Student Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel » Interviews

Conquering Your Jabberwocky – Part II

Lisa Simmons — Thu, 17 May 2012 02:10:47 +0000

Recently we followed Alice down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. This week, we are going to apply some lessons learned from Alice, particularly how to move past our fears.

The Jabberwocky is an appropriate analogy for our fears. It has “jaws that bite,” which could be construed as words that pierce our psyche and wound our self-confidence. It has “claws that catch” which could be analogous to being paralyzed with fear.

In other words, the fear not only makes us question ourselves but also stops our forward motion.

So, how can we combat our own Jabberwocky?

Make a list of your accomplishments & check it twice (or more).

Always keep a list of your accomplishments, regardless of how small they may seem to you at the time. Not only is this a good way to combat the “jaws that bite,” but it will also come in handy when performance reports are due. Don’t fall into the trap of not tooting your own horn. Chances are that, if you don’t, very few others will. Absalom would say “I can’t help you if you don’t even know who you are.” This is true. Know yourself, and make certain that others know you and are aware of your accomplishments too.

Remember that fears often seem bigger than they are.

Think about the accomplishments of humanity. Now ask yourself what life would be like right now if all these wonderful inventors, writers, scientists, and others were too fearful to step out of their comfort zone. When Alice first saw the Jabberwocky, she responded in fear. “This is impossible!” The Mad Hatter responded, “Only if you believe it is.”

Too often we see fear as insurmountable. It looks very much like Alice’s Jabberwocky–big, mean, and really ugly. It is often so intimidating that retreat feels like the only safe alternative. This brings us to feelings.

Remember that feelings don’t dictate reality.

Feelings begin in our thoughts and become quite tangible in our gut, but they are not reality. Sometime we forget that we can and should exercise control over them. We also overlook the fact that feelings do not dictate right or wrong. They do not predict success or failure either.

Combat bad feelings by grabbing your list of accomplishments and start to “believe in six impossible things before breakfast.” Note even the smallest of successes because they often lead to even larger “wins.” Most importantly, believe in yourself.

Embrace the madness.

When the Mad Hatter was having a particularly bad day, Alice said: “You’re entirely bonkers. But, I’ll tell you a secret. All the best people are.” Although every fiber of our being tends to want to fit in, the most interesting people are those who are different. Don’t be afraid to explore different avenues and ideas. Great works of art, scientific discoveries, and amazing inventions are rarely comparable to anything before. Color outside the lines! You might just be the next great contributor to humanity.

Your vorpal sword

Alice dispatched the Jabberwocky with the vorpal sword, which the White Queen described as hope. You can do the same. Along with your accomplishments, list your hopes. What is it that you want to eventually accomplish? Nothing is as big a threat to your dreams as fear. Hope is the antidote.

Return from Wonderland.

Alice was strengthened on her return from wonderland. She had discovered who she was and had an appropriate assessment of her abilities. She pitched her ideas to a family friend and businessman. We last see her on the deck of a boat heading to pursue trade with China.

Once you have some successes in your very own wonderland, you will have a better idea of your capabilities. You will learn when to heed fear and when to shove it aside and move forward. Fear will become a tool rather than your master.

Break free.

Did you know that the word “fear” has a fitting acronym? It is FEAR – False Evidence Appearing Real. Isn’t that truly what fear is? Can you see how it can “bind and catch?” Now it is time to break free and conquer your Jabberwocky!

Author

As Associate Director of Employer Experience for Wake Forest University, Lisa’s passion is connecting employers with student talent and creating a positive experience for both. She leads a university-wide Employer Experience team which is responsible for all aspects of recruiting, retention, and systems for the graduate business school. Her strengths include relationship management, networking, social media engagement, information aggregation, process facilitation and communication. Lisa has been employed at Wake Forest since the fall of 2002. She has over 20 years of work experience in various roles. Prior to arriving at Wake Forest, she was an entrepreneur, venturing into web-based international sales and marketing of salvage automotive parts and accessories. Before that, she was a trust officer in the Employee Benefit Trust area of Wachovia Bank. Lisa is also a veteran of the United States Air Force. Lisa earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Rollins College and a Masters in Liberal Arts from Wake Forest. Visit Lisa’s blog, follow her on Twitter, or connect via LinkedIn.

