Fall Semester 2010

Welcome Back!

The Office of Career Services is very excited to start the new school term! We’re busy planning events and networking opportunities for all of you. We hope that you take advantage of the services that we offer throughout the semester, whether it’s help with a resume or finding an internship. Hopefully you’ll also use the various web resources that we have set up. As of now Career Services has our official website, a Facebook group and fan page, a blog, a Twitter account, and of course eRecruiting. We try to update each of these regularly with information useful to you the student! Let us know if there is anything we can add to make sure everyone knows about the opportunities available!

How to sell 'soft' skills

Bob Lankard

CTW Features

Have you ever asked questions in a letter only to have the responder answer some questions, but ignore others? Some job seekers treat job applications this way. They respond to some qualifications an employer specified in an ad and ignore others.

Often, job seekers are more comfortable explaining hard skills, such as software they have mastered, degrees they have earned or machines they are qualified to operate. Soft skills - qualities such as being a self-starter or being terrific at project management - may be more challenging to present and explain.

The upshot: some candidates simply avoid presenting their soft skills all together. Others resort to selling these skills using weak qualitative claims, such as "I am great at project management." To strengthen their pitch, candidates should skip the 'I ams' and work to deliver specific examples that demonstrate their soft skills.

A talent for organizing is a great soft skill, and one that many employers value and seek out.

To present organizational skills on an application, cover letter, résumé or in the interview, consider these approaches.

Have you ever been asked to help out with a project? What did you do to get the job done? For example, perhaps you solicited businesses to get donations for a fundraiser.

Have you ever been recognized for your productivity on the job? Look at old employee evaluations.

Think about projects where you used your planning skills. Think about the process you went through. Are there other occasions where you used the same process?

The best way to sell organizational skills in an interview is to tell a story. The applicant who obtained donations for the fundraiser could tell how many they collected, the most interesting donation, or how he solved a problem that arose.

Your application, résumé or cover letter may give the message of good or bad organizational skills all by itself. An application with smudges and incomplete answers shows someone to be poorly organized. On the contrary one that is clean, without errors, and complete answers shows good planning.

Something New Called Focus 2!

Focus 2 is a new program here with Career Services! We are very excited about it.

It helps you decide what your major should be!

OR if you have a job you want it tells you what major would be best!

FOCUS-2 is a self-guided, online career and education planning tool for use by college students.  It will enable you to assess your interests, values, skills, personality, and aspirations as they relate to careers and college majors.  FOCUS-2 is designed to help you choose the best major for you and explore occupations that match your profile.  Students who use FOCUS-2 make better decisions about their goals and plans and learn how to manage their careers.

Be sure to check it out today!

Etiquette Tip of the Week:

Ever get to the end of a letter and ask yourself, "How do I end this?"  Here are some ideas on how to close:

Best closing for a business letter: Sincerely, Sincerely yours, Very sincerely,
Also appropriate for business and slightly less personal: Yours truly, or Very truly yours,

(Yours, by itself, is something you yell out to your partner in doubles tennis.)

Acceptable, but a little on the chilly side: Cordially or Cordially yours,

To someone you know well, but not enough to kill the fatted calf over: Regards, Warm regards, Kindest regards, Best wishes, All the best, As always, As ever,

For a family member or close friend: Love, With much love, Fondly, Affectionately, Affectionately yours,

Addressing clergy or members of high political office: Respectfully, or Respectfully yours, Faithfully, Faithfully yours,

Thanking someone: Gratefully, Gratefully yours,

As you know, it’s polite to give credit where credit is due. Thus these tips are from www.cultureandmanners.com

Events for the Week:

9/7	Meet the Accounting Firms
	4-6 Rockhurst
9/8	Mink Law Day
	3-7 Overland Park Con Cntr
9/14	Career Mentor Program Orientation
	5:45-7 WSC 304
9/20	Federal Reserve Open Info Session
	9:45-11 212 YGCU