Get Ready for Fall!

9 Job Tips You Can Learn From Politicians

Published: Wednesday, 15 Sep 2010 | 11:17 AM ET

By: Cindy Perman
CNBC.com Writer

When you think about it, politicians running for office are really just conducting one, long job interview with voters.

So start taking some notes along the campaign trail — there are some good lessons that will help with a job search!

Here are nine things you can learn from politicians that will help with your job search.

1. Think of Your Job Search Like a Campaign.

Just like a politician gets out there, shaking hands and kissing babies, you, too, must get out there and spread the word to everyone and anyone who will listen that you are looking for a job.

“We’re talking about networking both online and shaking hands in person,” said Matthew Rothenberg, the editor-in-chief at TheLadders. com and co-author of  “You’re Better Than Your Job Search.”

“You’re campaigning for a job,” he said.

So, initiate as many meetings as you can — whether it’s with someone you know who works at the company you’re applying to or an old colleague. And, very important — never turn down an invitation to a happy hour, birthday party or kids’ soccer game. Every outing is a chance to spread the word that you’re looking for a job.

2. Prepare a Stump Speech.

You are the candidate and when you campaign, they’re going to want to know what your message is.

Don’t — and that’s a capital DON’T — rely on your ad-libbing skills.

Write.

It.

Down.

“Politicians will write down their talking points that make their key arguments,” Rothenberg said. “You need to be able to have a stump speech that you can give over and over again … your 30-second recap of what you can offer to an employer.”

Now, that’s not to say memorize a script — just that you should know what your key talking points are and make sure you drive them home.

3. Remember: It’s Not About You.

One of the biggest mistakes job seekers make is thinking it’s all about them. Why this job would be good for me. What’s in it for me.

You need to make sure you tell your future employer what’s in it for them.

“One of my favorite analogies is, ‘Ask not what the company can do for you, but what you can do for the company,’” Rothenberg said.

“Take that JFK mantra to heart!” he said. “It’s about how you will fit the needs of the organization.”

4. Cheat.

No! Not, cheating on your spouse. (Though we know more than a few politicians do that kind of cheating!)

What this cheating means is that you don’t have to come up with your three talking points on your own — you can get them right from the human-resources person at the company you’re applying to.

Just ask them: What are the top three things you’re looking for?

Then, all you have to do is fill in the blanks, about how you would fill those three things — how you are those three things.

5. Make Them Love You

Do you make a terrible first impression? Do you feel like people only like you once they’ve gotten to know you?

Well, too bad! Politicians don’t have that luxury — and neither do job seekers.

“I don’t care if you’re the smartest guy or gal in the room — if people don’t like you, it doesn’t matter!” said Peggy Klaus, a career coach and author of the book “Brag! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It.”

Klaus says be aware of the way you come across. Are you warm? Are you friendly? Do you look people in the eye?

“If you’re condescending and arrogant — they’re not going to vote for you — and they’re not going to hire you,” she explained.

If you’re shy or introverted, “that’s no excuse!” Klaus said. You can learn behaviors that will help endear you to people.

For example — Smiling.

“It’s not too hard! Even if you don’t feel like it — you act as if you’re delighted to be there,” Klaus said.

Plus, make eye contact. Give them a firm hand shake. Ask questions — and, this is the one people often forget — make sure you’re a good listener.

If you’re nervous, Klaus has a method for warming up.

“I go over the top. I get myself really excited,” Klaus explains. “As I’m walking down the hall for the interview, inside my head, I’m saying: 'I’M REALLY EXCITED TO BE HERE! I’M SO DELIGHTED TO MEET THESE PEOPLE! I CAN’T WAIT FOR THEM TO MEET ME!'”

It sounds crazy — but it works. What you’re doing, Klaus says, is focusing on the positive — and shoving out all those negative thoughts like, “My pants are too tight” or “I hate my hair.”

6. Remember, You’re ‘On’ 24-7

It’s not just during the job-application process or the interview — you have to be “on” at all times.

“Make sure that your brand is what you want communicated at all times — 24-7,” Klaus said. “That means from the way you walk into the interview, physically, vocally — to not having any Facebook photos of you drinking and smoking a hookah,” she said.

And, don’t start slacking just because you’ve landed the job — you have to keep it up even after you’re hired.

