Welcome to the Career Development Center's 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.
Quote of the Week
Career News
Coming Up! Join Us!
Did you ever consider a major in...
Alumnus Student Spotlight
Current Student Spotlight
FR/SO/JR/SR Tips
A Distinguished Alumni Profile - Click on Current Issue of Oak Leaves and Scroll down to Distinguished Alumni
Six Reasons to Run From a Job Interview
Quote of the Week
"Think not of yourself as the architect of your career but as the sculptor. Expect to have to do a lot of hard hammering and chiseling and scraping and polishing.
~ BC Forbes
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Career News
Tips for Thriving During a Recession
It has been pretty difficult to ignore the weakening economy. For juniors and graduating seniors, the recession may be causing extra anxiety when it comes to the job search. Though we cannot control the job market, we can offer you a few useful tips for profiting during a recession.
1. Freelance. Whether you are good at writing, painting or babysitting-- use it to your advantage. Start a small side business and keep your ears open for interesting and lucrative opportunities.
2. Refine your job searching skills. Stop by the Career Development Center to improve your interviewing and resume writing skills. The more prepared you are for the search, the more luck you will have finding gainful employment.
3. Expand your search. Candidates who are willing to relocate are more likely to have a successful search. This makes you more marketable and gives you an increased number of opportunities.
4. Network. Do not underestimate the value of building contacts. Use this time to meet new and interesting people who may be able to help you with your search. To learn more about valuable networking skills and job fairs in the area, please visit the Career Development Center’s website at http://iup.edu/career
5. Accept temporary employment. Gain transferable skills by taking part-time positions. This will also help to “fill in” any time gaps in your resume.
6. Maintain contact with employers. Check on the status of your application by sending employers friendly letters or e-mails.
7. Take advantage of continuing education courses in “recession-proof” fields. Become qualified to work in environments that are necessary or that have the potential to strengthen the economy. According to Forbes.com, sales representatives, finance executives, accountants, software designers, administrative assistants and nurses will be in high demand.
8. Don’t give up! Keep networking, applying for jobs, and expanding your skill set. Persistence is key!
*Adapted from eHow.com
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Coming Up! Join Us!
The Career Development Center sponsors many events throughout the year for current students and recent graduates. Don't wait until your senior year to particiate in these events. Preparation for the job search begins the moment you are accepted to IUP. Don't miss out on these programs that are guaranteed to prepare you throughout your educational experience so that when you are ready to seek employment, you will have a resume listing the experiences that every employer seeks.
Schedule of Spring 2009 Events
Job Fairs - You get jobs by talking to people...attend job fairs!
Night for Networking - Statistics show 70-80% of jobs change hands through networking!
Internships - Test your career interest through an internship!
Volunteer Services - Service is a lifestyle!
Service Learning - Bridge the curriculum with community service.
Student Employment Center - Student employment has everything to do with student success.
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Consider a Career in Business Technology Support!
Do you enjoy technology, and really like working with people too? The Business Technology Support program encompasses the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required of a professional who provides support to users of information technology to maintain and improve overall organizational effectiveness. The program places emphasis on understanding how technology contributes to individual and work group performance and to behavioral factors, such as communications, ergonomics, training, and change.
The Curriculum
The curriculum is designed to challenge students to understand their dynamic role from both an organizational and individual viewpoint. Business Technology Support majors are equipped to be versatile professionals. They are afforded ample opportunities for internships. Graduates of the program can pursue career paths such as website managers, technology trainers; help desk administrators, e-business designers, local area network administrators, and documentation/curriculum developers as they relate to enterprise wide solutions, support services, and technology training.
Interested in a Minor to Increase Your Marketability?
The Technology Support and Training department welcomes students seeking a minor. A minor provides business majors with the opportunity to complement their major with business technology support courses. The Business Technology Support program is for those who enjoy a challenge, like technology, work well with others, and communicate effectively.
Who to Contact?
If this sounds like a great path for your career, please contact the Technology Support and Training Department at 724-357-3003 or Dr. LeAnn Wilkie, Department Chairperson: wilkie@iup.edu.
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Alumnus Student Spotlight
...Meet Seth Erwin
Degree: B.S., Business Technology Support and Training, May 2007
Share your undergraduate experience and/or graduate experience.
Did you work while you were a student?
Yes- I worked in the Library Media Services Dept. I believe this helped me with managing a hectic schedule wile obtaining my goals. Along with work, Rugby was a huge part of my schedule. Balancing classes, work, and rugby helped me prepare for work in the technology industry.
