Want to nominate an OSU student or alum for the Student/Alum Spotlight series? Or do you want to share your own success? Then please fill out this quick form and Career Services will contact the person nominated.

Name: Adam Fargher
Major: Electrical Engineering
Year in School: Junior
Internship: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)

1. How did you find out about this internship?
This past Fall term, a Human Resources rep from BPA came and gave a presentation on BPA. In addition, several students already in the Pathways internship program explained their involvement, experience, and what they learned. I researched the BPA website and kept my eye out for the Pathways positions and once they were posted I immediately applied.

2. What will you be doing in your position?
I will being working in the transmission services department of BPA. The program has 3 rotations that students work in. Anything from projects, system operation, system design, and a field rotation as well. The interns in this program don’t just make coffee runs and photocopies. This program is structured so that interns dive in head first and gain hands on experience as well as receive organizational and industry knowledge that you just can’t learn from a textbook.

3. What advice do you have for others interested in finding an internship?
Advice for those looking for internships: First, ask yourself, “What am I passionate about and what  kind of organization would give me experience in my major as well as get my foot in the door?” Then search hard. I scoured the web, googled companies and researched what they were about and if any positions were available, went to career fairs and industry nights, and read every single newsletter that OSU College of Engineering distributed to see if there were any new internship postings.

4.Did Career Services or anybody else assist you in anyway with your career development? If so, how?
Career services played such a huge role in this process. They supplied me with a plethora of resume and interview resources. I must have visited several times to make sure my resume was the best that it could be. One of the most valuable resources from Career Services was the mock interview. Jen Busick Stewart hosted a practice interview for me that was tailored specifically for me, the position, and my major.  She asked the detailed questions that made me think about myself, skills, and experiences. My actual BPA interview would have been a little shaky if I didn’t put in that practice with Jen. The practice interview was critical!! My academic advisor also played a role and gave me some technical interviewing tips and advice. I also reached out to a friend of mine and as a professional engineer he gave me some solid advice on interviews and the industry.

1. Start in the office of your college or university’s career services office. Use your career services office resources to help you step foot in the right direction to finding an on campus job or internship.

2. Partake in one or more internships. By participating in internships you gain valuable experience and ultimately they help you to decide whether you want to stay on that career path or possibly switch if you aren’t enjoying it. OSU’s Spring Career Fair takes place on Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013 and it is a great place to find out about internship opportunities!

3. Find a job on campus. Several places hire students on campus such as the dining centers, residence halls, the recreation center, advising offices, etc. Check out “On Campus Jobs” section of the Career Services website for strategies to finding one at OSU.

4.  Volunteer. This will help you to gain valuable experience, make a difference in the community, and to gain new network contacts. Check out the Center for Civic Engagement at OSU for volunteer opportunities.

5. Join student organizations. Every college has multiple organizations, so find one or two that interest you. They often help students gain management and leadership skills while collaborating with peers to organize various projects.

6. Capitalize on class projects. Students often downplay the importance of class projects to prospective employers. The end product can often be used in a portfolio to show at an interview and large, term length projects show dedication and organization skills to the employer as well. Check out this example of how to demonstrate class projects on your resume.

7. Undergraduate research. Try to participate in research in your academic department to learn more about what it is they study. This is extremely beneficial to students looking into applying/attending graduate school.

References:

http://www.career.vt.edu/Experience.html

http://www.quintcareers.com/15_college-work-experience_tips.html

Posted by Carly Larson, Career Services Assistant

As a Career Advisor, I often work with students who are dismayed by the resume writing process. They don’t have experience directly relevant to their field of interest, and it seems like they need experience to get that experience. Before I learned about career development and targeting resumes to specific opportunities, I thought this way too. How do I get a job if I need a job to get a job?

But there are tons of ways to gain experience in your field or to develop transferable skills that you would use in almost any field. It’s all a matter of how to frame your experience to show potential employers that you have the skills you need to do the work. You can do internships, seasonal temporary jobs, on-campus jobs, and join student organizations. You can do undergraduate research or start your own small company. The avenue I’d like to advocate for today, in light of the upcoming holiday celebrating the incredible inspiration of Martin Luther King, Jr., is to volunteer.

Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” With this statement, he was calling on all of us to step forward and serve. If you get involved in community service, you will help others. You will forge lasting and rewarding relationships. And others will teach you incredible lessons about their lives and what needs to change in this world to make it better.

