Be the pilot of your job search: An Infographic

This morning as I was watching CBS This Morning, the anchors were discussing a missing AirAsia plane. An expert from the National Safety Council joined in their discussion. As she spoke, she shared that the pilots of that plane had 3 key jobs:

Aviate
Navigate
Communicate

These same 3 actions can be applied to a journey you may be preparing for, your job search. View our infographic below for tips on how to be the pilot of your job search.

Bon voyage, and let us know if we can help during any stage of your journey.

Winter Break Bucket List

Winter Break is a great time to catch up on all things related to your career development. To help get you going, we've come up with a Bucket List for your Winter Break. Best wishes on your final exams, get some rest during break, and try to mark off at least some of the items on our bucket list as done for YOU!

Five questions you need to ask yourself before deciding on graduate school

Deciding on graduate school is a huge decision that requires a deep and personal commitment as well as financial investment. If you’re interested, but still undecided, check out our list of important questions to ask yourself first.

1. Why do I want to go to graduate school?

Are you trying to learn more about a specific subject? Change career fields? Gain more research opportunities? For higher potential for career advancement? All of these are good or common reasons to pursue graduate school.

Reasons that are not as valid include: because you don’t want to leave school yet, a guaranteed higher salary, or because you just don’t know what else to do. Graduate school is a stressful, difficult and often expensive path. Without a solid reason to go, it may not be the best decision.

2. Should I do this now?

Before you invest in your future—or in application fees, loans, and textbooks—you should consider the timing of your decision. Are you mentally and emotionally ready to take on graduate school? What about financially?

For some, attending graduate school is a better option after a few years of real world job experience and saving money. For others, attending right after their undergraduate school is best, since they do not have any serious commitments (such as families or relationships) yet or because it is the next best step professionally.

3. What kind of graduate experience do I want?

It is important to consider what kind of student you are and especially what would be best suited for the career you want. Are you looking for a small and interactive classroom approach? Or perhaps more lecture and theory-based? Or are you looking for a research-based program? All of these questions should be taken into consideration when deciding the best environment for you.

4. Do I need to go to graduate school?

Graduate degrees are necessary for fields like law, medicine, education or science. However, graduate degrees are not necessary for fields like business or technology, but they can offer opportunities to advance skills or change career directions. Personal enrichment is a completely valid reason to pursue graduate school, but is important to remember that a bigger paycheck is not guaranteed.

5. How will I pay for this?

There are many options to help finance graduate school. You can look for one-year programs, which ultimately means a cheaper cost. Will you work for a year or two before entering school or instead work while in school? Some fields offer funding opportunities like research or teaching assistantships, which will cover tuition costs. Finally, if you are already in the working field, it can be possible to reach out to your current employer and find out if they offer tuition reimbursement programs for their employees.

You can learn about more graduate school resources here.

You've got a friend. Do you really?

Blacksburg HS Friends

"When you're down and troubled 

and you need a helping hand

and nothing, whoa, nothing is going right.

Close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be there

to brighten up even your darkest nights." 

lyrics from You've Got a Friend sung by James Taylor

The lengthy article in Rolling Stone last week about a young woman's "bad experience" at the University of Virginia (UVA) is disturbing on so many different levels.  Her horrific date that turned into a gang rape at a fraternity house. The inaction afterward. The fact that over 100 students have been expelled from UVA for violating the honor code while not one student has been expelled for the dishonorable practice of violating female students in the same time period. The degrading song that was banned less than five years ago--my alma mater is one of the schools that is mentioned! It's all so upsetting, and should spur much needed change at UVA and other campuses across the United States. 

And yet, as I read the article, there was another part of the story that I found equally disturbing that has received little to no national attention, but is something for us all to think about. What is it? Friendship.

“Winter, spring, summer, or fall,

all you got to do is call

and I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.

You've got a friend.”

The victim in the story, Jackie, reached out to her friends (?) for help. Did they take her to a hospital? Did they encourage her to go to the police? No. They were more concerned about their social status at the university than about the wellbeing of their friend. 

RMWC Friends many years later!

Their behavior made me reflect on the many times I visited UVA and other campuses to attend parties and dances when I was a college student. And, I thought about the numerous instances when my friends at the time had my back. Thank you, my lifelong college and Blacksburg girlfriends!

What can you do to watch out for your Jackie, Hannah or Morgan?

A good start is to follow the 3 key tips from No Hokies LeftBehind, a group effort between Virginia Tech Police Department, Blacksburg Police Department, Blacksburg Transit, Interfraternity Council, Pan-Hellenic Council, Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, Virginia Tech Athletics, and Virginia Tech Office of Emergency Management.