What are you doing now?
Sales Data Administrator- Giant Eagle Inc.
How did your experiences (both academic and/or work related) assist you in deciding what to do post graduation?
My undergraduate degree gave me the skills and confidence to go out in the real world and excel. Without the help of professors in the BTST department, I might not be in the position I am in now. They taught us that you have to be sure of yourself and others will have confidence.
Where do you see yourself five years from now?
In the next five years I will hopefully have my doctorate completed. In addtion, I will continue to work towards a management role at Giant Eagle.
What would be one piece of advice?
In the tough times, keep moving forward. In the end all the hard work will just be a memory. I guarantee you would love to do it all again.
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Current Student Spotlight
...Meet Brian Haldin
Major: Business Technology Support and Training, May 2009
How would you describe yourself?
I describe myself as a fun but somewhat calm person. I love sports whether it’s playing or watching and I also enjoy staying up to date with technology.
At what point did you choose your career and why did you choose this career?
I’m still searching for what it is exactly I am going to do after graduation. I do know that I want to be around technology and that’s why I chose my major. Upon applying to IUP, I chose my major right away after talking to some members of my department.
What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort?
I usually put forth my greatest effort as a competitor. If I can make it a contest, I’ll try my hardest to achieve victory.
Who is your favorite professor and why?
I really don’t dislike any professors in my department. I enjoy my advisor and professor Dr. Willis. She really works hard and takes time to try to point me in the right direction. My favorite would have to be Dr. Mensch. He is very knowledgeable and fun to have as a teacher.
What are your standards of success in school?
My standards for success in school come in the form of grades but should really be more. I consider getting good grades to be the most important, but we all know that you can get good grades without really learning a whole lot from a class. It is important that we all spend more time outside of the classroom learning.
What have you done to meet these standards?
To achieve good grades, the first step is actually going to class. It is important to establish a firm routine and not miss any classes. Second is studying. I make it a point to always allow time before each class to review previous materials.
In addition to your academic course load, what activities, memberships, jobs, etc. do you maintain?
In addition to classes, I am a member of the Student Technology Association. In this association we perform service projects for nonprofit companies. These projects help my skills in the technology field. This semester we are creating websites for various nonprofit organizations.
What are your plans after graduation?
After graduation I plan to get out of this town! I am in the process of looking for a job. In my classes we research jobs that fit our degree and the options are great in size.
What advice would you give to an IUP student in order to have a successful experience at IUP?
Everyone is different but we all enjoy having fun. Strive to put school work first, and then allow yourself time to go out and have a good time. Create yourself a solid schedule and stick to it. By doing this you will relieve stress and enable yourself to complete anything possible.
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FR/SO/JR/SR Tips
Freshman: Participate in student activities and/or volunteer to learn about your interests and abilities.
Sophomore: Update your résumé with your summer work experience and campus activities, and have it reviewed by the Career Development Center. If you continually update your résumé as you gain experience, then it will be much easier to create a final draft when you start looking for that first professional experience.
Junior: Secure an internship or summer job in your field. Many college graduates leave their program with little or no related work experience. Additionally, if you complete your internship the summer before your senior year, then you are able to focus on the job search during that final year.
Senior: Create a list of three or four references and ask these references for letters of recommendation. Many students wait until they have applied for a position to ask for letters of recommendation. This can be a problem because it leaves your references with a limited amount of time to write the recommendation.
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Six Reasons to Run From a Job Interview
Here at the Career Development Center, we do our best to provide you with information that will help you be more informed in the area of job preparedness, trends in the workplace and tips that will help enhance your skills and contributions to the workforce. This article is a bit different; as it provides six reasons to run from a job interview. Now, our goal is that you run to an interview, but I believe that it’s important for you to have the information needed to make you aware of the things to watch for in an interview. Enjoy!
— Malaika M. Turner, Employer Relations/Development
Six Reasons to Run From a Job Interview
by Liz Ryan
Saturday, August 9, 2008, Business Week Magazine
When a prospective employer makes unreasonable demands on you before things start to get serious, it's a strong signal to hit the road
Job seekers have issues to keep them up at night. They worry that the beautifully crafted cover letters they're sending off won't be read and that plum jobs will go to less deserving candidates. They worry that their résumés don't showcase their shining accomplishments well enough to command the six-figure offers they're hoping for. If they're job hunting while working, they worry that a stray comment by a hiring manager or human resources screener to the wrong person will make its way back to their own boss.
