Career Exploration « The Career Development Center Blog

It’s your first year of school. Or your fifth. The academic year begins after you’re fresh off of a summer of interning, vacationing, working or continuing education in a myriad of ways. Campus explodes with returning staff and students, skateboarders, bikers and pedestrians vying for space, and you step into another new schedule. Between the 15 credits you’re taking, you’re handed an armload of other expectations: make friends, keep friends, find a job on campus or close enough to bike, do EVERYTHING social that comes your way, join a club or three, meet with your advisor, take weekend trips, call your mother, study abroad, and keep your grades up. Oh, and work out. Students who are also parents, older than 25, first generation or otherwise considered “non-traditional” typically face even more demands for a successful blending of academics and everything else. It sometimes seems that everyone on campus is under pressure to do everything, be everything and be GOOD at everything, regardless of the personal toll.

Blending career with the rest of your life outside of school doesn’t get any easier, but the climate around what constitutes a “successful” career is changing. Currently, the United States is dismal in terms of providing support and resources for the easy integration of work and life: we as a nation rank 28^th, only 9 from the bottom, of advanced countries in terms of successful work/life integration. Conversations, though, in the past few years have shifted significantly toward figuring out how to redefine success in life, including career, and I do believe we will get better as a nation in taking care of each other.

While greater governmental and policy change is needed to implement support at a larger scale in the work/life integration, it is up to us now to manage our own balance. During school is a good time to practice. Here are a few tips on how to get started:

1. Know yourself.

No other person will be able to tell you what is best for your life. You must do this work on your own. Take each day as an opportunity to learn about who you are, what you prioritize and how you see the best version of yourself in your community. Are you exhilarated by good grades? Does the happy exhaustion of a long trail run outweigh the extra hour of time spent talking on the phone with a friend? Is quiet time something that allows you to do well in other areas and, if so, how are you scheduling quiet time into your days? Unless you know where you are starting from, it is going to be extremely challenging to define where you’d like to be, and much easier to take on everything without intention and forethought.

2. Redefine what is valuable.

The world will attempt to define this for you on a daily basis. At any turn, it is easy to allow another person or entity to tell you what holds the most value in your life. If this is a system that works for you, go with it. But if not, take a step back and analyze it for yourself.

3. Welcome reality.

If you consider yourself on a budget of sorts, you may be able to better welcome and adhere to reality. With a strict budget, there is only so much money to spend. The same goes for your personal energy and engagement: once you’re tapped out, it is hard to refill and start over. Figure out ahead of time what your require in order to be the student you want to be: study groups, tutoring, time alone, breaks, staying busy, etc. If you are a parent, an employee, a friend, a partner, decide what of your personal energy is required to be the kind of (insert role here) you want to be, and then stick to your budget. Set boundaries respectfully, with yourself and others and practice enforcing them.

4. Adjust.

Work on your flexibility and forgiveness, with yourself and others. Recognize that it is easy for other people to place demands on you because it is their job to do so: your employers need your time and energy, your professors need your time and energy, your family needs your time and energy, your friends need your time and energy and all of this is okay. When you create expectations for yourself and others that are rigid and resentful, the stress will only increase. When you aren’t good at something, adjust. When a schedule changes that is out of your control, adjust. When life doesn’t happen exactly as it was supposed to, adjust. And then, when you figure out how to do that easily, write down a how-to and send it my way . .

5. Sleep.

Often for people, physical/mental health and sleep are the first things to go when life balance is out of sorts. Recognize now that none of the above practices are going to be possible for you if you are an exhausted, sick and emotional wreck 24/7. Be stingy with your time for rest.

Oh, and work out.

Thoughts on what helps you achieve balance and wellness in your own life? Please comment!

Conversations/resources/articles on this topic:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ronashkenas/2012/10/19/forget-work-life-balance-its-time-for-work-life-blend/

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/03/a_key_to_us_competitiveness_wo.html

http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/work-family

Posted by Malia Arenth, Career Services Counselor

1. Identify

The first step to a successful internship is being able to identify what industry and position you are interested in working. This will require you to think intentionally about your experience and work to align it with your career goals. Some things to think about include: the environment you want to work in, the projects or tasks you would enjoy completing, and your own professional goals.

