Career Services on TV!

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By Rebecca Wu

KSDK -- Saint Louis University student Dan Finucane is not only concerned about finals next week, but others have questioned his chances of getting a job even when the economy was good.
"Being a theology and philosophy major, I've always been told, 'What are you going to do with that?'" Finucane says.

Kim Reitter, SLU's Director of Career Services, says the key is to start as soon as you can.
"When the economy is good it typically takes three to six months to find a job," she says. "When the economy is not so good, it can take six to 12 months."

Reitter says jobs are available. In fact, job postings at SLU's career center were up 55 percent in October compared to the same time last year.

During winter break, Reitter recommends students work with career counselors, who will be on campus, to develop resumes. She also says to network with family, friends and neighbors while at home. Statistics show 70 percent of jobs are found through networking. And don't be afraid to contact potential companies.

"A lot of candidates who are out there looking believe no one hires between Thanksgiving and Christmas," Reitter says. "So if you are working on it, you have a better chance of getting and finding a position."

As for Finucane, he still has one more year before graduating. He's confident the tips he picked up when he worked at career services will pay off.

"I'm trying to network right now just with my former high school," Finucane says. "And just keeping in touch with them and trying to make sure I'm keeping my feelers out there for getting recommendations or ideas for jobs."

You know what you have to offer an employer, but what will you get in return?

Considering the current economy and the necessity of adopting a more flexible (and global) job search, I thought I'd share advice from Ronald Mitchell, founder of gottamentor.com and a graduate of Harvard Business School (see the article at Gotta Mentor Advice):

What I would do as a college senior looking for a job in this environment
By: Ronald Mitchell
Updated : 10/15/2008

There are no simple answers if you are looking for a job as a college senior right now, but here are three things you should consider:
1) Take a job where you will learn the most
Pre-1980, college students took jobs where they thought they would get the most job security. They went to the big companies like IBM, GM and GE. In the 80`s and 90`s college seniors started to focus on where they could make the most money like Wall Street. In the 2000`s, students started to focus on where they could enjoy the best lifestyle like the dot coms. Well today, the focus should be on where you can learn the most. This may mean that you make less money and have less flexibility. But in the long run the skills that you develop will set you free and enable you to chart a career path that you will have control over.
2) Go Abroad
What I am going to say here, may seem contradictory to what I have written above but it is not. Get your butt out of the country. This may mean studying for an extra year or taking some menial type of job abroad. In this case the type of job does not matter. Don`t worry about what you learn on the job, because learning about a different culture is just as important. Learning a language is just as (if not more) important. Tops on my list to go to would be China, India and Brazil. Big markets that are only going to become more important to the global economy.
3) Don`t cop out and go to law or business school right away.
I know that many of you are taking your LSATs, GMATs and GREs. Don`t cop out! Even in a good economy, I would tell you to work for a few years before going to graduate school. These schools will always be there for you. Once you go and saddle yourself with even more school debt, you will have even less opportunity to find or do the things you want to do. You have very little risk as a young person to go and try something different.

Job hunting in a down economy

I've had students express concerns about the job hunt in this questionable economy. The main piece of advice I can give is start looking early and network, network, network. Networking is a crucial part of any job search, especially when jobs may be in shorter supply than normal. If you're graduating in May '09, you should start your job search and networking now.

Get in touch with anyone who you think may be able to assist you or put you in touch with someone - your friends, your parents' friends, your friends' parents, aunts & uncles, professors, your neighbors at home, older siblings, former internship supervisors... you get the idea. Also join some professional organizations in career areas of interest, attend any networking events you can locate, conduct some informational interviews with professionals in your areas of interest.

Anything you can think of to establish contact with someone who may be able to help is worth trying. The average job search can take 3 to 6 months, but very possibly longer in a bad economy. Don't delay - get started now!

Review of Think Intern: The Internship Guidebook

A new guidebook reached the Career Services office this week: Think Intern (www.thinkintern.com).

At first glance the front cover looks a little childish, but the information inside is really great (and much more modern). Two of my favorite articles are Major Decisions: What Can I Do with My Major? and Internship Reports, Real Students: Real Internships.

What do I like most about them?

The first one, What Can I Do with My Major?, has real life examples about students who majored in various fields like Nursing, Communications, Art History, Accounting and Spanish. It gives you the straight information about what internships they had, their first job and their current job. People really do move around a lot! It also provides the following tips:

- Major in your passion
- Majors are just the beginning
- Think beyond the obvious

The second article, Real Students: Real Internships, is also very useful. Found on page 16-17, it features an interview with a Business Management major named Stephen who landed an internship with The National Hockey League, LLP. Stephen is very truthful about how he found the NHL internship and how he was able to live in NYC. I also like this piece of advice he gives:

START YOUR INTERNSHIP SEARCH EARLY!

Overall, I would definitely recommend the guidebook to students looking for internships or unsure of their major. I guess the saying is true: You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, because the outside of this book is very deceiving! (or maybe I'm just a graphic design snob ;) )

You can pick up a free copy of Think Intern at Career Services in BSC 331 (Student Success Center).

The First 10 Minutes: Job Interviewing

In the spirit of OCR (on-campus recruiting) and the many students I've seen coming into Career Services the past two weeks looking for internships and jobs this post is dedicated to the job interview.

People say that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. The CAM Report says this is especially true in job interviews. Although they might feel like an eternity, interviews are actually really short periods of time when it comes to learning about a person. The CAM Report recently wrote an article that stated that candidates are chosen for jobs in the first 10 minutes of an interview! Can you believe that?

Here are some tips to help you ace the first 10 minutes (taken from CAM REPORT, October 2008):

• BE ENTHUSIASTIC Confidence is key.

  "Make good eye contact, offer a firm handshake, and demonstrate good posture. Be crisp, clear, and succinct when responding to questions and talking about your skills."

• DRESS FOR SUCCESS When you look great, you feel great.

  "Wear your best business suit, shine your shoes, cover tattoos, clean up facial hair, and make yourself otherwise presentable."

• BE PREPARED Know the company and demonstrate your knowledge through asking questions. Know yourself. Go to an interview ready to share examples of previous work and school experience.

FUNNY "How to find an internship" video!

This "How to find an internship" video is hilarious! I have no idea why the student is holding chicken legs/squid at the end. Maybe he didn't have any luck finding a Kung Fu internship!

Although I loved the fun spin on the internship search, I think the video presents some problems. First of all, when looking for an internship it is important to find something that interests you just as the video says, however it's not always helpful to pick an internship site/industry out of thin air.

The video presented a student who randomly decided on a kung fu internship after looking through magazines... in real life, it's important to figure out your major goals in wanting to land an internship before doing a search. Maybe you want an internship to help you figure out if the career path you are on is the right one for you...aka test-driving a career. Or an internship could be a stepping stone into an organization where you really want to get a job. Your internship goal could be more open too. Perhaps you are looking for a rotating internship that will show you the ins and outs of different sectors of a company.

Internships are great ways to meet new people and also help you develop communication and professional skills which are HUGE!

Again, I thought the film was funny, but tell me what you think!

-Claire