Be A Leader And Choose Your Attitude!

With Get On Board Days right around the corner, choosing the right attitude could be the key to your success in your next job. Many would not link Get On Board Days with their future employer. However, the attitude and work ethic you choose while serving different organizations within the college are relative to the way you perform in your career. You have the opportunity not only to build your resume by joining campus organizations but also to strengthen your professional and networking skills.
The following article is from Jobweb.com. It can help get you get started in the right direction.




Developing an Internship State of Mind

By Marianne Green

Most students know that internships are considered the gold standard of career experience, but you may find it difficult to pursue internships because of academic time pressures, credit issues, community service commitments, or the need to subsidize your college expenses with more mundane employment.

Even if that’s the case, you can adopt the “internship state of mind, ” a key attitude that will help you translate your experiences—clubs, social organizations, jobs, volunteer work, leadership, cultural activities—into valuable, career related opportunities that will rival a formal internship for career value when noted on your resume and discussed in an interview.

Here’s how it’s done:

1. Get an Attitude! Start with an attitude of curiosity, persistence and optimism. Consider each experience—no matter how mundane—a springboard for learning and development.

2. Set an Agenda. Set your own learning agenda. What skills do you want to hone or learn? What questions would you like answered? Be realistic.

3. Learn. Learn. Learn. Do the best you can with the job at hand. Claim small victories each time you succeed. Learn from your mistakes.

4. Watch and Listen. Be a keen observer and listener: Notice organizational culture, management style, financial problems, and challenges beyond your own niche. Take note of how your small job or position contributes to the organizational mission.

5. Build New Skills. Look for opportunities to take on new responsibilities to increase your skill set, above and beyond your prescribed duties. Ask to attend meetings, shadow other professionals, read official documents such as annual reports, strategic plans, etc.

6. Turn Small Talk Into Big Talk. Engage people in your environment to gain insights about the organization or their particular jobs. Do informational interviews to glean additional information. Consider the people you talk with part of your network. Plan to keep in touch with them when your summer experience concludes.

7. Reflect on your experience. Keep a journal or blog about your daily or weekly observations and accomplishments. Chart the ups and downs of your performance.

8. Add Your Summer Experience to Your Resume. Write about this experience on your resume. Use action verbs, cite specific skills used or acquired, quantify, and include your accomplishments.



Jess really wanted to do an unpaid marketing internship at the local food bank during the summer, but also needed to earn enough money for books and school supplies for the fall. He took a lucrative job as a waiter at a high end restaurant, freeing up time to volunteer at the food bank.

He decided to approach his volunteering as if it was an internship: He worked his hours stocking shelves and unloading trucks but he also got permission to shadow the CEO of the Food Bank, attending board meetings, and marketing strategy session. He created some appealing displays for canned vegetables, and offered to paint the back wall to spruce of the space. He used his weekend time to work on an outreach campaign for the Food Bank, walking through various communities to spread the word. By the end of the summer, Jess had created a set of experiences and skills that were as good or better than the skills he would have gotten in a formal internship.

Kaitlin, an English major who was interested in a publishing career, worked for the Jefferson Bank all through college. She disliked the administrative and financial work she had to do on a daily basis, but it paid the bills. Since she couldn't do a formal internship in her field, she decided to seek out tasks that would help her hone her editing, proofreading and writing skills. Every time someone needed help with letter writing, she volunteered some ideas. She offered to proofread correspondence and the draft of the new procedures manual that was being developed. She found out that the bank had a newsletter that mentioned events that occurred in the employees lives. On her own time, Kaitlin started writing short articles on trips that employees had taken, their hobbies, as well as milestones in their lives. Eventually, she was typing, illustrating and printing the whole newsletter. Kaitlin's resume listed all of the skills and experience she had acquired at her banking job, skills that related to the field of publishing.

Reference: http://www.jobweb.com/studentarticles.aspx?id=1905

Tell Me Something Good!

Chaka Khan asked for it and Shelton State Career Services found it! According to Jobweb.com employers are expected to hire 5.3 percent more college graduates than they did last year. That’s an excellent indicator that your decision to start college or complete your program of study was a wise one. In today’s economy, job seekers are looking for a special edge over their competition. Having a college degree or certificate can boost your appeal to employers and give you the knowledge and confidence to get the job.




