Snow Day: Prepare for next week!

Since you got your free pass from class thanks to Old Man Winter, how are you going to use your time? Sleep? Play video games? Study for your big test tomorrow? Here are 5 questions to ask yourself on this free day.

1.       Am I ready to introduce myself at career fairs next week? If you could use a little help, PWC has a great worksheet  for you to tweak your elevator pitch or introduction. And, check out the Career Spots video on The Elevator Pitch. You can practice your pitch using Interview Stream.

2.       Do I have a game plan for the employers I want to meet at career fairs? Visit the career fair site and create your target list of employers. Research them using LinkedIn, Google, or resources in the library. Create some questions to ask each employer.

3.       What will employers find if they google me? Have you ever googled yourself? You should. An employer who prepares to interview you will check out your online image. To make sure that image is professional, if you’re not on LinkedIn, work on your profile during this snowy day. Here are some tips to get you started. 

4.       What I will wear to the career fair? I’ve read several places, based on research done at NYU, that in 7 seconds people make 11 decisions about you. First impressions matter and appearance impacts our first impressions. You don’t have to wear a suit to the career fair (although you can if you want to look really professional), but you do want to dress a bit nicer than you might for class, wearing business casual attire. And, remember it’s BUSINESS casual not CLUB casual.

5.       Have I been outside? Take a break today and get outside and enjoy the snow. Build a snow man. Have a snowball battle. Go sledding. My favorite place to go sledding in Blacksburg when I was growing up was The Hill, the Blacksburg Municipal Golf Course. Great hills for sledding if you can make it there.

Need some more help as you gear up for a busy career fair week? Check out this infographic we posted in the fall.

Come see us in Career Services for Walk-In Advising, 12 – 3pm, Monday through Friday (when VT is open), or call 540-231-6241 to make an appointment with a career advisor.  All the best next week!

Now I need to get offline and go outside and play in the snow with my dog, Lexi.

Never Been to a Career Fair? Get a clue as a CSI

As you prepare for the week of February 17, when there are 3 different career fairs on campus, you may be wondering what to expect if you have never been to a fair. What should you do? How do you prepare? My suggestion is to take on the behavior of a Crime Scene Investigator (CSI). If you've ever seen The Pink Panther movies starring Steve Martin, as Inspector Clouseau (pronounced "clue so"), you want to become like the Inspector as you attend your first career fair. What does the Inspector do?

Locate targets. As Inspector Clouseau pursues his prey, he first has to do research and go after his suspects. You want to do the same. Review the lists of employers attending on the career fair web site, and come up with a target list of the organizations you plan to talk with. Make sure you visit your target list employers' web sites to learn about their organizations and come up with some questions to ask.

Get your gear prepared. Make sure your resume sells you well. Have faculty and career advisors review your resume, and make some copies on resume quality paper (a bit nicer than your printer paper). And, work on your introduction or elevator pitch. Dress to impress. You don't necessarily have to wear a suit like the Inspector below, but you want to be dressed in business casual.

Use your powers of observation. When you arrive at the fair, put your name tag on your right shoulder, grab a map and develop your plan of attack. First, go stand in a long line at a popular employer's booth and eavesdrop on the conversations. What questions are employers asking? How are students selling themselves and what are some of the issues they bring up with employers? Hang out in the long line to hear several conversations, and then move on to a few other long lines before you speak to your first employer.

Now you're ready. Take a deep breath, and begin with an employer who is not one of your targets. After you have spoken to a few employers who are not your top choices, where you polish your conversations, then move on to those on your target list. Inspector Clouseau would be proud--you did it!

For more tips on career fairs check out our fall post with this infographic on Play Your Cards Right at Career Fairs, and after the fairs, read about follow up. Final recommendation, when you need a good laugh, if you've never seen the Pink Panther movies, check them out. I really like the older versions too, starring Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau.

Ready for June? Jump on it in January!

Have you made your summer plans yet? Now is the time to JUMP ON IT (just like the song!) and get going with your summer plans! Use this countdown for your last few days in January to start making plans for your summer.

