“Internships 101” Workshops – Saint Mary’s Hall 132
Wednesday, September 24, 4:00 p.m.
Thursday, October 9, 4:00 p.m.
Thursday, October 30, 4:00 p.m.
Resume Workshop – Saint Mary’s Hall, Room 132
Wednesday, October 1, 4:00 p.m.
Conducting an Internet Job Search – Saint Mary’s Hall, Room 132
Wednesday, November 5, 4:00 p.m.
Interviewing Skills Workshop – Saint Mary’s Hall, Room 132
Thursday, December 4, 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Warning: social networking can be hazardous to your job search
According to a Pew Internet study, 47% of internet users have searched for their own name online. It may sound a little narcissistic to do so, but "ego-surfing" is a smart idea. The majority of us don't know what's floating around about us in cyberspace. All of us should be aware of our online image. Job and internship seekers or graduate school applicants should be especially concerned.
Do you know what an employer or faculty member will find if they search for your name? A recent study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers indicates that 37% of employers report using search engines or social networking sites to find additional information about job candidates.
Google yourself right now. Search public records. Double check your blog, personal website, Facebook profile and MySpace page. Be sure to remove any inappropriate content. By being more self-involved online, you'll save yourself from potential career missteps.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
What is important to you?
Here is your chance to tell us what you think about our offerings. Career Services currently offers assistance with resume writing, writing cover letters, interviewing skills, job search skills, choosing a major, assessments, grad school applications, and offers various events such as on-campus recruiting, job and career fairs, internship fairs, and the sophomore/junior/senior conferences.
Please use the comment function and let us know what is important to you. This will help us tailor our programs to better meet your needs. If you have ideas for new programs, we would love to hear about them. Please indicate if you are a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior. If you prefer, you can email me directly at jbaker@smumn.edu.
Enjoy the rest of summer!
Please use the comment function and let us know what is important to you. This will help us tailor our programs to better meet your needs. If you have ideas for new programs, we would love to hear about them. Please indicate if you are a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior. If you prefer, you can email me directly at jbaker@smumn.edu.
Enjoy the rest of summer!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Are you planning to intern fall semester?
If you are planning to intern this fall semester please contact the internship office to make sure you have the required paperwork completed. If you are still working on securing an internship site for fall semester, I can help you. Please call, stop by, or email.
I look forward to working with you as you pursue your internship goals.
I look forward to working with you as you pursue your internship goals.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Can your resume pass the 10 second scan?
Keep it clean, Keep it simple, Pour on the sizzle
according to the "Job Hunting Handbook"
Employers and potential internship site sponsors receive dozens, sometimes hundreds (depending on the company), of resumes for one job opening. Sadly only a handful out of 100 resumes will result in an interview.
Why so few? Because few employers read all the resumes they receive. Instead they give each resume a quick, ten second glance.
If the resume is too long, too wordy, too cluttered looking, or too disorganized it gets "filed" - into the waste basket.
The resumes that get read are one page long. They are easy to scan. They are inviting to look at. They have sizzle - they show that the person applying for the job is qualified and can deliver results.
For additional information about resume writing, stop by the Career Services office, Saint Mary's Hall Room 136.
according to the "Job Hunting Handbook"
Employers and potential internship site sponsors receive dozens, sometimes hundreds (depending on the company), of resumes for one job opening. Sadly only a handful out of 100 resumes will result in an interview.
Why so few? Because few employers read all the resumes they receive. Instead they give each resume a quick, ten second glance.
If the resume is too long, too wordy, too cluttered looking, or too disorganized it gets "filed" - into the waste basket.
The resumes that get read are one page long. They are easy to scan. They are inviting to look at. They have sizzle - they show that the person applying for the job is qualified and can deliver results.
For additional information about resume writing, stop by the Career Services office, Saint Mary's Hall Room 136.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Locating an Internship
Where can I look for an internship?
Internships can be found in a variety of ways, including online databases, company websites, Internship office resources, contacts with alumni, faculty, parents and other SMU contacts.
The Cardinal Job & Internship LINK and other web resources: There is a wide variety of resources available on the internet. The quality of these different sites varies. For a list of sites visit the Internship Office web page at http://www.smumn.edu/sitepages/pid1001.php. If there is a particular company you are interested in, I encourage you to visit their webpage. Most employers will list internship opportunities on their website.
Read more...
Internship Office resources: Our office can provide you with a list of previous internship sites and contact information for each. This list will allow you to find out where other students in your major have interned. It is sorted alphabetically by company name and also sorted by major. It includes listings from 2000 - present.
Students often find internships through alumni, faculty, and other university staff. Feel free to check with faculty members in your academic department about these contacts. The Internship Office can also provide assistance with these contacts.
If you have located your own internship by contacting relatives, neighbors or friends, that's great! (Please remember that students are not permitted to develop internships in organizations where members of the immediate family either partially or wholly own the business.) Other resources that can be used in developing your own internship include the Yellow Pages, Chamber of Commerce lists, and other college Internship Office databases.