2. Question

The wonderful part about an internship is that you have the opportunity to ask a lot of questions. Take this time to become educated about the company or organization you are interning with, understand the structure, mission and function of the work space. Your site supervisor is there to serve as your mentor and resources of information. Don’t be shy about asking the why or how questions, they understand that this is a learning experience for you and are there to support you.

3. Engage

Don’t be afraid to jump right in when you start you internship, this is your chance to gain on the job experience and really engage in hands-on learning within your field of interest. Take on any and every project you have the chance to do, whether it is large or small, it will show your commitment and work ethic and likely lead to other projects during your internship. Actively engage with your co-workers and be a team player, this will enrich the experience for everyone.

4. Learn

Really take this opportunity to learn from those around you, especially the individuals who have been in the industry for a while, ask them about their experience and how they got to where they are today. Conduct on the job informational interviews with someone whose position interests you or you could see yourself doing that job in the future. This is your opportunity to learn from them and engage in meaningful conversations about their experience and to form a solid network that will carry on outside of the internship.

5. Reflect

The foundation of experiential education is on the element of reflection done throughout your experience and at the completion. And in order to develop a summary of the skills and knowledge you learned both professionally and personally, reflecting on your experience is essential. This will also help you to articulate to an employer in an interview or conversation what the key points and skills you developed from your internship experience were and what you will bring to the next position or experience you have.

What are other tips to a successful internship? Please leave a comment below.

Posted by Ciara Lynn, Career Services Internship Coordinator

Ready to get inspired for your job, internship, or career search? Each month we will spotlight an OSU student that has inspired us when it comes to their career development. Check out their success stories—besides inspiration, they also show that academic major does not have to restrict your goals and that there are many ways to define success.

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: Jaina McGregor
Major: Business Information Systems, Finance, and Management (triple major)
Year in School: Senior

1. While a student at OSU, what have you done so far to gain experience?
Now that I look back on my time at OSU, I’ve come to realize that I’ve actually done quite a lot to gain experience. Maybe it’s because of my interest in three different areas of business and wanting to broaden my horizons with each or just a natural curiosity and desire to learn new things. Either way, each time I tried something new, I learned something more about what I wanted to do, how I could get there, and who I ultimately want to be as a person.
When I first came to OSU, I really wanted a “college experience” so I became involved in anything I could that would bring me in to the OSU community. My very first term on campus, I became an ASOSU intern even though I was never really interested in student government or politics or anything like that. I’m really glad I joined, though, because I was exposed to a whole different side of campus and got to work with a broad variety of really amazing people. It also didn’t take me long to figure out that I could spend my entire time there (a year) without ever touching student government, but could focus my time on working with various task forces to help make the OSU campus a better place to be. Working with ASOSU allowed me to build connections across campus, get to know people in various departments, and even led to the founding of a club where I was able to stretch my leadership legs for the first time.
I also sought out other opportunities to gain more knowledge about the field I was going into by looking around for various tech-related clubs and organizations on campus. It was then that I discovered a club for women in engineering, so as a way of trying it out, I joined the listserv. The listserv sent around a scholarship announcement to attend a conference I’d never heard of before for women in technology up in Portland called the Grace Hopper Celebration. Getting the scholarship was a long shot because I didn’t have the GPA stipulated in the requirements, but I applied anyway and was fortunate enough to be chosen. The conference was an amazing three-day event where EECS transported us by bus to and from the convention center, provided us with meals, and put us up in a hotel near the event. I was able to attend workshops, speaker events, panels, and a career fair where my timid and shy self managed to build up the courage to strike up a conversation with a very nice lady from IBM. Little did I know that I was having a conversation with a director of a department who was only watching the booth for a few minutes and that this very same director would offer me a 6-month long internship without even an interview with one of the teams she oversaw back east two weeks after the conference. Realizing that this moment only happened because of my courage to challenge myself and step out of my comfort zone, I have done what I can ever since to keep up that momentum.
Since attending that conference, I have gradually gained more and more confidence with talking to strangers and, the even more terrifying, potential recruiters. One way that I helped to build my confidence was to expose myself to as many opportunities to practice as possible by attending mock interviews, volunteering to be the speaker for class presentations, and any other opportunity where I could practice talking with or to people that I didn’t know. I remember that there was an event at the alumni center that had a speed-dating type interview where you only had a few minutes to talk before you would get feedback from each interviewer. I was completely unprepared for anything because I wasn’t feeling very well and had completely forgotten about this particular component of the event. But it was during this speed-dating interview session that I discovered what my real passions are because I was “shooting from the hip”, completely unfiltered and unrehearsed because it didn’t really matter so there was nothing to lose with really letting go and just telling it like it is. I received incredibly positive feedback from each interviewer because I showed sincerity, passion, and eloquence without stuttering or sounding rehearsed. Since then, I have treated each interview (whether mock or real) the exact same way: showing sincerity and enthusiasm by being genuine and unrehearsed.

