November « 2011 « The Career Development Center Blog

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Beaver JobNet is a great way to get your job or internship search started. Meet employers from a variety of organizations as well as from locations around the country and around the world. This program serves students and alumni alike. Employers are seeking applicants for positions including full-time, co-ops and internships, summer camps, national parks employment, and volunteer organizations such as the Peace Corps. Students can access Beaver JobNet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Check out the Career Services website for more information about finding a job.

Job/Internship of the Week

Store Management Internship
Kohl’s Department Stores

Kohl’s is one of the largest and fastest-growing retailers in the country. A family-focused, value-oriented specialty department store, Kohl’s offers quality merchandise from national and exclusive brands, such as Jennifer Lopez, Simply Vera Vera Wang, ELLE™, Food Network™, and FILA SPORT®. Kohl’s is committed to serving the community through green leadership and the Kohl’s Cares® merchandise program which has raised over $180 million for children’s initiatives nationwide. Employees enjoy a workplace that is exciting and evolving. At Kohl’s, you will be able to try new things, set goals for your development, build a career that fits your expectations, and have fun along the way! It’s easy to see why Kohl’s was selected by Businessweek as one of the best places to launch a career.

Position Summary:
The Store Management Internship Program is a 10 week summer program designed to give you the knowledge and experience needed to explore what an exciting career in retail management is all about. Our Training Program consists of the following: computer based training, hands-on sales floor training, executive development, and exposure to all areas of the Store. You will also be provided with multiple opportunities to enhance your experience through exposure to senior level leadership, a trip to Intern Conference in Milwaukee, WI and more! As an intern with Kohl’s you will be treated as part of the management team and learn the principles of what it takes to run a successful retail business. If you enjoy working with people and engaging in several dynamic roles, or if you are a high-energy person, who tends to get bored easily sitting at a desk all day long, a career in store management is sure to challenge and excite you. Continue reading →

Job/Internship of the Week

Business Intern
Boeing

The Boeing Company has 2012 summer Business
internship opportunities available in
Washington State. Washington is the home
of Boeing Commercial Airplanes and the site for
other business units, including Boeing Defense,
Space & Security; Shared Services Group;
Boeing Capital Corporation; and Engineering,
Operations & Technology.

The Boeing Company invites you to engage and contribute to
our exciting projects as we continue to expand our product line and develop new technologies to meet our customer needs.

The Internship Program is designed to challenge students in
specific work assignments, as well as development and social
activities throughout the summer. Continue reading →

Jessica performing improv comedy with troup called Boomtown.

Hi, it’s me again, talking about my wavy career path, through hill and dale, over rivers and through woods to, not grandmother’s house, but Oregon State University! When I last blogged, I was talking about the national children’s theatre tour gig I landed in the aftermath of 9/11. So, today I’ll talk about what that was like, 6 months on the road in a van with 5 other actors and a stage manager. We went from school to school, and from venue to venue, rarely staying in one place for more than two or three nights.

The show was Superfudge, and I don’t know if you read Judy Blume books when you were a child, but it was based on the Judy Blume book of the same name about a kindergartener called Fudge who gets into all kinds of shenanigans and, of course, lessons are learned in the process. This book was preceded by Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, a quite famous children’s book that maybe you read. In this musical adaptation of Superfudge, I played the mother of two boys, Fudge and Peter, who were played by grown men. Both of them towered over me at 6 feet or more, and I was 22, definitely not the right age to be a mother of an 11-year-old. There were three other actors in the musical, a guy who played the dad, and a man and a woman who played all the other characters. So, I was one of two women on the tour; the stage manager was a guy too. The other actress and I shared hotel rooms to save money because we were given a “per diem” as part of our salary that was meant to cover our daily expenses, so if we could cut costs on hotels, we would make more money in the end.

Each morning (And many of the show times were in the morning. For some reason, schools like morning shows. Have you ever had to sing for 45 minutes at 8 am? It’s not easy!), we would drive our two vans to a venue, put up our set, put on our costumes and microphones, do a sound check, then have about 20 minutes to warm up before we performed. The contract I worked under for this tour employed me as both an actor and a stage manager so that I would be contractually obligated to unload, put up, tear down, and load our set back into our van. Lots of work! We often did more than one show in a day, and sometimes in different locations, so we could end up doing this routine more than once in a day. But we were being paid pretty well, for actors, and we were contributing to our union initiation fee as part of our paychecks, which would, in turn, entitle us to health insurance. Whoo hoo! I hadn’t been a union actor before this experience, and it felt good to be paid well and treated with respect.

