October « 2013 « The Career Development Center Blog

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Job/Internship of the Week
UAS Avionics Technician
Near Space Corporation

Description:

Near Space Corporation has recently opened a new UAS flight facility and is recruiting for several key positions. We are a small aerospace company that specializes in the testing and maturing of space and aviation technologies. Our customers include a wide variety of government and commercial customers including; NASA, NOAA, DOD, laboratories, universities and new commercial space companies. NSC has extensive experience providing relevant space like environments for maturing new technologies and testing concepts of operations using high altitude balloons and UAVs. The facility was specifically designed to support testing, training and research involving a wide array of UAS platforms with integrated engineering, manufacturing, and flight operations. Remote flight operations are supported throughout the US with dedicated launch facilities in Oregon and Hawaii.

Located west of Portland on the beautiful Oregon Coast, Near Space Corporation is a great place to work. We value innovation, teamwork, commitment, and offer an environment of growth and advancement opportunities. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply.

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

How do You Know When it’s Time to Go?

Graduate school requires a commitment of time, money, and energy. Determining the ideal time in your life for pursing a graduate degree is often difficult, however; if you are asking yourself whether or not now is the time for graduate school that may be an sign it is at least an appropriate moment to seriously consider applying to a graduate program.

For individuals in any situation three important factors to consider before applying to graduate school may be motivation, financing, and feasibility.

Defining your motivation for enrolling in a graduate degree program requires you to think about the things you hope to accomplish by earning your graduate degree. These goals will be different for every individual, but having a general understanding of your motivations for pursuing a graduate degree may help you evaluate if getting a graduate degree is the best way of achieving those goals.

Attending graduate school costs money, thinking about the ways you plan to finance your graduate school education is an important step in determining if it is financially possible and responsible to attend graduate school in the near future. Upon inspection you may discover you need to develop a longer term plan to explore scholarship, grant, or assistantship/fellowship options or build up your savings to offset the costs of school.

Determining feasibility entails taking a look at how graduate school will fit into your life, this includes consideration of the amount of time you expect to be in graduate school, and other personal goals you may have such as starting a family or moving to a specific city, state or country. It may also include determining the amount of debt you can reasonably acquire and your current situation in the workplace.

After taking time to think about the factors discussed above you may have a clearer picture of the appropriateness of attending graduate school in the near future and the type of program you would like to apply to. It may also provide a starting point for establishing a plan for success in graduate school.

Graduating from an Undergraduate Program

If you are currently a college student, you might be thinking of going straight to graduate school. Your area of study and your professional goals should help you make this decision. You may want to pursue a graduate degree because it is absolutely required for your intended career path or you may feel a need for more training in your field. These are good reasons to consider immediately enrolling in graduate school following completion of your undergraduate degree.

Some undergraduate programs offer advanced standing graduate programs enabling students to earn a graduate degree by completing 1 additional year of study immediately following completion of their undergraduate education. If your program offers an advanced standing option it may be worthwhile to consider continuing your education without taking a break between your undergraduate and graduate studies.

Even if you are certain graduate school is in your future, it can also be a great idea to get a little real world experience prior to enrolling in a graduate program. Spending some time in the real world may give you a better understanding of the area of research you would like to specialize in as a graduate student or you might want to see how much you really need a graduate degree to follow a particular path.

Assistantships are a great option for students thinking of enrolling in graduate school immediately after earning their undergraduate degree. Earning an assistantship means you may be able go to school without paying tuition. You can also gain valuable work experience. Even though the stipend you receive for that work might not be great, the free education and benefits might outweigh the small amount of pay – especially if you are not already accustomed to a higher salary and you do not to have too many financial demands.

Experiencing Difficult Economic Times

Earning a graduate degree may be a good strategy to help change the course of your career. Even during healthy economic time’s unemployment, underemployment, and job dissatisfaction are causes for concern among the working population. Graduate school may offer individuals the opportunity to network, gain new knowledge and skills, and refocus their career. Graduate school may enhance a person’s current resume helping them gain advancement within an organization or grab the attention of a hiring manager at a new firm. The time and financial commitments of a graduate degree make it important for individuals making the decision to enroll in graduate school to make a full commitment to the process and do everything possible to get the most out of their time in a graduate program.

There is some controversy in the blogosphere about the benefit of graduate school for unemployed individuals concerning whether or not it is a wise decision to take on additional debt during a time of financial hardship, however; while the decision to advance your education is timely and costly it may be a good option for individuals who are truly invested in the idea of gaining more knowledge and expertise in their field or interested in entering into a new career path. Be sure to carefully consider your personal circumstances before enrolling in a graduate program. Carefully weigh the costs and benefits of graduate school against your personal and career objectives and explore a variety of program offerings and formats before making your final decisions.

