spring career guide
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The Diamondback, Spring Career Guide, February 25, 2013TRANSCRIPT
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013
2 THE DIAMONDBACK | spring career guide | monday, february 25, 2013
University hosting multiple career fairs this week
By Mara BernsteinFor The Diamondback
It’s that time of the year again — tomorrow will commence Day One of the university’s annual Spring Career and Internship Fair, and with more than 290 employers expected throughout the three-day event, it’s time to polish up those resumes, decide which tables you want to hit and get ready to put your best foot forward.
The main fair will be held Tuesday through Thursday at Stamp Student Union from noon to 5 p.m. And for the green-mind-ed students or aspiring teachers on the campus, the university’s Career Center is also sponsoring two smaller “boutique” fairs this year — the SEAGreen Fair and the Maryland Metropolitan Educa-tion Expo.
The SEAGreen Fair, which will be held Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., aims to highlight careers and internships in environmen-talism, sustainability and agri-culture. The event is expected to host 33 di�erent employers. These include the Maryland Environ-mental Service, which is looking for an environmental specialist, and Greenavise, LLC, a financing and consulting firm for alternative energy projects that is looking to hire people from any major.
The Maryland Metropolitan Education Expo is a recruit-ing event that enables students looking to work in education to network with potential employ-ers. The fair will be held Thursday from 9-10:30 a.m. and will host scheduled interviews from 10:30 a.m. until 3 p.m.
No matter which fair you
choose, it’s important to take the time to prepare. Career Center spokes-woman Michelle Lopez-Mullins advises students to visit the center’s website to plan out which organiza-tions they want to visit and research them accordingly.
“Knowing about the organizations you’re interested in beforehand can help you stand out when talking with recruiters face-to-face,” Lo-pez-Mullins said. “A polished, target-ed resume is the perfect supplement to a good first impression.”
Once you get to the fair, most of your conversations with potential employers will only last two or three minutes, but they will be considered formal interviews. Lopez-Mullins said students should prepare a min-ute-long “pitch” to show recruit-ers they know what they are talking about and explain why they would be the right fit for the internship or job the company o�ers.
You should also go in with a short list of questions about the di�erent types of training for the positions, opportunities the company may have for your major or what skills and ex-periences are necessary. However, avoid questions about salary or ben-efits, Lopez-Mullins said.
Senior education major Liz Roseman, who plans to attend the expo, said she has been furiously pre-paring to impress potential employers.
“I’ve been constantly updating my resume, changing the format, the wording, etc., and deciding how business professional my look needs to be that day,” she said. “Even if I have no intention of ever working for one of these employers, the interview experience I’ll get just by attending and talking to these people is crucial.”
Career Center also holding ‘boutique’ fairs
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monday, february 25, 2013 | spring career guide | THE DIAMONDBACK 3
Have a summer internship? Follow this list to impressBy Marissa LaliberteFor The Diamondback
It’s that time of the year when students are scrambling to find summer internships and get their applications polished and sent in on time. But once summer rolls around and you walk in on your first day as a new intern, what then? You put so much thought and e�ort into snag-ging the perfect internship, but do you know what to do once you get there? Below is a do’s and don’ts guide to getting the most out of your internship experience.
DO: Ask for feedback.Internships are the perfect place
to learn what your strengths are and where you can improve. While some supervisors are proactive about pro-viding feedback, others may require prompting.
“If you’re not getting feedback, ask for it,” said Kathryn Hopps, be-havioral and social sciences intern-
ship coordinator. “Asking questions like, ‘How am I doing?’ and, ‘Is there anything I can do to improve my performance?’ is simple and cuts across all work places.”
DO: Ask questions.Junior computer science major
Cary Chou interned with the U.S. Department of Defense and suc-cessfully landed a job there. He said being inquisitive and unafraid to ask questions helped strengthen his re-lationship with his future employers.
“I would always email my supervi-sors if anything came up or if I had any questions or needed clarification,” Chou said. “It made me feel more at ease and I’ll bet it made them feel more comfortable as well, knowing that we were on the same page.”
DO: Show enthusiasm.Having the right attitude is the
key to leaving a good impression.“Show up in every sense of the
word,” said Briana Mulder, policy and intern manager for the Amer-
ican Legislative Exchange Council. “Show up every day and be engaged and willing to help.”
One way to demonstrate enthu-siasm for work is by proactively of-fering assistance, especially during downtime, Hopps said.
“It’s better to point out you’re running out of work instead of getting on Facebook,” she said. “If your super-visor seems overworked, it’s common good manners to ask to help.”