Their mantra: Go with Friends, Stay with Friends, and Leave with Friends.

To be a good friend, I would also add to this list, listen to your friends, help your friends and check on your friends. These six tips mean that you will be there for your friends, just like James Taylor sings.

Make sure when a friend hears the words of this song, she or he will think of you.

Be there. Always.

“You just call out my name,

and you know wherever I am

I'll come running, oh yeah baby

to see you again...

You’ve got a friend.”

Personal Statements Decoded

Fact: Personal Statements are difficult to write.

Fact: Personal Statements are a crucial part of the graduate school admissions process.

Fiction: Without a traumatic, life-changing event, it’s impossible to write an effective personal statement.

If you’re like any other stressed college senior applying to graduate schools, the concept of a personal statement can be hard to grasp.  The thought of summing up your life experiences into a statement can be frightening. Relax- you’re not alone. And now read- all the in’s and out’s of an admission-winning personal statement is right here.

What is a personal statement? A personal statement is your own marketing campaign. It is a way to sell yourself in the application process, and a way to set you apart from the masses. When you’re applying, many other applicants will have your same test scores, grade point average, and extracurricular activities. This is the place to add something truly unique to your application package by letting your personality, experiences, and voice shine through.

The personal statement typically fits into one of two categories. There is the general, comprehensive personal statement, which is typical for medical and law school applications. The prompt for this statement reads like "Discuss any matters relevant to your ability to succeed in law school and the practice of law, and any attributes, experiences, or interests that would enable you to make a distinctive contribution..." The second type of response is much more specific, and asks you to answer a number of particular questions. This format is typical for business or master's programs. Regardless of format, there are certain general tips that can be used to turn your essay into a winning statement.

Step 1: Think about your life.

Reflect on what has happened in the past, what has led you to this point, and why you want to attend graduate school. You can ask yourself a number of questions, such as:

•       What is important to me?
•       What experiences have I had?
•       What qualities do I possess that are necessary for this profession?
•       What goals do I hope to accomplish by attending graduate school?   

Step 2: Write.

Start by brainstorming your achievements, career goals, leadership roles, and personal interests. Once you’ve done this, narrow the emphasis to one specific theme or point. Use that point to write your introductory paragraph, which then sets the stage for the rest of the essay. The introductory paragraph should hook and intrigue the reader. The following paragraphs should support and develop the theme you establish in the introduction.

Make sure you tell a story. Use your life experiences to write a narrative that leads the reader through your journey. Interweave these personal experiences with intellectual interests. As admissions committees plod through the piles of applications, personal statements that pique their interest, entertain them, and keep them interested are the ones that will stand out. Even if your experiences are similar to those of other applicants, if you can put a spin on your stories and draw unique lessons out of experiences, this can be an effective personal statement. Make sure you are avoid writing a narrative resume or telling your complete life story.

Above all, start early enough to go through several drafts. During the writing process, seek help from others. Ask friends and family members to read through your statement, or go to your school's writing center or career center for additional editing help. It never hurts to get fresh eyes to look at your statement! (Just make sure the writing is still yours.)

Step 3: Have you...

• Answered the question?
• Written well?
• Hooked the reader with your opening paragraph?
• Avoided cliches? 
• Been interesting?

If you can say yes to all these things, you’re on your way to an all-star personal statement! Good luck!

Make November your month to BE MORE

November is a special month for me professionally and personally. Professionally, it's National Career Development Month which career centers all over the world are observing. Personally, several important family members have birthdays this month. My mother, Mary Tom Long, MD, would have been 94 on November 3. Although much smaller in stature (maybe 5 feet 5 inches?) than her much taller daughter (me, at almost 5'10"), from a young age, my mother was "a force to be reckoned with," as my friend Meg describes her. A woman before her time, she obtained her MD in 1941 when only a handful of females were in her classes at the Medical College of Virginia.

It was kind of fun for me growing up to hear about my various classmates whom she brought into this world. Our house became sex education central where neighborhood kids would gather around the kitchen table to ask my mother all kinds of questions. I would bow my head from embarrassment as my mother answered each adolescent's question, while my mother didn't mince words or gloss over what she wanted us to understand about our bodies. And, it was exciting to see my mother end her medical career as the Regional Health Director for Southwest Virginia, still a female in a man's world, but a woman at the top tier of state administrators at the time. Talk about a role model!

My mother was fortunate to know the career she wanted to pursue at a young age. When she was 5 (that would have been 1925!), she said she was going to be a physician, and she made it happen. She spent much of her young life in her hero, Dr. Jones' office because she was so prone to ear infections, as there were no antibiotics at that time to ward them off.