2. What are your career plans?
Since I’m such a planner-type personality, I actually have two different “categories” of my career plans: immediate and life-long. My immediate career plans include an internship with The Walt Disney Company back in my hometown of Los Angeles at their corporate office. I’d been solicited by a recruiter who had seen my experience with my on-campus jobs at both the Bexell Computer Lab and Business Solutions Group. It was the help desk experience that really interested her, though, as the position entails communicating technical information to non-technical people. I used to think that my jobs on campus didn’t really count or matter because they weren’t classified as an “internship” but I’m really grateful for that experience now and wish that I had thought of it as a type of internship a long time ago because recruiters don’t see a difference, it’s all about experience, not location.
After graduation, I’m looking to get started in an IT discipline since my primary major is information systems. I’ve also started taking classes from Harvard University toward their graduate program in IT so that I can add to my knowledge base to make myself a bit more marketable and broaden my knowledge of IT. The plan for graduate school also ties into my life-long career goal of pursuing upper-management within a large company. I never thought that I would have the courage to pursue such a lofty goal, but with the experience and encouragement that I have received from the different outlets I’ve pursued as well as the gift from my mentor of confidence in myself at a time when I had the biggest case of impostor syndrome on the planet, I’m able to reach heights I never dreamed possible.

3. What advice do you have for others who are preparing for their job or internship search?
Do your homework by researching companies, practice interviewing, and constantly improve your resume. One of the best things I did while at OSU was take a class required for business majors called Professional Development. In this class I had to create a Gap Analysis which consisted of evaluating your current skills and abilities to that of a job you want to pursue. It gave me a way to create a course of action that would lead me to my dream job. I also found that it really helps when you find a job that you’re passionate about, you create an incentive for yourself, a way to motivate the job search. And with the analysis, you would know what kinds of internships to target instead of just taking the shotgun approach of applying to as many things as possible and hoping something sticks. What’s the point of getting an internship that doesn’t provide you with the ability to gain experience in a career field that you are interested in pursuing? It’s better to take your time (and yes, this will take a lot of time) to find the right kinds of internships to apply for and tailor your resume and cover letter to that role. I also used Linkedin to find connections that work in a company I’m interested in working and starting to build a relationship with them by having an informational interview. It’s as simple as having a conversation about what they do every day. I’ve had tremendous success with this and even had the guts to try and connect with people whom I’ve never met. You’d be surprised at how many people are willing to help out a student who shows an interest in them and is professional in how they interact.