Job Rejection…..Until We Meet Again

Ronisha Goodwin — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:49:18 +0000

In the world of campus recruiting, it’s likely that a recruiter will see a student multiple times. Between interviews, professional functions, and on-campus recruiting efforts, a student could have several interactions with the same recruiter.

Depending upon the outcome of these interactions, seeing a recruiter again may or may not be an experience a student views as pleasant, particularly if the recruiter did not select the student for an internship or employment opportunity.

Don’t take it personally.

Rejection is hard and as a student, coming face to face with a recruiter who rejected you can be awkward. Recognizing that this is a common situation for many students, my best advice is to take the emotion out of the experience. You may not have been selected for the opportunity, but once you’re in the room with the recruiter, your focus should be on demonstrating to them that there are no hard feelings. This is definitely an exercise in professionalism! Smile, shake their hand, be cordial, make small talk. Your recruiter will be impressed with your ability to navigate what could be a tough situation and may see you in a different light as a result.

Sometimes, it’s just not the right time.

As a recruiter, I’m open to keeping in touch with candidates I didn’t select, because although they were not the right candidate for one role, another opportunity may arise that the fits the candidate perfectly. Although it’s difficult, consider that sometimes rejection isn’t actually a “no”–sometimes it’s a “not right now”.

I meet many students who love the Hyatt brand and see themselves working within one of our hotels. If enthusiasm was the sole criteria for selection, they would be the perfect candidate! But our college programs are very competitive and a student may need more time to develop or mature professionally in order to ensure they’ll be successful within our organization. Therefore the opportunity to see and network with the student again is definitely one that I’m open to. If we didn’t meet again, how would I ever have the opportunity to see their growth and hear about the experiences that have shaped them since the last time we met?

Stay connected.

Embrace the opportunity to stay connected. Although you were rejected, you may still want to work for the specific organization; therefore, seeing the recruiter again may help to maintain a relationship. You could also be in a place where the company no longer interests you, but recognizing that industry is small, it is very likely that you and your recruiter will run into each other again. Take advantage of an opportunity to say hello. If a situation changes, it will make it easier for you to reach out to them.

Rejection is difficult. Moving past the emotion connected with rejection is even harder. Facing the recruiter who rejected you is a test in professionalism, but one you can definitely pass.

Author

Ronisha is one of Hyatt’s College Recruiting Managers. Hyatt’s College Recruiters visit more than 30 college campuses each year recruiting top talent at hospitality programs across the country. A graduate of The Ohio State University, Ronisha begin her Hyatt career as a Human Resources Corporate Management Trainee. During her ten years with Hyatt, she has worked at Hyatt Hotels in Orlando, Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey. To learn more about opportunities with Hyatt please visit hyatt.jobs, follow Hyatt on twitter @hyattcareers, become a Hyatt Facebook fan at Hyatt Hotels and Resorts Careers and follow the Campus Recruiter blog at blog.hyatt.jobs.

Build Relationships to Build a Career

Jonathan Petrino — Tue, 08 May 2012 22:25:28 +0000

If you’re coming up on graduation, and you’re looking to start your career–this post is for you. If you are a year or more away from graduation, then this post is really for you!

Starting and building a career can be a daunting task…that is, unless you invest time and effort upfront to build meaningful relationships. I think if you do this early, and often, you’ll find that your career will develop over time. This will help you avoid a ‘start-from-scratch’ approach every time you want to make a change.

You might be saying: “Meaningful relationships? I just need a job!” And, that’s a fair statement–but I think it’s one that won’t serve you well in the long-run.

The days of blasting out resumes online are dead. Instead of waiting until a few weeks before graduation and digging through job postings– start making a point to build relationships with people that you can learn from. Online tools for networking (websites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Blogs) are great–and they can be used to reinforce your relationships made offline.

Where to get started?

Your personal network: Friends and family are your closest existing relationships. Everyone knows someone. Make sure you tell your family and friends what you want to do or learn about. (I actually landed an internship through a family member’s connections).
Professors: A few things make your professors and faculty valuable to your job search.
It’s likely that they know many people in the industry around the subject they teach. They also know other professors–who know other professionals! The best way to approach this? Ask your professors if they know anyone you can set up an informational interview with.
Professional organizations: A few minutes spent researching online can turn up a list of organizations that you may be interested in joining. Most of these groups have special rates (if not free) for students.

