Career Services
LER Online Career Services
In order to utilize the services offered by the LER Career Services office, job seekers agree to adhere to the LER policies and Student Usage Agreement
How do I register for LER Online Career Services?
• Visit https://ilir-uiuc-csm.symplicity.com/ and click on the students/alumni link
• Click the Register button
• Complete an online profile
• Once you have submitted your profile, you will receive an e-mail to confirm your e-mail address
• Check your e-mail and confirm your address by clicking on the link in the message
• You are NOT able to immediately log into the system after you register. Our office has to approve all users to ensure that they are current students or LER alumni. You will receive a message with your assigned password once your registration has been approved. We do our best to turn this around within 24 hours, if not sooner.
What is the Symplicity/NACElink Career Services Management System?
This is an online job system that allows employers to communicate with you about job opportunities and when they will visit campus for recruiting activities. The system is only accessible to those who have registered and been approved by LER. You can access the system from any computer with an internet connection.
How do I sign into the LER Online Career Services system?
• Visit https://ilir-uiuc-csm.symplicity.com/ and click on the students/alumni link
• Enter your e-mail address as your username and your current password
• Be sure you do NOT cut and paste your password or it will not work – it must be typed in for security reasons.
What should I do if I forget my password?
• Visit https://ilir-uiuc-csm.symplicity.com/ and click on the students/alumni link.
• Click the Forgot my password tab
• Enter your e-mail address and the system will send you a message with your password
• If you continue to have difficulties signing on, please contact the LER Career Services office at (217) 333-2777
How can I change my profile?
• Click on profile along the top of the page
• Select the appropriate tab to change the desired information
• Click the Save Changes button
*Please note that once you have registered, you are not able to change your graduation date or work authorization. If your graduation date or work authorization changes, contact the LER Career Services office and a staff member will help you to change the information in your profile.
How do I upload a resume or other documents?
• Click on documents along the top of the page
• Click the Add New button
• Complete the requested information and upload the appropriate document
• Click the Submit button
• Your document will automatically be converted to a pdf
• If you have already submitted your resume for a job or on-campus schedule, the original resume will stay submitted regardless of your new uploaded document. If the deadline for submissions for that job/schedule has passed, do NOT delete your original submission. If the submission period is still active, you can delete the old resume and submit the new.
How can I search jobs?
• Click on jobs along the top of the page
• Select the criteria for the types of positions you are interested in and click the Search button
How do I submit my resume to a job?
• Click on jobs along the top of the page
• Select the position you are interested in applying for
• Under Application Status to the right, select the document(s) you want to submit and click the Submit button
• If a cover letter or writing sample is not required for the joy you are applying to, the system will not allow you to use those documents in your application
How can I see which jobs I have applied for?
• Click on jobs along the top of the page
• Click on the Applications tab
What if I don’t qualify for a job that I’m interested in?
• Review your profile to make sure your information is up to date
• Review the qualifications for the job to understand why you do not qualify
• If you find that you do not qualify due to a restriction based on major but you have applicable expertise in that area (appropriate coursework, experience, etc.), you may want to update your profile and add that information under Major/area(s) of focus
*Remember that you must be honest when completing your profile. While it is fine to include an area of focus where you have taken applicable coursework or have appropriate experience, you should be able to rationalize why you selected the area if asked. If LER Career Services finds that you have misrepresented your skills or expertise, you may be removed from the system and/or your access to LER Career Services and resources may be eliminated.
What do I do if I want to withdraw an application?
• Click on jobs along the top of the page
• Click on the Applications tab
• Click the Withdraw Application button for the appropriate job
What does it mean to be a preselect or an alternate?
Employers preselect 50% of their interview schedule. If you are preselected, the company has decided that you are a good fit based solely on your resume, and have invited you to interview. Watch the dates on the system to be sure that you are making the schedule - if you are preselected you have ONE DAY to accept the offer and sign up for the interview before alternates can take your slot. If you do not sign up on that day, your slot is released. If you accidentally miss your deadline and your slot is taken by an alternate, but you are still interested in the company, you may bid for a slot later.
Companies MAY also designate alternates. This is NOT a guaranteed slot. Being an alternate means you may sign up in any slots originally designated for preselects that were not filled. If all preselected students sign up, however, you will not be able to take a slot and will have to bid later.
How will I know if I am preselected for an interview?
• You will receive an e-mail message indicating that you have been preselected once the preselect signup period begins
• Be sure to sign up for interviews that you were preselected for before the deadline
• The sooner you sign up the more times you will have to choose from
What about bidding?
Employers preselect 50% of their interview schedule. The other 50% is filled by bid winners. Bidding gives you the possibility of getting onto schedules even when you were not a preselect or alternate.
All LER students receive 1000 bid points per semester. If you win your bid, you lose the amount of points of that bid. If you lose the bid, your points are returned to you to be used again. If you have points left over at the end of recruiting, they do NOT roll to another semester. Everyone is set back to 1,000 points at the start of each recruiting season.
Bidding is a blind lottery. The system takes the top bids to fill the correct number of slots left on a schedule. Ties are broken randomly by the system. There is NO magic number to win a slot on a specific schedule. You will need to be strategic throughout the semester and decide what companies are most important to you and start there. The numbers will fluctuate wildly based on company, opportunity, and ability of international candidates to interview.
If you win the bid, you will receive an email notifying you. Otherwise you receive no email notification.
Pay attention to your target companies - watch the jobs you're most interested in and then mark those companies as "favorites." This will allow you to go check on one page for the status of those jobs, rather than each individual company page. Watch each company’s dates so you know when the bidding process is about to begin for each company.
I can see the date deadlines in the system. What time can I sign up?
Preselect, alternate and bidding sign ups begin at 6 a.m. Champaign time.
If you are dropping a resume or submitting a bid, you can drop the resume any time during that calendar day up until and through 11:59 p.m.
How can I see the status of my interviews?
• Click on interviews along the top of the page
• To see the status of pending interviews, click on the Interview Requests tab
• To view your current interviews, click on the Scheduled Interviews tab
Where can I find information on recruiting activities and events?
• Click on events along the top of the page
• Click on the appropriate tab (you can find information about career fairs, information sessions, and workshops in this section)
• Events are also listed on the calendar, which can be viewed by clicking on calendar along the top of the page
How do I sign up for an event?
• Click on events along the top of the page
• Click on the appropriate tab (you can find information about career fairs, information sessions, and workshops in this section)
• Click on the event that you are interested in attending
• Click the RSVP button
*Access to LER Career Services online is restricted to currently enrolled students who have registered with the LER Career Services Office. For more information, please call Career Services Secretary Wendy Gooch, 217-333-2777, or email her at wgooch@illinois.edu. In the event of unauthorized access to your account, please notify Career Services immediately.