DON’T: Act unprofessionally.Interns should be forward about
asking questions such as whether employers prefer a certain title or if first names are acceptable, Hopps said.
“I get concerned when an email from a student I’ve never met starts with ‘Hey, Kathryn,’” she said. “It’s always best to use a title if you’ve never met a person, and you should reserve ‘hey’ for your peers.”
good interns will go the extra mile to impress their supervisors and will cultivate their professional networks. Ask questions, get feedback and go in with the right attitude every day. �le photo/the diamondback
Striving for the best preparation
Career Center makes slew of changes to better prepare students for post-grad life
By Alex McGuireFor The Diamondback
From revamping their Twitter posts to debuting a brand new Pin-terest board for professional dress, the sta� members at this universi-ty’s Career Center are looking to see how they can better reach students in the social media sphere.
With every spare minute of the week filled up by racing to classes and internships, many students just don’t have the time to visit the
center’s o�ce in Hornbake Library during regular business hours, so starting this semester, the center has delegated to student employees the task of overseeing the program’s Facebook page, YouTube account and Twitter handles. This allows students to receive job hunting advice from their own peers con-veniently on their computers or smartphones.
“It gives us a more personable feel,
SEE changes, PAGE 5
SEE internship, PAGE 4
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INTERNSHIPFrom PAGE 3
Hopps added interns should also make sure they fully under-stand dress code expectations in the workplace.
“One student I know of interned with a company that had casual Fridays, but he didn’t ask what exactly that meant,” she said. “He showed up in khaki shorts and ended up being pulled aside and asked to change.”
DON’T: Be afraid to make mistakes.
While interns should always strive to put their best foot forward, employers likely will not hold grudges over honest mistakes.
“We just say something and the behavior changes,” Mulder said. “We recognize it’s a little dierent from what students are used to. It’s a learning process.”
DO: Stay in touch with your supervisors and the people you worked with.
Once an internship has come to a close, staying in touch can help with networking for the future. Mulder, whose company runs an alumni group on Facebook, emphasized the importance of connecting not only with sta at the company but other interns who may have been stationed there. After all, most of you will likely be trying to enter the workforce at about the same time.
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changesFrom PAGE 3
but also gives students the ability to hear what students or peers are doing at the center and what their opinions of things are,” Career Center spokeswoman Michelle Lopez-Mullins said.
The newest additions to the cen-ter’s social media entourage are two “Dress for Success” Pinterest pin-boards, which offer visual advice concerning professional and busi-ness casual clothes as well as which clothes not to wear on certain occa-sions. The page also has pinboards for career advice, upcoming events and inspirational quotes.
“The basic idea of our Pinter-
est is not to gain followers but to have people use it for specific reasons,” Lopez-Mullins said. “We just want them to take something away from it.”
In the past, there has not been enough time or manpower to focus on increasing the center’s social media presence, which 2012 alumnus Dustin Morsberger said he often found lacking as a student.
“You basically had to visit the Career Center to do what you wanted,” Morsberger said. “The Facebook page wasn’t up to date a lot of the time.”
However, that is something Lo-pez-Mullins said the sta� is deter-mined to change.
“In the real world, you don’t have time to walk 20 minutes to
the Career Center to see us, but if we can o�er some of our services online, then that way, we can serve more students,” Lopez-Mullins said. “We’re trying to change our way of thinking from how many seats we’re filling to how many students we’re serving.”
The center is also set to con-tinue the popular motivational “CAREER” the Turtle Passport Game raffle that debuted last semester and is set to return in March. Game participants engage in different collaborative tasks with the center, such as resume building and mock interviews, and the students who partici-pate in six or more services are entered into a random drawing of prizes, which range from a 25-day on-campus parking permit to an Xbox 360.
“We’re making them do a lot of different things before they earn the chance at a prize,” Lo-pez-Mullins said. “So we’re kind of almost bribing them to care until they realize what services we have here.”
Students already seem to be catching on to the changes.
“I’ve always liked Twitter the best, so I definitely look at job-related stuff on there over Facebook or Tumblr,” senior communication major Olivia Didion said. “I’m glad to see the Career Center reaching out instead of waiting for everyone to ask for their help.”
How to make the most of your resumeEmployers spend less than a minute reading
By Catherine She�oFor The Diamondback
The clock starts ticking when the resume hits the desk — one, two, three. A door slams open and the interviewer looks up. Four. Five. The phone rings and someone comes in with a memo. Six.