Unlike my Mom, are you one of the people like me, who came to college with no idea of the major or career  you want to pursue? Career Advisors can help you do some exploration of yourself or of careers and majors. To get started, call 540-231-6241 and we'll set up an appointment for you to meet with an advisor. I know you can do research on your own and even take an assessment on your own, but if you come see us,

we can help you explore MORE.

If you're happy with your major, but want to test out your chosen career, and maybe do some shadowing like my Mom shadowed Dr. Jones and other health professionals, our career advisors can point you to tools and resources where you can get the experience you seek prior to graduation. Again, I know you can use LinkedIn, Google or other resources online to find experiences, but

we can help you experience MORE.

Still another way we're here to assist you, is your preparation for after graduation. My mom applied to medical schools after 3 years of college. We can help you prepare for medical school interview questions like the one my Mom was asked by a Dean of a medical school:"Why does a pretty little girl like you want to go to medical school?" Are you applying to graduate or professional schools? Are you seeking a full-time position? We know you seek advice from faculty, parents, peers, and others through this process, and they are valuable resources. As you put your plan for your future to work,

we can help you achieve MORE, whatever your future plan looks like.

MORE. That's it. We help you

explore MORE, experience MORE, achieve MORE.

You just have to take the first step to come see us, so sometime years from now, your child writes about the amazing impact you had, like the way my mother touched so many people's lives.

We're here to help - let us help you be MORE.

Final word for this post goes to my Mom. Two of her sayings that have stuck with me (I think she must have read Dale Carnegie's book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, although we never talked about what an influence that book had on me), and great advice for all of us:

Look for the good in others. 

If you can't say something nice about someone else, 

don't say anything at all.

Mary Tom Long, MD
November 3, 1920 - April 14, 2010

As Course Request ends, wondering if you're in the wrong major?

As Course Request period came to an end today, Alex wondered what to do. He wasn’t excited about his planned courses for Spring 2015 at all. He really wondered if he should change his major…

Sound familiar? YES? Advisors in Career Services can help you map out your new direction at Virginia Tech. How?

Don’t know what you want to study?

Sometimes a little self-exploration can help you grow your knowledge about yourself along with potential careers to consider. We use a number of tools. Two you could try right now:

COMPASS

Compass, a fast, online career self-assessment, is a tool where you can learn about Your Career Personality Blend, the combination of your two primary career personality types. This blend integrates your traits, personality strengths and approach to work determined by your responses. You’ll also get to see a pie chart that represents your entire Career Personality Profile. You can read the descriptions for each of the 7 Career Personality Traits. Your entire personality determines your career recommendations. It’s a good idea to come and talk to a career advisor after you do this assessment. Find out more about COMPASS and making an appointment here: http://www.career.vt.edu/REACH/Index.html

StrengthsQuest

The Division of Student Affairs offers StrengthsQuest to provide students an opportunity to learn more about their talents and a language to use when sharing them. After learning your top strengths, you can use them as a reference point as you decide on your major, career and future plans. They're also useful information to share in interviews with employers and representatives from graduate programs or professional schools. To read more about the Gallup Strengths assessment, and get started, visit this web site and click on GET STARTED. If you want to talk more about what you learn about your strengths, please call 540-231-6241 to make an appointment with a career advisor.

You can explore even more, if you set up an appointment with a career advisor to gain access to MyPlan, a tool that assesses values, skills, interests and personality type or Do What You Are that also looks at personality preference, or to other tools we use.

Don’t really know what people do in your career of choice?

CandidCareer

Maybe you want to be a Rocket Scientist or maybe a News Director, but you don’t know what those jobs involve. Now you can visit Candid Career to hear from people in thousands of careers as they talk about what it’s like to do their jobs. You can also visit Candid Career for career advice on a variety of topics from phone interviews to salary negotiation.

Post-Graduation Report

Another useful site to go to find out what you might do with any Virginia Tech major is to visit our Post-Graduation Report. We survey graduating seniors every year to find out what they’re up to after graduation. You can view job titles, employers, graduate schools and more, right at your fingertips.

Like to read books? We also have a career library where you can check out many of our books. There are even more places to do research on careers that we can point you to – just come see us. 

Let us help you plan your next steps, so you’re feeling good about your Spring 2015 semester like Brittany.

Picking the Right Fork and Acing the Job Dinner Interview

You’ve just received an interview with your dream company, but it includes a meal. Would you know what to do? Or which fork to use first? On Wednesday, October 24, Career Services hosted its annual Dining Etiquette Dinner. We have some advice on how to successfully navigate a meal interview with a potential employer. 

 DO dress appropriately. Men should wear at least a jacket to the meal, while women should stick to a dress or skirt and avoid sandals.

