Does Major=Career?

Does Major=Career?

Are you feeling stress over choosing your major or career path? Many people feel stress because they think that once they select their major, they are forever chained to a related career path. However, statistics show that over 80% of people in today’s workforce are in career fields unrelated to their college majors. What is most important is to identify what transferable skills you can develop in your major, such as communication and analytical skills, which are in high demand by employers across all industries.

 To further dispel this myth—“that major = career”–we got the scoop from 3 professionals who discussed their college majors in relation to their current occupations.

 Melanie Zentner, Campus Recruiter 

(History/Germanic Studies Major)

“During my undergraduate studies, I chose my majors, History and Germanic Studies, based on the classes in which I had preformed the best and found most enjoyable.  At that point I was not thinking about what majors or courses would lead to a particular career and was frankly, uncertain what I wanted to do upon graduation.  However, I knew that a broad-based liberal arts education would serve me well in whatever I decided to do. I am now a campus recruiter at a Big Four Public Accounting firm.  My educational and professional background is very different from that of my colleagues, but it’s that diversity of experience that adds to the depth of our campus recruiting organization. “

Christa Dryjanksi, Senior Business Analyst

(Marketing Major)

“When I chose my major in Marketing, I wasn’t sure where it would lead me. But within 3 weeks of graduation from college, I had a full-time job with Stryker Endoscopy, a company that specializes in Medical Devices for

Federal Government Careers: Why Now is a Great Time to Learn More!

 

Federal Government Careers:  Why Now is a Great Time to Learn More!

If you are starting to explore career options after graduation the federal government, the nation’s largest employer with 1.9 civilian employees, offers a wide range of opportunities across many majors and career interests. 

In fact, despite the current tough economic climate, now is a particularly exciting time to pursue a federal job.  An estimated 270,000 workers will be hired for mission critical jobs by the end of September, 2012!  Additionally, government is changing the way it does business and is promoting more dynamic work environments in order to attract new talent.  Some of the perks include flexible work schedules, signing bonuses, and student loan repayment programs.  There are also federal job opportunities around the country and all over the world!  Nearly 85 percent of federal employees work outside the greater metropolitan Washington D.C. area and over 40,000 work overseas. 

To learn more about a potential future career in public service, join us in the Career Center for a Careers in Federal Government Panel on Tuesday, November 3 from 3 – 5pm in the Student Union with four local representatives who will share the ins and outs of what working for the government is all about, including tips on how to stand out in the job search process. 

Cara Peck is one of our distinguished speakers for the upcoming panel and in her interview below; she offers her personal testimony along with a brief introduction to careers in federal service.

Please describe your career path into federal service.  
Cara:. I started college with the intentions of becoming a veterinarian, graduated undergrad with all the requirements (chemistry, physics, biology….oh my!) and an Animal Science degree but then decided vet school was not for me. Instead, I attended UC Davis where I got a masters degree in Horticulture and Agronomy. While earning this degree, I also studied a lot of sustainable land management ideas and environmental policy. This coursework combined with the interest I have always had in the the mission of the Environmental Protection Agency and a desire to work in the field of federal environmental protection. Straight out of grad school, I was hired to the EPA’s Region 9 office in San Francisco where I worked on resource conservation and recycling.

Key tips from employers to land the job you want!

We’ve received many questions from students regarding what employers really look for in potential employees. So, we polled some of our employer partners who are currently recruiting students for internships and entry level jobs to get their direct feedback and tips. Here’s what they had to say:

JOB SEARCH ETIQUETTE:

Lindsay Pollock, IBM University and Extreme Blue Recruiting

“When meeting with a potential employer, be prepared to talk about your accomplishments and the contributions you can make to the company. Employers want to know about the challenges you have faced and the resolutions you have reached. When attending a career fair, do not simply “look for a job.” Rather, convey your specific interests to recruiters. The former approach signals a lack of motivation, while the latter suggests that you are truly “interested.”

Follow these tips when networking with recruiters and building a resume that stands out:

1. Tout your strong points 
2.  Be clear and concise
3.  Be unique
4.  Show your personality
5.  Be consistent and persistent

Some additional tips for international students:

“As an international student, you’ve invested in a global education and may be unsure of how to search for an internship or full-time job. Here are some tips that we recommend from IBM: 

• Utilize your career center to research job opportunities, review your resume and participate in practice (mock) interviews
• Know the facts about immigration laws and visa employment regulations. For instance, do you know what Optional Practical Training (OPT) is, and whether or not you are eligible? *Career Center note: At San Jose State University you can obtain this information from the International Program Office: http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/ipss/
• Network! Actively create connections and let people know you are job searching. Build relationships with faculty and fellow students. Attend networking events and join professional associations.
• Gain experience through internships, externships, campus employment, student organizations, and volunteering. Internships are a potential gateway to a full time opportunity with an employer. For instance, most of IBM China’s full time entry-level hires were interns in the IBM China Blue Pathway Internship Program (http://campus.51job.com/ibm/index.htm ). If you want to work for IBM China, first apply to be a Blue Pathway intern during your junior year. 
•  Consider international employment. Do you have personal connections to a non-US country or are you interested in gaining international experience? IBM has a vast array of job opportunities around the world for students with global education and experiences. Visit: www.ibm.com/start/internationalstudents  to learn more and apply!

