Reflection from Career Fairs Past.

      
       I’ve always walked through the Career Fair, but have never seen the actual work that goes behind it. I never gave it much thought and just assumed that tables were set up and different companies would come and allowed to show up at their leisure to give away goodies to the students. Turns out, there is a LOT of work that goes into planning such an event. First of all, companies have to be interested in visiting our campus in the first place, I forget that they are looking for future interns or employees. Since I was working behind the scenes, I actually overheard two employers discussing the resumes in their hands with much enthusiasm.
       One of my posts at the career fair was to encourage students to fill out the evaluation sheet before they exited the fair. Evaluations are necessary because the Career Fair is essentially put on for the students. Naturally, we should want to make sure our input is taken into account, right? Where else will you find employers being brought to you, the student? All one has to do is dress up, bring a resume, and the opportunity to get an internship or job is right their in front of you, located conveniently on campus. Moral of the story: Evaluation sheets are an opportunity to voice your opinion.
        Lastly but not least, I did see some students walk into the fair who wished that they had brought a resume or had a resume to give to employers. It’s not too late to start building your resume! The Career Fair might have passed, but you could always come into career services to discuss some options and/or make your resume shine. Whatever type of internship or job you are looking to add to your resume, you can always start  here Career Services Center.

Cheers!

INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS!!!

Hi All, 

I know its midterm week and everyone has test, papers, and projects due before spring breaks hits. But it is also a great time to prepare and set up some INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS with people to gain information about something you're interested in or even expand your networking for future endeavors. I will be going back to Hawaii for spring break and have set up a few informational interviews with professionals in financial based occupations. Its quite easy to set one up and can be done with any free time you have, not just only over breaks. All you need to do is search for members of professional associations in the industries your interested in or network and contact a family friend that is in interest field of work. You can basically contact everyone and anyone that might interest you. 

So you might ask why set up a informational interview? There are a lot of reasons, including learning firsthand what it is like to do a particular kind of work at a particular organization, or to develop contacts in key positions with people who hire or who make recommendations, or to even find out about jobs and career paths you did not know exist. 

Once you have found a possible informational interview contact them and tell your contact that you are in the process of making some decisions about your career, and you want to learn more about his or her field. In particular, you want to learn whether, and how, someone with your background might enter and succeed in that field. But always remember you are not yet in a job search! After giving your contact some background information and a brief summary of what you want to know. Ask the professional to meet either in their office or over Starbucks or Jamba Juice. 

Once you have set the informational interview, prepare questions but remember that you are NOT asking this person for a job. An example question would be: In the position you now hold, what do you do in a typical day? But for more information come into CSC to check out some handouts for possible questions on Informational interviews on the UC 5th Floor or check out the PDF on our website: http://usfca.edu/uploadedFiles/Destinations/Offices_and_Services/CSC/docs/Informational%20Interviews.pdf. Also don't forget to offer to pay for Starbucks or Jamba Juice because your contact did take time out of his or her day to meet with you and don't forget thank you card, thank you card, send a hand written thank you card, thanking them for taking time out of their day to talk to you. Let them know you want to keep in touch. 

So set those INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS UP!

Aloha- Nate

NETWORKING DOES WORK!!!

Hey All,

Are you guys looking for a job or an internship? Have you heard of those ridiculous stories of how a friend of a friend got an internship by networking and didn't believe it? Tell me about it, I heard about them all the time. But guess what? Most of the time they are true, NETWORKING DOES WORK!

For me personally I have received 2 great internships by networking. Statistically about 80% of people that receive a job/internship receive them because they have networked or know someone that knows someone, essentially networking. I received my first internship by letting people know that I was looking for in internship, which is a great way to start networking. After a few emails and a few calls around, my dad's friend contacted me back with a family friend of his who was looking for an intern over the summer. It turned out perfectly. I received great experience and my network grew to a pretty large group in Hawaii.

My second internship is based on the idea you never know who you might meet and what a thank you card could do for you, ANYTHING COULD TURN INTO AN OPPORTUNITY. It started off when my uncle visited me in San Francisco and took me with him to a conference in Napa Valley. My thought was to hangout at the pool and have a good time in Napa while my uncle attended meetings. As I started to relax a man approached me and asked if the waiter had messed my order up and we both realized that I had his burger and he had mine. WE started talking about all kinds of stuff from sports to career options to school, after a while he told me that he was a partner in a finical advising firm. We hit it off and before I left I got his card. So a few days later I come back into the city and send him a hand written thank you card, thanking him for talking. A few weeks later I get a call from him and he offers me an internship. He stated that this internship would include spending the day by his side working with him on hedge funds, multi-million dollar accounts, and customer relationships in New York City. Which turned into a great opportunity and experience. 