DO order your meal first. Since you are the guest, it is custom for you to order your meal first. It is also expected that your employer will pay for the meal, since they invited you.

DO remember to use polite table manners. Be sure to wait for everyone else to be seated before putting your napkin on your lap or opening the menu.

DO act gracious. Avoid causing a scene by sending food back or fussing over small errors with the order. The employers are taking note of how you behave in social situations.

DO build bridges, not ramps! By this, we mean to always put your knives, forks, and spoons down by placing the entire utensil on the plate. Don’t rest them on the table like a “ramp”. 

DON’T discuss controversial topics such as politics, religion or sex during the meal.

DON’T slouch or place your elbows on the table. An upright posture shows that you are positive and attentive to the conversation with the employer.

DON’T forget to treat this as any other interview. It is important to bring copies of your resume, to research the employer and position beforehand, and to have questions prepared for the interviewer.

DON’T leave your phone on. It would be rude to the employer if your phone went off during the interview. Be sure to also keep it off the table and hidden from sight.

DON’T order alcohol, even if you are of age.

If you follow these Do’s and Don’ts, your interview should run smoothly. Remember that the priority of your interview is to be respectful and polite—treat the meal as you would an interview in a professional setting. One of the advantages to a lunch or dinner interview is that you can utilize moments of chewing to think of your answers before responding!

Interviewing 101: Rock Your Interview

You landed the interview. Now it's time to land the job!

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Interviews can be incredibly stressful. We’ve all sat in a waiting room with sweaty palms and a stomach full of butterflies. But what if there were ways you could ensure you’d be prepared and confident you were about to rock the interview? Time for good news- these ways exist! Keep reading and you’ll be sure to be interview ready.

Preparation is EVERYTHING.

Do your research. Bring your resume. Be on time. Seem basic? It is! It’s so easy to do, and starts the interview off on a good note.

Before you attend the interview, look into the company. Find out what they do, what the structure is, and where they’re heading. Think of a few questions you have about what they do and jot those down. Excellent specified questions to ask at the end of the interview!

Bring extra copies of your resume. You always want the interviewer to be able to look at your resume while you’re interviewing, and you don’t know for sure they will print out copies for everyone in the interview.

Finally, be on time. You don’t want to have to start the interview with an apology, and not too many companies are interested in hiring an unreliable employee!

Don't make the top interviewing mistakes! 

1.     Appearing Uninterested

Use first impressions to your advantage. Lead with a smile and a firm handshake.

2.     Using your phone

This one should go without saying. Turn your phone off, leave it on silent, or better yet, leave it in the car.

3.     Dressing Inappropriately

If the employer doesn't tell you the dress code for the interview, call to ask about appropriate attire. Proper dress is usually Business Professional or Business Casual.

4.     Fumbling Questions

Be prepared for obvious questions. “So, tell me about yourself” will invariably be the first question an interviewer asks you. When they ask this, they don’t want to know that you have three siblings and two cats! The employer is asking “what can you tell me about your personality, interests, work habits, and background that will help you excel in this position?” Additionally, spend some time looking up sample interview questions before the interview, and think of how you would answer them. This will give you valuable practice answering questions on the spot.

5.     Talking negatively about current / previous employers

If you speak negatively about your previous or current employer, the interviewer will assume you will speak about them in the same way.

6.     Talking too much or not enough

Know when to wrap it up. Make sure you are conscious of how long you’ve been talking. When an interviewer isn’t responding to what you’re saying, it is easy to just ramble on until you get some acknowledgement. Don’t fall into the trap. Say what you have to say and then stop talking.

7.     Poor body language

You should sit slightly angled in to appear interested and engaged. Listen to what your interviewer is saying. You don’t want to be caught off guard. Avoid smiling nervously, pursing your lips, or touching your hair and face excessively.

8.     Not providing specific examples

Answer behavioral questions using the STAR method, which stands for Situation, Task, Actions You Took, and Results of your actions. When you answer a question in this way, you make sure to hit all the key points. Which on of these four is critical? Results! They are what an employer expects you to produce.

9.     Asking bad questions.

Inevitably, at the end of the interview, the interviewer will ask if you have any questions for them. Saying you have no questions is an immediate red flag! They’ll assume you don’t have real interest in the position. Don’t ask self-serving questions such as “when is pay day?” or “when can I get a promotion?” Instead, ask any of these great questions.

 

The STAR Technique

The interview is over. What now? 

Write a thank you note! If you want it to arrive quickly, email is perfectly acceptable. If time is not a pressing factor, a handwritten note is always nice. Thank you notes should be sent within 24-48 hours of your interview.

Good luck interviewing!