After you have secured the name of a person within the organization, I encourage you to send a letter of interest (cover letter) and resume to the organization. Our office can help you prepare your cover letter and resume if needed.
For additional help in locating an internship stop by the Internship Office, email, or call us. Good luck with your internship search!
Internships can be found in a variety of ways, including online databases, company websites, Internship office resources, contacts with alumni, faculty, parents and other SMU contacts.
The Cardinal Job & Internship LINK and other web resources: There is a wide variety of resources available on the internet. The quality of these different sites varies. For a list of sites visit the Internship Office web page at http://www.smumn.edu/sitepages/pid1001.php. If there is a particular company you are interested in, I encourage you to visit their webpage. Most employers will list internship opportunities on their website.
Read more...
Internship Office resources: Our office can provide you with a list of previous internship sites and contact information for each. This list will allow you to find out where other students in your major have interned. It is sorted alphabetically by company name and also sorted by major. It includes listings from 2000 - present.
Students often find internships through alumni, faculty, and other university staff. Feel free to check with faculty members in your academic department about these contacts. The Internship Office can also provide assistance with these contacts.
If you have located your own internship by contacting relatives, neighbors or friends, that's great! (Please remember that students are not permitted to develop internships in organizations where members of the immediate family either partially or wholly own the business.) Other resources that can be used in developing your own internship include the Yellow Pages, Chamber of Commerce lists, and other college Internship Office databases.
After you have secured the name of a person within the organization, I encourage you to send a letter of interest (cover letter) and resume to the organization. Our office can help you prepare your cover letter and resume if needed.
For additional help in locating an internship stop by the Internship Office, email, or call us. Good luck with your internship search!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
College Hiring Projections and Patterns
Employers expect to hire 8 percent more new college graduates from the Class of 2008 than they hired from the Class of 2007, according to the "Job Outlook 2008 Spring Update" report of the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Despite that positive outlook, the current negative economic climate has had an effect on the hiring prospects of new college graduates. In fact, although hiring projections remain positive, they have cooled off since the fall of 2007, when employers projected a 16 percent increase in college hiring for the Class of 2008. That drop off, however, is tempered by the fact that much of the negative impact is concentrated in specific industries, such as finance, leaving a significant portion of the market for new college graduates robust.
Read more...
Another NACE report showed that employers are increasingly looking to their internship programs to find new employees. Employers reported that nearly 36 percent of the new college graduates they hired from the Class of 2007 came from their own internship programs, up from 30 percent from the Class of 2005. In addition, employers say they extended job offers to nearly 70 percent of their interns; in 2001, they offered jobs to 57 percent. Survey findings also indicate that interns who become full-time hires are more likely to stick with the organization than their co-workers who didn’t go through the program.
Career Cornerstone News, July 2008
http://www.careercornerstone.org/
Read more...
Another NACE report showed that employers are increasingly looking to their internship programs to find new employees. Employers reported that nearly 36 percent of the new college graduates they hired from the Class of 2007 came from their own internship programs, up from 30 percent from the Class of 2005. In addition, employers say they extended job offers to nearly 70 percent of their interns; in 2001, they offered jobs to 57 percent. Survey findings also indicate that interns who become full-time hires are more likely to stick with the organization than their co-workers who didn’t go through the program.
Career Cornerstone News, July 2008
http://www.careercornerstone.org/
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
The Art of Networking
Are you wondering what you can do this summer to boost your chances of landing that great job or internship? My advice is to start networking, if you haven't already.
Networking is the art of building alliances. It's not necessarily contacting everyone you know when you are looking for a job or internship and asking if they know of any openings. Networking starts long before a job/internship search, and it's possible you have already been networking and don't know it. You are networking when you visit with friends, friends of the family, and parents of friends and faculty, strike up conversations with neighbors or someone waiting in line at the grocery store, when you volunteer, and when you talk with co-workers or customers at your summer job.
Networking is constantly cited as the number 1 way to get a new job. I'm sure you have heard everyone say that 80% of the jobs available never get advertised. This is how you get them! The people who do the hiring would much rather talk to someone who's been recommended by someone they know or already have working. Try networking for the remainder of the summer - I bet you'll be surprised at how fast your network grows!
Networking is the art of building alliances. It's not necessarily contacting everyone you know when you are looking for a job or internship and asking if they know of any openings. Networking starts long before a job/internship search, and it's possible you have already been networking and don't know it. You are networking when you visit with friends, friends of the family, and parents of friends and faculty, strike up conversations with neighbors or someone waiting in line at the grocery store, when you volunteer, and when you talk with co-workers or customers at your summer job.
