It’s finals time, making the likelihood of you reading this in the midst of studying, writing, presenting, panicking, celebrating, sleeping, or any other finals week activity, slim to none.  It’s ok.  We understand.  But we also hope that once you do settle into your summer vacation, you’ll take some time to catch up and make it a commitment to include career planning in your schedule for the next few months.

A few easy things to get you started:

• Re-read (or read for the first time) the blog postings from this past year.  It’s been our goal to introduce the CareerSpots videos and other great resources by incorporating them into these weekly topics.
• Acquaint yourself with our Career TIP Sheets for advice on resumes, cover letters, internships, graduate school planning, interviewing, networking, and more.
• Browse the Career Services Resources for Students website for information on job searching, career planning, online assessment tools, and exploring majors and careers.  **I highly recommend the What Can I Do With This Major site to help make connections between majors and careers, view strategies to help you work toward a career goal, and access professional association websites and other career information.

 A few more things to work on:

• Some of you may be interning this summer with organizations that have learning goals built in for you and projects in which you will be developing your skills and abilities.  Great!  For others, you may be returning to a summer job or planning to seek work that will simply allow you to earn some spending money.  In either case, find ways in which you can offer more to your employer.  Develop your skills by tackling a new project, show some initiative by suggesting a different process, and demonstrate your commitment and professionalism by following through on your work and being a reliable employee.  Be sure you write your accomplishments down – it’s much easier to remember them as they occur than months (or years) later when you’re updating your resume.
• If you aren’t planning to work, look for ways to make connections.  Network with alumni through Career Connections (housed in your JobCenter account); ask to shadow professionals in your area; attend professional association meetings; volunteer in organizations that interest you.
• If nothing else, draft (or update) your resume and work on filling in your JobCenter profile and exploring this vast career management system.

Frankly, I could go on and on.  There are many steps, big and small, to achieve in your career development process.  The Office of Career Services is open throughout the summer to guide and assist you.  Let us know how we can help!

Career Services Staff
Sharon Givler, Director
Gwen Miller, Associate Director
Susan Donmoyer, Assistant

Phone:  717-867-6560
Email: careerservices@lvc.edu
Summer hours: Monday through Friday; 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Serendipity – making fortunate discoveries by accident.

This morning on my way to work, as happens pretty frequently on Wednesday mornings, I had my weekly brainstorming session in my vehicle about what to write for a blog entry today.  Those sessions often begin with “what haven’t I written about recently” followed by “is that subject something that I can make interesting on this particular morning” and finally progresses toward sentence stems and the framework for a few paragraphs.  Quite frankly, this morning I drew a blank.  My creative wheels just weren’t turning.

But, when I got to work, I opened my email and was greeted with a notice from the Career Services Professionals LinkedIn group that I am a member of.  Within the first sentence, a link to a recently published “LinkedIn Job Search Checklist” caught my eye.  I opened it and…yes!  I could use it as a blog (along with this rather lengthy insight into my blog-writing process)! My failed brainstorming was a moot point.  This was glorious.  This was serendipity.

The November 28, 2012 posting – Why Be LinkedIn – introduced the professional social media forum and provided tips to help students and recent graduates create a profile and utilize the site effectively.  At the risk of repeating too much of that blog, I would like to call your attention once again to the video guides on: What is LinkedIn, Build your Professional Brand, Find your Career Passion, Build a Professional Network, Turn Relationships into Opportunities, and Researching & Prepping for Interviews.

As a complement to those videos, take a look at the Job Search Checklist.  I liked it, so I hope you will too.  But, don’t wait until the last minute to begin building your profile – it’s unlikely that a job will land in your lap without quite a bit of effort, networking, and searching.  After all, even though serendipity came through for me this morning, it probably isn’t a reliable job search method.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers releases an annual report for students on the job outlook for the upcoming college class.  Based on a survey conducted from July 25 – September 10, 2012, 244 organizations provided input about their hiring plans and other employment-related issues in order to project the market for new college graduates for the current class and to assess a variety of conditions that may influence that market. 

