HIRE ME!- Job and Internship Searching

Can you believe it is already time for Fall Break? As the leaves begin to change into the beautiful colors of maroon and orange, you may be thinking about ways to change your career journey! As our office always says, “It’s not just about the job, it’s about the journey.” We are here to help you in the process of finding experience, and there are a variety of paths for you to take.

 So where do you start?

There is simply no “one way” of searching for a job or internship; but the key thing to know is to start early! The job and internship search can seem to be intimidating and difficult to approach. However, you have no need to worry because this is a process you can go through with our office.

You can begin by simply doing your research first. You want to have a focus and do research on how to get to where you want to be. Keep in mind that your search doesn’t have to be limited to just your major. Look at things beyond your major by talking to faculty in your department, alumni, or checking out the Post-Graduate Report of students in your college.

With your variety of options for experience, you want to be sure not to put all your eggs in one basket; this simply means that you don’t want to simply use one type of job search method. If you limit yourself to just one method, you are limiting your options. Below are a few of our resources you can use for job and internship searching.

Hokies4Hire

Hokies4Hire is a database that lets students search for co-ops, internships or full-time positions that have been posted by employers specifically looking to hire Hokies. The database also allows you to participate in the On Campus-Interviewing program, and post your resume to the online resume database.

http://www.career.vt.edu/job-search/H4H-OCI.html

CareerShift

A comprehensive online resource that allows you to bring everything together to search for jobs in once place and you can save your searches. Great for location specific or industry specific searches and you can find contacts at a particular organization.

http://career.vt.edu/job-search/search-tools/vt-exclusive/careershift.html

GoinGlobal

If you are looking to broaden your horizons overseas, this is a great place for you to start. This resource allows you to search for international job postings and tips on relocating to a new country, as well as over 40 major U.S. cities.

http://career.vt.edu/job-search/search-tools/vt-exclusive/goin-global.html

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a way for you to professionally connect with employers, alumni, and organizations. You can check out the jobs section, get connected, and learn more about the job and internship search.

http://career.vt.edu/job-search/presenting_yourself/online-identity.html

You are READY!

Visit Career and Professional Development sooner rather than later! We are excited for you to go through the process and would love to help you along the way. Visit our website for more tips, as well as to check out those awesome resources at: http://career.vt.edu/job-search.html. Enjoy the search process, because you never know where it is going to lead you. Good luck!

Tips for Bettering your Resume

Tips for Bettering your Resume

Header: Who are YOU?

In your header, it’s important to make sure that your name is the biggest thing on the page. You don’t want to put all this work into your resume, and have the employer forget who it was even for by the end. Who you are and how they can contact you are what’s MOST important in your resume, because without it, it’s just a bunch of random information about a stranger.

Objective: What are you LOOKING for?

Your objective is more like a goal: what type of position are you looking for? When do you want to start? What field do you want to work in? These things matter to employers, to make sure you’re not just trying to take any job that you can get (which you may be doing, don’t tell them that), but that you’re genuinely interested in the field.

When applying for one particular position, specify that position in your objective: To obtain the full-time research assistant position for Coca-Cola, starting Spring 2017.

When handing your resume at career fairs, you can keep it general: To obtain a Summer 2017 internship in the field of Architecture.

Education: What do you KNOW? What are you LEARNING? Is it RELEVANT?

Your education section tells a lot more about you than you may think. First, put your degree that you’re working towards. This is currently your full time job, and that shouldn’t be taken lightly. IT MATTERS! It tells the employer where your interests lie, and what you’re spending 3 hours a day on. Then, putting your graduation year shows them how far along you are, and adding your school is the cherry on top. Feel free to add GPA, Dean’s List, and other honors here too.

Experience: What have you DONE?

Most people are worried that if they haven’t held a big time related job or a bunch of positions, they don’t have anything to include on their resume. NO NEED TO FEAR! Any experience is good experience. In this section, you can include anything from Girl Scout Projects to Class Projects to Research Experience to Waitressing jobs or Internships. If you DO have relevant experience, make sure to include that first, and then as space allows add more experiences.

Each experience should specify your role, where it was, and the dates under which it happened. Dates include month and year- month and year, if it is currently ongoing, then write – present. These dates should be in reverse chronological order: the most recent, the most relevant.

Under each header, you can use bullets to describe your experience. Try to stay away from “responsibilities included” and move more towards what you did, and why that makes you the best candidate for the position. If you’re having trouble, try to think about your bullets of what skills you gained, and what you did to get them.

Activities: Because you can’t ONLY study.

Activities section is the place where you can exhibit your role in the community, which can show that if you don’t have a ton of work experience or the best GPA, that you’re still making contributions to society, and not sitting there doing nothing. These can range from Greek life, campus ministries, to volunteer work with children. Basically here you just need to think: what do I do in my free time? You can also elaborate on your activities if you think that your contribution has led to you being a better candidate for the position.

My Biggest Tip? Make it your own!!

Always remember that your resume is you on paper. Make it represent you! Recently a student said they brought two resumes to recruiters: one styled, and one not. The recruiters actually said they like looking at the styled resumes. I don’t suggest putting it on pink, lightly scented paper like Elle Woods, (Although she DID get the job) but a little flare sets you apart from the crowd.

Written By Kathryn Rappold, Peer Career Advisor

Decoding the Dress Code

You are all set! Your resume has been revised, you printed everything on resume paper, you researched the companies you want to talk to, and you practiced your elevator speech. Or maybe you already went to the career fair, and now you have a job interview! It seems like you are ready to go…

But, what you are going to wear?

No need to fear, because we have you covered on dress codes for career fairs and so much more!