Getting started is the only hard part here. Once you have built a small number of meaningful relationships, I think you’ll find the value you receive is enormous over time. Graduating and starting a career can be intimidating, but building relationships and connections will really help you navigate through your future.

Author

Jonathan has broad ranging experience and currently works as a Customer Success Manager at Responsys, Inc. He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University where he majored in Marketing. He previously worked for Thomson Reuters, where he also had an internship during college, and he worked for Expedia in an account management role for their North American lodging business. Jonathan is an avid enthusiast of all things marketing, economics, and travel. And, he is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Connect with Jonathan on Twitter (@jonathanpetrino), LinkedIn, and his website.

Do You Have Room to Negotiate Salary?

Ronisha Goodwin — Wed, 02 May 2012 01:24:34 +0000

Although I’ve had students ask my opinion about negotiating starting salaries, I was somewhat caught off guard when a student I offered a position to actually called me back to negotiate. I’m a big believer that “a closed mouth doesn’t get fed”, so I definitely respected the student for initiating the conversation.

Similar to many Management Training programs, the starting salaries for our programs are set and nonnegotiable. Recognizing that many recent college graduates may be in a similar situation, wondering if there is room to negotiate, I’d like to offer the following:

Consider the entire offer.

When evaluating an offer, it’s easy to focus solely on the starting salary. However, it’s essential that you consider the entire offer. For example, in addition to health insurance benefits, our company provides paid sick days, vacation days, holidays, tuition reimbursement, as well as a company match in the retirement savings plan. We also give 12 free hotel room nights per year and free meals in the Associate Dining Room. These are benefits that if converted to monetary value, they would easily be worth more than $10,000.

In my opinion, there is limited room to negotiate when you’re a recent college graduate. Especially if you are applying for a Management Training program, it is very likely that the salary will be firm. But there could be the opportunity for you to receive other benefits. For example, companies offer relocation assistance or perhaps a “signing bonus.” If these benefits weren’t included in your offer, you could inquire about them and their availability.

Consider quality of life.

I encourage you to also consider what your life would be like if you accepted the offer. Assuming the salary offered is not as high as you desire, will you be living within your desired geographic location? Does the work schedule allow you to continue participating in activities that are important to you? Your happiness outside of work is priceless and may justify accepting an offer, because you’ll be able to ensure a richer quality of life.

Consider raises and promotional opportunities.

Looking beyond the salary and benefits, you should also consider opportunities for growth and future raises. Does your potential company evaluate their employees regularly? Are salary increases given annually? What are the opportunities for growth if you wanted to move up within the company? These are all questions you should ask your recruiter and carefully consider when you’re evaluating an offer. The potential to move up within the organization, may outweigh a salary that you feel is on the lower end of the spectrum.

You may not be able to negotiate the salary of your first professional opportunity, but remember sometimes all you need is an opportunity. You can then allow that one opportunity to catapult you into even greater roles and higher salaries.

Author

Standing Out During a Career Fair

Ronisha Goodwin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 09:00:06 +0000

Career Fairs can be challenging and overwhelming for students. At the same time, career fairs are great for students to find internships and permanent positions because there are so many employers in the same place at the same time. In order to ensure that you receive the most value from your career fair experience, consider the following points of advice on how to stand out from the crowd of attendees at a career fair.

Dress to impress

Start by taking the career fair experience seriously and wear your best professional dress attire. When considering a family selling their home, one of the recommendations that is often made is for them to strip their personal effects from the house and decorate in a manner that allows potential buyers to easily envision themselves living there. My reasoning for encouraging you to wear professional dress to the career fair is similar.

Since career fairs are about first impressions, you want to present the best image to the company representative and make them even more interested in getting to know you better. You want them to be able to envision you as part of the organization and that vision starts with your appearance and presentation.

Additionally, sometimes recruiters schedule or even conduct actual interviews during career fairs. You’ll feel most confident and prepared if you’re interviewing in your best suit as opposed to the jeans and t-shirt you originally may have considered wearing.

