February 14, 2007 - Working Beyond Expectations

Working Beyond Expectations!
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
February 14, 2007 Vol. 1, Number 2

Welcome to the Career Services electronic newsletter: Working Beyond Expectations! We hope that you find this newsletter both informative and useful as you prepare for the next level of your life.

A Note from the Director, Mr. Mark Anthony: "You came to college to get a good education that leads to a good job or admission to graduate school. But, there are no guarantees. The Office of Career Services can help you prepare by obtaining the skills, abilities, opportunities, experiences, and tools to achieve your goals. This newsletter will keep you informed of how we can help you."
Quote of the Week
Editor's Note
Career News
Coming Up! Join Us!
IUP Featured Alumnus
FR/SO/JR/SR Tip
Let's Hear What Your Colleagues Are Doing!
Did You Ever Consider a Career In...

Quote of the Week

“Internship experience gives the college student an advantage in the job market because employers prize relevant work experience.” - Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director.

Editor's Note

Editor: Tracy VanHorn-Juart, Office of Career Services

Working Beyond Expectations is a bi-weekly publication provided by the Office of Career Services. Its intent is to inform readers of the events that are available through the office. These events are designed specifically to enhance the educational experience and to prepare the student for their next level of achievement. Whether the next level be freshman to sophomore, classroom to internship, undergraduate studies to graduate studies, or student to full-time employee, the Career Services Office offers to assist you in making a smooth and prepared transition.

If you have any questions , or, if you have recommendations for enhancing this resource, please contact me via email at tracyvan@iup.edu.

Career News

NEW: Instant Messaging at the Office of Career Services!!!

Tired of hiking through campus just to ask one simple question? Now you can do it from your own home! Ask us a question or schedule an appointment (excluding mock interviews) online through instant messenger.

To get started, add the following buddies to your buddy list:

IUPCareerSvc1 and IUPCareerSvc2

For additional information, visit: www.iup.edu/career/im

This service is available during regular office hours:

Monday: 8:00am – 4:30pm

Tuesday: 8:00am – 7:00pm

Wednesday: 8:00am- 7:00pm

Thursday: 8:00am- 4:30pm

Friday: 8:00am-4:30pm

Coming Up! Join Us!

Mock Interviews

This program is designed to allow you to practice interviewing in a simulated setting, one-on-one with a trained mock interviewer. Immediate feedback is offered on your performance. Mock interview packets must be purchased in the Career Development Center before interviews can be scheduled.

The last day to purchase a Mock Interview Packet from the Career Development Center will be Friday, April 13, 2007. Please purchase your packets well in advance so that you might be able to prepare for what we hope will be a great experience.

JOB FAIRS

WANT TO MAKE CONTACTS WITH LOTS OF EMPLOYERS IN ONE PLACE, ON ONE DAY? Check out these job fair opportunities!

WestPACS - March 22, 10 am - 4 pm at the ExpoMart in Monroeville. The premier job fair in western Pennsylvania features over 100 employers seeking to fill full-time, internship and co-op positions in business, government, social services, health care, and more. Pre-registration is free but you must register on-line at www.westpacs.org by March 16. If you need transportation, please call Career Services at 724-357-2235 by March 16.

PERC - The Pittsburgh Educational Recruiting Consortium will hold its annual job fair for teachers on Thursday, March 29 at the Expo-Mart in Monroeville. School districts from across the U.S. will participate to fill positions for the 2007-2008 academic year. Pre-registration is encouraged; the fee is $5.00 (cash or money order only) with a deadline of March 20. On-site registration fee is $25 (cash only) at the ExpoMart. Call Career Services for more information or to request a registration form.

IUP Teacher Recruiting Fair - Scheduled for Tuesday, April 17 from 1 - 5 pm at the Memorial Field House. There is no pre-registration and no fee for candidates; however, IUP students and alumni are encouraged to register and post their resumes on CollegeCentral Network so school districts can review resumes before the job fair. A list of participating school districts is available at www.iup.edu/career/TeacherFair and the list will be updated weekly as new districts register.