Article found at http://www.jobweb.com/studentarticles.aspx?id=2501:

Hiring Up 5.3 Percent for Class of 2010


Employers have more opportunities for the college Class of 2010 than they did a year ago, according to a new report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).


NACE’s Job Outlook 2010 Spring Update shows employers expect to hire 5.3 percent more new college graduates in 2009-10 than they did in 2008-09.


“This is the first positive hiring outlook for new college graduates since October of 2008,” says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director.

In October 2008, employers projected a 1.3 percent in hiring for the Class of 2009. That increase fell later in the fall of 2008 as the stock market and economy fell. College hiring has been in negative territory every since, hitting bottom in the Job Outlook 2009 Spring Update, when employers reported hiring 22 percent fewer new graduates in 2009 than they hired in 2008. (See Chart 1.)

Earlier projections for the Class of 2010 showed hiring would be down 7 percent compared to last year.


Now, says Mackes, “we’re seeing hiring increases in nearly all the reporting industries.”

In fact, almost 80 percent of responding employers reported that their spring 2010 plans call for them to hire for full-time and/or internship positions.

By region, the Northeast has the best hiring outlook—a 25.5 percent increase is projected. The Southeast is the only region reporting a decrease (10 percent).

Results also bode well for next year’s crop of graduates.


“Nearly 60 percent of respondents have plans to hire more or the same number of new college graduates in Fall 2010 as they did in Fall 2009,” says Mackes.


About the Job Outlook 2010 Spring Update: NACE conducts its Job Outlook survey in three parts during the academic year to gauge hiring projections and employer recruiting plans. Data in this release are from the third and final part of the survey. The Job Outlook 2010 Spring Update survey was conducted March 1 – April 9, 2010, among NACE employer members; 177 employers, or 20 percent, participated. By region, 26.4 percent of respondents are from the Northeast, 29.6 percent are from the Southeast, 28.3 percent are from the Midwest, and 15.7 percent are from the West.

Creating a Career Path in the Medical Field

If you are pursuing a career in medical professions, the Shelton State Career Services has discovered a company which provides the latest medical news and information to healthcare practitioners. The website is an online access to career resources in the medical field along with audio programs you can download or listen to from your computer. The programs are established as a platform for clinical discussion, news, and education and are broadcast 24/7 on XM Satellite Radio channel 160.

Visit
www.reachmd.com to discover it for yourself!

Another website you may find resourceful is created to serve as a network for health care professionals. Healthcareerweb.com provides information regarding jobs in the medical profession in addition to medical care discussions.


Regardless if you are pursuing a career as a Nurse, an Emergency Medical Technician, or as a Home Health Aide, we are sure you will find helpful tips and guidance from these sites.

Top 10 Career Strategies for Freshmen and Sophomores

Starting college can be a stressful time in anyone’s life. There are so many things to consider and many students are left feeling unprepared. Shelton State Career Services Center has found information that may help students stay on track and remain focused.


Although the following article is based on a 4-year college, the content still pertains to students at any level.

The article was taken from www.jobweb.com and is written by Bob Orndorff.

Top 10 Career Strategies for Freshmen and Sophomores



by Bob Orndorff


You control your career destiny! Just going to class and picking up your diploma after four years doesn't cut it. You need to become active on and off campus. Becoming marketable to employers or graduate schools is a four-year job! Here are the top 10 things you can do during college to make yourself marketable at job-search time. In fact, if you do all 10, you'll be unstoppable!


1. Keep your grades up.
Employers and graduate schools want candidates with good grades. That will probably never change. Doing well academically not only proves that you have a good knowledge base, but indicates a strong work ethic—a value that employers value, but that that seems to be less common every year.


2. Identify your interests, skills, values, and personal characteristics.
As you could tell from the career counseling session, Anita didn't have a clear understanding of her interests and skills. Her interest in PR was pretty vague. The first step to clarifying your career goals is to go through a process of self-assessment. Visit your career center and take advantage of the self-assessment instruments that they have to offer.


