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

Looking for a Job in a Recession Panel

Good news for those stressing about finding a job in this difficult economy. Next Wednesday, April 29^th, the Career Services Center will be holding a Looking for a Job in a Recession panel from 5:30-7pm in McLaren 252.

Come hear words of wisdom from a panel of experts on how to keep your cool during your potentially very trying job search. Government and Insurance recruiters, a Temp Agency Representative, a Financial Aid representative, and a Psychologist from the Counseling and Psychological Services Center will all take part, offering a range of different opinions about how to approach your situation.

Some sample questions to get an idea of what to expect:

“Who is hiring new grads right now in the Bay Area?”

“How do I make my loan payments if I truly can’t afford them?”

“Where are good places to meet people, professionally, off-campus?”

“How do I stand out?”

If you’re interested in these questions (and more), if you feel lost, confused, or anxious about your upcoming graduation date, if you're curious, or if you just want to be in a supportive environment, definitely come check out this panel.

Also, while there look out for our awesome career counselor Ellen Kelly Daley (who is hosting the event) as well as my fellow CPP Seghel. I’m sure they’d both be happy to meet you.

Hopefully we’ll see you there!

-Sarah

p.s. don’t forget to e-mail us if you’ve got any questions or comments: careerplanningpeer@usfca.edu

We're on Twitter!

The Career Services Center just started a Twitter page. If you're on Twitter, follow us! We'll be updating often with lots of interesting information to supplement this blog.

USF Twitter page link: https://twitter.com/USF_CSC

Hope to see you there!
-Sarah


Also, don't forget to add us on Facebook if you haven't already: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=19780463537

Interesting Interview Tips

Hey all,

So a friend of mine showed me this link the other day that I found very fascinating (and quite accurate, I might add).

In this article, the Wall Street Journal gives a thorough run-down of the do’s and don’ts in the interview world, an especially poignant article given the times. Some things that stuck in my mind were: don’t appear desperate (e.g. don’t show up to your interview any more or less than 10 minutes before hand), be confident in your skills, don’t complain about your financial/job situation (leave your anxiety and your baggage at home), and make sure that you customize yourself (e.g. be specific with your stories, and make yourself memorable).

Anyway, those were just the few that stuck out in my mind. Check out the article for the rest!

http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/106924/The-Interview-That-Will-Bag-a-Job

-Sarah

p.s. we’re having an issue with our comment system, so until we get it fixed if you have any questions or comments please feel free to e-mail both Seghel and myself at careerplanningpeer@usfca.edu. We look forward to hearing from you.

Fattening Up Skimpy Resumes

Guys, there's no reason to freak out if you don't have a ton of work experience to put on your resume. If the jobs that you're applying for are mostly entry-level, then it wouldn't make sense for the employers to expect you to have a whole lot of relevant work experience. It's important to remember that the point of a resume is to show how the various skills you have learned can apply to the new job you're applying to. So, even if you've only worked at Joe's Burger Shack every summer since you were fifteen, you've probably acquired a whole host of skills that you could use at any other entry-level job. And if you haven't had a lot of work experience, emphasize any volunteer experience you have had. Also remember that you've already got a full-time job as a student, so emphasize transferable skills you've learned on campus through volunteer organizations, clubs, languages, and even proficiency in Microsoft applications.

If you're wondering how to do all of these things, check out some great examples of resumes on our homepage here.

Seghel

Don't Recycle Your Cover Letters

As the crunch to find a job or internship for summer intensifies, you may be trying to send out as many job applications, resumes, and cover letters as quickly as possible. But whatever you do, do not resort to sending out the same cover letter to every job you’re applying to. Sure, you may be changing the name of the person you’re addressing; however, cover letters are a great opportunity to distinguish yourself from the pack. They are a chance to personalize your work experience and to express the ways in which you would contribute to a particular job. Also, you can utilize the description of the job or internship posting to your advantage by incorporating the language of the description in your cover letter. For instance, if a posting states that the company is looking for, “…a person who has excellent communication skills and is a good public speaker…”, one way to explain why you’re qualified for the job is by saying that you have obtained, “…excellent communication and public speaking skills through your Written and Oral Communications class.”