4. Did Career Services and/or anybody else assist you with your career development and preparing you for an internship or job? If so, how?
When I first came to campus, I knew my entire purpose for coming to college was to graduate and get a job so I made an appointment with Career Services fairly early on in my academic career. I wanted to make sure that every step I took while in school was leading me to that goal. I took several assessments of my personality and skills, learning more about myself and what I wanted in the process. I think those assessments really flipped a switch in me to constantly improve. I always found ways to better myself, never really being satisfied with anything I created no matter whether it was a resume, a Linkedin profile, a personal website, etc. I always found something that could be tweaked or improved in some way. I still do this even with offers for internships, I’m just constantly trying to improve.
But what really comes to mind when I think of career development is that I’ve had the benefit of working with two really great instructors on campus, Gene Young and Bob Mayes. Gene taught my BA 353 class and I’m better off for taking it with him. He rips you apart, but it’s obvious that he cares about each student’s success. It’s almost like he has to rip away all the bad habits in order to create a better, more refined person. I had some work experience and have had a few interviews so I felt that I was fairly professional already (especially because this was after landing an offer from IBM without an interview, I felt like the top of the professional world!) but this man humbled me. He gave me new tips and insights I hadn’t heard before and boy do they work. I’ve had even greater success since taking his class and I attribute that success to his tutelage.
I also took a chance on taking a random 1-credit class that didn’t apply to any major, but the title intrigued me: Think Like a Leader. It was a bit odd because I had to “apply” to enroll in the course by submitting an essay and I’m not that decent of a writer, but I decided to chance it. I’m incredibly grateful that I did because not only was I accepted into the class, but that action started a chain reaction of self-improvement. I was exposed to high-level executives every week and had to constantly refine my interactions with professionals. This class led to a mentorship, a nomination to join a leadership honor society, ongoing relationships with top-level executives, and a constant improvement of my professionalism. Bob has even coached me on interviewing and professional etiquette. I know that my mentorship with him has taken my professional development to a whole new level. For the first time, I’m really looking forward to what the future holds for my career.

Thanks Jaina for being our Student/Alum Spotlight! If you are interested in learning more about the job search process, there are many resources available to you on the OSU Career Services website, including a specific section on preparing for your job search. Be sure to check it out!

There are many ways to find internship opportunities and I always encourage students to implement all strategies. Before even starting to find an internship, it is a good idea to think about what you want to get out of the internship. In order to know what you want to get out of the internship, first think about what skills and experiences you need to have in order to get the job you want when you graduate. Check out multiple job descriptions, talk to people in the field and make a list of those qualifications. Then note the ones that you have and the ones you still need to develop. The ones you need to develop could be incorporated into your internship. For example, maybe you need to know a specific software program, or maybe you need to have experience presenting to others – include these in your learning outcomes for the internship.

Once you have identified the learning outcomes you will feel more prepared to find opportunities and you will appear more focused and confident to those looking to hire someone. Networking is always important, no matter the field, so tell all of your family, friends, professors, advisors, etc. that you are looking for an internship. Don’t just tell them you are looking for an internship, prepare a 30 second spiel that articulates what you want such as the industry, some companies or organizations that interest you, what you would like to get out of the internship, and anything else that you feel is important to include. You never know who someone in your network may know!

Besides networking, other strategies include paying attention to the emails you get from your professors, academic advisors, department, etc. Oftentimes they send opportunities your way but you have to actually read and follow up on the email. If your school has a job database this is another place to look for internships since employers are posting on that site because they want students from that particular school (at OSU it is Beaver JobNet). Career Fairs also often have internship opportunities, so be sure to attend! Depending on your major and field of interest, some companies have actual internship programs and those you can typically find on the company’s website or just do an online search of internship programs in “fill in the blank of your field.” Another great resource for internship opportunities are through professional associations. Every field has at least one professional association or society and many offer a student discount rate to join. Many also have internship postings on their website and you don’t always have to be a member to view them. Some companies are now recruiting through social media. LinkedIn offers job and internship postings and you can also search Twitter for internships in a specific field, for example, marketing internships. Just remember to make sure you have a clean and professional online presence!

These are just a handful of strategies to finding an internship…now just make sure you do at least one internship while in school. You’ll not only build a stronger resume, but learn about yourself and your future career.

Posted by Jen Busick Stewart, Career Advisor & Outreach Coordinator

The federal government has a tremendous amount of jobs across the United States. However, there are many myths associated with working for the federal government. These can drive students away from considering the federal government when looking for jobs and internships, leading them to miss out on great opportunities. By the end of this article, I will debunk these four myths.