During your Career

If you have been working for a while and feel compelled to get more education, see if your employer will pay for you to earn a graduate degree. It isn’t an option in all fields, but it makes even more sense financially than an assistantship; you will be gaining the same work experience while you earn your degree, but you will be getting paid a regular salary rather than a more meager stipend. The downside, of course, is that it can be very demanding on your time. (Assistantships are built for graduate students; most other jobs are not). Still, if you have the motivation to get your school work done in your spare time, it can be a great option.

Some programs are designed especially for working professionals; they might not be tuition-free, but they might enable you to earn your degree quickly enough that the out-of-pocket cost to you will be manageable. For example, summer programs are increasingly available for teachers who wish to earn a master’s degree. They can go to school full-time while they are not working and thereby finish the degree in just one or two summers. Evening programs are also popular in a number of fields. You might need more time to complete one, but you can probably afford the monthly part-time tuition if you are still working.

Individuals who plan to work full time while attending graduate school should also find out if the graduate program they are interested in has any field work, research, travel or practicum/internship requirements. These requirements may affect a person’s ability to work at their current job during normal office hours and may create additional time constraints. Discuss any potential conflicts with a school advisor and your work supervisor in advance to determine the feasibility of completing this type of educational requirement while maintaining a full time job.

If working and going to school at the same time seems like too much of a time commitment, you might want to consider taking some time off for full-time study. This is an especially good idea if you are thinking of some sort of change in your path. It will undoubtedly mean a financial sacrifice, though you can still benefit from an assistantship or fellowship as well as from your own personal savings.

Information compiled by the GradSchools.com team – January 2013

This post was written by a guest blogger and the content for the post approved by Oregon State University Career Services. We are not responsible for the content on the guest blogger’s personal website and do not endorse their site.

Job/Internship of the Week
Account Executive
International Sports Management Inc.

Description:

Are you about to graduate and ready to launch your career? Would you like to sell championship events for major sports? At ISM, we sell corporate sports hospitality and ticketing packages to the Super Bowl, Masters, U.S. Open, Ryder Cup & the NCAA Basketball Tournament to name a few. Since 1997 we’ve built a client base of over 70% of the Fortune 1000 and many smaller companies as well. ISM is the global leader in corporate hospitality & ticketing. We’re seeking assertive, educated, money-motivated individuals with the aptitude to close deals. The position will initially focus on new business acquisition through cold calling for the first six months and you will be responsible for data mining, sourcing the correct contact info, pitching the prospect, and setting up the close. You will then perform a combination of account management and acquisition for the remainder of the first year. Selling is conducted 100% via telephone as the territory includes the entire U.S. However, this is not a telemarketing job; it is an executive business to business inside sales position. Your direct clients will include VPs, Presidents, and CEOs.

Our operations team custom creates hospitality functions centered on over 40 sporting events annually. These events range from $15K to well over $200K+. The packages are designed to entertain elite corporate clients, and our services are utilized by our clientele to foster their key client relationships.

We have recently expanded our sales staff in our Portland office and are excited for further expansion. You must be an exceptional candidate with either 1-2 year B2B sales experience preferred, or a recent grad looking to begin their career in a business to business sales position.

You must be dedicated, driven, assertive and articulate, possess excellent writing skills, and be phone savvy. If you want the chance to do more than talk about growing with a company, and have the work ethic to match, this could be a perfect fit. Initial focus will be on selling upcoming events while you receive ongoing mentoring. Exceptional growth potential exists for successful Account Executives including participation in our management trainee program within 12 months. Opportunities exist not only here in Portland, but also in our U.S. Headquarters in Chicago and many other markets across the U.S. and abroad.

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

How to prepare for a networking event:

As an introvert myself, I find that preparing is the key to being successful at these types of events. The initial idea of going to a crowded place, where the goal is to have some conversations with strangers, does not sound like my cup of tea. In my younger years, I had many similar experiences that were not beneficial for me and only resulted in a few very awkward conversations and free pens. However, it is a valuable use of time if one is prepared. By researching companies and people that are coming, preparing casual conversation topics, and preparing questions, you can have a successful experience at the event. Introverts feel most comfortable in situations in which they feel knowledgeable about the topic of conversation. If you have questions prepared and know a little about the companies and people you want to talk to you, it is going to make the conversations flow a lot easier. You will be empowered to initiate a conversation and feel knowledgeable enough to contribute to it. Introverts often feel that if they are going to say something, it should be something valuable. Having a basis of knowledge about the company and what they are working on will provide you with valuable things to say. However, don’t hesitate to talk about topics that you think the employer probably already knows about. Just because they know it, doesn’t mean that they don’t want to know that you are aware of it as well. The goal is to demonstrate your knowledge to them.