Networking is constantly cited as the number 1 way to get a new job. I'm sure you have heard everyone say that 80% of the jobs available never get advertised. This is how you get them! The people who do the hiring would much rather talk to someone who's been recommended by someone they know or already have working. Try networking for the remainder of the summer - I bet you'll be surprised at how fast your network grows!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Internship through HECUA
Find Your Ideal Internship Through HECUA - www.hecua.org
By Rebecca Collins
Integrated learning. Learning internships. Urban affairs. Grassroots organizing. Non-profit careers. Mine was not the typical internship - but that’s what made it so dynamic. My internship with the Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing this past semester helped me understand my passions and my career possibilities, bringing me back to Saint Mary’s with a renewed focus within my major. But let’s start at the beginning.
Read more...
This past semester I had the opportunity to participate in the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs’ (or HECUA’s) program called the Metro Urban Studies Term. HECUA is built on the idea of integrated learning, where students of all backgrounds and majors are able to integrate the theory of the classroom with the practice of the real world. In the Metro Urban Studies Term, I learned of poverty, inequality, and social change right here in the Twin Cities through readings, discussions, and field seminars. I then experienced those social change practices at work through my internship.
My internship was at the Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing, or MICAH. MICAH works to organize congregations of faith and community partners to change the political climate and public policies so that all communities preserve and build affordable housing. It’s quite possible that that description sounds as confusing to you as it did to me when I started working with MICAH. I didn’t have a real understanding of what grassroots organizing was - but I learned quickly.
At MICAH I helped the congregations of a Minneapolis suburb, Coon Rapids, dialogue with the city council members and ask them to include housing that is affordable in their plan for the city. I also helped with the housing trust fund campaign with state legislators, the annual fundraiser, and MICAH’s efforts to build deeper relationships with their member congregations.All of this taught me the basic skills of organizing: relationship building, political analysis, planning strategies, finding people’s talents, and so much more. But the important things that I learned weren’t about skills at all. If there is one key thing that I learned from my time at MICAH, it is that intentional relationships are of utmost importance to work and to life. Being present to people, tailoring jobs to their talents, keeping in touch, and working toward what they want to see in their community can work wonders. I will never underestimate the power of relationships from now on.
I also learned about myself through my time at MICAH. When I began my internship, I thought that the best way to organize was to do everything the way my supervisor would do it. While this was helpful, it wasn’t always fulfilling. One of the best realizations while working at MICAH was the fact that I do my best work when I put my heart and my “style” into it — and that it’s ok, even good, to do so.
Although I could unpack my semester-long experience for pages, I will close my reflection where I began. My internship at MICAH allowed me to see the link between the theories that I have been learning here at Saint Mary’s and the work that is being done in our community. The HECUA program helped facilitate this understanding, which I intend to build upon as I finish out my college career and step into my next career.
By Rebecca Collins
Integrated learning. Learning internships. Urban affairs. Grassroots organizing. Non-profit careers. Mine was not the typical internship - but that’s what made it so dynamic. My internship with the Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing this past semester helped me understand my passions and my career possibilities, bringing me back to Saint Mary’s with a renewed focus within my major. But let’s start at the beginning.
Read more...
This past semester I had the opportunity to participate in the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs’ (or HECUA’s) program called the Metro Urban Studies Term. HECUA is built on the idea of integrated learning, where students of all backgrounds and majors are able to integrate the theory of the classroom with the practice of the real world. In the Metro Urban Studies Term, I learned of poverty, inequality, and social change right here in the Twin Cities through readings, discussions, and field seminars. I then experienced those social change practices at work through my internship.
My internship was at the Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing, or MICAH. MICAH works to organize congregations of faith and community partners to change the political climate and public policies so that all communities preserve and build affordable housing. It’s quite possible that that description sounds as confusing to you as it did to me when I started working with MICAH. I didn’t have a real understanding of what grassroots organizing was - but I learned quickly.
At MICAH I helped the congregations of a Minneapolis suburb, Coon Rapids, dialogue with the city council members and ask them to include housing that is affordable in their plan for the city. I also helped with the housing trust fund campaign with state legislators, the annual fundraiser, and MICAH’s efforts to build deeper relationships with their member congregations.All of this taught me the basic skills of organizing: relationship building, political analysis, planning strategies, finding people’s talents, and so much more. But the important things that I learned weren’t about skills at all. If there is one key thing that I learned from my time at MICAH, it is that intentional relationships are of utmost importance to work and to life. Being present to people, tailoring jobs to their talents, keeping in touch, and working toward what they want to see in their community can work wonders. I will never underestimate the power of relationships from now on.
I also learned about myself through my time at MICAH. When I began my internship, I thought that the best way to organize was to do everything the way my supervisor would do it. While this was helpful, it wasn’t always fulfilling. One of the best realizations while working at MICAH was the fact that I do my best work when I put my heart and my “style” into it — and that it’s ok, even good, to do so.
Although I could unpack my semester-long experience for pages, I will close my reflection where I began. My internship at MICAH allowed me to see the link between the theories that I have been learning here at Saint Mary’s and the work that is being done in our community. The HECUA program helped facilitate this understanding, which I intend to build upon as I finish out my college career and step into my next career.
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