When attending a career fair, you can choose between dressing business professional or business casual; both of these are described more below. First impressions are extremely important and you want to make a good one by dressing appropriately. Be sure to research the organizations and industries you want to visit to learn more about their common dress codes as well.

Business Professional

In addition to career fairs, business professional is appropriate for interviews, formal networking events and some work environments.

·         Your attire should be professional, conservative and timeless.

·         Stick with suits that are dark colors, clean, tailored properly, ironed and stain-free.

·         Skirt suits need to be knee-length and we encourage wearing skin-toned pantyhose.

·         Shoes should be low-healed or flats for females, while for males, classic leather lace up and with socks that match your pants.

·         Be sure that your hair is neat and out of your face; use natural make-up and don’t overdo perfume or cologne.

Business Casual

This style is simply a relaxed version of business professional, but still emphasizes the professional. Most offices follow this dress code, that is appropriate for business functions, meetings and events. Be sure to always check with your employer first.

·         You can wear ties, blazers, jackets, cardigans, sweaters, blouses, button downs and polo shirts, just to name a few.

·         You can also wear dark or khaki pants, skirts, dresses and you can add in some color.

·         Utilize different pieces of your suit in order to complete a great business casual look.

Smart Casual

This style of dress will typically be explicitly mentioned and very common in more office work environments.

·         Once again, still professional by being polished and neat.

·         You can be more expressive with what you wear and dark jeans can be acceptable.

Casual

Casual dress will also clearly be mentioned when applicable. For example, some companies have Casual Fridays! This is what you would want to wear:

·         You can wear dark jeans, colorful sweaters, boots and loafers. Be expressive.

·         However, you should not wear sweat pants, yoga pants or shorts.

For every work environment or business event, you want to make sure you dress appropriately, so be sure to do your research and know what you should wear. You can reference this blog in the future--when your employer asks you to dress ‘business casual,’ you will know exactly what to wear!

Look your best, do your best, and be your absolute best!

If you ever have any questions about attire, stop by Smith Career Center and ask! We are happy to help. Drop by and pick up a copy of our Career Planning Guide to view the samples shared above and more tips for various kinds of dress, or visit our online Guide here.

Written by Samantha DiBiaso, Peer Career Advisor

Are you ready for Career Fairs? View our Career Fair Bucket List to find out!

So maybe you've been marking things off the VT Bucket List during your time as a Hokie. 

But have you worked on our Career Fair Bucket List? 

The first career fairs are next week. Are you ready? View the list below to make sure you are. 

Come see us in Career and Professional Development if we can help you prepare!

50,000 Pageviews! Thanks, Hokies and Readers

More than four years ago, I had a dream to start this career advising blog. Earlier this week, we reached the milestone of 50,000 pageviews.

How did this blog get started? I went to a session at a conference presented by a colleague from JMU who shared how she used a blog to pass on academic advising information to her advisees, which got me thinking that I could do the same with career advice. With the help of Ariel Cohen, VT Computer Science graduate, who at the time was a Career Services Intern, I was able to start this blog. Since that time, five Career Services Peer Career Advisors have helped me continue to write articles for this blog.

Thank you! 

Thanks, Ariel and PCA team of writers, for helping me sustain this project.

Thanks to the students, advisors, instructors, staff and colleagues who have shared our posts.

Kudos to my family for putting up with my time spent writing and talking about this blog and for reading some of my content.

And, a big shout out to the Virginia Tech Career Services team, to my supervisor, Amy McPherson, and to our Director, Donna Ratcliffe, for your support of my work on this blog.

Please keep on reading! We'll keep writing!

Graduated. New Job. What’s next?

A few weeks ago, I met with Jason (name changed), a May 2016 graduate preparing to head to California for his new engineering job. As he made his last minute preparations for his move, he had a big question for me: what should he be doing now?

When I heard Jason ask that, it made me think of one of my favorite television series that lots of you may watch on Netflix: The West Wing. In that show the US President, played by Martin Sheen, regularly asks this question of his White House staff: 

What’s next? 

After his staff tackles some big presidential initiative, the President is already looking toward the future.

What’s next for you?

As you make “Hokie tracks” to your future in your first professional position, here are 5 next steps to plan to take.

Join a professional organization and get involved. You’re not in college any more. You don’t have your classes or student organizations to keep you informed of changes in your field. How are you going to stay up to date? Professional organizations are a great way for you to stay on the cutting edge of your field and also build stronger leadership skills by getting involved.  Unsure which organization to join? Ask colleagues, ask your professors, do research.

Look up the local VT Alumni chapter and attend activities. Staying connected with other Hokies may make you feel more at home even if you are hundreds of miles away from campus. Most chapters hold events regularly where you can get to know local alumni. Hokies love helping Hokies, so this is a great way to surround yourself with members of the Hokie Nation.

Find a mentor…more than one! When I bring on a new professional, I connect the professional with a couple of mentors: one more experienced coworker and one newer colleague in our office. If your supervisor or employer doesn’t take care of this, then seek out a couple of people you feel you can go to for advice. It’s smart to have several mentors with varying perspectives and levels of experience. My mentors at work have been and continue to be a huge help to me.

Update your resume and your LinkedIn profile. As you begin your new role at work, update your resume with your VT GPA, information about your new position and any other items you need to add. Be sure to also revise your LinkedIn profile. Make these revisions an annual occasion so you keep your resume and profile current.

Attend a conference or training program. As you begin your position, find out your employer’s policies and support for professional development. In our office we have a budget for professional development which supports our attendance at conferences or training programs. Continuing to learn and build your skills and network of contacts are critical to professional and personal growth.

Let us know in Career Services if we can help you as you navigate your first few months in a new position. And, if you have questions before starting your first job, come see us like Jason did, or give us a call. We’re here to help you start your job on the right Hokie track.