The Career Ready Podcast
The Career Ready Podcast
My Career Path with Jordan Rembrecht
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In this kickoff episode of our summer series, host Michelle Malik sits down with Jordan Rembrecht, the newest Career Specialist at College of DuPage and newest host of The Career Ready Podcast. Jordan shares her career journey—from volunteering in high school and switching majors in college to working in HR and eventually joining Career Services.
Hear how mentorship, internships, and involvement in programs like Best Buddies and the COACH program helped shape her path. Jordan also offers advice for students exploring careers and navigating the job search.
💼 Topics include:
- The value of getting involved on campus
- Changing majors and discovering your strengths
- Making the most of internships
- The power of mentorship
- Transitioning from HR to higher ed
🎧 Plus: Find out what show Jordan plans to binge this summer!
📬 Got a question for us? Email careerpodcast@cod.edu
Listeners in the College of DuPage community can visit our website. All other listeners are encouraged to view the resources of their local community college, WIOA training programs, or other local support centers.
Send us YOUR Listener Questions at careerpodcast@cod.edu
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00:00:01:13 - 00:00:24:09
Unknown
Welcome to the Career Ready podcast. Learn about resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn, interviewing, and all the things you need to be career ready with the career services Center at College of DuPage. I'm one of your hosts, Michelle Malik. To kick off the first episode of the summer, I'm going to interview Jordan Rembrecht, a new career specialist in career services, so we can better understand her story.
00:00:24:11 - 00:00:48:13
Unknown
Thanks for joining me today, Jordan. Thanks for having me, Michel. Wonderful. So to get us started, I want to put you on the spot a little bit and ask you for your elevator pitch. But because the elevator pitch should always change with the setting, I did want to ask you for two. The first one is can you share a personal elevator pitch about you and your non job related interests?
00:00:48:15 - 00:01:08:22
Unknown
Absolutely. So for my personal elevator pitch, it would be hi, my name is Jordan and I'm the proud sister of an adult with down syndrome. My brother Jake. I like trying different fitness classes and exercises, even if that means getting out of my comfort zone and being very sore the next day in my free time and during my lunch break, you can likely find me reading at the library.
00:01:08:25 - 00:01:29:10
Unknown
I also enjoy walking and crafting and will always get excited about the opportunity to bond with others over hobbies we share. Oh, I love that! It's so fun to learn more about you like outside of work. So thank you! I'm glad that we're interviewing today. And I was curious, what book are you currently reading? I am currently reading The Perfect Divorce by Geneva Rose.
00:01:29:10 - 00:01:50:15
Unknown
Oh, just came out. Yeah, it's been very good. It's my 26th book of the year. Oh my gosh, that's amazing. It's been it's been a good read so far. That's great. So thanks for your personal elevator pitch. Now, can you give us an elevator pitch you would share in a professional setting? Absolutely. So my professional elevator pitch would be,
00:01:50:18 - 00:02:14:03
Unknown
Hi. My name is Jordan, and I'm a career services specialist at the College of DuPage. I have a passion for helping others gain employment. My background is in human resources, where I have five years experience in the talent acquisition field, supporting both college and full time recruiting. I have been able to develop an understanding of what employers are looking for through building strong partnerships with hiring managers and business leaders.
00:02:14:06 - 00:02:34:01
Unknown
I'm a proud advocate for the special needs community, and I've served as a job coach for adults with disabilities, furthering my understanding of some barriers involved with employment. Being a College of DuPage graduate, I'm proud to be able to use my knowledge of recruitment to help individuals from different backgrounds as they go through their career journey. That's such a great intro.
00:02:34:01 - 00:02:51:19
Unknown
You're hired. I don't think so. So, I love that you have a background in H.R. Two and that you can use that knowledge and career services. So absolutely, it's been very helpful and beneficial for me in entering this role. Yeah. And I also I was just curious how does it feel being back at Codi? It feels great.