You honestly will never know who you might meet or what they might have to offer, so be ready for anything that might come your way. If you want to learn more about networking come to our office located at UC 5th floor. We have some handouts or check our website for events on mentorships or networking. NETWORKING DOES WORK!!! and hand written thank you cards do work.

Aloha, 

Nate

Career and Internship Fair Prep

The Career Fair is fast approaching. Are you ready for it?

If not, don't fret! Here's four easy steps to get yourself prepared:

Step 1: See who's coming
Do you research. Check out the full list of all employers who will be attending the 23rd annual Career and Internship Fair. Decide who you want to talk to, and check out their websites for more detailed information  and the positions they might be hiring for.

Step 2: Get your resume reviewed
This week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we will have real recruiters down in Parina Lounge to review your resumes from 12 - 1:30pm. If they're packed, you're always welcome to come in for drop-ins every day (except for Career Fair day of course!) from 11am-2pm. Don't miss this opportunity.

Step 3: Attend our Career Fair Prep Workshop
Tomorrow night (March 2nd), from 5:30-7pm in the Fromm Maier Room, we will have a panel of real recruiters there to answer your questions about what they want to see at the career fair. Not sure what types of questions you should ask at the fair? Don't know how to dress? What better way to find out than from the recruiters themselves.

Step 4: Attend the fair
Come dressed to impress, bring several copies of your resume on nice resume quality paper (can be found in the bookstore or any office supply place), and have questions prepared. Know who you're going to talk to, introduce yourself, ask about the positions available, show that you did your research on the company, and most of all be enthusiastic.

Simple enough? Great. I'll be seeing you there!

-Sarah

Resume Writing Time!

Hello, All!
       My name is Victoria! I am in training to be a Career Planning Peer (CPP)! Just a little bit about myself... I am a Psychology major, and I am minoring in Music and Biology. Basically, what that means is, I want to be a superhero, rock star, and a dentist. I’m rooting for all three! I came upon working for the Career Service Center by applying as a Psychology Practicum volunteer. I’ve had my fair share of experiences working with younger children and with adults, it had been a while since I worked with my own peers. I really like to help people feel like they have something less to worry about, and this job seems like just the ticket!
        So far, I have shadowed drop-in hours in action and have learned just a couple of small details that can make all the difference in writing a resume. I am excited to have this new perspective on resume writing!
        The number one thing that I have witnessed: Students have not heard of the Resource Guide on the CSC website. For those of you reading this, you can find a resource guide (click the link to the right-->) Career Services Site, under Quick Links. It’s a pretty great tool to use if you are writing up a resume or cover letter! Hey! It beats Googling “how to write a resume/cover letter” over and over only to find thousands of varied results. Check it out and enjoy!
--Victoria

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

Prepare for your future!

Good morning all! 

I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Nathan (call me Nate) and I am currently a Career Planning Peer in training. I am from Honolulu, Hawaii and currently a sophomore majoring in Finance and minoring in Legal Studies. I have been working with the Career Service Center (CSC) as a student assistant for about a year and a half now and love the family/Ohana atmosphere.  The CSC has become my home away from home. As a Career Planning Peer, I will be reaching out to students, staff, and alumni on this blog a couple times a week to give you updates on the CSC events, interesting things that happen on campus that could affect you, answer questions related to CSC, and bring up hot topics in the world today regarding the University/CSC. 

So today I want to talk to you guys about a current topic on the minds of most job-searching individuals which is China and how China is the future of the United States economic growth. China offers many business expansion possibilities as well as a thriving visitor’s market for the US. Which essentially mean jobs and economic stability, considering most jobs in the United States have turned into service based jobs (not manufacturing). But there are a few problems that come with China: the main problem is the difficulty for the Chinese to obtain visas due to strict regulations by both the US and Chinese governments. These problems affect business opportunities and the visitors market, which could result in the loss of millions of jobs for graduating college students, further affecting the future economy of the United States. With the increase cost of tuition and the loss of job opportunities, our future is in question. As students and recent alumni you might want to think about taking Chinese as a language and looking into doing business with China in the future or working for a Chinese based company. You might also want to encourage globalization and connections with China through the government to secure a safe bright future.  So look head and plan your future by coming into the Career Service Center for anything you need including direction, resume/cover letter help, interview help, and even job search help! Your future is now so plan plan plan! Aloha- Nate