It turned out that we needed that respect and those union rules a couple of months into the tour. Remember that the seven of us are crammed into two vans over six months, and we didn’t know each other before the rehearsals began. Would you ever take a six month long road trip with strangers? It was inevitable that personality conflicts would arise. The other woman thought she was being harassed by the man who played the dad; she complained to the stage manager and the union representative; and all hell broke loose. For a week or so, I didn’t want to room with her and ended up paying extra for my own room. She eventually left the tour, as did our stage manager, and we got a new actress who became a really close friend. Conflicts like that are going to come up when perfect strangers spend months together, 24 hours a day, 6 days a week. We did get one day a week off, but on this day, if we were out on the road, we were limited by the available transportation (our two vans), so we really couldn’t get away from each other. In all, touring with Superfudge was a pretty stressful, amazing, great, and fraught experience. I recommend everyone try it. You’ll learn a ton about yourself and what you are willing to tolerate in others.

When my tour ended, I needed to find work, so I began asking around to friends and friends of friends. This strategy paid off. I’ll talk about what I did next in “Confessions of a Career Changer”. Hope you are enjoying my story and have a great Thanksgiving break!

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.

Beavers Beyond OSU is an opportunity for students and alumni to share a successful internship, career related experience, project or study abroad opportunity. Perhaps you’ve discovered a new passion or created a start-up. Or you’ve had a life transforming experience that can inspire and educate others on ways to find intentional careers. If you have a story to share, we’d love to hear from you.

To share your story, please submit your interest below.

Name: Marty Ulrich

Major: Computer Science

Year: Sophomore

Who did you work for? Poets Road in LA.

What was your title? I started as a freelance developer for them, then was hired on for regular work. Currently I’m their Senior Mobile Developer

What do you do? I’m sent Adobe Photoshop documents that contain layers with the images for the app, then I export them to the different sizes I need for the different iOS devices, and build the project and write the code in XCode, Apple’s development software used for making iOS apps. Continue reading →

Many people wonder if or when they should follow up with employers or is it okay to follow up with employers to see whether or not you got an interview or the position you tried out for. It is always a nervous task to accomplish, because you don’t want to come off as annoying, so here are some few tips to go about following up with employers:

Following up with employers is a good thing to do; it shows the employers that you are concerned about that position or your standing. Continue reading →

Job/Internship of the Week

Communications/Race Intern
Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Komen Oregon is currently seeking an enthusiastic individual who is proficient in Spanish for an exciting internship opportunity that will support the Affiliate’s communications and outreach efforts for the 2011 Race for the Cure.

This person will work under the guidance of the Affiliate Communications Coordinator to assist projects related to promoting the Race for the Cure.

This intern will work in a fast-paced, collaborative team atmosphere and have the opportunity to learn about a wide range of areas in a non-profit organization and major event planning.

Time Commitment:
Summer term – 3 X week for approximately 15 hours total

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
• Implementation of the Affiliate Race for the Cure Distribution Plan (distribution of event collateral to local businesses, individuals and events throughout the summer)
• Provide outreach to targeted communities – mostly concentrating on the local Hispanic community
• Offer support to Spanish-speaking event registrants
• Work at occasional pre-race fundraising/special events
• Serve as primary support for booking media interviews/appearances
• Administrative support, including extensive phone work, email correspondence and some mailings
• Some translation materials from English to Spanish
• Interest in marketing/communications and non-profit experience
• Other marketing/outreach projects as assigned

Division

Oregon/SW Washington Affiliate

Location

Portland, OR

Position Type

Internship – Unpaid

Desired Major(s)

All Majors

Job Function

Administrative / Support Services, Communication, Community Service, Customer Service, Event Planning / Coordination, Health Services / Healthcare, Marketing, Public Relations, Volunteer

Duration

Summer term through Sept. 18, 2012

Contact Information

Employer:	Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Name:	Ms. Lori H. Kresse
Title:	Volunteer Program Manager
E-mail:	Lkresse@komenoregon.org
Website:	http://www.komenoregon.org
Phone:	503-553-3676
Fax:	503-552-9161
Address:	1400 SW 5th Ave. Suite 530 Portland, OR 97201 United States

Tell us about your company and why you recruit OSU students.
We are the world’s second largest food company with annual revenues of $48 billion. Millions of times a day, in more than 160 countries, consumers reach for their favorite Kraft Foods brands. We make a delicious difference by fighting hunger and supporting healthy lifestyles. Over the past 25 years, we’ve donated nearly a billion dollars in cash and food. Our company is a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard & Poor’s 500, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and Ethibel Sustainability Index.

