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: 

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

Kaplan Test Prep has been a great resource for LVC students over the past few years.  Many students have participated in the on-campus practice tests for common graduate school entrance exams (GRE, LSAT, MCAT, GMAT, and DAT) that Kaplan has offered.  Kaplan is still offering these FREE practice tests, but the location will be on-line and the dates and times vary depending on the test you are taking.

We’ve prepared a sample document of the practice tests being offered from January – March 2012, but you also can view the offerings by going to www.kaptest.com.  It is imperative that you plan ahead and sign up for these FREE Events on the Kaplan site.  There are also other free workshops offered to assist you with things like writing personal statements and understanding the admissions process. Don’t miss these important resources!

Speaking of resources...your faculty advisor is a great resource to help you in the planning process for graduate schools, so make plans to talk with him/her about your interests and obtain advice about potential schools for your discipline, career goals, and research interests.  The sooner the better; junior year for you, but sophomore year is not too early.  You will want to spend time learning about different programs and becoming aware of what you need to do to apply.  Deadlines are important, so be sure you are aware of them and make plans to submit your materials well before the deadlines. 

A great example of why you should begin early is the work required for your personal statement (essay).  Your statement will require advanced thought and plenty of drafts until it is ready.  Click HERE for information and prompts to guide you through the process. 

·         Give your essay direction with a theme or thesis.  Demonstrate that you have a definite sense of what you want to do and your enthusiasm for it.  Incorporating a theme into your essay might mean making sure that each of your paragraphs are linked together in a way that supports your thesis (which could be your reason for continuing onto graduate school, your future career goal, your reason for applying to that school in particular, etc).

·         Choose what you want to discuss and in what order.  What you choose to write about may be decided by following the prompt given to you, or it may include aspects such as: reasons for deciding on a particular field and/or school; motivation and commitment for study; expectations for the program; educational background; research and/or work experience; immediate and long-range goals; major area of interest; or personal uniqueness.  Plan out what you want to include and decide what order makes sense in helping the essay transition from one topic to another.

·         Use concrete examples to support your theme/thesis to distinguish yourself from other candidates.  For example, don’t just say that you like helping people, give examples that demonstrate that or stories that lead you to that realization. 

·         Begin your essay with an attention-grabbing lead (anecdote, quote, question, ect.).  End your essay with a conclusion that refers back to the lead and/or thesis. 

·         Plan on revising and editing several times. Proofread for clarity and error.  Have other people read it (including Career Services staff) to be sure it reads well and answers the questions asked of you.

For additional help, utilize Career Services staff, books available to you that include further tips and samples of essays, online resources, faculty, staff, etc.  The goal is to create the best representation of yourself that you can-take the time you need and the help offered to you so that you can be confident when you send it in!

Although the campus is still very busy, the semester is beginning to wind down as we get closer to Thanksgiving break.  Hopefully you’ve had a chance to incorporate some career exploration activities into your semester, but if not, it’s time to get cracking!  This week I want to focus on a topic that we’ve yet to mention much about-Graduate School.

Some students may be thinking they need not worry about deadlines and job applications because they plan on entering into a graduate program right after LVC.  However, there are a different set of deadlines and applications that are no less important, and need just as much time to prepare.  A typical application may consist of six parts:

1. Application Form
2. Personal Statement
3. Transcripts 
4. Letters of Recommendation
5. Test scores (GRE, LSAT, MCAT, GMAT)
6. Financial Aid Forms