Myth #1: Federal employees are paper pushers and are caught up in bureaucracy.
The federal government has more than 300 departments and agencies, and each performs different tasks, such as improving our education, advancing science, insuring our security and health, and preserving our environment. None of them is restricted to paperwork. Last summer, I had the privilege to intern at Brookhaven National Laboratory, the home of seven Nobel Prize winners and one of the sub-agencies of the federal government. This was not just an internship. I gained hands-on experience with cutting-edge devices, performed scientific research, made many connections with world-class scientists, and attended a wide variety of scientific lectures and career development workshops.

Myth #2: Salaries for federal employees are low and you are better off in the private sector.
The pay scale for many federal jobs uses the general schedule system and is graded from 1-15. The grades depend on the type of degree and several other factors such as class standing and GPA. For example, an undergraduate would be a GS-5, an undergraduate with honors GS-7 and graduate student GS-9. Each grade has ten steps, allowing for a range of salaries. For example, an employee with a GS-7 step 1 salary gets paid $33,979 per year, while an employee with a GS-7 step 10 salary receives $44,176.

On top of these salaries, there is the student loan repayment assistance program. Some agencies may repay up to $10,000 of student loans per year. In 2008, 35 agencies provided 6,879 employees with $51 million in student loan assistance.

Myth #3: All federal jobs are located in Washington, DC.
In fact, only approximately 16% of federal jobs are located in the Washington, D.C. metro area. The rest are located throughout the United States, not to mention the more than 50,000 jobs overseas! The Department of Energy, for example, has office locations in 30 states across the U.S., and when I interned at Brookhaven, I was working in New York.

Myth #4: The application process is complicated and overwhelming.
I have met many students who find the application process through USAJobs.gov overwhelming. It definitely can look that way but it isn’t once you create an account and start navigating the website. The basic process of applying for a federal job is as follows:

Find a job that you’d like to apply for.

When applying for a federal job, the first thing you must do is to look for available jobs before even creating your résumé. Nearly all federal jobs are posted on USAJobs.gov.

Create your résumé.

The federal résumé, like private sector résumés, should be tailored to each specific opportunity. That is why you have the option to build up to five résumés in USAJobs. Federal résumés have different structures and more detail than private sector résumés. When building your federal résumé, you have two options: you can create one and then upload it, or you can build one through the website. The second option, from my point of view, is the easier one, because it only requires filling in your information by using an online form. This ensures that all the necessary information has been included in your résumé. After you are done with these two steps, you are left with questionnaires and, for some jobs, essay questions.

Overall, the federal government provides lucrative job opportunities for any level of experience, from an internship while you’re in college to a senior executive. Don’t let these four myths stand stop you from achieving a meaningful career in the private sector. Check out www.usajobs.gov for your opportunity today.

Posted by Ahmad Mohammad, U.S. Department of Energy Student Ambassador

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 of the websites linked in the post.

It’s not uncommon for people to either change their career path partway through their lives, or even to fail many times before finding success. Here are some famous examples to help encourage you to follow your dreams and never give up:

J.K. Rowling

Rowling had it rough before Harry Potter hit success. Her mother died, she was divorced, and ended up in poverty raising a child by herself. Hers is the ultimate modern rags-to-riches story, going from living on welfare benefits to being a multi-millionaire in a matter of only a few years. She used many of the hardships she endured as inspiration for events and characters in the Harry Potter series.

Harrison Ford

Believe it or not, Harrison Ford became a professional carpenter after spending some time in Hollywood as an extra or in very minor, often uncredited, roles. His big break came when he was hired to build cabinets in George Lucas’s home, who subsequently cast him in American Graffiti and then, a few years later, as Han Solo in Star Wars.

Martha Stewart

Before Martha Stewart became an icon for domestic life, she was actually a stockbroker. She ended up moving to Connecticut and starting a catering business which would eventually morph into the multimillion dollar enterprise we know as Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.

Henry Ford

Henry Ford actually had multiple failed attempts at starting his own company. His first company, Detroit Automobile Company, was dissolved by his board of directors. His next attempt, the Henry Ford Company, he left because of business disagreements with his partner. Learning from the mistakes he made along the way, he was able to recover and finally established the Ford Motor Company.