5. Apply for 5 internships or jobs this week to get you started. Here are 5 places to look: 

• HokiesforHire 
• Links to internship sites
• Career Shift
• LinkedIn Student Jobs Portal
• Links to job listing sites by career field

4. Want to stick around in Blacksburg this summer and do undergraduate research? Try these 4 ways to find an opportunity:

• VT Undergraduate Research page
• Walk around your department and talk to faculty
• Check out centers on campus like Virginia Bioinformatics Institute or Virginia Tech Transportation Institute
• Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center

3. Thinking you might Study Abroad this summer? 3 things to do for this: 

• Attend the Expo TODAY in Squires from 11 - 3. Could not find a link!
• Visit the Education Abroad web site 
• Visit your college/major study abroad site

2. Figure out 2 career fairs you could attend this semester. Business Horizons is THURSDAY! Not a business major? There still may be an employer you might want to talk to. Check out the list of employers here. To view other career fairs this semester, visit this site. 

1. Make it your goal, starting this semester, that you will get to know at least one faculty member you could use as a reference, whether you will be applying for jobs or for graduate programs.

Those 5 actions should get you jump started to prepare for after spring semester.Thank you to my daughter, Maggie, who was the inspiration for this post! Way to jump on it while you were on Winter Break, Mags!

Service: A Natural NY's Resolution for Hokies!

As you make your resolutions for 2014, I have a suggestion for you that I got from Michael Copeland, the minister at my church--a humane goal for each of us, no matter what our religion is or isn't. What is the suggestion? In 2014, set a goal for 14 acts of service. There are many ways you can serve in our VT community; here are 14 suggestions for 2014:

1. Participate in an Alternative Spring Break program. There are many places to find ASB projects, but one place to look is the YMCA at VT.

2. Check out the many opportunities at VT Engage.

3. Help out at the local Free Clinic of the New River Valley.

4. Volunteer with the VT YMCA.

5. Be an ambassador for the Cranwell International Center or volunteer to work with international students in other ways.

6. Work on making the BIG EVENT happen in April. (Couldn't find their 2014 information yet but there is a contact at the link!)

7. Join the largest campus-run Relay for Life to raise funds for cancer...It's on OUR campus!

8. Assist with the 3.2 Run for Remembrance in April. Volunteer sign-up begins in February.

9. Support battered women and children at the Women's Resource Center of the New River Valley.

10. There are 230 service organizations in Gobbler Connect. Search for one that interests you!

12. Serve a meal at the local Salvation Army.

13. Want to get experience in a health-related setting? Volunteer for VT Rescue Squad.

14. Love to hike the AT in this area? Keep it clean by using your hands with the VT Outdoor Club.

There, that should do it!

Just think, even if we all did only ONE act of service this year, that would be over 30,000 contributions to our community. And, if we each strive for 14 this year, the possibilities are endless! As you participate in a service activity, send us a photo of you taking action and we'll post it on our blog.

Service. A natural New Year's resolution for Hokies who live by our motto, Ut Prosim, that I may serve. Let's all strive to serve more in 2014. Happy New Year!

The Best Gift You Can Give

As you rush around purchasing all your last minute gifts or stocking stuffers, I have a gift suggestion that has a very low cost. You don’t need to go online or request rush shipping, and you don’t need to max out your credit card, for this gift you can give without visiting a store or a web site. What is the gift? It’s the gift of TIME.

Last week our family lost my father-in-law, Sonny Childress, who lived a long full live to the age of 90. His passing so close to the holidays just got me thinking about all the times I got caught up in my life and didn’t stop by (he just lived down the road!) to visit with him. I’m not saying I was a terrible daughter-in-law--for example, we had many Sunday evening meals with Sonny, spent holidays and special family events with him, and took him to a family reunion this past summer. But, I know I could have done more and spent more time with him.

As you select those last minute gifts, add to your list the coupon you can fill out below where you can give the gift of time to a loved one or friend. Go spend the afternoon with your Dad doing something he loves. Take your little sister to see The Hobbit. Bake a traditional holiday favorite with your Grandma. Ask your Mom to go out to lunch. Have game night and invite over all your friends who are in town for the break.

Life is so fleeting. Give the people you care about the best gift you have to give – time spent with YOU!

Warm up for Spring 2014: Do these during Winter Break!

Now that finals are behind you, we hope you take some time for yourself to be with friends and family. Have a safe trip to your destination. After you relax, though, prepare for a busy Spring 2014 with these tips:

Thank you for your support!

Thank you to the many supporters of our blog, who helped us reach a milestone in a little less than a year: 10,000 page views!

We appreciate your support of our career advising blog! We invite you to follow our blog to stay up to date on new posts. And, please share topics with us that you would like us to address.

Thanks again for your support!

Claire Childress and Ariel Cohen