“The day after they’re elected, politicians are running again,” Klaus said. “And the same thing holds true for a job candidate — Even when you get the job, you’re still auditioning. People are judging you all the time.”

7. When You Screw Up, Do Some Crisis Management.

“Just like reporters’ or citizens can dish the dirt on a politician by looking through what’s searchable online — folks have the goods on you as well!” Rothenberg said.

“It’s very important that you search the public record the same way that employers most assuredly will — there’s no getting around that,” he said.

So make sure you Google yourself, know what’s out there — and either clean it up, or make sure you address it head on in the interview.

You should always assume that the interviewer has Googled you, so have your answers ready — especially for the embarrassing stuff.

"You can spin anything if you use the right words,” said comedian Harrison Greenbaum. “Caught stealing company funds at your last job? You were 'recognized for your wealth redistribution acumen.' Caught cheating on your wife with your secretary? You 'excelled at internal affairs.'  Caught drinking excessively at your advertising firm?  Well, that would probably make an awesome TV show," he quipped.

8. Stay. On. Message.

Politicians get peppered with tons of questions that are all across the map — Do you support the Tea Party? What did you think of Lady Gaga’s Meat dress at the VMAs? Do you have a love child?

You won’t face nearly that many crazy questions — but you still need to take a page out of the campaign book and, no matter what you’re asked — stay on point.

“No matter what the question is, and no matter how impertinently put, the politician has an answer and doesn’t get distracted by the host’s badgering,” Cenedella and Rothenberg write in "You're Better Than Your Job Search." “We can’t say whether that’s good for us voters, but we can tell you it’s deadly effective for giving a great interview!”

So stay on message. No matter what they ask you, always circle back to your three main points.

9. Be Persistent.

Some people treat applying for a job like dating.

Should I call again? Is it too soon? Maybe I should wait for him to call me?

That may work for dating but when you’re applying for a job — you have to be persistent.

“It’s OK to be persistent in asking for that endorsement — getting that endorsement from the hiring manager, from the company,” Rothenberg said. “Hopefully they’ll vote for you.”

Oh, and don’t forget to vote for yourself!

Career Athletes

On Tuesday night, nearly 300 student athletes attended two sessions with Career Athletes. Judy Rychlewski says, “Career Athletes representatives speak the language of the athletes, couching their career development message in terms like game plan, competition and success.  Chris Smith, former NFL player and Director of Community Development for Career Athletes, demonstrated how to use the “Day in the Life of” (DIOL) technique in order to relate athletic traits to the job being sought.  Each student was encouraged to pick their top 3 traits from a list of 25 traits of an athlete and develop their own stories for future interviews.  To me, this was both powerful and practical!  I am glad to have the support of Career Athletes in helping our student athletes prepare for career success.”  This seminar was sponsored by Northwestern Mutual.

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:

In social etiquette, when gentlemen are introduced to ladies, the gentlemen stand and the ladies remain seated. Both ladies and gentlemen stand when introduced to older people, clergy or other dignitaries. Young ladies stand when introduced to older ladies. (Which can be a tricky situation with ladies who are sensitive about their age.)

The business world is gender neutral. In business, both ladies and gentlemen stand for introductions. To remain seated is to insult -- as if you are telling the person he or she is not important.

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:

9/20	Federal Reserve Open Info Session
	9:45-11 212 YGCU
9/21	2010 Job Fair Employer Guide
	10-3 Penn Valley College
9/23	FRB Deadline
9/24	Cerner
	10-11 Union
	UMKC Law School Admission
	Union

Quote from the Office:

“Tree stands? Oh I was thinking Christmas trees!” - Judy

Back in the Swing of Things!