 

 MAKING A GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION:

Sara Moghadam, Group Campus Recruiter, Target

 “Great eye contact, smile, personal brand and hand shake create strong first impressions. Also, come to career fairs with 3 things that you’d like to share with a representative to highlight yourself. Great examples of this include things you are doing on campus outside of the classroom, your personal leadership style (strengths), what type of work environment you enjoy or see yourself in etc. Being prepared will also help you feel confident.”

 

 

Niki Baccam, University Manager, Cisco

 

1. Do some homework to learn about the company prior to the job fair
2.  Find out what openings are available and review the job description in advance *Career Center note: you can find a listing of all job fair participants and positions by logging into SpartaJobs: www.careercenter.sjsu.edu
3. Show some enthusiasm when talking to an employer. Share your passion about the industry or technology
4. Professional attire—dress for the job you hope to get
5.  Don’t be overly aggressive when talking to employers (be yourself)

Now that you have some tips for success be sure that you use them to your advantage and meet with these employers in person at our next career fair (IBM, Target & Cisco as well 80+ other employers will be in attendance): 

 Fall Job and Internship Fair
This Thursday, 10/15/09

12:00pm – 5:00pm located in the SJSU Event Center

This event is open to current SJSU students and registered alumni at 12:00pm.
Please bring your current tower card or a Career Center membership card. **The fair is open at 2:00pm for community members and reciprocal CSU students.  Please bring your Career Center membership card.

Job Search 2.0: Branding yourself for success workshop

 Job Search 2.0: Branding yourself for success

 Employers are increasingly using social media and social networking sites such as LinkedIn,VisualCV, Facebook, and more to recruit and source for job candidates. In fact, according to a recent CareerBuilder.com survey of 2,667  Human Resources professionals 45% indicated that they would use social networking or social media tools to gain more information about candidates.

This workshop is designed to help you learn tips and strategies for developing and managing your personal brand on-line.

 

 

Employer Perspective: Job Fair Success!

By: Kelli Greene, University Recruiter, Yahoo!

Putting yourself in our shoes may be a great way to understand the importance of preparing for a career fair. You have only a few minutes to make a great impression, so you’ll want to practice and polish your personal brand before stepping into the recruiting arena!

When a company makes the decision to attend a career fair, there is much effort made to make sure our presence is top notch and the results meet our expectations. That means we want to shine and be well prepared. Companies put a lot of resources into attending career fair events including the cost of attending the event, presentation materials, administrative costs, travel costs and most of all, the time recruiters and hiring managers spend representing their company.
When you make a decision to attend a career fair, that same level of preparation is equally as important as this may be your only opportunity to really make a solid impression on recruiters and hiring managers. Take the time to be fully prepared so your presence is impressive, and you achieve your desired result — the chance to interview.

So, let’s make sure you’ve got everything on your professionalism checklist!

Common Job Fair Myths

With two upcoming  job and internship fairs, we want to take the opportunity to address some common job fair myths in order to help you make the most of your job and internship search.

Myth: “The last job fair I went to, the employers just told me to apply on-line, why bother going?” 

 Fact: At a job fair, if employers ask you to apply on-line do not get discouraged!  Many employers may have internal recruiting restrictions that require all candidates to apply on-line.  On-line applications enable employers to electronically and systematically keep track of all applicants as required by their Affirmative Action program.

 Job fairs provide you with an opportunity to meet face-to-face and make a connection with hiring managers and recruiters, if you make a good impression, they are more likely to remember you among the other applicants!  This is also a good time to ask the recruiter if there is someone you can follow-up with after submitting the application on-line. 

How can the Career Center help me? To make the best impact, take the time to research the companies and openings that interest you, revise your resume, and prepare your one minute commercial.   

Attend one of our Resume 101 or Interviewing Skills workshops to learn key tips on how to craft an effective resume along with proven strategies for navigating the interview process, see our calendar for more info.  Also, our online resume tool kit provides an overview on resume writing in only 8 minutes.  