WestPACS Arts Career Day - March 28, 3:30 - 7:30 pm at Grove City College, Grove City, PA. This career conference and networking event will include panel presentations in the fields of Advertising/Public Relations, Applied/Fine Arts, Broadcast/Film/Television, Performing Arts/Arts Management, and Writing/Publishing, and a reception where students and panelists can interact informally. Pre-registration is $5 by March 23, and on-site registration is $10 at the door (cash only). For more information, contact Career Services, or visit the WestPACS web site at www.westpacs.org.

@pgh.café 2007: Not Your Typical Job Fair
Meet a roomful of entry-level job candidates at @pgh.café, the premiere technology job and internship fair in the region. This informal and interactive event -- complete with refreshments, music and prizes -- allows you to network with approximately 300 job seekers across a wide range of career interests and disciplines. Whether you are looking to fill a position, secure an intern or build your résumé bank, this is one job fair you can't afford to miss. Sponsored by PNC. Presented in partnership with the Regional Internship Center.
www.pghtech.org/networks/education/events/.asp Visit the Office of Career Service's website to register: www.iup.edu/career.

Night For Networking - March 13 & 14, 2007
There's no denying that when it comes to job hunting, WHOM you know is AS important as WHAT you know, right? And we are all aware that IUP grads get a great education, so what they really need are the right connections.

The Office of Alumni Relations and the Office of Career Services in conjunction with the Harrisburg and Philadelphia Area Alumni Chapters invite you to two Nights for Networking. The purpose of this event is to make connections!

The Harrisburg event will be held on March 13 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at the Dixon Center. The Philadelphia event will be on March 14 from 6-8 p.m. at Dave & Buster's in Penn's Landing.

Please join the Alumni Host Committees for these important nights of networking and help make connections that could lead to internships or job opportunities. Business Casual is appropriate (no jeans). Bring plenty of resumes!

Visit the Office of Career Service's website to register: www.iup.edu/career. Registrations must be submitted by Friday, March 9, 2007.

IUP Featured Alumnus

Kristin Eicholtz

Graduate- Indiana University of Pennsylvania, M.A. in Student Affairs in Higher Education (2005)
Undergraduate - Marywood University, B.S. in Elementary Education (2003)

Share your Undergraduate Experience

To this day I reflect back on the experiences I had as an undergraduate student and how they paved the way to my future. As a freshmen, I declared my major as elementary education (because that's what my parents did) and played Division III Women's Basketball. It wasn't until I gained career related experience through student teaching, began to network with friends and administrators on campus, and got involved beyond athletics that I was comfortable with where I was going after graduation. Student teaching showed me that elementary education was not where my heart was, and networking/on-campus involvement opened my head and heart to where I should be going. It was also very important for me to create a mentor relationship with my Director of Student Activities. Through listening to her experiences and her guidance, I got my foot in the direction of Graduate School, working towards a field I was very passionate about, Student Affairs.

Did you work while you were a student?

With classes, basketball, and on-campus leadership opportunities, I was unable to work during the academic year. However, I spent two summers working retail at a local mall and two summers gaining career related experience as an instructor and advisor at Penn State's Summer Study Program (a pre-college experience for high school students). I'm very thankful for these jobs because they provided me with both the transferable and content skills necessary to market myself on my resume.

What are you doing now?

Currently, I am a Career Advisor and Instructor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia (Go Hokies!).

How did your experiences at IUP (both academic and/or work experience) assist you in deciding what to do post undergraduate graduation?

My time spent at IUP was very worthwhile. Once again I paid close attention to my academics, but made sure to get involved and gain career related experiences. I was fortunate that my graduate program, Student Affairs in Higher Education (SAHE), afforded me opportunities to hold an assistantship and experience two internships. From 2003-2005 I served as a graduate assistant in Career Services, which truly opened my eyes to a field of interest. I also served one of my internships in the Office of Leadership Development. And as you can see these are two integral parts of my current career!

Where do you see yourself five years from now?