Employee Diversity Training Doesn't Work

By Lisa Takeuchi Cullen Thursday, Apr. 26, 2007

Some decades ago, the powers that be declared that employee diversity was a good thing, as desirable as double-digit profit margins. It's proving just as difficult to achieve. Companies try all sorts of things to attract and promote minorities and women. They hire organizational psychologists. They staff booths at diversity fairs. They host dim-sum brunches and salsa nights. The most popular--and expensive--approach is diversity training, or workshops to teach executives to embrace the benefits of a diverse staff. Too bad it doesn't work.
A groundbreaking new study by three sociologists shows that diversity training has little to no effect on the racial and gender mix of a company's top ranks. Frank Dobbin of Harvard, Alexandra Kalev of the University of California, Berkeley, and Erin Kelly of the University of Minnesota sifted through decades of federal employment statistics provided by companies. Their analysis found no real change in the number of women and minority managers after companies began diversity training. That's right--none. Networking didn't do much, either. Mentorships did. Among the least common tactics, one--assigning a diversity point person or task force--has the best record of success. "Companies have spent millions of dollars a year on these programs without actually knowing, Are these efforts worth it?" Dobbin says. "In the case of diversity training, the answer is no."
The law is one reason that employers favor diversity training. In the wake of whopping settlements in race-discrimination suits against large companies, including Texaco and Coca-Cola, over the past decade, employers believe that having a program in place can show a judge that they are sincerely fighting prejudice. But this too is a myth, says Dobbin: "I don't know of a single case where courts gave credit for diversity training."
Social psychologists have many theories to explain why diversity training doesn't work as intended. Studies show that any training generates a backlash and that mandatory diversity training in particular may even activate a bias. Researchers also see evidence of "irresistible stereotypes," or biases so deeply ingrained that they simply can't be taught away in a one-day workshop.
Consultants on diversity insist that the training they give has value. R. Roosevelt Thomas, founder of the American Institute for Managing Diversity, says corporate America must first redefine the word. "Diversity means differences and similarities," he says, be they in race, gender or corporate culture. He teaches executives to focus on skills and not familiarity. "In a foxhole, I want someone who can shoot," he says. "I don't care where they're from. Some folks have to be reminded of that."
So what does work? The study's findings in this area were striking too: at companies that assigned a person or committee to oversee diversity, ensuring direct accountability for results, the number of minorities and women climbed 10% in the years following the appointment. Mentorships worked too, particularly for black women, increasing their numbers in management 23.5%. Most effective is the combination of all these strategies, says Dobbin.
In practice, companies find that a multipronged approach leads to results. General Electric initiated an aggressive diversity strategy under former CEO Jack Welch that included employee networks, regular planning forums, formal mentoring, and recruiting at colleges popular with minorities. Perhaps most significantly, GE appointed a chief diversity officer, Deborah Elam. In 2000, women, minorities and non--U.S. citizens made up 22% of GE's officers and 29% of senior executives. By 2005, their ranks swelled to 34% among officers and 40% of senior execs. "Training just to train is not enough," says Elam. "You've got to have accountability at the top." Accountability for the careers of women and minorities requires a substantial commitment of time, staff and money--but so does diversity training. And only one works.

Dum Dums!

Thank you for all participated in this year's Career Service Dum Dum guessing Contest.  We had great participation and enjoyed all of your guesses.

Our mission is to help you in your decision making by providing resources, opportunities and professional experiences to meet your career goals.

You are ALL winners and to receive your prize, please stop by our office located on the second floor of YGCU Room 218.

The total count of dum dums was 553.  The Grand Prize Winner goes to Jessica Chandler with a Guess of 550.  Thank you again,

      The Career Services Team

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:

Start meetings on time. If you hold up meetings for latecomers, you are treating the people who did show up on time as if their time is less valuable. If you make a habit of starting late, people will assume your 9:00 AM meeting really begins at 9:20 AM and at 9:00 AM they will all still be grabbing coffee and wondering out loud about who took the last doughnut.

Respect your audience: end on time.  Have an agenda and stick to it. If you are speaking at the meeting, be prepared with your material. People who are unprepared talk and talk and talk until attendees are slipping under the table.

We all know of certain people who can talk the leg off a chair and those who can derail a meeting onto the strangest topics.  As the meeting leader, you are in charge.  In your mind, you may be tackling them at the knees and throwing them to the conference room floor.  In reality, a simple, "We seem to have slipped off topic and we need to return to our agenda..." will do.

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:

9/14	Career Mentor Program Orientation
	5:45-7 WSC 304
9/16	KU Business Fair
	12-5 KU 5th flr Union
9/20	Federal Reserve Open Info Session
	9:45-11 212 YGCU
9/21	2010 Job Fair Employer Guide
	10-3 Penn Valley College

Quote from the Office:

“Why’s there a rock in my shoe? Oh wait, it’s a chocolate chip.” - Katie

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

Counting Down to Summer!