Making connections:

Now comes the hard part. Taking a deep breath and actually going to the event. Put it in your calendar and give yourself a deadline for researching companies and people that will be there, so that you will have no excuse not to go. It is too easy to “forget” to prepare for it. Don’t take the easy way out. Hold yourself accountable and make sure you get there. You could even ask a friend to go with you.

Once you walk in the door and wander around for a bit, you might feel the urge to quietly slink out the door, to breath in the sweet relief of solitude. Don’t give in! Do what you came to do and talk to some people. You might want to make a goal ahead of time. For example: I will have at least two successful conversations before I go.

Unfortunately, it might take you more than two conversations to meet this goal. Humans are unpredictable creatures and as much as you would like your conversations to go as you had planned, they don’t always. Some people might be more willing to chat with you than others. Sometimes certain people are very popular and you might have a hard time finding an opportunity to chat with them. You might encounter a fellow introvert who might not always give you enough information to initiate further conversation. But be sure and use the questions and knowledge you prepared. Even introverts can have great conversations about a topic that they are knowledgeable about, but they might need prodding more than others. If an employer has a very popular table, you might want to wait and come back later. If that is not an option for you, try to make yourself heard and visible.

How do you start a conversation?

For most extraverts, this is a very natural process. But introverts can have a difficult time initiating conversations. You of course are prepared with your lists of questions and interests, but social norms dictate that you don’t jump right into these. Here are some simple steps for making conversations:

Say “hello”, introduce yourself, and smile. I also would recommend adding something along the lines of “how is it going?” Sometimes people at professional events don’t get asked questions about themselves and it really makes them feel like you care about them and not just a potential job.
Identify a topic of conversation that can apply to most people. For example: Think about what day of the week it is. If it is on Monday, you could say something along the lines of “I can’t believe it is Monday already, the weekends just fly by.” If nothing else, this shows that you are capable of small talk.
Remember that body language is also important, so try to have upright, confident posture. Also, a common trait among introverts is to look around as you speak. Try to limit this. It can appear as if you are disinterested in the conversation. I often role my eyes while I am thinking about what I am saying, but this can come off as nonchalance.

Once you have successfully had some chit chat, you can move into your comfort zone- the reason you are talking to them. Try to confidently articulate the conversation topics you researched ahead of time. When you have exhausted your conversation capabilities, end with attaining some contact information from the person you talked to. “Do you have a business card in case I think of any more questions?” I recommend bringing your own business card or resume to hand out as well.

Congratulations! You did it! That wasn’t so bad, right? Once you have met your conversation goal for the event, you may swiftly make an exit. However, you are not done. Don’t let the connections you made go to waste. File the business cards you received with notes to remind you about who they were. For example: Jo Shmoe with Apple Computers- Brown hair, green polka-dot tie, and we talked about internships in HR. Shortly after the event, send Jo Shmoe an e-mail thanking him for chatting with you and inviting him to talk again in the future. Be sure and remind him who you were with some specifics about the conversation you had. Ask Jo Shmoe if he would mind connecting with you on LinkedIn (if you don’t have a LinkedIn, get one). Once Jo Shmoe e-mails you back and says “of course”, you are assured of the beginning of a new relationship that may be useful in the future. But, don’t let your relationship die! Stay in touch and in the near future invite him to coffee for an informational interview.

These steps will ensure that your time at the event was not wasted. You now have contacts that might be able to help you get a job someday. By showing interest in them, you are demonstrating your good qualities. There is no need to let intimidating situations deter you from having the career that you want. Everyone has unique qualities and passions to contribute, but you have to make sure that others are aware of those qualities. Networking is a key component of the world of work, so start building those skills now.

Posted by Rebecca Schaffeld, Career Services Graduate Assistant

Job/Internship of the Week
3D Design Assistant Internship
InternsLink Recruiting Ltd.

Description:

InternsLink Recruiting Ltd., (“ISL or ISL Recruiting”) is a specialist organization dedicated to arranging internship and work placement opportunities for international students and graduates by matching their internship interests and career goals with those of the hosts and finding them the best internships in both international and Chinese companies and organizations in China. It is our belief that learning in a hands-on environment while living in a foreign country will encourage a broader understanding of the world, the individual and the international businesses.