So please, take the opportunity to be genuine with each cover letter that you write.
-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

Internship of the Week #2

TokBox (San Francisco, CA)

TokBox Invites College Students From Across the Country to Apply Via Video Mail for an All Expenses Paid 6-Week Marketing/Business Internship in San Francisco

While many people may look great on paper, TokBox, the simplest video calling and video mail service on the web, is instead relying on the power of video communication to find their Ultimate Summer Intern. Today the company announced their 2009 Ultimate Internship program, and a call for video resumes sent using TokBox free video mail at www.tokbox.com/theultimateinternship.

For more information about this and other internships, click here!

In a Rush to Talk to a Career Counselor?

It’s Monday morning, and you’ve got a job interview Tuesday afternoon. You’ve been working on your resume, but you’re not quite sure if it’s stellar. With the economy currently in shambles, you know that if anyone’s hiring, they’re going to be searching for the best and brightest, and you want to make sure your resume reflects how qualified you are. But if you call the Career Services Center to make an appointment for the next day, your chances of finding a last-minute opening are slim. While we recommend that students call at least a week in advance to schedule an appointment with a counselor, we get that you’re a busy college student, and you may not have had the chance to do so. That’s why we have Drop-Ins!

Drop-Ins are an easy way to quickly come by our office without having to make an appointment. Drop-Ins are a great opportunity to get your resume or cover letter reviewed or to ask a counselor a quick question that wouldn’t warrant scheduling a longer appointment. While Drop-Ins are a fabulous invention, they do not properly substitute actual appointments. They’re only 15 minutes, and they’re first-come, first-serve. That means that you may not call us during Drop-Ins to save you a spot! Also, if you wait until the last minute to our center for help, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to receive it, since Drop-Ins can fill up rapidly, so make sure to try and arrive a few minutes before they start. We have Drop-Ins five days per week, and we even hold additional evening Drop-In sessions twice every week:

Monday: 2-4pm
Tuesday: 2-4pm and 5-7pm
Wednesday: 2-4pm and 5-7pm
Thursday: 2-4pm
Friday: 1-3pm

If you’ve never been to the Career Services Center before and need some resume help, or are just curious, we recommend that you come visit us during Drop-In hours.

Hope to see you soon!
Seghel

Last Chance for Internships Workshop

Our annual Last Chance for Internships Workshop was held this past Tuesday, March 31, 2009, and led by one of our favorite Career Counselors, Alex Hochman. Over 40 students attended, seeking advice and info as they began to wade through the world of internships.

What was it all about? The main purpose of this workshop was to explain what internships are, why you need them, and how to go about getting them.

Didn’t get a chance to go? Here’s a quick rundown of what was discussed.

Internships are Important! Not only are they a great way to get exposure to a potential field you want to enter, but they are also a must on any college graduate’s resume (not to mention they’re great networking opportunities). You will most likely get paid, AND, more often than not, you could be asked to come back as a full time employee when you finish your studies. Don’t believe me? In 2008 nearly 65% of all interns were offered full-time positions by the company they worked for (and in 2009 that number has already jumped to almost 70%)

Sign up for Internship Exchange: We can’t stress this enough! If you’re looking for internships and don’t know where to go, always start here. Internship Exchange is a shared internship database between 21 universities (including schools like Harvard, Duke, Princeton, Notre Dame, and Emory), so that means there’s thousands of internships posted from all around the country. If you’re just looking in the Bay Area, you’ve got over 420 to choose from at this very moment, often from employers who have worked with USF students many times before.

Utilize other Web Based Services: While Internship Exchange is a great place to start, don’t forget to check out these other awesome places for potential internship opportunities:

Dons Careers, Craigslist, Collegerecruiter.com, Internjobs.com, Internships.wetfeet.com, Studentjobs.gov (government), Calopps.org (public sector jobs in CA)

Don’t forget family and friends! This one should be self explanatory, but always reach out to your network to see what’s available. The more you put your search out there in the world, the more likely you are to get offers back.

And lastly, stop by the Career Services Center in UC 403 to speak with a counselor or one of the CPPs (like me!) about any internship or resume/cover letter questions you have. It’s our job to help you get a job, so utilize that!

Good luck on your search everyone!

-Sarah