Hi My Name Is...

Hello readers! This is the first of several blogs that are going to chronicle my journey of figuring out how to use the Career Athletes website. Since we are going to spend a fair amount of time together I think it’s important for you to know a little bit about me and why I’m involved with Career Athletes. Firstly, my name is Elayna and I’m a junior here at William Jewell College. I’m majoring in sports and recreation management as well as getting minors in communication and American history. I’m also involved in track and field and cheerleading at Jewell as well as a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. As you have probably guessed I have a zero free time and am constantly having to juggle events and sometimes sacrifice sleep in order to stay ahead and prepared for everything.  Sports has been an instrumental part of my life and has greatly influenced the person I am today by teaching me traits such as time management, honesty, hard work, responsibility, team work, and self confidence. It was because of the positive influence sports (in particular gymnastics) had on my life that I came to Jewell and decided to pursue a degree in sports management. My ultimate goal is to come back to Jewell and help teach in the athletic department and coach the cheerleading team.  You are probably wondering what Career Athletes is and why I’m going to spend the next several weeks getting to know their website and company. Like you, until recently I had never heard of the company and had no idea what they did or why I should be involved with them. It wasn’t until my boss, Judy, informed me this week that because I am an athlete I would be teaching other athletes how to use the website that I actually found out about it and began looking into what they do. So, as a result this blog will demonstrate how simple and easy it is to use the website (because as my friends all know I’m not computer savvy at all). In addition it will show how it can help provide you with various networking and job opportunities as well as resume and interview tips. Feel free to come and ask me questions in Career Services or comment if you have questions or have experience with Career Athletes yourself. Hope you enjoyed the first post and continue to follow my journey!

Cheering on the William Jewell Football Team Freshman year!

Quick&Easy Survey

For those of you who recently graduated from Jewell, you have received an email from Career Services about taking the Quick&Easy (Q&E) survey. We have received quite a few responses, and we appreciate your feedback!  If you have not checked your Jewell email or if you have been avoiding sending in your response, please take a few minutes to complete the survey.

The survey basically asks whether you are job hunting, if you have found employment, or if you are continuing your education in graduate school.  It also gives you a chance to update your email to a non-Jewell email so we can get your current information.  For those who have either found a job or are continuing their education we ask that you give us a little info about what exactly you are doing; we love hearing about your new endeavors.

The information we obtain from the Q&E is vital for Jewell, but it also allows us at Career Services to know where former students stand in the job world.


For those individuals still job hunting, be sure and respond as well because you can still stay active or become active with eRecruiting.  You can use eRecruiting to post your resume online to potential employers, and sort through job postings.  New jobs are posted almost daily to eRecruiting, and we can send you jobs that apply to your degree from Jewell.  eRecruiting is a great tool that students seeking employment can use even after graduation.


So if you have not responded to the Q&E, please do so as soon as possible so we can either assist you in your career path or use your information to keep the school up to do date with your future.

My Experience with COL 98

Last semester, I took the COL 98 Career Explorations course as a sophomore.  I was not expecting to learn much from the class, but I was interested in gaining interview skills, and resume help.  A lot of students in the class had not declared a major, or were unsure of what they want to do in the future.  I am a Nonprofit Leadership major, and I have always been sure that is what I should go into, so I was not looking at possible careers.

The first assignment we had to complete was the Focus2 career assessment.  I was honestly dreading having to go through and take a test about my preferences.  The results listed personality types and occupations that could match me and it even took values and skills into consideration.  I scored extremely high in both artistic and social. It made me feel good to score high on social, because Nonprofit Leadership would be considered a social major.  Even though I had a set major, I found these assessments to be interesting and helpful in figuring out my best work environment and what type of job I would be happy at.

In COL 98 we also did a mock interview.  We had to dress in business attire and go in for an actual interview with the teacher; fortunately the interview was private and not in front of other students, so that helped with nervousness.  I found that the feedback the teacher gave me after my interview will be helpful in the future when I go into an actual job interview.  This assignment also helped me figure out what parts of my resume and life experience I want to try and feature in a future interview. 

