, click on the last tab -Design and Save Resume. From this page, you can save your resume to your computer or to your CougarLink account.

A. To save it to your computer, click on the design you like and your resume will open in Adobe Acrobat, and save it as you normally would to your computer by clicking on the save icon.

B. To save it to your CougarLink account, click on the "promote to CSM documents" button. In the label text box, put the name of your resume. Document should already have Resume selected. If not click on the Resume radio button. Then click on the submit button to save your resume to your CougarLink account.

Be sure to view your resume after you have saved it to your CougarLink account by clicking on the Acrobat paper icon on the Documents page just to make sure everything looks ok.

Step 6: Job/Internship/Co-op Search:

To search for job openings, click on the CougarLink Jobs tab. CougarLink provides listings for local, nationwide and NaceLink postings. If you are looking for jobs, internships in Columbus, GA, put "Columbus, GA" in the keywords field to narrow your search.

Once in CougarLink Jobs, you can search for full time, part time, internships, seasonal, on-campus: student assistant and work-study.

The Advanced search tab can help you narrow your search to only specific areas or positions types.

Step 7: System Overview- Just the basics:

Home Page Highlights:

A. Announcements -Regularly check here for important announcements from Career

B. Quick Links - You will find direct access to popular links.C.

C.  Alerts - These are time-sensitive reminders critical to your successful use of the system.

D. Calendar - View your scheduled activities including interviews, events, etc. by date.

E. Feedback - Your feedback is encouraged so we'll know how we can better serve you!

 Your Menu Choices:

A. Profile - Your Personal Academic Information.

B. Resumes/Documents - Where you upload your resumes, cover letters, and/ or transcripts.

C. Jobs - Where you search for both On-Campus Recruiting jobs and Non-on campus recruiting jobs.

D. Employers - All employer information. You can even make your own list of favorites.

E. Interviews - view interview requests, sign up for interviews and view-scheduled interviews.

F. Events - View upcoming events such as Career Expo and Employer information Sessions

G. Calendar - Use this as your personal online calendar to record your interviews, events, etc.

Choosing the Employer Option

Click on the link for employers, and you are ready to get started.

Step 1: Creating an Account:

On the CougarLink page, click the link to register for a new account or register and post a local job.

Make sure you complete the registration form and submit it. Provide information for all required fields marked with a red asterisk.

You will receive a message confirming your registration stating,  "Your job posting and registration has been submitted." You will also receive a confirmation email when your registration and job posting are approved. Once your registraion is approved, you will receive an email confirmation, which will contain your login information. You will not see this message if you failed to provide information for a required field. New employer accounts are reviewed continuously throughout each business day.

Step 2: Logging in your account:

In your CougarLink email confirmation, you will find your username, which is your email address and a system-appointed password. Click on the link provided in the email for easy access to the CougarLink page.

Log in using the username and password provided. You can also log in by clicking on the for employers on the left navigation bar of the Career Centerhomepage: https://career.colstate.edu, and then click on post a job.

You are now looking at your CougarLink home page. Notice the Announcements on the left of the screen, the Quick Links in the center, and the Alerts below the links. Please see the overview section of these instructions for more information on these services.

Step 3: Changing your password:

Click on the Account menu then click on the Password/Preferences tab. Enter the new password in the space for the new password. Please choose a password that will be easy for you to remember. All passwords are encrypted and therefore not viewable in the system. Our office will not be able to tell you what your password is. If you forget your password click on the Forgot my password tab on the CougarLink page to have your password reset and emailed to you.

Click on the Change button on the bottom right of the screen.

Step 4: Submitting your Job Posting:

Click on the jobs tab, and click the Add New button.

Complete the Job posting form, make sure you complete and provide information for all of the required fields marked with a red asterisk. Click submit when you have finish and completed all required fields. You will receive an email confirmation stating that your job posting has been approved.

Step 5: System Overview - Just the Basics:

Home Page Highlights:

A. Announcements: Regularly check here for important announcements from career services.

B. Quick Links: You will find direct links to the pages you will probably be using the most.

C. Alerts: These are time-sensitive reminders critical to your success use of the system.

D. Calendar: View your scheduled activities including interviews, events, etc. by date.

E. Feedback: Your feedback is encouraged so we;; know how we can better serve you.

Your Menu Choices:

A. Account: Update your personal profile, change your password, and view your account activity summary.

B. Calendar: View your scheduled events, deadlines, appointments, etc. here.

C. Profile: You will only need to complete this information once. Please provide as much information about your company as possible. There is also a place for your logo.

D. Jobs: This is for NON On-Campus Recruiting Jobs.

E. Resume books: Access resumes for each student/alumni registered with CougarLink.

F. On-Campus Recruiting (OCR): Access all relevant OCR information here including schedules, jobs, applicant lists, etc.

G. Placements: Please let us know when you hire one of our students.

H. Events: Register for one of Columbus State University Career Center upcoming Special Events including Career Expo.

I. Professional Networking: Sign up today to mentor a current student. This is a great way for you to engage in your school and participate in the professional growth of current students! This option is available on your tool bar. It's just a click away!