00:02:51:19 - 00:03:15:16
Unknown
I have been away for a few years now and very thankful to have the opportunity to come back and be able to help in a community that I was once a part of. Well, you're a great addition to the team, so we're so excited that I appreciate that. Yeah. So based on what we heard a few seasons ago about getting involved, tell me about how your high school and or college involvement influenced your career path.
00:03:15:18 - 00:03:36:27
Unknown
Absolutely. So in high school, I was very involved with volunteering in the special needs population. I was a peer leader in adaptive PE, adept at art Special Olympics, and I served as a teaching assistant in the multi needs classroom. Like I mentioned previously, I have a brother with down syndrome, so it was always a passion of mine to help support that community.
00:03:36:29 - 00:04:02:09
Unknown
At College of DuPage, I was involved in the Best Buddies program, which is a program where you're paired with a code student who's part of the coach program and for those who aren't familiar with the coach program, it's a two year cohort for adults with mild or moderate intellectual or developmental disabilities. So my buddy and I, we would meet on a weekly basis to hang out, socialize, and play a few rounds of Uno together, where I, more often than not, would lose.
00:04:02:11 - 00:04:22:23
Unknown
This was back in the 2017 2018 school year, but I'm fortunate enough to have stayed in contact with them all these years later, and I was even able to serve as his job coach after we both had graduated from Cody, both my high school and my code volunteer experiences or something I signed up for based on my interests, but little did I know they were opportunities.
00:04:22:23 - 00:04:41:28
Unknown
They gave me valuable experience working with adult students with disabilities, which is one of the populations I helped serve in my role as a career specialist. And after College of DuPage, I transferred to North Central College, where I studied Human Resource Management. I served on the board for our Student Human resource group that we brought back to NCC.
00:04:42:00 - 00:04:59:11
Unknown
I also worked on campus in the Career Development Center as a Career Peer Advisor, where I was able to meet with students, helping them with their resumes, cover letters and interviewing. Both of these opportunities were more career focused as it relates to my major, but it was also a great experience that helped prepare me for my current job as a career specialist.
00:04:59:19 - 00:05:20:18
Unknown
This just shows how important involvement really is. And I think we really learn about ourselves through experiences like this. Like what our interests are or our strengths or, what we don't like to. Absolutely, you know, could start as something of a passion, but also something that's related to your major. And you never know if those things are going to intertwine or lead you in a different direction.
00:05:20:18 - 00:05:26:01
Unknown
So in addition to your involvement, can you tell us a little bit more about your educational background?
00:05:26:06 - 00:05:53:16
Unknown
Sure. So like a lot of other students, I changed my major during school. I initially wanted to become, special education teacher, since I have such an interest in working with students with disabilities. Shortly after I started my freshman year, I realized that while I love working with students disabilities, I didn't necessarily want to be a teacher. I knew that working with people who have special needs could and always will be a part of my life, but it didn't necessarily also have to be my career.
00:05:53:24 - 00:06:15:14
Unknown
I attended College of DuPage as an undecided student, where I took a couple of classes that really influenced my decision. It was in the Intro to Careers class that we got to explore different career paths, take personality assessments, and help find what jobs could be a fit for us. At the same time I was taking that class, I was also taking Intro to Business where I got to explore different career paths in the business world.
00:06:15:17 - 00:06:32:13
Unknown
It was there that I learned about human resource management and realized that I had an interest in it. So after I graduated with my associates, I transferred to North Central College, where I obtained my Bachelor's in Human Resource Management. So I can totally relate to those because I also changed my major in college and I was like, oh my God, what am I going to do now?
00:06:32:13 - 00:06:46:07
Unknown
It's very common. It's more often than not, I hear people as change your major and that's totally okay. Right? And I think it's so difficult to just figure out what you want to do right away, which which I think is why it's so common that people change majors all the time.
00:06:46:07 - 00:06:47:02
Unknown
Absolutely.
00:06:47:02 - 00:06:51:06
Unknown
especially when you're in school, you're just trying to learn a bunch of different fields and see what works for you.