In today’s fast-paced employ-ment environment, interviewers spend an average of 30 seconds reading your resume, and when first impressions are this criti-
cal, every word counts. Moreover, most employers will not waste time going through a resume that does not seem to match what they are looking for, so it is crucial that you customize your resume to fit the specific position and company that receives it.
The “skills” section is one portion of the resume where some appli-cants tend to go overboard. Rather than fill up the page with a laundry list of random abilities, experts said
See resume, Page 6
Do’s and don’ts of interviewing
By Tyler WeyantFor The Diamondback
Whether you’re applying for your dream job or for an intern-ship at your uncle’s paper mill, the interview tends to be the one thing that can cause night sweats and palpitations.
But once the fateful day arrives, it’s only going to be you, your cranium and those pesky interview intangibles that will make you stand out from your competitors. Here, from a person who once mentioned in an interview how much he sweats when he goes to Florida, are some tips to make that dreaded meeting less dreadful and even — gasp — fun.
DO: Dress up, for good-ness’ sake.
My mama always says, in a phrase she may have co-opted
from Oprah, “Dress for the job you want to have.” So if you want that internship with the big accounting firm, wearing cargo shorts and your button-down from Cornerstone Grill and Loft last night probably won’t do the trick. No one ever died from wearing a pleasant skirt or suit, as far as I know. Plus, the compli-ments from your roommates on how good you look will only make you feel super fly.
DON’T: Curse. Chances are the person interviewing
you will not be your contemporary, and thus won’t understand all the slang the kids use these days. Regardless of the interviewer’s age, it’s best to leave those words Patrick Star once called “sentence enhancers” to the fans at Comcast Center during the Duke game.
DO: Relate to your inter-viewer. Yes, this can be tough if
See interview, Page 7
NEW FEATURES AT THE CAREER CENTERTHE STAFF MEMBERS AT THE UNIVERSITY’S CAREER CENTER ARE CHANGING SOME OF THE WAYS THEY REACH OUT TO STUDENTS. THESE INCLUDE:
• NEW MALE AND FEMALE “DRESS FOR SUCCESS” PINTEREST PINBOARDS
• REVAMPED UPDATES TO THE CENTER’S FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND YOUTUBE ACCOUNTS
• THE RETURN OF THE MOTIVATIONAL “CAREER” THE TURTLE PASSPORT GAME RAFFLE THAT DEBUTED LAST YEAR
6 THE DIAMONDBACK | spring career guide | monday, february 25, 2013
resumeFrom PAGE 5
students need to highlight only the most pertinent skills at the top. Finding out which skills are most important to your career field will take a bit of homework.
“[Students] need to research the industry to see what skills are con-sistently sought,” said Becky Weir, a university Career Center assistant director. “If you don’t include rel-evant information, your judgment will be questioned.”
Every job and industry is di�er-ent, but a few highly sought-after skills in today’s workforce include:
— Fluency in a second lan-guage. For many industries, having bilingual or multilingual employees is vital for working with some clients or in especially ethnically diverse locations.
— The ability to eectively use social media, including Twitter and blogging outlets.
— Electronic communication skills. These are quickly becoming essential in a variety of fields, from business to public relations.
— Communication skills in general, whether through writing or public speaking.
— Proficiency with data pro-cessing programs such as Excel.
— Social and relational skills.However, it is not enough just to
write out a list of skills; you have to prove you can and have applied them. Several experts said appli-cants should focus more on show-casing experiences that demon-strate their abilities and positive personality traits.
For instance, a student can high-light a project that involved ana-lyzing data using spreadsheets and other software or a team presenta-tion for which the student took on a leadership role.
“[Employers are] looking for in-dividuals who have initiative, who are coachable, dependable and willing to work hard,” said Aziz Abdur-Ra’oof, student welfare and career development director.
Besides the skills section, em-ployers say there are a few other
little-known details that can make a resume stand out over the com-petition. Abdur-Ra’oof said the first thing he notices about a resume is its formatting, while Carlin Watkins, a recruiter for life insurance and financing company Northwestern Mutual, said she notices the name at the top first.
“I get so many resumes. I’m sifting through them, and if yours stands out in any way, that’s the first thing I notice,” she said.
In the end, it is important for an applicant to remember that by the time an employer has read half of your resume, they have already formed their initial opinion of you
and your likelihood of getting the job. Therefore, it is important to make every element shine.