From the Office:

Thanks for such a great year! This is the last entry for this school year. Cardinal Career Connection will start up again with the next semester so look for our posts in August. We hope that all of you have a fun and safe summer!

 

The Basics of Job Hunting Through Social Networks

By: Mr. Finnigan is a former executive at Yahoo HotJobs and now runs Jobvite, a provider of software-as-a-service applications that help companies recruit talent.   May 3, 2010, 7:00 AM ET

Online social networking helps job seekers in two key new ways—first, to find unique, hard-to-find open job opportunities, and second, to increase the likelihood of being found by companies with openings. The most coveted, interesting positions are first exposed through key employees and recruiters, because companies have known for decades that the best candidates come through referrals and people they know. Referrals are more likely to get the job because studies show they perform better and last longer than employees found through more traditional sources, like job boards.
Social networks are now making it much easier for companies to hire referrals. Companies are having employees share openings via the key social networks, and hiring managers and recruiters are searching online for social profiles that fit their job requirements. Your goal with all your online profiles should be to provide a vivid professional picture of yourself—of your experiences, work products, connections, group affiliations—and insight into what you would bring to any company; and to build as many relevant, useful connections as you can.
What networks matter for job seekers?
For job seekers, LinkedIn has the most executive members and is more professionally focused. If you haven’t already created a LinkedIn profile, set up a strong basic profile now and keep enhancing it as you go. Resumes can become stagnant. Don’t let that happen with your LinkedIn profile. Anyone can find it anytime. Your profile should evolve and always be current. More importantly, start making connections. A great place to start is searching by your college or university to find friends, faculty and alumni in fields of interest. Don’t just send invitations without explanations; develop a message to send to people you don’t know explaining who you are and why you want to connect. Hint: make sure your profile is public with its own URL, and put the URL in your resume.
Most people join Facebook for social purposes, but companies and recruiters are actively searching the network for talent. Many people, especially recent college grads, have profiles already, but you need to make sure that the “Education and Work” section is updated. This will dramatically increase the likelihood that great, new opportunities find you. But make sure to use the privacy settings to control who sees what. Make your description, education and work available to everyone, but restrict who sees your posts and pictures. Keep a close eye because the photos that other people take (and tag with your name) can be a menace. Hint: To be safe, never put a photo on Facebook that you would not want your grandmother to see.
While Twitter isn’t traditionally associated with job hunting like LinkedIn, it is fast becoming a virtual job board of “real time” job opportunities. Companies are increasingly posting jobs to their Twitter pages live. Also, it’s a fantastic way to build your professional presence by commenting on news and topics relevant to your field. If you’re already blogging, you can expand your audience by tweeting links to your posts. To find out about jobs that never make it to job boards or Craigslist, follow companies and people working in your fields of interest. Hint: Keep your personal tweets (what you had for breakfast, Friday night plans) and professional tweets separate by creating two accounts; create one, more complete profile and indicate your professional interests.

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:

“How many times have you heard this excuse?:  “I’m just not good at remembering names.”

In the world of business, how many other things is THAT EXCUSE going to work for?  ‘I am sorry I forgot to come to the meeting… I’m just not that good at remembering meetings’
How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

To help with name recall, if you have a free moment at a meeting or after a party, take out a small piece of paper or index card and write down the names of each person you met and something to help you remember them next time you see them (…green eyes, short, cropped blonde hair…works on the Coca-Cola account...)  Review your lists of names of people you met once in awhile and try to picture them as you are reading their name.  Review your card before events where you might run into the same people.  Next time you see them, you can surprise and impress them when you call them by name.”

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:

5/7	Vector Marketing
	11-2 Atruim

Ready for Summer?

Rosier Job Outlook for College Graduates


Hiring projections improve for 2010, but the job market remains treacherous for college grads.

By Brian Burnsed

Posted April 29, 2010

The menacing clouds that have hung over the job market for recent college graduates are not parting completely, but a few rays of light are finally breaking through. For the first time in nearly two years, the hiring climate looks hospitable—if only slightly so—to new graduates, according to a report on the 2010 job outlook from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, or NACE. The report, based on a survey of 177 employers of various sizes nationwide, projects that 5.3 percent more new graduates will be hired this year than were last year. "The 2009 graduates were hit pretty hard," says David Leibig, associate director of career services at Villanova University. "There's the cautious optimism that things are slowly—and I think slowly is the key word there—getting better."