Think about the skills you already have that you could offer. Are you great at designing websites? Organizing people? Planning events? Fundraising? Working with children? Do you have particular expertise that a nonprofit or human services organization would find useful? Offer that expertise up to an organization and commit some of your time to their work. Or, on the other hand, do you want to learn more about a specific area within human services or what environmental nonprofits do? Offer your volunteer hours to an organization in that field and commit to doing whatever the organization needs. I would be willing to bet that you will probably get more out of the experience than you ever thought possible. It will surprise you how much you will learn, about yourself and what you are capable of accomplishing, as well as the field you volunteer in. And you will be helping others and the world in the process.

The added bonus is that you can easily record this information on your resume, highlighting any transferrable skills or knowledge that relates to the positions you apply for. These volunteer experiences show employers a lot about you. They show a lot about your character and the values you hold. They show a ton about your work ethic and ability to multitask, juggling school and volunteering responsibilities. They also can show, dependent on the organization you work with and the work you do, relevant skills for your field of interest. In addition, you will build a network of people who can be a support to you in your job search and may offer referrals or connect you to colleagues. Finally, your volunteer experiences will teach you amazing things about how to work and communicate effectively with others who may be different from you, which is a skill you need in any workplace. You can write about those people skills on your resume.

I hope you will take a moment this coming 3 day weekend to reflect on the ways in which you serve and could serve others, in honor of an amazing man who called on us all to do so. And I hope once you reflect on that, you decide to volunteer. A couple of events are coming up around campus that can help you make this happen. First, participate in the MLK Day of Service, sponsored by the Center for Civic Engagement. In addition, February 6^th, Career Services and the Center for Civic Engagement are teaming up to sponsor the Nonprofit and Volunteering Fair. Also, Career Services has a page dedicated to finding volunteer opportunities, as does the Center for Civic Engagement.

You can make a difference in the lives of others by offering your time and your skills, and you will learn and grow and develop in the process. Try it!

Posted by Jessica Baron, Graduate Assistant Career Advisor in Career Services

I spent my formative college years doing all the right things – playing a club sport, working part-time jobs, applying for summer internships, getting good grades – and yet when I began to look for a job in my field – History – I found myself at a loss. I had labored under the impression that if I chose a major in an area that I enjoyed, there would be jobs in that field awaiting me upon graduation. Boy was I wrong.

After an initial and unsuccessful search, I realized that if I wanted to work, I needed to look for jobs that, while not necessarily in my academic field, required the same sorts of skill set that I already possessed. Though history is perhaps not the most glamorous or specific major, I knew that the skills I had learned in my classes covered a variety of areas that could help me to land a job. Though I would no longer be writing history papers or reading vast amounts of text, I knew that the skills that I had learned in those courses were transferable and could help me succeed.

To many, a history paper is bogged down with names, dates, and places, and offers little outside of an academic setting. However, I knew that they included much more. Time management, research and writing skills, and creating concise and influential arguments were all important lessons that could be transferred to other fields. The work it requires to successfully research and write a paper – for any class or major – is not one that should be viewed lightly. It takes a great deal of intelligence, self-discipline, and effort to succeed in college, and employers know that. All employers look for employees that can work with a team and independently, can organize their thoughts and their tasks to stay on track, and who remain vigilant and detail oriented to get the job done. In every major, though these skills are not explicitly taught, they are always gained.

Though I did not receive my dream job right out of college, I know that the skills I learned in and out of the classroom during my undergraduate years prepared me to succeed in a variety of disciplines. With the experience I gained in those jobs, I was able to strengthen my résumé, obtain an understanding of a variety of disciplines, and create professional contacts that eventually helped me obtain a job in my desired field.

Post by Peter Rumbles, Career Services Assistant and Oregon State University Graduate Student