00:06:51:06 - 00:07:10:10
Unknown
So it's very easy to change course and go in a new direction. Definitely. And it sounds like your classes played a big part in determining what career path you wanted to go down to. They did for sure. It's definitely good to take advantage of different classes that are offered, whether in your high school or in your college, that let you explore different career paths.
00:07:10:12 - 00:07:17:12
Unknown
Because as you're a student, now is the time to go ahead and explore some of the different possibilities for the future. Yeah, I love that advice.
00:07:17:12 - 00:07:29:11
Unknown
So in addition to your educational background, can you walk us through your career path and specifically, was it a traditional career path? Maybe it was more unexpected did so we'd love to hear about it.
00:07:29:13 - 00:07:51:13
Unknown
Absolutely. I would say it was a bit unexpected, but ended up calling together so well that looking back, it just makes so much sense. One of my internships was with a local electronics manufacturing company, where I worked as a talent acquisition HR intern, and I primarily supported the college recruiting team. Initially, I wasn't sure if recruiting was going to be the career path for me.
00:07:51:15 - 00:08:08:23
Unknown
I think it's important to recognize that we don't always have a crystal clear understanding of what we want to do for our career while we're still in school. However, internships are a great way to learn what you like, but also to what you don't like. Ultimately, I did find my interest in recruiting where I saw a lot of overlap with my skill set.
00:08:08:27 - 00:08:21:14
Unknown
Following my internship, I accepted a full time job offer to return to the same company. After I graduated, I was able to continue the work I did post-graduation where I was able to support a lot of engagement with universities.
00:08:21:14 - 00:08:27:06
Unknown
I later took a role supporting full time recruiting, where I served as a sole coordinator for a talent acquisition team.
00:08:27:08 - 00:08:35:02
Unknown
In addition to onboarding, I was able to take on recruiting responsibilities, which was a great experience that helped me be part of a full cycle recruitment process.
00:08:35:02 - 00:08:53:05
Unknown
After being in the talent acquisition field for five years, I decided to make a career change to becoming a career specialist. I knew that I learned a lot of valuable information about what good resumes look like, and what kind of things employers are looking for in a candidate, all things I knew I could help coach others on as they're going through their own career journey
00:08:53:05 - 00:08:53:26
Unknown
as a new.
00:08:53:26 - 00:09:12:00
Unknown
I could use my personal experience of being a student at College of DuPage, and of seeking out opportunities in DuPage County to help others as they navigate similar experiences. And while corporate recruiting and higher education are two very different fields, I feel like there's so much overlap with the tasks that I was doing that didn't feel like a major change for me personally.
00:09:12:00 - 00:09:13:11
Unknown
I can say it was a great move.
00:09:13:11 - 00:09:31:02
Unknown
I think it's great that you were able to transition from your internship to a full time job with the same company. And I think it just shows the importance of treating your internship like a job and being professional in that setting. Absolutely. You never know what type of opportunities it could lead to, for sure.
00:09:31:02 - 00:09:49:24
Unknown
And I also think to the people that you work with, they could serve as future mentors, maybe future references. Absolutely. I know not all internships come with a full time offer afterwards. It just depended on company. But you never know what type of connections you make. I could later help you on in the future as you're searching for a position.
00:09:49:25 - 00:09:52:21
Unknown
Definitely. Thanks for sharing that. Of course.
00:09:53:01 - 00:10:08:11
Unknown
Now, can you tell us about the mentors in your life and how they helped you decide on a career path? Absolutely. So I've had a few mentors that have helped me throughout my education journey. One of those mentors helped me decide my major, and it was actually a professor that I had here.
00:10:08:11 - 00:10:10:11
Unknown
I called you page Mike Norbury.
00:10:10:11 - 00:10:15:04
Unknown
I took his Intro to Business class, where we got to explore different career paths in the business world.