These are all reasonable worries. Personally, I worry about something else—on behalf of job-seekers everywhere. I worry that they'll tumble into The Vortex and accept a job they should have scorned.
What's The Vortex? It's the set of forces that overtakes a job seeker when he or she is deep into the selection process, somewhere between the first and third interviews, when the employer begins to send signals that he's interested. The Vortex is deadly, because in the face of all that approval and positive feedback (way more, in many cases, than we get on our jobs most of the time), it's easy to lose one's head. It's easy to overlook slights and red flags that should warn us away from dangerous waters. It's easy to get sucked into The Vortex and let our brains override what our instincts are telling us: that no matter how much wining and dining and affirmation is involved, some companies don't deserve our talents.
Charm Offensive
If we end up taking a job because of Vortex effects, we'll regret it, and we know it. That's why we've created this list of Six Reasons to Run from a job opportunity, no matter how pleasant and charming the company representatives are, and no matter how much latte, red wine, and discussion of end-of-year bonuses is involved.
(You'll see that our list makes liberal use of the notion of Strong Mutual Interest. Each of us must determine on our own when SMI has been established, but it usually happens between the first and second interviews.)
Here's our list of Six Reasons to Run:
1) Your employment references are requested before a strong mutual interest is established. Any employer who values a job candidate also values his or her time and relationships. When a headhunter or company recruiter tells you "We'll need to call your references" too early in the game, they're sending a signal that the valuable time of your reference-givers is not nearly as valuable as the time that the company would waste in interviewing you before checking up on you. Your cue to bail.
2) The employer asks for your Social Security number or your approval for a credit or background check before strong mutual interest is established. When a company says, "We need to check on you before we can spare the time to talk with you," it's time to get out of Dodge. A talent-focused employer will call you for a phone interview (at a minimum) before bothering you for personal information that they won't require if they don't make you a job offer. This type of batch processing shouts, "Get in line to genuflect." Keep looking.
3) You're sent a questionnaire (not a job application) or online test to complete before you've had any human contact with the employer, including a phone call. When a company makes its selection process more efficient by shoving tests in your face before so much as chatting with you, they're sharing their views on reciprocity. "Prove to us that you're worth our time" is not the message that a talent-aware employer sends to the talented people applying to use their talents on its behalf. Reciprocity works in the same that permission-based marketing does; you give something to get something at every step in the process. A smarter company will chat with you, answer your questions about the job, and then ask, "Would you mind filling out our questionnaire, as the next step in the process? Can I answer any questions for you, to help you feel comfortable investing more time in our company?"
4) Unreasonable or short notice to travel for interview. The Vortex becomes more powerful over time, and many a job seeker has called me excitedly to report, "They're flying me to New York City, tomorrow," without stopping to think: "Wait a second, they didn't ask me whether it was convenient for me to fly to New York City, now that I think about it." I know of one situation in which a candidate was pressured to fly to the company's headquarters on his wife's birthday. He was told, "If this isn't a priority for you, it isn't a priority for us, either." He wavered for an hour or two before telling them: "If my personal life and my most important relationship isn't important to you, I don't want to work for you." If they really want you, they can wait a day or two.
5) You're told you can't meet the team, or see the employee handbook, or meet clients (if appropriate) before an offer is extended. This is a big, neon red flag that plenty of job seekers miss in the swirling colors of The Vortex. You need to meet your co-workers. Period. You need to see the employee handbook, which you'll be expected to adhere to during your tenure with the company and which will govern your working relationship. If you will work closely with a client at a senior level, it could make sense for you to meet with someone from the client's team before accepting the job. Ask yourself: Why wouldn't they let me meet the team or read the handbook? What is this employer afraid of?
6) All communication is funneled through the HR rep or the headhunter. Practical matters, like interview times and paperwork flying back and forth, doesn't need to take up a hiring manager's time. It makes sense to have an HR point person or third-party recruiter handling communication with a candidate over these "mechanical" issues. But if you're really interested in a job and have a question for your prospective manager, the manager absolutely needs to take that call. If you can't get the manager's attention now, what makes you think you'll be able to when you work there?
Leave any of these six scary Vortex situations behind and don't look back—you'll have dodged a bullet. You have a lot to offer, and if an employer can't see it as the selection process unfolds, your talents are better used elsewhere.
Liz Ryan is an expert on the new-millennium workplace and a former Fortune 500 HR executive.
Copyrighted, Business Week. All rights reserved.
This article can be found at: http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jul2008/ca20080731_005117.htm
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