Features

DSU Spotlight: Bill H. Means

By Tanashie Jacquecin

As you should know by now, Doctor Bill Means is the Director of Career Services and Student Employment at Delaware State University, and has been for four years. Means has been working in the career service sector for twenty-six years, so he has many years of experience. His expertise comes from working for several HBCUs, large state intuitions, and non-profits organizations. He has worked in places such as Queens University of Charlotte, Wake Forest University of Medicine, and INROADS.

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Dr. Means takes a  handsome selfie (Photo by Bill Means)

 

What brought him to Delaware State University was his love for helping students find their career and he wanted to live in the Mid-Atlantic region. He liked the size of the campus, how diverse the student population is, and how well the DSU students could take feedback. He liked the clean buildings and how Delaware State was constantly looking to grow by adding on more buildings. However, he would like to have more resources, such as more career center staff, one more at least.

“It’s a university that is always striving to do better.” Dr. Means explains when asked what he liked about Delaware State University. It is filled with hardworking students and Dr. Means “likes helping students achieve their goals.” Seeing the students coming into college and graduate with successful careers or eventually end up with successful careers is something he enjoys seeing.

When Dr. Means first started working here, he planned to develop and strengthen the Career Center. Also, he planned to create a career preparation class that helps all students with their resume writing skills and other soft skills relevant today’s work-force. He was successfully able to build up the Career Center by doubling up his work staff and connecting the students to helpful resources like the Handshake app. He is still working on the career preparation classes yet, but is still pushing with the faculty to make it happen.

Our numbers have grown from 73% to 83% of DSU graduates getting jobs within six months of graduating since Dr. Means joined the Delaware State University family. He recommends that underclassmen purchase their own professional attire, keep a GPA at 3.00 or better, and get internships as soon as possible. Seniors should stay focused and ” apply for jobs early and often.”

 

 

 

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