We pride ourselves in our personal and professional demeanor and treat each participant as an individual and take into consideration his/her background, experience and career goals when searching for the optimal placement. We fully understand the investment of time and resources participants provide for an overseas internship. As such, ISL Recruiting strives to provide the maximum return on that investment in terms of both personal and professional growth via affordable and pre-professional internships.

One behalf of one of our program partnering companies, who is a leading display, exhibition, and products design company headquartered in Guangzhou with a work force of over 600 employees, we are seeking 2 qualified candidates for the Design Internship positions for their Guangzhou Design Center.

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

I wrote this after watching Larry Smith from the University of Waterloo give a TEDx TALK on “why you will fail to have a great career” , an interesting video to me especially because I work in the Career Services department. I hope that you will take the time to watch the video that inspired me to write this blog post.

I am writing you today because…

I want you to reach your fullest potential.
I want you to find your true passions, those that go deeper beyond mere interests..
I want you to influence the world in positive ways and become a person whom you admire.

One of my favorite quotes is “I am Human. Nothing Human can be alien to me.” – Terence. This quote means to me that if a human being dares to change the world, dares to be a doctor, dares to be Martin Luther King, or dares to be the person they admire, it means so can you, because you are human being also.

Reaching your fullest potential is hard and maintaining it is even harder. We all have looked at someone close to our heart and felt a sense of sadness because they are not being the great human being that they could be. I personally have watched a friend of mine who has a vast amount of potential constantly veer away from becoming the amazing woman she could become. I notice though that we are constantly assessing our friends and family trying to help them reach their fullest potential, but what are we doing for ourselves? It is time to practice what you preach. So here is a self test that is currently working well for me in my life to ensure I reach my fullest potential and self-actualization.

Do a self-assessment of the person you are and the person you are becoming. A good way to see if you are in line with becoming the better and greater you is to see if you are in line with your life purpose. If you don’t have a life purpose, take the time to write one now and do a check in with yourself to make certain you are choosing the right career, the right mate, and the right friends. If you realize you are not, then it is time to make changes. Below is my life purpose:

“My life purpose is to nurture my community and the people that surround me. I wish to become a person in leadership where I will empower, educate, and embrace new ways of thought that will lead to overall success in my life and that of my team’s. I want to make people feel worthy of my time and attention. When I leave the room I want to people to have many good things to say about me instead of bad. I want to mentor my future kids to be successful, active members of society that do good for the world and their local communities. I want to be an example, leader, husband, father, family member, and mentor. By doing these things in my life it will help me feel fulfilled, thankful, happy, and healthy”.

By assessing what your life purpose is, I hope that you choose a career path that supports your values and goals. Finding passion in the career you choose that is also in line with your life purpose is going to be difficult but finding this out earlier rather than later will save you lots of money, time, and energy. We all have interests and sometimes our parents tell us what our interests are. This can lead to us choosing a career path that we are not totally in love with. I met a woman recently who found out she hated accounting and now has a bachelors degree in a field she hates. She is now pursuing sales and that is her real passion. We may end up in a career that makes us feel miserable and at that time it may feel it is too late to make the switch. But it is never too late to discover your passion. Everyone in your life will respect you more if you do this for yourself.

Now hopefully you are running full force for your full potential. Your passion is driving you there. So now what are you going to do for humanity? When you leave a room, do the people you’ve affected have more good things to say about you than bad? I love to give back, it makes me feel so good. Part of that comes from my job. But what else are you going to do? What imprint on the world will you leave? How will what you do for others affect the generations that come after you? Doing something for the greater good will make you feel full. Be grateful that you are here and you still have the opportunity to do something .This will also get you connected with bright, enthusiastic people who share the same passion as you.

In conclusion, be the person who you admire, be the person I would admire. Go for the career that will bring the greatest passion into your life. I cannot wait to read about all the great things you are doing!

What do you think about the video? What is your passion? Please comment and share!

Posted by Zack Sperow, Career Services Assistant and Human

Job/Internship of the Week
2014 Financial Application Engineer
Bloomberg

Description:

The Role
Bloomberg’s Research and Development department offers 2 exciting training program opportunities for students with a variety of academic backgrounds!

This role, the Financial Application Engineer, is designed for students who have NOT completed a computer science degree but have some exposure to programming and would like to pursue a career in software development. A minimum of 2 programming classes is required.

If you have completed a Computer Science degree or have completed the following coursework: Algorithms, Data structures, Operating Systems and 2 Programming classes then please apply to the 2014 Financial Software Developer training program.

