The 23rd Annual Career and Internship Fair

Can you feel it in the air? It's my favorite time of year again. What, you ask? Why, the career and internship season of course. The time of year when students finishing their degrees begin to seriously question "what's next", and when all the underclassmen start contemplating how and when to get the best experience for their resume. It's daunting, yes, but it's also quite exciting. A world of possibilities is open at your feet.

We here at career services want to help make this time as easy and straight-forward as possible. This is where our annual Career and Internship Fair comes into play. What easier way to network and find out about internship or job opportunities than by having all the employee-seeking companies here for you, under one roof? No easier way, that's what. So make sure you take advantage of this opportunity!

When: Friday, March 4th, 11am - 3pm
Where: McLaren Complex
What: 50+ employers in the health, financial, tech, hospitality, public, nonprofit, education, fashion, and marketing industries.  Find the full of employers list here.

Important Info: Make sure you bring several copies of your resume, do your research on interesting companies before attending the fair, and dress to impress.

I'll be writing another post in a few days with more details on how to best prepare, so keep an eye out. Until then, keep this fast approaching event on your radar - there's nothing but possibility awaiting you.

-Sarah

Solar Job Guide

Annnnd we're back!

Or at least I am. And will be all summer, thank you very much. It's good to E-see all of your lovely faces again.

To get us started for the summer posts, I'm going share with you a guest post from Frank Marquardt, a leading expert on green careers. He's got a new book out all about Solar careers which looks really interesting (and chock full of information). I'd definitely say it's worth a look!

Best,
Sarah
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Few industries offer the combination of long-term growth prospects and financial reward as solar. And with the collapse of Wall Street and recessionary economy, students and career changers alike are looking for ways to make a living—while also doing good for the planet.

In fact, one estimate suggests solar will create 190,000 jobs over the next two years as a result of the stimulus plan.

To encourage you to read it, I'm offering a 20% discount you and your friends. Just type in promo code "sunbathe" when you check out at http://solarjobguide.com.

Best regards,

Frank Marquardt
www.solarjobguide.com

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p.s. don't forget the CSC is open all summer, 9-5! Stop by for drop-ins, schedule an appointment, or utilize our library of resources. We're here to help you in any and all of your job endeavors. Hope to see you soon.

Where Were You Guys Last Week?

If you were to ask me what I spent my Wednesday night doing last week, I would tell you I spent an hour soaking up some very precious info. For those of you who do not know, last Wednesday (4/15) the Career Services Center hosted the Science Career Panel. Five panelists took the time to impart some wisdom on us, and wow, was it incredible. Here’s a quick run-down of who was there and some of the best advice I walked away with:

· Rebecca Johnson is currently teaching Marine Invertebrate Zoology at San Francisco State University. She said that the key to finding a great career was to, “…find something that really interests you and find an area of interest that is somewhat undiscovered…”

· Samantha Engelage is a Staff Engineer at the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (CCCSD). She received her B.S. in Environmental Science at the University of San Francisco, and her words of advice were that, “…internships are the way to go in a down economy. Though interns are essentially considered “cheap labor,” they have the opportunity to learn very valuable skills.”

· Bella Cenzano-Fong currently helps the Research and Development groups at Clorox find technologies and partners that will help them get commercial products faster. Check out cloroxcompany.com for internships!

· Arturo Araque opened Excelsus Scientific Engineering in 2001 to service the biotech and pharmaceutical industry. He advised students to find jobs through internships and networking. He also told students, “You define your own success…”

· John Witchel is an innovative entrepreneur who has helped develop a number of successful start-up companies. This guy seriously knew what he was talking about. Here are some (paraphrased) words of wisdom from Mr. Witchel:

o Right now, in this economy, do something you love to do, whether or not you’re making a lot of money. Find a vein in a field that is super price-competitive, “…go into business fixing torn clothing and don’t forget to grill your friend about what they want to buy and how much they’re willing to spend on it.”

o Don’t negotiate your salary if you haven’t developed any skills to offer a company. Negotiate salaries when you become an asset! Your main job is to be likeable and charming, considering you’re expendable. Employers want to see that you’re hungry, and that you see an entry-level job as a valuable learning experience. Give companies time to promote you, and take advantage of the experiences of seasoned professionals you work with.

o The Bay Area is a forgiving place for the up-and-down business of entrepreneurship. If you’re serious about entrepreneurship, think about ways that you can make seemingly worthless items (or items that already exist) a hot commodity, simply by tweaking it a little.

Now, consider this: I’m not even a science major, and I walked away feeling totally empowered and full of agency (despite the current recession). I sincerely wish more people had been there to take advantage of this insanely inspiring event.

I hope to see you all at the next event the Career Services Center is hosting. It’s called, “Looking for a Job in a Recession.” It will be held from 5:30-7pm on Wednesday, 4/29.

Seghel

Science Panel

Next Wednesday, April 15, is our annual Science Panel. I actually went last year and, even though I’m definitely not going anywhere near a science or tech field when I graduate, I was actually pretty impressed with some of the stuff I learned.

We’ve got five panelists from a range of different science and tech fields – Computer Entrepreneurship, Comparative Geonomics, Environmental Engineering, and Research, to name a few.

Bring your questions and your enthusiasm! Not only is this a great chance to learn about different careers in the science and tech world, but it’s also a great opportunity to network (I actually got the contact information of someone from our Liberal Arts Panel last semester and we still keep in touch. Can you say job opportunities after graduation?)

The event starts at 5:30pm and goes till 7:00pm at the Berman Room in Fromm Hall. My co-Career Planning Peer Seghel should be there, so maybe you’ll get to meet her too!

Have a wonderful three day vacation everyone.

-Sarah