Career Services Blog

(from TheLadders.com)

One might ask: how can that be? With the unemployment rate still so high for this point in a recovery, how can it be that so many companies are hiring so many people?

Well, it’s two things:

First off, you have to remember that most hiring is replacement hiring. It’s not companies saying that they’re going to grow their workforce by leaps and bounds, rather, its companies replacing routine attrition that occurs as employees flow in and out of any organization.

We may be more or less happy with the overall rate of employment or unemployment, but the changeover from new employees coming in and old employees going out is far, far more important to your job search than the overall level. Therefore: most hiring is replacement hiring. Which means that most companies are hiring all the time.

Second, some companies are always expanding. There are always sectors of the economy that are growing while others shrink. As an example, if your company has anything to do with Apple Inc. right now, you’re growing.

And that’s whether or not your company has anything to do whatsoever with technology. If you sell cardboard boxes to Apple, you’re growing. If you sell real estate maintenance to Apple, you’re growing. If you sell the little plastic biodegradable forks that the geniuses who design iPads use to eat their arugula salads at their gorgeous headquarters… guess what? …you’re growing.

So part of the job search is figuring out where’s the growth and where’s the shrink, and allocating your time accordingly.

(from TheLadders.com)

Melissa Newton

Professional Activities Intern

Career Services – George Fox University

The ability to network in your field is extremely key to making connections with potential employers. While a resume is a great tool through which to do that, handing it to everyone you meet is less than ideal.

“Once you’re in the professional world, you sort of make the assumption that people have a card—if you want to play in that world, you have to have the tools,” said Lindsey Pollak, career expert and author of From College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World.

Having a business card shows initiative and a sense of professionalism to potential employers that will separate you from the crowd of other graduates carrying the same degree. The ability to make connections will serve you well as you focus on your initial job search and throughout your future.

What to Include

Contact information should be the main focus of your card: name, phone number, and email address.

Optional: You can include “George Fox University class of 2013” or what field you’re in such as “marketing professional”, says Pollak.

QR codes (scannable links to URLs- i.e. a LinkedIn page, eportfolio, etc.) are a new feature of some business cards that shows you’re using emerging technology and you’re ambitious enough to seek out something new and implement it to your benefit says Tony Conrad, founder of About.me.

What to Keep in Mind

Quality is Key

The last thing you want to leave a potential employer with is a flimsy business card with smeared ink. This leaves them assuming that you are of the same quality.

Creativity Will Get You Noticed

Separating yourself from the crowd is crucial here, it’s why you’re networking to begin with. “Well-shot photography and clean typography has been a winning strategy in advertising for more than a century,” says Conrad, “If you think of yourself as a luxury brand, present yourself as a luxury brand.”

That being said, you can’t go wrong with the basics and you should avoid going over the top.

Source: Fox Business

One Last Thought and FREE Business Card Starter Set

While a business card is a great way for people to remember your initial meeting, it can’t do all the work, always remember to follow up and be available to your contacts.

If you come through the Career Services Office you can pick up a free, customizable business card starter set (20 cards). Email careers@georgefox.edu for more information.

Melissa Newton

Professional Activities Intern

GFU- Career Services

“I must admit that I went into the job fair a little hesitant and skeptical … I saw it as a way to get some job hunting skills, seeing what was currently out there and preparing myself for future job applications through personal dialog and resume building. I was able to come out of the fair with amazing new skills, knowledge and connections that lead me to some excellent opportunities.”

Kevin Brown, Junior Business Administration Major

Kevin was eventually hired at Intel.

The question remains: What can the OLAPC Career Expo do for you?

The upcoming Oregon Liberal Arts Placement Consortium (OLAPC) First Avenue Career Expo will take place on April 5^th at the Chiles Center in the University of Portland. Over 40 grad schools and more than 50 organizations, who are actively seeking out college graduates in the area, will be made available to you.

According to the OLAPC website, you can enroll as an undergraduate during any part of the 2012-2013 academic year. Alumni-post 2003-2004 academic year-from these institutions may register as well. George Fox is one of nine participating universities organizing the expo this year.

OLAPC’s mission statement explains that they collaborate to enhance the career services of member institutions by educating, empowering, and connecting liberal arts students with meaningful career, graduate school, and service opportunities through innovative and responsive career programming.

The event will include a networking session titled, “Link In Live”. This session aims to connect you the student with industry professionals, many of whom are alumni of OLAPC colleges and universities. According to the OLAPC website, organizers of First Avenue are especially excited about the diverse set of professions, workplace roles, and organizations represented.

Students can register online, at OLAPCFirstAvenue.org, for $10.00. Fee waivers may be earned through the Career Services office on campus. The deadline is April 4 at 4:00 p.m. Students can also register at the door with student ID for $10.00.

That fee can be reimbursed if you attend one of the Career Services How to Work a Job Fair  info sessions-dates posted on www.careers.georgefox.edu. Free starter packs of business cards are also available for students which can be used for the Expo, come by the office for details! Contact Corina Burke (cburke@georgefox.edu) or anyone in the Career Services office if you have any questions.