“Think of your resume as halfway down,” Weir said. “If you don’t have something to make them keep reading, they won’t.”
monday, february 25, 2013 | spring career guide | THE DIAMONDBACK 7
An online marketResumes and interviews aren’t enough anymore — you should also try to create an online identity, experts say
By Josh LogueFor The Diamondback
Social media is everywhere. You have to work pretty hard to ignore it, and there are plenty of reasons to embrace it. For one, it can help you get a job.
More and more employers are turning to the Web when screen-ing potential hires, so journalism professor and social media expert Ronald Yaros suggests three steps to marketing yourself on the virtual network.
1. Brand yourselfBefore you grab the social media
reins and actively start your job hunt, you should try to create an online identity.
“The important thing is to
define yourself and dierentiate yourself from the competition out there,” Yaros said.
How? If you’re a photographer, you can open an Instagram or Pin-terest account. If you’re a writer or interested in a specific field, you can start a blog.
Blogs allow you to show that you are or can be an authority in your field and develop your own unique voice in the social media sphere.
“It takes a lot more dedication because it requires well-thought-out, longer posts,” university Career Center spokeswoman Michelle Lopez-Mullins said. “It gives you another outlet to express yourself regarding just your pro-fessional life and what you know
about it and how you can give back to that company.”
2. Manage your Internet presence
This is the one we’ve been hearing about for years — be thoughtful about the pictures or comments that you’re posting online for the whole world, or potential employers, to see.
“Not just the dangers,” Yaros said. “But anything that might be contradictory.”
Linking to a blog you haven’t updated in months, for instance, could turn a potential employer away.
If you want to do some house-keeping on your Facebook page
See online, Page 8
interviewFrom PAGE 5
you don’t have much in common with the person across the table from you. But you’re going to make a much more impactful first im-pression if you’re having a casual conversation rather than a rigid question-and-answer session. Talk about current events, the weather or something less formal on your way to the office to lighten the mood. You want your interviewer to feel comfortable and impressed after you leave, not like they just pulled teeth to find out a little bit about you.
DON’T: Get too comfortable. Of course you should be relatable and pleasant — but there is a limit. While there may not be much sta-tistical data to the contrary, it’s safe to assume talking about drinking, flirting, gallivanting or any other topic that seems out of bounds will probably hinder your chances of
getting hired. If you wouldn’t say it to your grandma, don’t say it during your interview. (Note: Some people, like me, have grandmothers who routinely skirt the boundaries of what is “appropriate.” In this case, don’t say things you would say in front of them. Just use your best judgment.)
DO: Show up a bit early. Obviously you don’t want to be
late, but showing up early, rather than just on time, shows you’re a go-getter and someone who can be relied upon to go the extra mile.
DON’T: Overthink it.It’s stressful for anyone who
has ever had an interview to sit and think about all the things that can go wrong. But you already go to a great university and are likely more prepared than you feel. Take a deep breath, be yourself, and, as a wise rapper once said, “Get jiggy wit it.” Actually, getting jiggy is also a don’t.
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onlineFrom PAGE 7
to be on the safe side, there are a few online services out there that can help. Reppler.com, for instance, will sift through your social media accounts and raise flags for things an employer might not like. Mullins said the site recently sent her an email because someone had posted a video on her Facebook wall with the word “beer” in the title.
“It’s a judgment call for you whether you want to keep it there or not,” Mullins said. “But it alerts you and keeps you aware.”
3. “Blast” social mediaThis is where LinkedIn enters the
picture. Yaros surveys his classes every semester and only about 2 percent of his students have Linke-dIn accounts. However, he said it pays off to open an account as a freshman or sophomore and start collecting recommendations from teachers and work samples.
“By the time you graduate, your e-portfolio will be in pretty good shape,” he said.
Along with serving as a sort of living resume, LinkedIn is a great tool for informational interviews
and employer research, said Erica Ely, Career Center internships program director. You can use it to find and talk to people in your field about what to expect or what a typical day looks like. In particular, many university alumni are excited to talk to current students, Ely said.
Many companies and organiza-tions also have LinkedIn pages, so
you can find employee statistics and information about where people worked before and after they got a job at a particular company.
Whatever social media you use, the key is interaction. These tools give you the opportunity to demon-strate how engaged, hardworking and knowledgeable you are to people already working in a field you are
interested in.“It’s really important once you
follow them not to be a silent fol-lower,” Mullins said. “Answer the
questions they ask. Ask them questions.”
“it’s really important, once you follow [university alumni on linkedin], not to be a silent follower.”
MICHELLE LOPEZ-MULLINSUniversity Career Center spokeswoman