Tag Archives: Education
Students: Looking for Something to do this Weekend?
Entry by Pat Patterson
Are you looking for something to do this weekend? Why not polish up your resume? Now, I bet you’re all thinking, “Yeah, right…I thought this blog entry was going to be about some fun event or promotion.” Just keep reading…
I’m not suggesting you spend all weekend working on your resume, but it may be a good idea to add recent internships that you have not yet added. The more time that elapses after your internship, the more you will forget important details. You never know when an opportunity may arise when you will need to submit your resume, especially given the fact that college hiring and recruiting is expected to increase:
NACE’s current hiring index shows college hiring at 126.4, compared with 86.8 last year at this time. The October poll also found that nearly half of responding employers expect to increase …
Employers: Is Your Organization Ready for Your Intern’s Arrival?
Entry by Pat Patterson
Preparing your office for an intern’s arrival
If you have already decided you would like an intern or even have hired someone to begin soon, consider following these steps:
Orientation
Before an intern reports to work for the first time, it is recommended that the employer establish an orientation schedule. This helps the student feel like he or she is a member of a professional team and cultivates a sense of camaraderie.
Be sure your plan includes the following:
Confirmation of intern’s work schedule Introduction to staff Meeting with intern mentor Meetings with individuals at the organization with whom the intern will interact frequently Tour of the facility HR paperwork Paperwork for intern’s academic credit Parking arrangements Discussing project work in detail, assigning priority and setting deadlines Arranging any necessary training
Anything I left out? Leave your …
International Students: Orienting Yourself to American Business Practices
Entry by Pat Patterson
If you are an international student looking for an internship in Indiana, the following resources may help you adapt to American business culture, etiquette and communication:
Doing Business in the USA – Contains information on business structures, management style, meetings, team work, communication styles, women in business, business dress code and successful entertaining in the United States Business Etiquette in the United States – Offers information on cultural aspects of doing business in America About.com: English as 2nd Language – Provides information for ESL students on beginning English, intermediate English and advanced English. Topics include pronunciation, speaking, grammar, vocabulary, listening skills, writing skills, teaching English, reading skills and business English InternationalStudent.com Resumé Writing Center – A comprehensive overview of resumé writing in the United States Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) – Offers resumé tips for international students JobWeb.com – Highlights differences between resumés …
Employers: Hosting an International Student Intern
Entry by Pat Patterson; from the October INTERNnetwork
For some reason or another, some employers are hesitant to hire international students as interns. Gary Beaulieu, Butler University director of internship and career services, believes many businesses have false preconceptions about hiring international students. For example, “many employers think there is a lot of additional paperwork involved, which simply is not true,” he emphasizes.
An issue of the BU INTL – News dispels some of the myths commonly associated with hiring international students. Here are the truths:
International students DO NOT need a green card to intern. Students who maintain an F-1 or J-1 visa status are permitted to intern in their major field of study by federal regulation (up to 12 – or possibly 29 months – for F-1 status and up to 18 months for J-1 status). There is NO excessive paperwork needed to hire an international intern. The …
Just Give It Time
Entry by Brittney Horn, Membership Intern, Greater Lafayette Commerce
When I was younger, I went through phases where I would change my mind about what career I wanted. I had dreams of becoming a hair stylist, chef, nurse, teacher – you name it, I wanted to be it. However, once I got to college, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do.
I went with the “undecided” route during my first semester of college to try to figure out what the heck I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I first decided to try out interior design, mainly because I liked the idea of being able to decorate my own house for free. Once enrolled in one interior design class, I realized that this was not for me. Not knowing what direction to take, I began to feel overwhelmed. How was I supposed to figure out …
Indiana Chamber Launches Higher Education Web Site
Entry by Pat Patterson
For all career services professionals – today, the Indiana Chamber launched a new web site, Achieve Indiana, focused on higher education in Indiana:
The Indiana Chamber of Commerce seeks to advance policy innovation and change in higher education finance, management and instructional delivery to substantially increase the number of students who complete postsecondary education. Currently, the Indiana Chamber is leading Indiana’s participation in the Lumina Productivity Initiative, a national program aimed at increasing the percentage of college graduates in the U.S. from 40% to 60% by 2025. The Indiana initiative, funded by the Lumina Foundation for Education and conducted in partnership with the Indiana Commission for Higher Education and the Governor’s Office, is focused specifically on performance-based funding, engagement of university trustees and productivity of regional campuses.
From the Achieve Indiana site, you can download a new higher education report, Crossing the Starting Line: An Examination …
Career Fairs 101: Avoid the Herd Mentality
Entry by Pat Patterson
After attending a few career fairs this fall, it seems like a lot of students attend career fairs with a group of their friends. That in itself poses no problem, but showing up to a career fair with your friends and walking around the career fair with your friends are two different things. What I am getting at is – it is important to navigate your way through a career fair alone.
First off, think about the reasons that you may walk around a career fair in a group. The group acts as a ‘crutch.’ You may be nervous, unconfident, or unsure who to approach at a career fair, and your friends may make you feel more comfortable. And that is how employers may perceive such a group of students – recruiters may see such students as unconfident, unsure, or unprepared (not necessarily admirable traits for …
Immersing Yourself in Career Services
Entry by Jake Zielinski, Peer Career Advisor, Wabash College Career Services
I’m Jake Zielinski, a junior Rhetoric major from South Bend, IN. I’m a Wally with high entrepreneurial spirits. In the last year I have been involved in various business activities and programs; however, I’m not exactly sure where I would like to be in a few years. Dealing with business, social environments, traveling, and negotiation are all very important aspects in whatever my future shall bring.