3. Actively explore career options.
This is something that very few college students do: actively explore career options. In fact, a study has shown that most freshmen and sophomores spend more time deciding on a video to rent than on what they might want for a career, even though a video only lasts two hours while your career can last a lifetime. Isn't your life after college worth exploring? You owe it to yourself to find a career that enriches your life, not one that brings you down. Actively exploring careers means talking with professionals in occupations of interest (called Information Interviewing) and observing professionals on the job (called Work Shadowing). Your career center probably has alumni and other volunteers who are willing to talk to you about their careers. Also, attend any career expos, career fairs, and career speaker panels that are offered. You can learn a lot about various career fields by attending these events. Finally, it doesn't hurt to begin the process by reading about careers of interest. One of the best Internet sites for exploring careers is experience.com—check it out!


4. Become active in extracurricular activities and clubs.
Active involvement in activities and clubs on campus is highly valued by employers and graduate schools. Joining a club is fine, but becoming active within that club is what matters most. Become a leader, hold an office, or coordinate an event. You will develop your skills in leadership and teamwork—skills that are on the top of every recruiter's list!


5. Get involved in community service.
It's important that you begin to understand and appreciate the importance of giving back to your community, and that you live in a larger community than your college or hometown. Typically, students look at community service as a chore. After they've served, however, it's usually one of the most rewarding experiences they've had! Recruiters love to see that you've volunteered to help in your community.


6. Develop your computer skills.
Computers are changing the world of work in a big way! The days of secretaries typing your letters are over. Every worker must know how to type business letters using a word processor. That's a given. To demonstrate strong computer skills, you must learn how to use spreadsheets, design data bases, and produce automated presentations. Take advantage of the computer courses and workshops your college offers. But you can also learn a lot by just experimenting with different software packages on your own. For example, you could make yourself a mini data base that maintains mailing addresses and phone numbers of all your friends and family. Finally, you should learn how to develop your own web page or web-based portfolio. There are many web-design editor software packages that make it real easy to develop your own web page! Contact your college's information technology office to see how to get started.


7. Develop your writing skills.
Over and over, company and graduate school recruiters complain about the lack of writing skills among college graduates. Don't avoid classes that are writing intensive. Work at developing your writing skills. If there is a writing center on campus, have them take a look at your papers from time to time. Remember, the first impression you give to recruiters is typically your cover letter or personal statement.


8. Complete at least one internship in your chosen career field.
More and more, internships are the springboards to employment and getting into graduate programs. Many recruiters say that when they need to fill entry-level jobs, they will only hire previous interns. In addition to making yourself more marketable, internships also are a great way to explore careers and determine whether or not certain careers are for you. When you work for a company as an intern for three to four months, you get a really good feel for whether the field (and company) is one in which you want to work day in and day out!


9. Gain an appreciation of diversity through study abroad, foreign languages, and courses.
The American work force is becoming more diverse every year. Also, we are now, more than ever, working within a global work force. For you to be successful at work and in your life, you must stretch yourself and learn about people and cultures different than yours. Because of civil rights laws, people today are forced to tolerate diversity. Winners in life and work are ones who appreciate diversity! The only way you can appreciate diversity is to open your mind and become more familiar with and knowledgeable about different cultures. Take advantage of the wonderful study-abroad opportunities and the courses relating to diversity. This is your time to travel! Most people find it harder to take time to travel as they begin their careers and start families. While it may be a little scary at first, traveling to foreign countries is the most life-changing experience you'll have in college!


10. Use your career center all four years.
Your college career center can help you throughout your entire college career. Here is just a sampling of what your career center can help you do:


o choose your major and career direction,


o explore career options,


o obtain an internship,


o write a resume and cover letter,


o develop your interviewing skills,


o identify your skills, interests, and values,


o develop a job search or graduate school plan,


o connect you with prospective employers (career fairs, on-campus recruiting, etc.), and


o connect you with alumni mentors.


Remember, you control your career destiny. Don't wait until your senior year to start realizing your goals. Your career train is on the move. Jump on board now so you can reach your destination!


Reference: http://www.jobweb.com/parents.aspx?id=50