Doing what I'm passionate about, working with college students and getting involved in my surrounding community! And who knows, maybe move closer to my family and friends in Staten Island, New York.

What would be my one piece of advice?

NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK! It is not necessarily what you know, as much as it is WHO you know. Looking back on it all, I'm thankful for the relationships I've made and where they have gotten me. If you have any questions that you would like to ask me, please feel free to e-mail me at kristin3@vt.edu. Good luck with your career choices!

FR/SO/JR/SR Tip

by: Kate Cook, Graduate Assistant, Office of Career Services

Freshman Tip:

Get to know your academic advisor. He or she will provide you with essential information such as how to schedule classes, where to go if you need to locate a service on campus, or if you have particular questions about your major.

Sophomore Tip:

Make use of study resources on campus. Find out about and use labs, tutors, videos, computer programs, and alternate texts. Sign up for an orientation session in the campus library and computer facilities. Get to know your professors and advisors. Ask questions. "I didn't know," or "I didn't understand" is never an excuse.

Junior Tip:

Have you volunteered yet? Volunteer experience on a resume speaks volumes in regards to showing dedication, respect, and time-management skills. There are many different ways to gain volunteer experience, but one simple way is to log on to www.iup.edu/servicelearning to access the different volunteer opportunities available to IUP students.

Senior Tip:

Unsure about what type of career you would like to pursue, or would be good at? Take a career test to find out. They are simple and you can usually take them right on campus. Just keep in mind, career tests are just a stepping stone. Once you narrow down your career choices, you should continue to do research about those careers.

Let's Hear What Your Colleagues Are Doing!

by: Eric Ofchinick
Human Resource Management
Indiana University of Pennsylvania

My name is Eric Ofchinick and I am an undergraduate student majoring in Human Resource Management. I am currently a senior and am currently taking 15 credits. I plan to graduate this May (2007). My experiences at IUP include working as a resident assistant, working at career services as the web administrator, and I am also the president of the Disney College Program.

In either the fall or spring of the next school year, I hope to go to the University of Central Florida to study Hospitality Management. The classes I’ve taken so far here at IUP especially in Eberly in relation to my activities above aloud me to practice and get some experience in the business world by managing students and learning about individuals.

One of my favorite classes; however, would be Human Resource Training and Development with Dr. Ashamalla. I took this class last semester and it is one of my favorites because it is my favorite area of Human Resources and it taught me the processes in order to conduct development in the workplace. I was able to use the skills from this class and implement this into the Disney College Program here at IUP where I developed an "orientation" session for IUP students participating in this program; therefore, giving me practice, once again, here at school in an organization that will help prepare me for the future.

Current job responsibilities:

Resident Assistant - Office of Housing and Residence Life
Web Technician - Office of Career Services
Trailblazer "Tour Guide" - Office of Admissions
Disney College Program - Office of Career Services

Did You Ever Consider a Career In...

by: James Amato, Graduate Assistant, Office of Career Services

...Elementary Education? According to the Professional Studies in Education homepage (http://old.www.iup.edu/pse/) and the IUP 2006-2007 Undergraduate Catalog, the Elementary Education program at IUP is designed to provide learning experiences that will assist students in developing into highly competent and effective teachers grades K-6. Students are able to expand their knowledge through course work and field experiences which embody content, knowledge of liberal studies, pedagogy, curriculum, human development and learning, and a historical and philosophical basis to under gird one's professional behavior. A 3.0 cumulative QPA is required to apply for teacher certification, to take major courses in the department, and to student teach.

The Urban Track within the Department of Professional Studies and Education prepares students for teaching in urban school districts, especially in low-income communities with high minority enrollments where the need for high-quality teachers is great. Coursework and field experiences emphasize the historical, economic, political, and sociocultural contexts of urban schools and seek to develop within future teachers the skills, knowledge-base, and sensitivities for working with students whose backgrounds and life experiences often differ in significant ways from their own.

If interested in learning more about the elementary education program at IUP please consult the following web link: www.iup.edu/pse/New_Students/index.htm or contact the department directly at 724-357-2400.