 Myth: “With the crowds and long lines at the fair, I may only have a minute or so to talk with an employer – that is not enough time for the employer to assess candidates and for me to convey my qualifications!”

Are you ready for the job fair?

Are you ready for the upcoming Accounting/Finance Job & Internship Fair? Presenting yourself effectively to an employer takes preparation and practice! Review the slideshow below for our Job Fair Success Workshop which contains tips and strategies for how to work a job fair effectively as well as how to prepare your one minute commercial! Impress your top choice employers with your polish and professionalism!

Job Fair Success Workshop 09

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Welcome Back!

Welcome Back to SJSU!

The Career Center is excited to kick off the new academic year! You may be wondering what we do at the Career Center and how we can help you. So to save you some time and to get you accurate information, we have posted the answers to the top 5 questions asked of our front desk students.

Good luck with the new academic year!

1. What services do you offer at the Career Center?

Our most popular services include:

• SpartaJobs: Register on SpartaJobs to gain access to internships, part-time/full-time jobs, and on-campus opportunities exclusively for SJSU students. *Registering with the Career Center is separate from your registration and use of  MySJSU.
• Drop-In advising: Get help choosing a major, starting your internship search, exploring different career options, reviewing your resume, or with tips for your job search. Typically, drop-in advising is a 10-15 minute session. No appointment is necessary, check out our calendar for dates and times.
• One-on-one counseling: Meet with one of our career consultants to discuss your  job search, major exploration, internships and more.
• Employer connections: We host Job Fairs and other employer connection events where you can gain access to numerous organizations.
• Workshops: Attend workshops on topics such as- resume, interviewing, internships, job search, and more. For more details, see our  calendar.
• Virtual Tools: Learn and develop skills with our online virtual tools including: Exploring Majors and Careers Tutorial, Resume Tool Kit, and Perfect Interview. Connect with us via our blog and our Facebook Fanpage for career-related information from employers, students, and counselors.

2.  How do I sign into my Career Center account?

To sign-in to the website, first time users should use their Student ID # as both their username AND password.

By registering with us you not only get access to many of our services online, but you also enable us to communicate with you about upcoming events, changes in our schedule, and updates.

3. Do you offer services after graduation? Upon graduation you can fill out our membership application to receive one complimentary semester immediately after your graduation.  Alumni may pay a reduced fee for continued membership. See our Eligibilty section for more details.

4. How can I find an internship? The Career Center has a variety of online resources in addition to our general services including:

Didn’t get the summer internship? What’s your plan B?

 What’s YOUR “Plan B”?

You may have started an internship search sometime during the end of spring semester or during summer. Some of you may have been surprised by how competitive it can be to secure a summer internship. For those of you who landed an internship–congrats!  But if you haven’t found the right internship yet, don’t worry you can still use this summer to help yourself out in the long term.  

Here are 4 things that you can do if you didn’t get the summer internship:

1). Do an honest assessment of yourself and develop skills necessary to gain an internship

The easiest and most efficient way to assess yourself is to review the job descriptions of the internships that you applied to. If you see that you are missing large chunks or important aspects of the skill sets from the description:

• Consider developing those skills over the summer either on your own or through classes.
• Think about how you can target your Fall semester class projects to increase your aptitude in those areas.
• Review some fall internships and determine if they would be better fits for you based on your skills and experience. Remember, that you  can develop skills and apply to an internship that you missed out on for the following summer.

10 Interviewing Don’ts! Tips from Voce Communications

Since many students and new graduates are applying for jobs and internships this summer we have been checking in with various employers on their tips for success in landing these coveted positions.  Today’s tips come from Voce Communications, a marketing and communications consultancy based in Sunnyvale.  As an organization that offers internships and career opportunities to new graduates, they have seen some less than professional behavior during the interview process and have shared some examples to help you AVOID these circumstances and find success in the interview process. 

10 Interviewing Don’ts!  Tips from Voce Communications

We saw a post written last week by a PR colleague named Buck talking about a particularly poor interview experience he had. This really hit home with us because as members of the recruiting committee here at Voce, part of our job is to screen and interview applicants. Lately we’ve been focused on filling internship positions and have definitely noticed that some students are better prepared than others.

After we saw Buck’s follow-up post on 10 Don’ts for PR job applicants, we thought it would helpful to give some additional tips to students, based on our experience, that will help them in their interviews. In fact, given the current state of the economy, we know there are a lot of students out there searching for jobs in PR, so we decided to do a short summer series focused on the topic. Over the next few weeks you’ll see a couple more posts from us focused on giving students tips on getting into the industry. Today we start with some things to keep in mind NOT to do in a PR interview.