1. Go the Extra Mile: While the Customer may not always be right, with the ability to blog about poor service, bad food, or just about anything these days, it is important to make sure customers are completely satisfied. This means going the extra mile, and doing everything you can to say yes. If someone asks where something is in the store, walk them to it and try to answer any further questions they may have. However, don’t make a promise you can’t keep, but let them know you will do everything you can to help them.
2. Greet and Welcome Customers: By greeting and welcoming customers to your establishment you establish good rapport. If you ask customers if you can help them with anything to begin with, you will save yourself the hassle of trying to help an impatient, angry customer later, and get rid of the awkwardness of them trying to get your attention. However, make sure you give them space, suffocating customers with enthusiastic help when all they wish is to figure it out themselves typically has negative effects.
3. Know Your Customers: If you work at a place that gets lots of repeat customers, try to learn their names, or at least show that you recognize them. If someone always comes in and orders a nonfat soy latté every morning, ask them if they want their usual rather than them feel unrecognized and having to tell you every time.
4. Know How to Handle Customer Complaints: Learn your company’s policies about complaints and unhappy customers, often times they dictate how you handle situations or tell you who you should direct them to instead. Sometimes you cannot solve all complaints; however, giving these customers your attention may be all they really need. Remember to always remain calm during these situations, getting angry and worked up will only cause a bigger scene and draw other customers’ attention.
5. Listen to Your Customers: Make sure you listen and understand what your customers need, be part of the conversation appropriately and ask questions if you do not understand. There is nothing more frustrating as a customer than having to repeat yourself after realizing you were not being listened to. Also, if you cannot answer a question they have, make sure to find someone else who can or figure out the answer yourself.
6. Know How to Apologize: It can be hard, especially with rude customers, but apologizing could help you keep a customer. Again, customers may not always be right, but recognizing a problem will satisfy them.
7. Treat Employees and Coworkers Well: Make sure to treat those you work with well, and as you wish to be treated by your boss. Employees are likely to treat customers the way they are being treated as well, so happy employees and coworkers mean happy customers.
8. Sometimes our customers become our future employers or a potential connection. I know someone who has direct experience with this…when she was in college she worked at Starbucks and since there were many repeat customers, the customers got to know her and her work ethic. One customer gave my friend her business card and said that my friend would be excellent in banking and would give her a referral if she were interested. Just demonstrates that everyone is a potential employer!
9. We are All Customers: At some point in time we are all customers, thus when giving customer service to others think about how you would want to be treated in the same situation. Picture yourself on the other side of a malfunctioning product and how frustrated you would be, then picture how much happier you would be if someone went the extra mile for you.

Posted by Sami Kerzel, Career Services Assistant

Question: When do employers hire/recruit for summer interns?

Employers have told us they hire most of their summer interns by the end of December. So, if you want a 2013 summer internship, most employers will hire those interns by the end of 2012. That means you need to be prepared to apply for internships by the fall. Check out more information about internships on the OSU Career Services website and if you need help preparing your resume, cover letter, networking, and interviewing…we can help with that too! And remember Fall Career Fair is on October 24th and the Engineering Career Fair is on October 25th…great place to meet a lot of employers recruiting OSU students and possibly land an internship!

Jen Busick, Career Advisor & Outreach Coordinator at Oregon State University advises students about internships and the job search, applying to graduate school, resumes/cover letters, and interviewing. She also organizes and updates resources, manages social media for Career Services and coordinates outreach opportunities. She enjoys working with students in coming up with a plan to finding a job and assisting them with figuring out the next steps. She has a lot of international experience, including the Peace Corps, study abroad, and independent travel.

Intern
Environment America

Description
If you want to spend the fall learning how to make a real impact on the decisions that affect the energy we use, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the places we love, apply for an internship with Environment America. We’re taking applications now for fall internships in Washington D.C. and our 29 state offices around the country.
So, what do interns with Environment America do? Make a real impact on critical environmental issues!
You’ll learn how to analyze environmental problems, advocate for smart solutions, and build public support. And you’ll work one-on-one with one of our advocates and organizers, providing a unique, mentored experience.
Responsibilities vary, but you’ll do some mix of:
• Researching critical environmental problems and preparing reports to release to the public
• Coordinating and attending media events, like news conferences
• Writing and publishing letters to the editor and working on news releases
• Attending lobby meetings with lawmakers and other decision-makers
• Working with coalition partners, like public health groups and other environmental groups
• Tracking legislation or regulations on the federal or state levels
• Generating public support for our campaigns, such as by collecting petitions or using social media
And you’ll attend briefings and trainings to learn more about environmental issues and gain advocacy and organizing skills.
Although Environment America Internships are unpaid, we’ll work with you to secure academic credit from your college or university if that is an option.

For more information, including how to apply check out the posting in Beaver JobNet.