Cautious optimism may feel like exuberance for those about to receive their diplomas. This time last year, NACE's report indicated that hiring for 2009 grads would decrease by 21.6 percent. While those dismal figures have swung, the recessionary storm is far from passing, and experts caution that students should not wait for a job to fall in their laps as they might have done in flusher years. Nearly half of the firms that took part in the 2010 survey reported that their recruitment budgets decreased this year, meaning fewer companies are attending career fairs and sending recruiters to schools. "They do have jobs available," says Andrea Koncz, employment information manager at NACE. "They just might not come out to campus to recruit for them. They might post them online and [use] less expensive recruiting methods."

Experts say the employers' limited reach means that students need to be more active in their job-search process and better prepared during the limited times when companies do make an appearance on campus. "If the students aren't able to take advantage of the opportunity—a career fair or symposium—they aren't going to be considered a serious candidate," says James Tarbox, San Diego State University's director of career services.

Many employers, however, have been able to ramp up recruitment efforts after more than a year of stagnation. Hitachi Consulting, a Dallas-based firm, visited fewer campuses and reduced its hiring targets during its 2008-2009 hiring cycle. This year it has increased its college graduate hiring target by 60 percent over last. Company recruiting executives are confident that the turnaround is no short-term event, "[Hiring] absolutely has increased in this last cycle," says Todd Vician, Hitachi's manager of campus recruiting. "We anticipate continued growth-probably not to that same degree-but early indicators show another increase [this fall]."

The hiring turnaround is spearheaded by several industries hoping to expand rapidly. According to NACE data, manufacturing jobs are growing the fastest—projected to expand by almost 60 percent this year for college graduates—after falling off during the recession. Officials at college career services offices across the country indicate that accounting firms are experiencing no drop-off in hiring and continue to recruit heavily on campuses. Career experts also point out the budding availability of government jobs to recent graduates, especially those with liberal arts backgrounds who possess easily transferable skills. "Government hiring continues to be strong," says Monica Wilson, associate director of employer relations at Dartmouth College. "The government is doing a better job communicating openings to college career services offices."

The outlook isn't as rosy for every career path. Many state governments find their budgets in disarray in the wake of the recession, which has put a damper on education recruitment. At San Diego State, Tarbox claims that only 15 school districts were represented at a campus career fair, down from roughly 50 in years past. Though the NACE report indicates that the healthcare field is a fertile one for new graduates, nursing students may find it barren. Before the recession, it was common for nursing students to field multiple job offers. Now, many nursing students have had to lower their expectations of finding a job soon after graduation. "Three or four years ago, our nursing students had hardly any problem getting the job they wanted," says Leibig. "They've been brought back to the rest of the pack. It's tougher for them now, especially in metropolitan areas."

The downturn has hit recruiting at small schools harder than at some of their better-known counterparts. Christy Hanson, director of career development at Messiah College, which has an enrollment of roughly 2,700 students, says that firms have had to trim colleges from their recruiting lists amid budget cutbacks. Among the first to be cut from the list are smaller institutions like Messiah. With less exposure to corporate recruiters on campus, students at small schools need to be diligent in their job-search efforts. "The message that we're trying to give to our students is that there's hope out there, but you really need to think smart and strategically about how you're building your own brand and distinguishing yourself against other candidates," Hanson says.



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:

“When attending wakes, funerals and memorial services for business associates, dress to blend in rather than stand out. Dress in a solemn fashion in dark colors (black, charcoal gray, navy…) avoiding bright accent colors in ties, scarves or other accessories.

Gentlemen should wear dark suits, dark ties and white shirts. (If you own a black shirt and silver tie, do not wear it for this occasion -- or ever.) For ladies, dark suits, dresses or skirts, modestly cut, are the most appropriate. Avoid cocktail dresses, bare shoulders, spaghetti straps or mini-anything. Also avoid sparkley jewelry -- don't bring your bling.

Don't offend, try to blend.”

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

Events this Week:

4/29 Career Mentor Closing Reception

Yates Gill Dining Rm 5:30-7 pm

5/7 Vector Marketing

11-2 Atrium

Ready for Summer Yet?