Melissa Newton

Professional Activities Intern

Career Services- George Fox University

As college students, we are realizing that it takes more than a degree to get a job in today’s day and age. Throughout my college career I have constantly been conscious of my resume’s growth and development, and last year I was hired on at a company I interned with a full year before my graduation date. In this article I will describe the steps I took to get there.

Asking Questions

It seems silly, but the most practical information I gathered during my entire job search was just from asking people. Again, Google can be your best friend here, find a company you’re interested in and then locate the person that works in a position you might be interested in or at least something similar. As a student you are the ultimate in non-threatening, and so popping them a quick email to ask if you could meet for coffee to learn more about what they do is an excellent move. About 70% of the time they’ll agree and insist on buying you coffee: People love to talk about themselves.

As you do that:

1.        You’ve just gained a valuable contact for the future who sees you as a humble, resourceful young student with worlds of potential.
2.        You can learn valuable information about a position (you can ask about their day-to-day activities, how they found the position, skills that you’ll need to break in to that field, etc.).
3.        You’ve now basically connected yourself with all of their contacts if you make a good impression.

Asking questions is the key to finding answers. Stalking a company you’re interested in working for online is great, but it doesn’t compare to knowing someone who can help you get your foot in the door. LinkedIn is great for finding employees of a specific company, and following the company on Twitter can also prove helpful (many companies post announcements about things going on internally), which conveys you doing your homework separating you from the pile even further.

-Melissa Newton, Professional Activities Intern @ Career Services

As college students, we are realizing that it takes more than a degree to get a job in today’s day and age. Throughout my college career I have constantly been conscious of my resume’s growth and development, and last year I was hired on at a company I interned with a full year before my graduation date. In this article I will describe the steps I took to get there.

Volunteering

Volunteering is a really great way to get to know the right people. In the Portland area there are literally thousands of opportunities for you to volunteer with people from your chosen field. I chose to volunteer with organizations like the Public Relations Society of America and the American Marketing Association which both have local chapters that are in desperate need of people to host events, plan meetings, sell tickets, and even just greet people. It’s as simple as a Google search and a few forms and you could be in a room with potential employers and excellent contacts for you and your future. If that isn’t enough here’s a list of reasons to volunteer from an article on Bruin Careers:

1.        It puts work experience on your resume
2.        It enables you to line up solid references in your field of choice
3.        It allows you to build your network
4.        It shows your passion for what you want to do
5.        It keeps you busy and keeps your spirits up
6.        It puts you at the top of the list if a job becomes available

Whether it’s volunteering for an event or finding someone who possess a skill you want to have and asking to shadow them or help them with projects free of charge, volunteering is valuable.

-Melissa Newton, Professional Activities Intern @ Career Services

As college students, we are realizing that it takes more than a degree to get a job in today’s day and age. Throughout my college career I have constantly been conscious of my resume’s growth and development, and last year I was hired on at a company I interned with a full year before my graduation date. In this article I will describe the steps I took to get there.

Internships

Internships are a great way to tell your individual story to an employer. For instance: my major is Organizational Communication. Around 90% of the time, when I tell people that their first response is something like, “What does that mean?” My ultimate fear was that coming from a potential employer, which would basically be the sound of my resume going into the wrong pile entirely.

Through internships, you can communicate to an employer what is important to you and what you can already do for them. It’s also really important to set goals for yourself as far as what you want potential employers to see in you by the time you graduate, which means you have to have at least a general idea of what you want to do. My choice was PR/Marketing.

Before I transferred to Fox, I was a double major in Political Science and Journalism. During my first two years I had several internships in writing because of that, which completed one corner of the triangle I aimed to create for employers. The other two were occupied by social media/design and event planning. These skills are essential in a PR/Marketing situation and I hoped they would separate me from the pile of other accomplished resumes, as it were.

I set out to find experience in both of those areas. I found an excellent internship at the Career Services office that allowed me to create, plan, and execute some wonderful events. The summer of my junior year I also interned in social media and marketing for the company that ended up hiring me. By finishing yourself out and getting some solid experience under your belt through internships before you graduate, you can really communicate confidence and professionalism to a potential employer.

-Melissa Newton, Professional Activities Intern @ Career Services

Well, yes, there’s been much activity revolving around internships it seems since students are seeking those “real world” experiences to enhance their knowledge base, build their skills and increase their marketability.  Even the employers are seeing the value of such experiences for their organizations and are generally eager to connect with qualified students.  From our point of view in the past few weeks, we’ve had an internship pizza chat, internship fair, BruinCareers postings, career conversations, accounting internship interviews and referrals to our online internship center at www.careers.georgefox.edu.   As you can see, we’ve been an active participant in the internship cause at GFU.

