What You Need to Know About

Resumes, Internships, & NetworkingFall 2011

Economics SocietyTufts University

Resumes

Source: www.mergersandinquisitions.com

Clean, compact, and concise 1 page 12pt font; name should be

bigger, make sure contact information is easy to find

Make sure dates are aligned Interviewers will ask you about

your specific experiences; make sure to come up with a mini-story for each of them.

General Tips

Education Section

GPA vs Major GPA? If cumulative GPA is below 3.0, keep it off If major GPA is higher, list that first then Cumulative GPA afterwards

Ex. Economics GPA: 3.7, Cumulative GPA: 3.5 Also possible to list 3rd/4th year GPA first if you can demonstrate improvement

over first two years

SAT scores? Keep in if over 2100, or if math score is high (750+)

Relevant Coursework? Financial Economics, Financial Accounting, Business Law, ELS classes,

Statistics (optional), Econometrics (optional)

Study abroad/summer programs? Keep as separate entry, indent

High school record? OK for first year of college; if prestigious high school then ok to keep it to one

line afterwards

Work Experience Section 2-4 experiences including

leadership experience in clubs/sports

One sentence summary, then 3 bullets describing tasks in detail

Use ACTION VERBS Be results-oriented—what did

you accomplish? Was your work shown to senior partners or a large number of people?

Quantify achievements with facts and figures

Skills, Activities, & Interests Section

•Self-explanatory; keep entries to one line each

•Certifications: Financial modeling classes? Experience with Bloomberg? Capital IQ?

•Activities: Community service? Fraternity?

•Interests—important because they reveal who you are as a person•Don’t put business, economics, finance, WSJ•Put unique interests:

•Photography, traveling (where did you travel?), cooking, SPORTS

Before After

Internships & Networking

"Research shows that 70-80% of jobs and internships are found through networking in one way or another. That means only 20-30% of the jobs out there are acquired by simply applying online or through a resume drop."

-WallStreetOasis Networking Guide

Using Tufts Career Connect1st and 2nd year internships will most likely be informalFormal, structured internships are mostly offered to

juniors. Companies usually take 1-2 interns each.

Best way to find an internship? Networking!

The Value of Networking

How to start?• 1st option: Friends & family

• Your family may not be in finance or consulting, but maybe their friends or their friends’ relatives are

• 2nd option: Online: Tufts Career Connect, Tufts Online Community, Tufts Career Network, and LinkedIn• Tufts Career Services has relationships with many employers, and lists employer

contacts on their Tufts Career Connect website under “Employee Directory”• Seniors gain access to full alumni directory on TOC• People sign up for TCN because they want to help• TCN is often outdated, and in finance/consulting turnover is high

• Use LinkedIn to check contact info; if an alumnus listed Lehman Brothers as his employer and now works at Barclays, google for Barclays e-mail format and type in firstname.lastname@barcap.com

• 3rd option: Cold-call

Cold-Calls and Informational Interviews

• E-mail: Make it clear that you are looking to learn more about the industry and their experiences (and not explicitly looking for an internship/job)

• Example• Dear Mr. _________, • My name is ______ and I am a junior at Tufts University

majoring in _____. I have had prior experience at ____ but am interested in learning more about _____ industry. I noticed your name on the Tufts Career Network and was wondering if you’d be willing to spare some time to talk over the phone about your experiences at _____ company. If so, let me know and we can set up an appropriate time.

• Best,• ________

Selling Yourself

• ELEVATOR PITCH: Prepare a one or two minute pitch about yourself and what you are looking to accomplish. Weave your interests, background, and skills into a well thought out “elevator pitch”. Sound focused, but open to suggestions.

• The person you are talking to is probably very busy, so being able to efficiently state what you want to say is key

• Good practice for interviews

• Know the lingo of the industry – but DON’T misuse it

Preparation: Research

• Do preliminary research about the company/industry on the internet.