Take a look at The Job Outlook for the College Class of 2013, provided as a student report through NACE, to find information on:

• Good News – hiring is up for new grads!
• Who’s in demand
• Who’s hiring: a look at specific industries, specific majors
• What employers want in a job candidate
• How to stand out: advice from employers

Although hiring procedures and job outlook will certainly differ among companies, industries, and geographic locations, the information provided in this report can reinforce some of your preparation and job search efforts.  For those students who are not part of the class of 2013, read through anyway!  Remember, knowledge is power!  At the very least, it provides you with some great insight into what employers are currently thinking in regards to their hiring decisions.

Every week, the Office of Career Services sends out a “This Week at Career Services” email to notify students of upcoming programs, workshops, and deadlines, along with offering a brief spotlight on one of our resources.  Also included is a list of a few of the jobs and internships that were posted in JobCenter the week prior.  The email serves as a constantly updated snapshot of the services available to students; if it were to include everything new and beneficial, it would be much too large for the average inbox!

This week’s blog is meant to call your attention to a section of JobCenter that offers oodles of information on companies, internship, research, or job opportunities, and graduate schools or unique opportunities.  This is only naming a few of the 30+ folders in your Resource Library – a constantly updated electronic filing system of countless resources that should be added to your career planning tool box.

Did you know….

• The Employer folder offers over 35 sub-folders about industries and/or companies?  There is information ranging from Accounting firms to GREEN jobs to state and federal government opportunities and resources for candidates.
• There is an Internships / Research / Shadowing folder that includes links to current and annual programs and opportunities at places such as Pfizer, Disney, The Kennedy Center, etc.  I stopped counting at 50 sub-folders, all of which offer students great resources and ideas on identifying potential opportunities of interest.
• A Unique Opportunities folder includes information on…you guessed it, opportunities that are unique.  AmeriCorps/Vista, Peace Corps, and Teach for America;  English Nanny & Governess School; a Leadership Pennsylvania Summer Institute, and more can be found here.
  

These are just three of the folders found in the Resource Library, accessible through the left hand navigation column in your JobCenter account.  Take some time today to turn on your computer, settle in, and browse!

A snapshot of current folders: 

Welcome back to Lebanon Valley College for the spring semester and happy 2013!

Whether you choose to have New Year’s Resolutions or would rather just set goals, planning for your future career should be included.   Help your chances of achieving these goals by creating a “Career Action Plan!”

Last semester I highlighted a CareerSpots video each week to supplement brief discussions about career topics.  Take a look back and make your action plan by jotting down things you would like to learn more about this semester.  Then, rank those items to determine what you should give your attention to first.  This will help you to plan your semester and prioritize what should occur and when to help you stay on track with career planning progress.

• First Impressions – August 29, 2012
• Make Your Resume Pop – September 5, 2012
• The Elevator Pitch – September 12, 2012
• The Art of Saying Thank You – September 19, 2012
• Informational Interviewing – September 26, 2012
• Researching a Company – October 3, 2012
• Following Up with Employers – October 10, 2012
• Rules for Writing Cover Letters – October 17, 2012
• What Skills are Employers Looking For – October 24, 2012
• Top 10 Interview Mistakes – October 31, 2012
• Finding a Co-Op/Internship – November 14, 2012
• Why Be Linked In? – November 28, 2012
• Behavioral Interviewing – December 5, 2012

There are several years of past blogs in addition to the 13 listed above; familiarize yourself with the right-column navigation bar to sort posts by category to further enhance your action plan.  Draft a time-line to determine when you will work on/complete items on your plan.  Identify individuals who can help you along the way – faculty, mentors, Career Services’ staff, etc – and schedule a time to meet with them early on.  We look forward to encouraging you and helping you to succeed!