During last summer, I was fortunate enough to work for the Wabash College Career Service office. My official title was: Event Management Intern. Within the time allotted, I was able to collaborate with two fellow interns, Brady Young and Bobby Wade, to coordinate the 5th Annual Wabash College Community Fair. Being a large event, we started preparing months in advance. Duties included communicating with local business owners to increase event participation, marketing the …
Educators: Preparing Your Students for the Internship/Job Hunt
Entry by Jackson Ding, Peer Career Advisor, Wabash College Career Services
My name is Jackson Ding and I am a peer advisor at the Career Services Office at Wabash College, a liberal arts college for men in Crawfordsville, IN. Here at Wabash, we, Career Services, organize many events throughout the year to help students with career development and graduate school application.
The project I am working on now is a four-week long internship/job class. Prepared by career services staff and peer advisors, these once-a-week classes teach students various aspect of job hunting, including job search, resume and cover letters, and interview preparation. Offered during lunch/dinner time with the company of free pizzas, these classes are often well received among our students. For example, the last session attracted more than 5% of the total student population. We also regularly bring in guest speakers to give lectures. In the …
Career Fairs 101: After the Career Fair
Entry by Pat Patterson
Students
After a career fair (From the 2010 September INTERNnetwork):
Jot down your notes and organize the information you collected (including contact information – it is a good idea to note where you met certain individuals and what you talked about), write thank you notes to those you met, apply for positions you are interested in, and follow up with employers about applications you submitted.
Remember, making a positive impression with people greatly influences your internship and career search. When recruiters sift through resumes and decide who they plan to interview, you are more likely to stand out if the recruiters remember who you are and the interest you showed in their particular organization.
Employers
After the Career Fair (From the National Association of Colleges and Employers NACE)
Post-fair activities do help with your recruiting efforts. Here are some ideas:
Host a networking …
Students: Internship Experience May Increase Your Salary
Entry by Pat Patterson
As you may already know, there are many benefits of interning, including:
Enhancing your educational experience, testing out a new organization or industry, exposing yourself to multiple departments within an organization, discovering your talents and aspects of a job you find appealing, gaining real-world job experience, learning new skills, building your resumé, making new connections, and setting yourself up for full-time employment.
In addition, according to NACE’s 2010 Student Survey, students from the Class of 2010 who had internship experience received higher average starting salaries than students who had no internship experience:
In terms of starting salary offers, there is a definite financial advantage for students who have internship experience, according to results of NACE’s 2010 Student Survey. Overall, students in the Class of 2010 who had internships received an average salary offer of $41,580. Meanwhile, their classmates who didn’t take internships received an average starting …
Career Fair Game Plan
Entry by Pat Patterson
Last Friday I posted an entry about how to prepare for a career fair. You also need to lay out a game plan of the organizations you will visit and the order in which you will visit them. I would recommend visiting those organizations you are less interested in first to build up your confidence when you speak with those recruiters from organizations you are more excited about.
Here is some advice to help guide you during the career fair:
DURING a career fair:
Arrive early, dress professionally, have your resume, portfolio, and a pen ready, proceed to the organizations that you identified you are interested in, be aware of your posture and body language, relax, be confident, be approachable – SMILE, offer a firm, confident handshake to recruiters with eye contact, execute your *elevator speech, ask any questions you prepared, and make sure to collect …
College Touring: Don’t Forget the Career Services Office
Entry by Pat Patterson
In the current competitive job market, students need to begin thinking about and planning for their potential careers early on in their college experience. Since students go to college to attain an education that will eventually be used to secure a career, students (and parents) should explore each college’s career services office on their campus visits. A recent news release from Wake Forest University echoes this sentiment:
As high school students and their parents begin the annual fall ritual of campus visits, experts are recommending that families make the career office one of the first stops on any college tour. “In this competitive job market, the tools and resources that a career office provide have become nearly as important as academics when choosing a college or university,” said Patrick Sullivan, Associate Director of Experiential Education at Wake Forest University.
In fact, college internships can be one …
Students: Preparing for a Career Fair
Entry by Pat Patterson
Fall career fairs are beginning to take place as early as next week, and recruiters look positively on candidates who show up to career fairs prepared. But what does that mean exactly? Here is some advice to help guide you:
BEFORE a career fair you should prepare by:
Keeping up on industry/market trends, keeping up on current events in your areas of interest, pre-registering for the career fair, researching the participating employers and their opportunities,
– General company information: industry, market outlook, products and services, history and corporate culture, organizational mission and goals, key financial statistics, organizational structure (divisions, subsidiaries, etc.), and locations (main and branch).
– Employment: career paths and advancement opportunities, benefits, diversity initiatives, current internship and job opportunities. identifying the employers you plan on speaking with and the positions you plan on applying for, preparing resume(s) (creating specific, tailored resumes for different …
Employers: Recruiting Millennials
Entry by Pat Patterson
Before you pack up your materials to begin recruiting interns on college campuses, take some time to strategize how you will market your organization. More importantly, think about the characteristics of your target audience – Millennials, those born between 1977 and 1998. The more you know about Millennials, the more you can tailor your recruiting efforts to entice their interests. Here are some Key Characteristics of Today’s Adolescents:
Self-reliance – They believe that becoming successful is up to them, and they are not depending on others for help. Finding a good job is a priority. They are the young navigators. They must chart their own course and captain their own ship: “It’s up to me to create my own well-being.” They value personal experience and are prone to seek out critical thinkers. They are independent and emotionally and intellectually open. They strongly value individual rights: …