References:

50 Famous People Who Failed at Their First Attempt at Career Success

Seven Famous Career Switchers

11 Famous People Who Were in the Completely Wrong Career at Age 30

Posted by Deirdre Newton, Career Services Assistant

You are graduating! Congratulations! Think back on the enormous amount of work, time, and energy you put in to achieving this goal. You should be proud of yourself and your accomplishments. But, maybe in addition to the relief and excitement and pride you feel, the whole idea of finishing college and starting something else is scary. It was for me.

Even with all the celebration, it’s important to realize that this is a huge life transition. You may be moving, which entails possibly losing touch with some of your friends and best supporters here at OSU. You may be entering industry or the job market and unsure of what to expect. You may be continuing to graduate school and nervous about the academic rigor of a graduate level program. You may be starting a year of service program or traveling somewhere. Or you may not know what’s next for you. A lot of graduating seniors aren’t sure what’s next for them.

So, how can you manage all this flux and change? What is the best way to approach this transition?

First, remember to talk to your friends and family about how you feel about graduating; sometimes the easiest way to relieve anxiety is to simply tell someone else about it. If you’re nervous about losing touch with a particular friend or group, let them know that you don’t want that to happen and make a plan to stay in touch.
Second, get that job preparation process underway! Do research on your industry. Perfect your resume and cover letter. And work on figuring out what’s next. If you have something, travel or work or an internship, lined up, you will feel less fearful. It is never too early or too late to put together a plan. (For more on this, check out our website.)
Third, begin imagining yourself as a non-student, especially if you don’t remember a time when you weren’t one. One way to do this is to list the differences you see between student life and professional life. Once you have your list, you can find substitutes to fulfill the needs that these essential student characteristics fill. For instance, if one of your favorite things about being a student is the social group you’ve established through the Management Club, than finding a regional professional organization in your field and attending their meetings can provide a substitute.
Fourth, you will want to really think about these kinds of questions: How will you grow and continue to learn? Who are you without your major to define you? What could you do with your time now that you will be without papers, exams, and group projects? What skills do you have to give to your community? You may not come up with full formed answers yet but asking is still important.
Lastly, if you can look at finishing college and beginning your professional life as an adventure, instead of as something to fear, you will probably relax about the process. In an adventure, you don’t always know what will come next, what will be around the bend, or what’s in store. Instead of fear, what we feel when we’re on an adventure is excitement and exhilaration. We feel alive and awake! Inspire yourself to look at this transition like a fabulous adventure movie with you as the star. The difference is you only get to do it once; so try not to spend your time worried about what’s to come. Just live it!

Posted by Jessica Baron, Graduate Assistant Career Advisor

Attention Graduating Seniors: Are you looking to explore options outside of Oregon after graduation? There are many great cities within the United States that are looking to hire recent graduates. If you haven’t already made plans for after graduation start the job search process using our checklist.

And check out this list of the top 10 cities recruiting new graduates:

Seattle, Washington: Famous for its coffee and outdoor markets, the average income is a little over $54,000 and rental for a one-bedroom averages around $1,300.
Atlanta, Georgia: Head to the heart of the south in a big city where the cost of living is definitely reasonable for a recent college graduate and the possibilities or careers vast.
Washington, D.C: Are you looking to get into politics? Than this is the place to be, although it can be a little more expensive once you get started here it will be hard to leave, and with the unemployment rate being only 5.2% it’s no wonder why.
Denver, Colorado: Not only worthy of its outdoor appeal but city and recreational activities too, with the average income of $50,300 and average cost of housing being $970.
Boston, Massachusetts: This city pretty much has it all, rich culture, museums and history anything you could really imagine and the average income is around $57,000.
Dallas, Texas: This city is full of culture all its own, with food, cowboys and of course its very own charm. If you are a recent college graduate this city has it all jobs, fun and immense opportunity.
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota: If you are the type of person that is drawn to small town charm these may be the cities for you. Minneapolis and St. Paul are also very environmentally friendly and known for their values.
Houston, Texas: Looking to get out of the rainy season, Texas is known for its hot weather and the city of Houston especially. If that is the environment for you, it may be time to head south!
St. Louis, Missouri: Another city filled with southern charm, excellent food and of course lively music scene. With average income of $44,200 and the average cost of housing at $960 for a one bedroom.
Raleigh, North Carolina: There is so much to do in this town it will keep you busy and having fun whether you work or just vacation here. There are plenty of opportunities for employment and this city really has the best of both worlds with activities and southern charm.

