The computer you turn to for late-night solitaire games and electronic mail can now be a resource for planning your life.

With the growing popularity of online and computer-generated career planning, students have been relying less on restrictive career books and more on versatile electronic resources.

The StudentCenter.com Web site and the new career services site in UA Info are offering those resources.

"Electronic career planning allows students to conveniently find the information of 20 different books in one place," said Eve L. Yohalem, President of Student Center LLC.

She said this information can be found quickly and easily in the comfort of dorm rooms, in computer labs, and in libraries that have access to the Internet.

StudentCenter.com is a free career-related site on the World Wide Web that is used by more than 15,000 college students each month to make the transition from the classroom to the business world.

The site offers many interactive career planning features that would be difficult to find in other places, she said. "Students can find Virtual Interview, a program where the computer asks the user various multiple choice interview questions, and they type in their responses. The computer then analyzes the answers as an employer would," Yohalem said.

It also includes a searchable database of 35,000 companies in 1,000 different industries that provide employment opportunities, suggestions for resume writing, information about major cities both nationally and internationally, and advice columns which feature games and daily fortunes.

Evan Deaubl, math and computer science sophomore, said StudentCenter.com is a very good general source for career information.

"It is a good starting spot. It has a lot of information on how to do interviews and resumes, as opposed to specific job opportunities," Deaubl said.

StudentCenter.com began in January to be a more convenient, less stressful way for students to search for jobs.

Yohalem said, "Searching for a job is different for students right out of school as opposed to people who have been out of school for many years." In this respect, the site is geared specifically toward college students.

The international Web site, however, is not the only way to access electronic career planning. The University of Arizona has its own Web site, and other computer programs in which similar information can be found.

Marie Rozenblit, director of UA Career Services, said students are often advised to use the electronic resources of the center.

Rozenblit encourages students to begin their career search and resource usage as early as their freshmen year.

"The best way to begin is to meet with a counselor one-on-one to trouble shoot and find out what the student wants," she said. Students are then referred to the services that will best meet their needs, she said.

The Career Services Center located in the basement of Old Main houses SIGI-PLUS and DISCOVER, two of the center's newest computer tools, and is the home base of the career services location in the UA Info home page on the World Wide Web.

Rozenblit said the Web site informs students on how to reach counselors, access the many services the department offers. It also includes information for student alumni, recruiting news and provides a calendar of events, which displays counselor walk-in times and other career activities, is also posted on the site, Rosenblit said.

Although the Web site is undergoing construction, Deaubl said it is a good way to find specific details about careers.

"It shows you how to set up job interviews, and acts as a resume critique. Both of these are useful to make sure you are heading in the right direction," he said.

The Career Services Center also features videotaped mock interviews and workshops that cover job search strategies, student interest profiles and resume checks.

Students may also sign up for one-hour blocks of time to use the interactive programs DISCOVER and SIGI-PLUS, which provide the user with personal information, information about occupations, schools, and programs of study.

"DISCOVER shows you a lot of different things that I never would have thought of. Computerized career planning makes (job searching) a lot easier and narrows down your choices for you," said Ryan Harrison, chemical engineering freshman.

He said he felt electronic career planning was more convenient than a traditional book work. "If I were to just go look in a book, I wouldn't know where to start. I have done the same exact program (as DISCOVER) only written, but it didn't work as well," Harrison said. "Access is easier on the computer."

Although the computer programs typically take four to six hours to complete, they are still seen as being the most time-economical.

"If I were just to go into a book, it would take forever," Harrison said.

To access SIGI-PLUS or DISCOVER, consult the Career Services Center in the basement of Old Main. StudentCenter.com can be accessed at http://www.studentcenter.com. Career Services can be accessed through UA Info, or at http://w3.arizona.edu/~career/carscvs.html on the World Wide Web.

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