• Read the Vault Guide (or other guide) on their respective industry.

• Familiarize yourself with the alumnus’s bio (education, work history etc.)

• Keep up to date with recent news about the position you are networking for – use Google Alerts for companies

• Speak with friends or other students who have already done a similar internship.

Preparation

• Always be able to answer the following two questions:

• How are things going at Tufts? • Have some clue of what is going in the community and can

share this in an entertaining way. Alumni are usually curious. • What can I do to help you?

• “I’m interested to hear your opinion on getting my foot in the door when interviews begin”

• “I will be interviewing at your firm and I want to make sure I understand the company culture — could you share some of your experiences?”

• “I’m only a freshman but I want to know what I can do to improve my chances at securing an internship my junior year”

Networking: DO's & DON’Ts

DO’s• Err on the conservative side with greetings and

introductions. You won't get a ding for addressing a recent graduate as “Dear Mr./Ms./Mrs. _______” but you may offend someone by beginning your opening email with “Hey _____.”

• Err on the conservative side when dressing for networking events or informal meetings. You won’t get a ding for wearing a suit and tie, even if it makes you stand out in a casual environment. Beginning sophomore year, you should own at least one set of business attire and keep it pressed and ready.

DO’s• Start networking as soon as possible.

• Use Tufts Career Network. Alumni sign up because they want to help out.

• Be personable. If you have a common interest with someone, use it to break the ice. (Also take note of #2 in the Don'ts section)

• Assume that the person you are talking to is busy. Be concise and do not take too much of their time.

• Keep a list of all of your contacts. Be organized.

• Always thank whoever you are talking to you for their time and help – send follow-up emails!

• Bring your resume to every networking event and conversation, but don’t flash it unnecessarily

DO’s• Proofread every email you send. Write concisely and

make sure there are no errors in your emails.

• Give off subtle clues that you are taking the networking process seriously. It doesn’t hurt to mention that you have had productive face-to-face conversations or office visits with other alumni, so long as you phrase it subtly enough that it doesn’t sound like you are “guilting” the alum to talk to you.

• Keep in touch with your contacts. Send (very occasional) updates on what you are up to professionally, dispense advice (when you are actually qualified to give it), and ask for/perform favors (this is huge)

DON’Ts• Never directly ask the alumnus for help getting a job. Do not

ask them to "put in a good word" or anything along those lines.

• Never offer your resume without being prompted by the alumnus!

• Try not to overplay your similarities with alumni. If you have genuine, hard-earned similarities (e.g. same varsity sport, same fraternity, same a cappella group, …etc.), then use these to your advantage when you introduce yourself and perhaps give the alum a one- or two-line update. However, you should not over-hype the fact that you share the same major, lived in the same dorm, or were members of the same club.

DON’Ts• Don't freak out when a contact doesn’t respond to one

of your emails/calls. People are busy and inboxes are cluttered. Also, keep in mind that it is okay to send a gentle reminder to someone you haven’t heard back from – people appreciate that.

• Don't give up easily. If you are told that the specific company doesn't have any positions available, don't just give up. Inquire about why they aren't looking for any new hires at the moment, and ask when they might need to start hiring again in the future. This gives you an excuse to check back a couple months down the road.

• Do not ask about compensation, hours/week or any other personal topics

Final Tips

Treat your resume like a consistent work-in-progress and always keep a few copies handy

Keep a suit and dress shoes on campus

Networking should occur before, not during the time when you are applying for jobs, so start reaching out early

Speak to your classmates and friends about their experiences

Join business and pre-professional clubs at Tufts as an active member and attend as many networking events as possible

Have more questions?

The Tufts Economics Society Careers Committee can help you with personalized resume feedback and internship questions

Scheduled 30 min. long resume critiques held this Friday, December 2nd from 1-5pm in lower side of Mayer Campus Center

E-mail tufts.ec.society@gmail.com with questions

Thank you for attending!