OSU offers premier Engineering and Food Science programs. We’ve seen many double and triple majors, including a coupling of IE and ME which is valuable in a manufacturing environment. Students tell us that OSU makes it very feasible to obtain a dual focus. Many students also elect a concentration or minor option to enhance their studies. OSU students partake in a multitude of developmental opportunities that prepare them for a smooth transition into the workplace. These include internships and co-ops such as MECOP, involvement in student groups, community programs, etc.

What is your favorite part of your job?
Talent Planning. One of the most important contributions of the HR business partner is gauging long-term needs and then planning appropriately to ensure the company’s competitiveness and sustainability. This entails attracting and retaining candidates with the knowledge, skills and abilities required to meet strategic goals.

How do you find people you want to hire and what makes them stand out from others?
We often find the people we want to hire through a number of our on-campus activities, referrals, and at many diversity and pre-professional conferences. Ideally, we hire into our experiential learning programs (internships, co-ops, etc) to evaluate performance and fit, before converting students into fulltime employees upon graduation.

What do you recommend students do in college so that they are ready when it comes time to find a job?
1) Academic achievement. 2) Involvement in Clubs & Activities. 3) Demonstrate Leadership. 4) Gain as much experience you can relative to your area of study: internship, labs, volunteering, job shadows, etc. 5) Build a network: professionals, faculty, alumni, professional organizations, peers, mentors. 6) Write a great resume. 7) Master the art of the interview & follow-up. 8) Learn about companies in your field. 9) Meet representatives from the companies you are most interested in.

Posted by Sarah Scaruto, Associate HR Manager from Kraft Foods

Job/Internship of the Week

Business Analyst Consultant
Cross Current, Inc.

•Provide support for all aspects of client engagements from scope definition to delivery
•Conduct quantitative and qualitative analysis of client data using reports, spreadsheets and databases
•Observe, understand and document client’s revenue cycle process flows. Develop and implement creative solutions to address process inefficiencies.
•Interpret, evaluate, and interrelate clinic operational and financial data for inclusion into client briefings and reports
•Conduct interviews and meetings with clinic office staff, clinic administration and physicians. Participate in training of clinic office staff in the use of company software, tools and process improvement activities
•Contribute to written and verbal engagement progress updates and other communications with the client

Location

Portland, OR

Position Type

Permanent Full-Time

Salary Level

Competitive salary plus bonus potential

Qualifications

•Willingness to travel. Out of town travel will make up as much as 75% of job duties.
•Strong academic background. Minimum GPA of 3.0.
•Solid economic, financial, and quantitative problem-solving skills
•Knowledge and appreciation of business concepts
•Strong knowledge of spreadsheet and presentation software
•Ability to create and edit high quality written materials.
•Ability to work on and complete projects with demanding deadlines
•Ability to work effectively in a team environment
•Aptitude to learn quickly and to adapt to different difficult and complex environments
•Strong time management skills, ability to multi-task
•Demonstrated self-starter
•Effective communication skills with an ability to share and synthesize knowledge
•Ability to get along with a wide range of people and to work effectively with difficult people
•BA/BS required

Analyst Consultant Job Description.docx

Contact Information

Employer:	CrossCurrent, Inc.
Name:	Mr. David Smith
Title:	Chief Operating Officer
E-mail:	dsmith@crosscurrentinc.com
Website:	http://www.crosscurrentinc.com
Phone:	(503) 542-8207
Address:	5331 SW Macadam Ave Suite 216 Portland, OR 97239 United States

Jessica's Theatre Headshot

The last time we talked, it was 2001, and I mentioned that I had a job as a receptionist in New York City; I went to Texas to do a film for the summer, thinking that I would just slide right back into my receptionist job when I returned. But as I was returning, while I was driving through Nashville toward home, a couple of planes crashed into the World Trade Center in my city.

New York City in the aftermath of 9/11 was, as you can imagine, a chaotic place. For several days, no one was allowed into the city unless they were emergency personnel. I stayed with my parents in New Jersey, watching the unbelievable footage on television over and over. When they finally opened the bridges and tunnels, I went to my old job headquarters on 6^th Avenue and asked when I could begin working again. I needed to work. I had spent most of my savings doing an unpaid, low-budget film. My previous boss, a nice young woman from Staten Island, said they didn’t need me, and in light of the recent events, they needed to downsize and cut costs.