It is important to me that our students understand how to choose an internship that will be constructive and perhaps lead to full-time employment. Some basic questions to ask include:
1.  What type of work do I want and in what field?
2.  With what type of employer/organization do I want to work?
3.  What are my learning objectives for such an experience?
4.  What skills do I want to develop and experiences do I want?
5.  What geographic location appeals to me?

Finding an internship can be challenging, but exciting. You are actually embarking on a job search, so those skills and tools need to be sharpened and prepared.  Do you have a resume and cover letter?  Do you know how to interview in person, on the phone or on Skype?  Do you have some professional etiquette ready to use?  Top sources for locating internships include your academic advisor, career services, job and internship fairs, business directors from the Chambers of Commerce, networking, and/or creating your own.

When you choose an internship, keep these questions in mind:
1.  Will I be able to do the kind of work that motivates me; not just observing?
2.  Will I be treated as a professional in the daily activities I am asked to perform?
3.  What types of projects have past interns completed?
4.  May I speak to former interns?
5.  What type of supervision can I expect?

As you take the lead in this great adventure, be sure to follow university requirements in setting up an internship, be ready to learn as never before and anticipate coming out as a more developed, competent professional.  As I recall my college internships past, I remember being put into a psych-ward to co-lead a small group, conversing with a woman in traction to better understand her needs, walking stairs with unwed pregnant teens to encourage labor, and leading a board of adults who knew more than me.  What challenges, but what growth.  May you experience the same.

Bonnie Jerke, Director Career Services
(Credit also to Lock Haven University Career Services)

You are finally at this George Fox University place, where you are experiencing college life and all it has to offer.  I remember being so proud of just being in college that it propelled me forward.  It was a time of great discovery, learning and development-not always easy by any means.  Every part of this new college experience here will generously contribute to who you are becoming.  My memories of  being in college (not GFU) include managing through class with a professor who’d had too many drinks, having an active role in InterVarsity on campus, going from class to class in -20 degree weather, being absorbed in my geology course and lab, engaging in University 4-H , and changing my major.  I even challenged a few professors in my day-what a grounding that gave me! The other thing I remember is that I never stepped foot inside the Career Services office-and I regret that.

I hope that you are already considering how you can be involved in your career management as an emerging professional.  Those who are intentional about their career planning reap many rewards:

1.  Do better academically and remain in college

2.  Make better use of tuition dollars

3.  Locate appropriate internships more readily

4.  Find employment more quickly after graduation

5.  Face less underemployment or unemployment in the future

6.  Are looked on more favorably employers…and the list continues. 

I hope that sounds really good to you and gives you motivation to be a part of our office over your time in college.  Here are some helpful things for first year students:

Bonnie Jerke, Director Career Services

Keeping it positive and using goal-setting one day at a time, can be productive strategies. At the same time, remember that the Career Services Office is still available to new alums and we are eager to assist.  I have already heard from recent grads who are learning some of the challenges they face in the job market that were not anticipated.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers reports hiring for Bachelor degree candidates is up 10% nationally. That is hopeful news since these employers are actually seeking new grads to train within their companies and grow with them. 

 New grads need to pay close attention to what they have to offer and their ability to articulate that specifically for a particular job.  What is needed is included in the following list of mindsets employers seek in who they hire from You Majored In What? Mapping your Path from Chaos to Career by Katharine Brooks:  systems, creative, analytic, strategic, positive, global, collaborative, reflective, flexible-adaptive, and problem-solving.  If these can be demonstrated to an employer in a resume and interview, it will bode well for you as a job candidate.

 Advice that is priceless for the new graduate:

1. Keep your mind on the job-implement a strategy to use one day at a time.  Be sure to keep records tracking all your activity.
2. Identify and articulate skill set; know yourself and what you want.  Label your skills and match them to what an employer describes in a job description.  Avoid showing desperation by being ambiguous about what you want.
3. Perfect professional job search skills.  This cannot be overstated in a competitive market.  You must provide a stellar cover letter and resume that will set you apart. Getting to an interview and then failing to perform is unacceptable, so put forth your best which takes practice.
4. Establish and build a network.  This is a tried and true method for finding employment along with going directly to an employer.  These will open up the hidden job market for you.  Building a LinkedIn profile is essential for making connections.
5. Watch the markets and employer hiring activity.  Learn best employers and above all do the company research and investigate company cultures.  A culture mismatch can lead to shorter employment than preferred.
6. Modify your idealistic dreams if necessary; do a reality check to provide yourself with other opportunities that will meet your needs. Don’t give up too quickly because it takes longer now to locate a best job. Journal what you learn as you go and don’t repeat your original job search mistakes.

Ken Ramberg from MonsterTrak suggests, “A successful job search strategy will consist of both an online and an offline approach.”   The new graduate will need to use the best of both worlds to accomplish the task of finding suitable employment in a time when it seems almost impossible.

Bonnie Jerke, Director Career Services

www.careers.georgefox.edu

503-554-2330

careers@georgefox.edu