00:10:15:04 - 00:10:27:00
Unknown
This is where I learned of human resource management, which is a common job, a pretty uncommon major. I was able to see how my interests aligned with that profession, and it was ultimately a path that I could follow down.
00:10:27:03 - 00:10:30:25
Unknown
Another mentor I had was in my senior year college, Ursula Polaski.
00:10:30:25 - 00:10:34:01
Unknown
She was a professor of compensation and benefits at North Central.
00:10:34:01 - 00:10:36:27
Unknown
She really went above and beyond to help support her students.
00:10:37:00 - 00:10:53:24
Unknown
When a few students and I had the idea of resurfacing an extracurricular club, which was a student human resource group, she served as our faculty contact so that we could pursue additional opportunities and networking outside the classroom. Ursula and I stayed in touch over the years as our paths crossed within the human resource field.
00:10:53:24 - 00:10:59:23
Unknown
She even messaged me on LinkedIn and encouraged me to consider career services as a career path for me, and served as a reference.
00:10:59:23 - 00:11:13:17
Unknown
It goes to show that professors can be a vital resource for you even after graduation. Yeah. And I think mentors can make such an impact and give you some really great advice and guidance during any point along your career journey, which is why they're so valuable.
00:11:13:18 - 00:11:30:17
Unknown
Absolutely. It could start as early as high school college, but then those mentors and those relationships that you've built can help serve you and your career as well. Yeah. And it's so nice to hear, too, that you've been able to stay connected with your mentors. Absolutely. It's been very nice and it's helped me along the way as well.
00:11:30:17 - 00:11:44:13
Unknown
So going to, the current job that you have, why do you enjoy the work that you do? Sure. So like alumni colleagues here at College of DuPage, I enjoy my work because of the impact that I'm able to make.
00:11:44:29 - 00:11:54:26
Unknown
By meeting with clients individually, I'm able to see the impact from my guidance in our conversation, such as by seeing improvements to a resume or improvements to mock interview answers.
00:11:54:26 - 00:12:13:26
Unknown
And being an alumni of College, DuPage, and a lifelong DuPage County resident, I feel I have an extra interest in helping our students and clients because I was at one point in their shoes. I also value our service model because we are a free service, available not just to students, but to alumni and community members of DuPage County.
00:12:13:28 - 00:12:36:18
Unknown
Do this model. We're able to meet with even more clients and have an impact not just in our college community, but on DuPage County as a whole. I love what you said about being able to see the impact from your guidance, and I also feel like that too when I'm in appointments. It's a great feeling for sure, and it's just really rewarding to see that light bulb go off or to just help someone feel less overwhelmed by something.
00:12:36:18 - 00:12:46:13
Unknown
Absolutely. I know the job search process can be very overwhelming at times, and it's rewarding to be able to take off a little bit of that impact, that the clients are going through.
00:12:46:14 - 00:13:08:29
Unknown
Oh, definitely. And again, we've loved having you on the team. Thank you very much. All right. We're going to end with a fun question. What TV series are you ready to binge watch this summer? That's a great question. One show that's on my to watch list is Emily in Paris. I've heard good things about being funny, and I think it'd be fun to watch a show based in the city that I've always wanted to visit.
00:13:09:06 - 00:13:12:11
Unknown
Ooh, I love that fun. I started watching that too, but I haven't
00:13:12:11 - 00:13:13:21
Unknown
finished. Oh that's awesome.
00:13:13:21 - 00:13:17:05
Unknown
Yeah, but let me know how you like it. I will for sure let you know.
00:13:17:05 - 00:13:27:18
Unknown
Well, thank you so much, Jordan, for joining us today. Thanks for having me. I really enjoyed this. Wonderful. And we want to thank all of our listeners too. So we won't be answering a listener question this episode.
00:13:27:18 - 00:13:45:00
Unknown
But I do want to remind everyone that if you do have a question for us to answer in future episodes, you can submit those to Career Podcast at Cod Edu. Be sure to join us for the rest of the season, where we'll be talking to faculty about programs at Cod and the career paths they can lead to.