All applicants are only eligible for one of the programs. Please apply to the training program that best meets your academic profile. All applications should include both a resume AND an official/unofficial transcript.

The Training Program
An extensive 16 week training program will provide technical and financial skills needed to succeed in Bloomberg’s fast-paced and dynamic organization. Successful applicants will be involved in the design and development of state-of-the-art software for financial information products.

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

I was teaching a class of career advisors over the last few weeks on how to instruct their clients on the proper use of social media in their job hunts.

Several of their clients had lost their jobs because of inappropriate comments on Facebook.

Other clients had lost potential opportunities because of not having a photo on LinkedIn.

Shortly after the second class on Facebook Privacy, Facebook changed its privacy settings, makin

g about 2 hours of training obsolete.

That’s fine with me, in fact, the pace of change is one thing that attracts me to this business.

However, some of the students asked the director to ask me for step-by-step instructions.

Step-by-Step Instructions Don’t Work

I had to decline this request for three reasons.

First, Facebook already looked a lot different than it had in our training. If I were to send them instructions, they wouldn’t recognize anything. Likewise, in another 3 months LinkedIn’s interface may change.

The reality is that the question of “Where to click” is the least of our worries when using social media.

Second, YouTube has a plethora of free video training on all aspects of social media. In fact, when I’m selling my webinar training services to Career Centers at universities, my biggest competition is YouTube.

It isn’t until I explain that the value in what I do, as different from YouTube, is that I’m not just showing people where to click. There is an actual strategy, with clear proven steps, that builds on mere technical knowledge.

And I never stopped the career advisors from taking notes.

You Can’t Advise What You Don’t Know Yourself

In a strange way, I really want to give people a magic sheet of paper with all the answers to their social media questions.

As advisors, we must be the answer. The value that I strive to impart was the reason behind learning social media.

The reason they should learn this stuff …

That 80 percent of employers are going to look their clients up online. That their first impressions are likely to be online impressions. That flippant comments on Facebook could cost you your job.

My goal when teaching social media is to impart the importance of really understanding the benefits of using it.

Social Media is not a silver bullet by any stretch of the imagination. It is just another tool to be used by a job seeker.

Getting comfortable with these technologies takes time. So when you are just getting started, try to resist the desire to have a sheet of paper with all the answers.

In due time, you will develop an intuition for the best ways to use these tools. Trust me.

Joshua Waldman, author of Job Searching with Social Media For Dummies, is recognized as one of the nations top authorities in Social Media Career Advancement. To learn Joshua’s secret strategies for shortening the online job search and getting the right job right away, watch his exclusive video training here to learn How To Use Social Media Find a Job

NOTE: This post was written by a guest blogger and the content for the post approved by Oregon State University Career Services. We are not responsible for the content on the guest blogger’s personal website and do not endorse their site.

Job/Internship of the Week
Novogradac & Company LLP
Staff Accountant 2014

Description:

Novogradac & Company LLP is a rapidly growing national certified public accounting firm headquartered in San Francisco, CA with 15 offices nationwide. The firm maintains clients in a broad range of industries with a major emphasis in the real estate sector, providing publicly and privately held national and multinational enterprises with a full spectrum of audit, tax, valuation, trust and litigation support and general consulting services.
Novogradac & Company LLP is hiring Staff Accountants to join the firm in January 2014. We are seeking entry level applicants with sufficient accounting courses to sit for the certified public accounting exam. Applicants must have a GPA of 3.20 or higher. We maintain the strictest confidentiality with all applicants.
Responsibilities:
• Complete assignments, including audit and tax preparation and research;
• Identify and communicate potential problem areas during engagements;
• Work in an accurate, time efficient, and organized manner; and
• Develop general technical skills
Requirements:
• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in accounting with a GPA of 3.20 or higher
• Fulfilled the unit eligibility requirement to sit for the CPA exam
• 0 to 1 year of experience in public accounting or 1 to 3 years of experience in an internal accounting role
• Willingness to work under close supervision
• Basic computer skills; ability to work with report writing tools and spreadsheets a plus
• Availability to work overtime as necessary

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

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The Career Development Center Blog

Explore. Educate. Empower. Engage.

Monthly Archives: October 2013

Job/Internship of the Week-UAS Avionics Technician

Grad School: Now or Later?

Job/Internship of the Week-Account Executive

Event Networking as an Introvert

Job/Internship of the Week-3D Desgin Assistant Internship

Let Your Passion Lead

Job/Internship of the Week-Bloomberg

Job/Internship of the Week-Staff Accountant

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