This semester’s blog posts will highlight additional resources and topics to help you along the way.  Make 2013 a productive and enjoyable year!

The fall semester is almost over with the upcoming winter break providing the light at the end of the tunnel after a hectic exam schedule.  The Office of Career Services wishes you a happy and restful season!

Semesters go by quickly and we know how easy it is for students to put off career planning.  Take some time for your professional development over the next few weeks to begin putting your materials in order, researching potential companies or graduate schools you would like to pursue, and brainstorming how you might articulate past experiences to highlight your skills and abilities.  It takes effort and thoughtful preparation to present yourself professionally!

The spring semester will be here before you know it and recruitment season begins right away.  Take advantage of resources available to you over the break:

• The Career Services website offers extensive Resources for Students
• Catch up on posts from the Career Services BLOG – this semester focused on key CareerSpots videos to provide you with employer and student advice on ways to tackle your job/internship search.
• Check out the new Career TIP Sheets (accessible on the left navigation column of the BLOG) – there are 8 topics relevant to any major or class year!
• WebShops are available 24/7 on topics of Creating your Resume, Interviewing Basics, Job Fair Prep, Getting Connected, and Unlocking your JobCenter Account

You are also welcome to contact our office to make an individual appointment; we are closed from December 24th – January 1st.

Finally, mark your calendars for some of the upcoming career events.  We will be starting the semester with the Becoming a Professional Dutchman…a Career Conference that Goes Beyond the Basics!  Check out last week’s BLOG for additional information and remember to register by December 15th.

Generally speaking, you are not likely to have made it to the interviewing process of your job search if the organization meeting with you didn’t believe you could do their job.  They still want to hear you speak about your skills and job knowledge, but if they didn’t think you had the basics, you wouldn’t even be there.

Although this is reassuring in some ways, it also puts the pressure on you to perform well during that interview by articulating your strengths, offering examples of your past behaviors, and providing relevant information that reinforces your fit with that company.  Many employers utilize the Behavioral Based method of interviewing, meaning they ask questions that require you to tell stories (give examples) about how you responded in past experiences in order to gain an understanding about how you might behave in future work situations.  The CareerSpots video – Behavioral Interviewing – gives an excellent introduction to this interview technique as well as examples of questions, good responses, and attributes they’re listening for.

How prepared do you think you are for a behavioral interview situation?

Time and again, we hear that communication is one of the top skills that employers and graduate schools seek.  You may truly be the perfect fit, but if you can’t articulate your strengths and experiences well, you may be passed over.  Good communication takes reflection, practice, and an understanding of what employers/schools are seeking.  On January 20, 2013, Career Services is hosting the first Becoming a Professional Dutchman…A Career Conference that Goes Beyond the Basics designed to help students learn and apply best practices for polishing their professional presentation in planning, writing, interviewing, and networking.

Participants will take the StrengthsFinder assessment prior to the conference and receive a complimentary copy of StrengthsFinder 2.0 in preparation for the keynote presentation: Discovering your Strengths.  Two concurrent sessions will follow:

• Session 1: Strengths 2.0: Building Credibility with Employers   OR   Graduate School Success
• Session 2: Ace the Behavioral Interview   OR   An Introduction to Inter-Cultural Communication

The final group presentation will focus on Etiquette Essentials for the Polished Professional .

Take advantage of this unique opportunity – a conference focusing on preparing you to Become a Professional Dutchman!  For more information, visit Career Services or go to the Career Events section of JobCenter.  Registration is required by December 15^th, 2012.

Becoming a Professional Dutchman - A Career Conference

We know that many of our students are conscientious of the environment and seek ways in which they can become involved.  Join the Lebanon Valley College Sustainability Committee during Earth Week (April 21^st - 27^th) to participate in activities and initiatives that raise awareness for sustainable practices.