Excellent question! There are many things you can be doing over the summer to gain experience, build skills, network, and in turn, make your resume stronger. Here are some ideas:

• Internship – 9 in 10 employers said they look for students to have one or two internships before graduating, and that those internships should be at least three months each to provide enough experience. If you don’t already have an internship for the summer, create your own! Here’s how! Or get planning for next summer.
• Part-time or temporary job – you can gain many skills through a part-time or temporary job no matter where you work. Communication, teamwork, adaptability, problem-solving, initiative, hard-working…these are all qualities employers across industries seek in their employees and you can easily demonstrate this on your resume through a part-time job. Also, sometimes that temporary job could turn into full time!
• Volunteer – there are so many places that could use your help and volunteering is a great way to assist others and also improve your own skills. Thinking about becoming a vet? Volunteer at the humane society. Want to be a writer? Volunteer to start a blog for a nonprofit and write the entries. Interested in teaching? Volunteer at a kids camp or summer school program. The opportunities are endless!!!
• Go abroad - summer is a fantastic time to travel! Going abroad either through school or on your own can be a great way to learn more about another culture and yourself. You can also build your network internationally and even better if you learn another language (or at least the basics!).
• Take a class or two – either for your major or just to learn another skill (Photoshop, html code, typing, pretty much there is a class for everything these days!)…and oftentimes you can find them online.
• Start your own business - due to technology pretty much anyone can start their own business and with little cost. Find out some strategies to get you started.
• Start your own blog – blogging is a great way to network and be known in your field…or even in an area that isn’t necessarily related to your career. It shows that you have something to offer and you become somewhat of an “expert” on that topic. It also demonstrates your written communication skills and these days many companies have blogs and therefore need people to manage and write for the blog. There are various blogging platforms such as WordPress, Blogger, Weebly, etc. Here is a great article about the top 10 free online blogging platforms.

These are just a few ideas of ways you can gain experience and skills over the summer or while searching for a permanent job and still have some fun! And hopefully you will find that the things you are doing to gain experience and make yourself more marketable on your resume are FUN…this means you are probably going into an industry that fits your interests, strengths, and values and therefore you are more likely to be happy in your career.

What will you be doing this summer to develop your skills and gain experience? Any new ideas from the list above? Any career related questions you want answered during our Q & A Monday post? Comment below!

Jen Busick, Career Advisor & Outreach Coordinator at Oregon State University advises students about internships and the job search, applying to graduate school, resumes/cover letters, and interviewing. She also organizes and updates resources, manages social media for Career Services and coordinates outreach opportunities. She enjoys working with students in coming up with a plan to finding a job and assisting them with figuring out the next steps. She has a lot of international experience, including the Peace Corps, study abroad, and independent travel.

In the small town of Creede, the arts are very important. So important, in fact, that in addition to the Creede Repertory Theatre, there is a local nonprofit arts organization that sponsors gallery shows, arts education, art in public spaces, and other arts related events. The Creede Arts Council’s director was leaving after many years of building a set of programs that added value to the community, events that people had come to expect and count on to sustain them year after year. The Council needed a new Director.

With my background in writing and theatre and because I had completed an internship in nonprofit development while in graduate school, I was chosen to direct this organization of very dedicated volunteers as they worked hard to provide arts programming for their community. This opportunity may not have happened in a big city, but the available candidate pool was small, so I got lucky! Because it was part time, I continued working in the real estate office while taking on grant writing, volunteer organizing, event planning, and marketing.

Some of these tasks were brand new to me. Some of these tasks were new facets of skills I was already comfortable with. All of these tasks were a challenge, so I learned as I went, asked the board and the previous director lots of questions, and tried things out to see if they would work. I learned so many useful skills in this job that there isn’t the space to list them all. Looking back on it, I’m so glad I took a chance in applying, and they took a chance by hiring me!

The most valuable skills I cultivated regarded working on a team while leading that team. A volunteer board hired me to manage them but also to serve their needs. I needed to balance my leadership style with the goals and purpose of my position, supporting everyone’s ideas and acting as a facilitator for conversations to decide the direction of the organization. So, many of the skills I cultivated in that job are skills I use today and skills I will continue to use in the future. However, I still knew I wanted to work in higher education. In Week 9, I will tell you about my next steps in achieving that goal. Have a great week!

Jessica Baron is currently a Graduate Assistant in Career Services at OSU and a full time student in the College Student Services Administration Program. Before making her way to Oregon State, Jessica worked as an actor, waiter, online tutor, receptionist, college composition instructor, creative writer, gas station attendant, nonprofit program director, writing workshop leader, high school drama coach, Hallmark card straightener, substitute teacher, real estate office manager, and SAT tutor, not necessarily in that order. Her “Confessions of a Career Changer” will focus on her wavy career path and the challenges and joys of wanting to do everything.