Many events converged to put me out of a job in September of 2001, but half of the city was out of a job. Lots of people were volunteering at Ground Zero or around the city to help families find their loved ones. I decided this was the perfect moment for unemployment insurance.

So, this stuff is insurance, and our employers pay it on our behalf. Sometimes we need to use those systems that are set up as safety nets. Sometimes we fall, and a program like unemployment insurance is designed to catch us. I used the few months after 9/11 on unemployment insurance to audition vigorously for any and all performance opportunities. I worked a day here and there as an extra on several television shows. I spent time with actor friends, working on audition material and perfecting my acting resume. And this work actually did pay off.

In early December of 2001, I found out I got a really good tour gig. This 6 month tour would be a children’s theatre production in schools and venues across the country. We would get in a van, drive to St. Louis or Montauk or Ithaca or Cleveland, check into a cheap hotel, put up our set, perform our 60 minute musical, and drive on. Sounds like hard work, right? It was. But we were paid fairly well; we got to join the actor’s union, and we got health insurance because of the union. In all, it was an amazing break for me.

Next time, I’ll talk about what happened on the road. Hope your semester is going great and that you’re enjoying “Confessions of a Career Changer”.

Have you ever been in a job interview where the employer begins a question with the phrase, “Tell me about a time when…?” You may have been asked to describe a time you’ve worked well with a team, a time you’ve implemented a creative solution to a problem, or a time you’ve faced an ethical dilemma. If you have come across these types of questions, you may have found they can seem a bit tricky to answer. These types of questions are referred to as behaviorial interview questions. When asking behavior questions, the employer is hoping to gauge what type of skill set you have in an effort to determine how successful you’ll be in a future job. Employers often feel that past behavior is the best predictor for future behavior. This blog will introduce you to a strategy to help you answer these questions and a few tips on how to best prepare.

The S.T.A.R. interview technique gives you a way to frame the answers to your questions. Utilizing the technique will ensure you are giving enough information in your answer in a way that is well organized. S.T.A.R. stands for:

S – Situation: Describe the logistics of your experience (time, place, position, etc).
T – Task: Share what you were responsible for accomplishing.
A – Action: Share how you accomplished the task.
R – Result: Explain what came as a result of your work.

To further explore that method, I will share an example of a question and answer framed in this way.

Question: Tell me about a time when you implemented a creative solution to a problem.

Answer:

Situation — I was an intern in the advertising department of the Daily News.
Task — Advertising revenue was falling off and large numbers of long term advertisers were not renewing their contracts.
Action — I designed a new promotional packet to go with the rate sheet. I compared the benefits of Daily News circulation with other ad media in this area. I also set up a special training session for the Account Executives with a marketing professor to discuss competitive selling strategies.
Result — We signed contracts with 15 former advertisers for daily ads and 4 for special supplements. We also increased our new advertisers by 20%

When answering behavioral questions, be sure to be specific, use relevant experiences, and place the focus of your answer on your strengths, skills, and accomplishments. To help you prepare for these questions, you can also complete the following exercise to help you brainstorm stories.

Brainstorming Exercise

Take a close look at the job description and pick out four characteristics you believe the employer would find valuable in a new employee. Next, reflect on your experiences and think of two times you demonstrated each of the characteristics. Write out these eight experiences in the S.T.A.R. format and practice telling them to a friend, partner, family member, or pet. The more familiar you get with telling your stories, the more prepared you will feel to tackle any question that is thrown your way.

If you have interest in practicing this interview technique, please make a mock interview appointment with our office by calling 541-737-4085. You can also use the online program InterviewStream through Beaver JobNet. Good luck!

Posted by Bobbi Hutcheson, Career Services Graduate Assistant

The Career Development Center Blog

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Monthly Archives: November 2011

Job/Internship of the Week – Kohl’s

Job/Internship of the Week – Boeing

Confessions of a Career Changer: Sets, Costumes, and Conflict, Oh My!

Beavers Beyond OSU

Don’t Forget to Follow Up with Employers

Job/Internship of the Week – Susan G. Komen For The Cure

Employer Highlight – Kraft Foods

Job/Internship of the Week – Cross Current Inc.

Confessions of a Career Changer: How to get a job when the world is ending…

S.T.A.R. Interview Technique

Contact Info