For some, the idea of finding a career related to the environment is also appealing; Career Services has a great resource to assist you in your pursuit!  Environmental Career Opportunities is a subscription-based, bi-weekly electronic newsletter with hundreds of job vacancies in environmental policy, conservation, education, engineering and internships.  Browse positions by state, access resource links, or check out opportunities within the categories listed below.

Access this newsletter and begin exploring by clicking here:Environmental Career Opportunities. Username: lvccareer ; Password: lvc

If you are a graduating senior, you probably (hopefully) are in the midst of a major job search.  You may be thinking, “I just need a job, any job will do.”  You may even be basing your search on the jobs that typically ‘fit’ within your major.  If you’re not a senior, these thoughts are probably still in the back of your mind.  One question: who decides what jobs ‘fit’ within any particular field of study?  And who’s to say the skills you are developing would not also be a benefit to you in other occupations?  (Ok, that was two questions.)

The skills I am referring to are your liberal arts, or transferrable, skills.  These are skills which employers seek, regardless of industry or occupation; they are NOT major specific.  In November, I posted a blog called “What Employers Want.”  As you continue in your career planning, take a look and think of a few examples of how you’ve demonstrated and/or developed these qualities.  If you’re having difficulty or are unsure what is meant, make an appointment with Career Services to talk about your experiences.

It’s not my intention to simply recycle a previous blog entry…instead it is my hope that students begin thinking about what skills they have to offer vs. what jobs their major corresponds to.  Then, think about what interests you.  What are you passionate about?  If you enjoy sports, what are all of the different aspects of the athletic world?  Retail? Event management? Merchandising? Coaching? Administration?  This is certainly not an exhaustive list, yet all of these areas likely have people in human resources, public relations, accounting, operations, sales, marketing, etc, etc, etc.  And if you began asking all of those people, you may find backgrounds in business, English, psychology, music, French, history, etc, etc, etc. 

The point is, the major is not the key to success – networking and experiences are.  If you are passionate about something, go out and find people who share those interests.  Begin conducting informational interviews and/or shadowing; volunteer and inquire about internships to begin building experiences.  Seek work within an industry that interests you so that you will be excited to work your way up.  It may take some ‘thinking outside the box’ on your part – but it’s worth it to find yourself working in a field you enjoy.

Bottom line, search for your passions, not for the job title you think ‘matches’ your major.

Welcome back!! 

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed at the beginning of the semester as you think of everything you will need to do for your classes, internship/work obligations, campus involvement, etc.  Hopefully you have also marked off time for your career planning activities. 

I don’t want my first post of the semester to be a listing of our upcoming Career Services programs, but I thought it might be helpful to let you know what to expect in terms of our different venues for communication and how you can access a few of the resources we often refer to.

• We will be adding to our archive of Career Corner newsletters this semester with three new editions.  Look for an email in February, March, and April; you can also access all of our newsletters in the Resource Library of your JOB CENTER account or on the left hand column of the blog.
• Wednesdays will still be ‘Blog day’ with timely and informative topics.  Our This Week in Career Services email will also continue to show up in your inbox every Monday with information on upcoming programs and deadlines. 

In addition to the above methods of communication, don’t forget about the multitude of resources available to you on our Career Services webpage.  From the homepage you can immediately access information about our services, key resources (JOB CENTER, Focus-2, Career Connections, GradSchools.com, What Can I Do with This Major, and The Big Guide to Living and Working Overseas), and links to our What’s Happening Page, Experience Counts internship information, and Resources for Students.   

JOB CENTER is also a vast resource where jobs and internships are posted constantly, details and registration for our career events is available, the resource library is updated regularly, and each student can upload job search documents and update their own personal profile.  You can also access Career Connections mentors to seek career advice from alumni volunteers and build your professional network.  

I understand that the resources briefly discussed in this post may add to your already overwhelming first week on campus, but I assure you, if you make it a priority to do a little bit of work each week on your career plans, it will become a much more manageable endeavor.   

Again, welcome back to LVC!  The staff in Career Services looks forward to working with you this semester!