Keri Burns joined UT Dallas in December 2018 as the new Director of the University Career Center. She has over 17 years of higher education experience specializing in undergraduate and graduate student career development and creating experiential learning opportunities. Keri has worked at both public and private institutions leading small and large Career Services teams. Originally from Illinois, Keri considers Texas to be her second home since she keeps finding her way back to the DFW area. She was formerly the Assistant Director of Recruitment Operations at the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University where she worked closely with recruiters and hiring managers in various fields such as Supply Chain/Logistics, Marketing, Accounting/Finance, Real Estate and Healthcare wishing to recruit MBA students and alumni for internships, co-ops, entry level and experienced full-time opportunities. During that time, she gained an extensive wealth of knowledge and experience in recruiting trends and the hiring needs of DFW area and national employers interested in hiring Neeley graduates. She has most recently served as Director of Career Services at her alma mater, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and the University of West Georgia outside of Atlanta.

Keri received both of her degrees from SIU Carbondale; a bachelor’s degree in Hotel Administration and master’s degree in Workforce Education and Development with an emphasis in Human Resources. Throughout her career, she has gained extensive experience with assisting corporations with writing countless internship and job descriptions, developing compensation structures, revising effective performance evaluations and creating effective behavioral and emotional intelligence (EQ) interview questions. As a result, she is skilled in assisting students with writing detailed resumes and preparing them for interviews in various career fields, levels of work experience and employment situations.

Keri’s passion is to help students in all stages of their life discover their best career fit and provide a model for career changers and career enhancers as they navigate the waters of an ever-changing 21st-century workplace. She is committed to helping students and professionals define, develop and strengthen their personal brand that will best promote their skill set for their desired career and hopes to continue connecting employers with our talented students at UT Dallas for many years to come.