The Center for Career and Professional Development debuted in June.

The career center, for short, does more than just help students and alumni land jobs and its new name intends to reflect those additional services.

The career center offers résumé and cover letter development, workshops, career fairs and professional events, an internship program, career consulting and online resources to prepare students for life after college. The center also helps alumni make career transitions.

John Thompson, the executive director of the career center, said the previous name, Career Services, neither reflected the services provided by the department nor its stakeholders.

“Titles mean things and if you want people to understand what you do it’s got to be fairly clear about what it is you do,” Thompson said.

Jenny Reitz, the center’s marketing director, added that the goal is to create an “approachable environment” where students aren’t intimidated to visit.

To reach this goal, the center intends to cultivate a community for students, faculty, alumni and employers to share ideas, resources and lessons learned.

Lauren Houck, a junior in the communications field, has never taken advantage of the center’s services because she never understood exactly what the center could offer.

“I always thought that’s where you go to find jobs around campus or Fort Worth,” Houck said. “I’ve heard of people getting aptitude tests there, but I’ve never really understood what they did.”

The center’s new focus is a long term process that is part of the mold of the student experience. By teaching life skills and professional development, the center becomes a safety net rather than just a place to prepare resumes.

“We want to equip you,” Thompson said. “I’m really more concerned about you developing a career plan than I am about trying to help you just get a test or help you get a job interview.”