So, although Oregon is a wonderful place to live, there are also opportunities across the US! If you need help with the job search, Career Services is here to support you.

Reference:

http://college.monster.com/news/articles/2216-top-10-cities-for-new-college-grads-2013?page=2

Posted by Ciara Lynn, Career Services Intern

Is there a specific company within your area of interest you have always dreamed about working for? Are you ready to start taking the necessary steps to get your foot in the door?

Than follow these tips of advice and you will be heading in the right direction to land that dream job!

Confidence is key! Whenever you are looking for a job and even more so when it is a job that you are very interested in it can be scary, but don’t take yourself out of the mix before it’s even started. Believing in yourself and your abilities and actually take the steps to apply. Of course it can be intimidating applying to a large company or an organization you have dreamed about, but take the chance!

Networking: Most jobs that are available are not posted anywhere; individuals refer those they know to contact the individual in charge of the open position. That is why it is incredibly important to build professional relationships and connections with those within your field and at the company you hope to work at.

This is the first step and one of the most important! Start setting up Informational Interviews and connect with those already in the field.

A Good Fit: Make sure that you research the company you are hoping to gain a job at; you may think that the job is perfect for you but the environment also has to be a good fit. If you get an interview ask the current employees what they like the most about working there and what their favorite part of the job is, this will give you insight into the environment and nature of the company.

Meet the Necessary Qualifications: In order to be suited for the job you have to have necessary experience and qualification or at least be able to speak to how your skills can transfer to the job responsibilities. Do your research on the background of current employees at the company; if their experience matches yours, you are likely to be more qualified for the job. Looking at the minimum qualifications will tell you right away whether you will be given an opportunity or if you need to gain more experience or different credentials.

Check out these References for additional tips:

http://www.lindseypollak.com/archives/how-to-get-a-job-with-your-dream-employer

http://blog.linkedin.com/2012/10/17/how-to-get-a-job-with-your-dream-employer/

https://sumigni.com/how-to-land-a-job-with-your-dream-employer/

Posted by Ciara Lynn, Career Services Intern

March 12, 2013 is Girl Scout Day! On this exact day back in 1912, the first Girl Scout meeting ever was held with a group of eighteen girls in Savannah, Georgia. Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low assembled this group of girls because she believed that all girls should have the opportunity to develop physically, mentally, and spiritually. Low organized service projects outdoor adventures, and enrichment programs to get girls out of the house and into the community to provide a helping hand! The mission statement of the organization is, “Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.” Over 3.2 million girls and adults are active Girl Scout members and over 50 million are Girl Scout Alumnae. Now aren’t those some impressive numbers!

Being involved in Girl Scouts is something that can provide young women with many transferable skills to enhance their professional development. Some of these things include the girls gaining an understanding of themselves, their values, their knowledge and skills to explore the world, all of these things extremely important for future careers. Some other important things they discover are their development of critical thinking in real life situations and how to deal with various challenges they will face throughout life. The connections the girls make and the relationships they build are amazing! Healthy relationships then promote the girls to effectively cooperate with people and work well in teams. The biggest thing these girls gain is a sense of empowerment along with leadership. They become empowered to make the world a better place and gain the necessary skills of a leader in order to do so.

Girl Scouts isn’t just all about the wonderful cookies we all know and love to purchase every year when they start selling them, or about the uniforms the girls wear with the hundreds of different patches on them that we stare at in awe because we aren’t familiar with what they’re for. The organization is about girls becoming women and having the guidance and role models to hopefully become ones who will make a difference, even if it’s just a small one. Take Girl Scout Day, March 12^th, 2013 as a day to recognize and appreciate all that the girls in the Girl Scout organization do for their local communities all around the world!

Sources:

http://www.punchbowl.com/holidays/girl-scout-day

http://www.girlscoutsindiana.org/Default.aspx?cid=ProgramOutcomes

Posted by Carly Larson, Career Services Assistant

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