One of the most helpful parts of this process, for me, was that we had to prepare and bring in a resume to our interview.  I had been putting off making one, and this class gave me the push I needed to go in and finally create my resume and also a cover letter.  We got our resumes back with tips and corrections that are helpful in having a solid resume.  About a week after I got my edited resume back, I was asked to send one in for a prospective internship.  It would not have reflected well on me to not have a resume prepared, and I am thankful I could send mine in promptly.

Post Spring Break Update

Okay so basically I am getting in touch with other people who work at various parts of the marketing team that I am assigned to at Hallmark which is great! I am getting to see the starting processes of a lot projects and things that I am use to like all the holiday planning ( yes they are starting that already) and it is a whole lot more than I thought. There is so much planning going on it is crazy.

If you a first year student you should definitely join us in April for our Career Services Jewell Feud Night full of a great game, food and prizes!

Also anyone that might be interested in the Career Mentor Program should stop by the office and grab an application. We have applications for first time mentees and returning mentees. The deadline is approaching so hurry in.

Mentor ship and More

Mentorship update!!! Everything is going great and as planned. I am keeping in touch with Amy and just looking at different aspects of the company and marketing that they have me working on. This whole experience is just fantastic and I can't wait to do more after spring break.

Which is right around the corner! I just have to get through mid terms and then I will be on my way to sunny AL/GA for a few days then move on to FL and New Orleans. With spring break coming up and mid terms this means that it is half way through the semester. This means that it is almost May, when the seniors graduate.

We have a senior in the office, the wonderful Gloria Rios! She is a fantastic person who is going places in life. Gloria is an Organizational Communications major with a Non Profit minor, who is apart of SIFE, newspaper, Career Services, CUA, Non Profit Leadership Alliance. She is quite busy with all the time that she dedicates to here classes and clubs on campus. This girl is always moving!

Gloria is well on her way to greatness as well, what I have learned about Gloria these past few months is that she has such a kind and giving heart that she is hopefully going to be using this next year down in San Antonio.

Gloria has applied to the program City Year and is anxiously wait to hear back from them! So let's hope for the best!

Project Fantastic!

I am so happy with my mentor! This is going to be a great experience and we have only had one meeting. The very first meeting was fun and informative. For the most part we just talked about ourselves and what we liked to do. Just background information basically.

But the fun part was when we started to talk about what we wanted from this mentor-ship and what could be done. So as we sat and talked in Panera for almost two hours we hashed out a basic schedule of times I could come in. Plus Amy, my mentor, talked about different projects I could help out with, the different people I could meet too. I am thrilled knowing that what I thought would be pretty basic is almost like an internship!

It is exciting to know that I am going to be helping Hallmark marketing and development.

I can't wait to blog more after my first meeting with the team next Wednesday.

But in the mean time I will blog about someone in the office by Friday!

Leggo

Tuesday. Oh Tuesday, you were an interesting day. I mean really you were like last minute crazy out of control some how pulled together crisp and clean in the end. Yeah I am that good. Okay so I did have some help but that is beside the point of this.

On Tuesday the first meeting for the Career Mentor Program 2012 started at 5:45. It was the orientation for the start of a whirl wind mentor ship in midst of a whirl wind semester. Talk about going crazy, last semester I thought would never end, now we are in February and the classes are flying by.

Any who the orientation was fantastic and informative as well. I found out the best ways to contact my mentor, and how to have really good first meeting! Needless to say I am stoked to meet my mentor from Hallmark!

At the meeting however I was posed a question, okay well we all were asked the same question, do you have questions for your mentor. So obviously I am nodding yes in response but when the question continued on. Do I have questions that are quick, simple and good for my first time meeting my mentor? The answer in nope. None what so ever, in any way, shape, or form. I am questionless.

So now comes the part of major panic on my part as I walk back to my dorm. I begin to think that the world am I going to be asking this slightly random person that I have never met in my life before that I am being paired with for the next couple of months. Truth be told I had a list of questions, but they are more appropriate for when I am actually working in the mentors field.

I am at a loss what do I ask, how do I ask it, what is good or bad, what if I hit a nerve by complete accident. I know that this is the first time meeting this person so I have to make an impression. I am still not sure exactly what I will be asking my mentor. I hope I have some questions written down before I meet her but who knows. Hopefully by the time I meet my mentor I will be 100% ready for it, but only time will tell... So leggo make some questions.

Suggestions?