How to Beat the Job-Search Blues

By Maura Judkis

Posted: April 15, 2010

Jacob Roberts wasn't that surprised when he got the ax. The 28-year-old New Yorker worked in finance, after all. Shortly after things began to head south on Wall Street, he started saving money and revamping his résumé. Roberts was snared in the fourth round of layoffs at Information Management Network, a corporate finance conference company where he was an assistant producer. Still, he wasn't worried. "The way I looked at it at the time was, 'I'm 28, I have a college degree, and I live in New York City. There must be plenty of jobs,'" he says.
He was wrong. Roberts's search lasted more than eight months—from mid-June 2009 until late February 2010—before he accepted a job with the online medical portal WebMD as an associate editor. He says the job aligns perfectly with his aspirations to work in writing and editing. Here's how he got his new gig—and what he learned along the way.
[See the Best Careers for 2010.]
Remember that finding a job is a full-time job. After Roberts was laid off, he took a two-week break before starting his search. "I treated it as an extended holiday," he says. "Sometimes I wish I hadn't [taken time off] ... But in retrospect, it probably wouldn't have mattered. I didn't find a job for more than eight months." Roberts took several breaks in the midst of his job hunt. He says each hiatus helped him combat fatigue, but he regrets wasting time. "I should have used that week to think of new ways to look for jobs. I sort of got complacent."
Volunteer for a ­worthy cause. To avoid spending money, Roberts seldom left his house. After endless hours at a computer futilely applying for jobs, Roberts started volunteering 14 hours a week, which gave him a morale boost. New York Cares, a network that matches participants with a variety of projects throughout the city, led him to community service helping inner-city kids maintain a neighborhood garden. When the weather turned colder, Roberts taught English as a second language at an Arab-American center in his neighborhood. It gave him a chance to network with other unemployed volunteers, who assisted one another in their job searches.
[How to Turn Volunteering Into a Job.]
"It's not totally altruistic," says Roberts, who included volunteer jobs in his résumé. "'What have you been doing since you lost your job?' was always the second question I was asked in an interview, and it was better to say, 'I've been volunteering,' than just 'searching for a job.' My line was, 'It gives me an opportunity to help people, which I never had while I was working.'" Even though he's now employed, Roberts still volunteers through New York Cares, spending two hours a week helping inner-city high school sophomores prep for the SAT.
Find ways to beat discouragement. The toughest thing about Roberts's job search wasn't rejections: It was silence. "If someone sent me a rejection, I'd be happy, because at least then I'd know that somebody had seen my résumé, looked at it, and said, 'You are not worthy,'" he says. But at other times, "there was complete silence from everyone and everywhere." Roberts wrote freelance articles and a short-lived blog to break the monotony. "You can't do the same thing for nine hours a day," he says.
Leave no stone unturned. Roberts's search utilized every major job-board website and his entire network of friends and former colleagues. While he originally sought only writing and finance jobs, he cast a wider and wider net until he found himself seeking hourly wage jobs at Barnes & Noble and GameStop, to no avail.
In the end, working with a recruiter helped him land his current job. Roberts was contacted by Iben Krogh of Park Hudson International in December 2009 for a job that he felt wasn't a good fit, but Krogh was able to get him the interview at WebMD a month later for a six-month, contract-to-hire position. "It's a numbers game," Rob­erts says. "If you call 100 people, it's always the 101st who will give you a job. There's always that hope."

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:

In honor of Administrative Professionals Day (Secretaries Day), coming up April 21: Too many people think an interview or sales call begins when you meet the interviewer or client.  Your interview begins with the security guards when you enter the building.  Kill with kindness any security personnel, receptionists or administrative professionals you meet along the way.  They are all part of your interview process.  Be upbeat, pleasant and make eye contact with everyone you meet on your way in and out.

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:

4/17	Bright Future Employment Fair
4/28	International Career Fair

Quote from the Office:

The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible.
Arthur C. Clarke

Now Just Until Summer!

Tips for college students on how to search for a job By Jeffrey McMurray, special for USATODAY.com • Start early. Companies aren't usually interested in interviewing freshmen or sophomores for positions they can't fill for two years, but it is never too early to make that first contact. If you know what is out there by your junior year, you can spend senior year honing your search. • Don't look for a job until you find a career. Before looking for specific companies, decide on a line of work. Job fairs and written assessments are ways of finding a match for your skills. •Before companies interview you, interview them. Informational interviewing can be an effective early step in the career search. Call a company in a field that interests you and request an informal interview. Talk to as many representatives at the company as possible, expanding your web of contacts. This exercise will better inform you about the companies, and perhaps lay the groundwork for them to interview you later. • Who you know is as important as what you know. The methods may have changed, but old-fashioned networking is key to landing a dream job. Networking shouldn't be limited to the people you know well or those in your field of interest. Tell virtually everyone you meet about the skills you have and the type of job you're seeking. Ask if they know anybody who would be a good contact, and take copious notes in a small notebook you carry with you. People want to help, but only if they're asked. • Befriend the people who work at your school's career-placement center. Virtually every college or university and many individual degree programs have offices whose sole purpose is to help you find a job. These centers usually learn about the hot openings, schedule campus interviews and make early connections. Many students wait until days before graduation to stop by, when the centers are flooded with panicked job seekers. Visit as a freshman, and let the counselors know your interests. Stop in occasionally and, as a senior, make the placement center your second home. • An internship is like a job interview that lasts three months. Nothing looks better on a resume than "been there, done that." Companies pluck employees from their pool of summer interns. In fact, firms often design internships as a recruiting method, while also helping students develop marketable skills. Freshmen and sophomores should pursue internship possibilities with the same aggressiveness as seniors pursue employment. Apply just as you would for a job, with a resume and cover letter tailored to the company's needs. • Accept the interview, even if you don't want the job. One of the first things companies look for in a prospective employee is the ability to communicate. Most people aren't born with these skills, so practice is essential. When recruiters come to campus, sign up for every possible interview session you can — even if it's with a company you don't want to work for. The career-placement center usually offers practice sessions. Better to drop the ball in practice than during the game. • Employers are more interested in your skills than fancy fonts or colorful resumes. Students usually slave over the appearance of their resumes, often letting the contents slip. Resumes should be clean and professional, but a basic look will do. Many companies scan resumes into a computer and search for specific skills they're seeking. It's far more important to highlight your skills, education and work experience. Unless you're applying for a position as a designer, use the cover letter to showcase your personality. • Companies won't read a book about you, but they might skim a letter. Prepare a cover letter that lets your personality shine for employers in a few words. Your goal is to get them to look at your attached resume A cover letter shouldn't be a narrative of your resume, but should briefly list the highlights and express your personality. Always include your contact information and tell them when you'll follow up with a phone call. Then, do as you promised and follow up. • Keep applying until you run out of time or money. Students often spend too much time thinking about the strategy of a job search when they could be searching. There are differing schools of thought on whether a few specifically-targeted letters with follow-up phone calls are more effective than a bulk mailing of hundreds of generic resumes. If you have the money and time, try both approaches, but make sure your dream company doesn't get a specific letter and the version mailed in bulk. Keep a list of the actions you take with specific companies, and don't make promises to call or send more information when you can't follow through. Until you land that dream job, keep those applications rolling. • If you don't land your dream job, aim for something close. Even in times of economic prosperity, not every college student can land the job they want. In tough times, even fewer will. However, a college degree in a specific field can put you in the running for something close. Rather than take a fallback job to pay the bills, for a little less money you could accept a position closer to your goal. Don't lose sight of why you chose the course of study you did and what you want to do in your career. Find this article at: http://www.usatoday.com/money/jobcenter/workplace/firstjob/2002-11-08-search-tips_x.htm 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: If you are holding a cocktail (or a mocktail) at a networking event or reception and there is a skinny, little straw in your drink, do not try to sip through that tiny little hole.  That is a stir stick for stirring your drink, not a straw for sipping.  Never place a used stir stick or a toothpick from an hors d'oeuvre back on a tray with food. Hold it in your napkin until you find the appropriate place to discard it. (A trash can, not in the base of a nearby plant.  Definitely not between the cushions of the furniture.) 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: 4/8 Murphy Hoffman Company Info Session 4/10 2010 KC/STL Charter Schools Job Fair - KC 4/17 Bright Future Employment Fair 4/28 International Career Fair Quote from the Office: Mr. Feeny: Dream, try and do good. Topanga: Don't you mean "do well?" Mr. Feeny: No, I mean do good.