Open strong and speak with confidence

I know it’s difficult to initiate conversation with a recruiter, but if you want to stand out you have to do so! It’s very likely that a ton of attendees will walk up to the company’s booth and ask the representative “What do you have available?”, which is a passive approach. Instead, set yourself apart by taking a stronger and more confident approach.

Consider starting with “Hello, I’m (introduce yourself), a (freshman, sophomore, etc.) majoring in ____________. What positions would you suggest for someone who wants to begin their career or gain internship experience with your company?”

An even stronger opening can be achieved by researching a company’s college programs in advance and then asking a specific question about the program that most applies to you. For example, at Hyatt we have a Corporate Management Training Program for graduating seniors. At career fairs, I’m more impressed by the candidate who prepared in advance and spends his or her time with me and asking targeted questions, as opposed to the candidate who is just “stopping by” the booth.

Brave the career fair alone

Lastly, yes, sometimes there is comfort in numbers, but career fairs should be a solo experience. Focus on your goal of obtaining an internship or permanent position; you can bond with your friends at another time. You should bring plenty of copies of your resume and focus first on the employers that most interest you. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for the opportunity to interview or set up time in the coming weeks to discuss potential opportunities with the company’s representative. Within 24 hours, follow up with a note via email to the representative that you met during the career fair. The timing of your follow-up correspondence is important because you want to reach out while your interaction is still fresh in the recruiter’s mind.

It’s easy to get lost in the sea of career fair attendees, but with a preparation, you can take control and stand out from the crowd.

Author

Are you learning everything you need to know?

Michele Posehn — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:00:33 +0000

Most students begin college thinking they’ll learn everything they need to know for their future careers in the classrooms on campus. While you’ll gain considerable knowledge learning facts and figures, theories and policies, you’ll also develop critical thinking skills, learn to work in teams, build leadership skills and begin to see the bigger picture as it relates to your career field and a specific job within that career. At the same time, are you really learning everything you need to know?

Some skills come from experience and others require you to practice … and practice, like public speaking. As you prepare for your future, here are some specific skills that could benefit you in the working world.

Public Speaking:

At some point in your career, you will need to speak in front of a group of people, whether it be a presentation you’re giving or defending your point of view. Even if you took a public speaking class, you should continue learning and practicing how to articulate and organize your thoughts. You can join clubs, such as Toastmasters that teach you the basics of public speaking. It’s a great way to practice with an audience who will give you constructive criticism and encouragement.

Dealing with Tense Situations:

Throughout your life, you will work with many people who don’t see eye to eye with you. You’ll encounter times when projects aren’t going in the direction you had hoped for or you and a coworker will need to have a tough conversation about processes, ideas or responsibilities. Learning to take a step back and approach the situation with an effective and constructive communication approach while understanding the emotions of each person involved is key to resolving difficult or tense situations professionally.

Working as a Team:

In college, your team projects often give you the chance to develop your planning skills, teach you how to delegate and build in accountability to your team. Sometimes, you find that you need to be prepared to step in when others don’t deliver. In the working world, you’ll use all of these skills and more. As you develop your teamwork skills, remember that sometimes it’s good to listen, setting team goals and building trust in the group is important, and personalities can have a big impact on the team’s leadership.

Get connected:

Keep up on the latest news from your industry and also potential companies where you might want to work. You should also learn how your targeted companies are affected by current events. To learn more about the industry, consider subscribing to business publications, blogs, or newsletters by industry associations.

Build your professional network by connecting with potential mentors or leaders in your industry by asking your professors to introduce you to their contacts. You can also search for professional contacts on LinkedIn and Twitter–but regardless of how you find people, you want to truly connect with them and build relationships. Get to know your contacts personally–don’t connect just to add another contact in your LinkedIn address book. It would also be beneficial to attend professional organization meetings and introduce yourself; be seen, be known, grow your possibilities for contacts after graduation and beyond.

Time Management:

While managing assignments for multiple classes and campus clubs is beginning to teach you how to manage your time, learning to set priorities and meet deadlines are also critical skills. Do you use a calendar or other online tool to track your assignments? Do you make lists to track your responsibilities? Do you procrastinate or set aside too much time for social activities? Take the time now to build good time management skills to ensure your success later on the job.

The classroom is producing an excellent student. It is up to you to go one step further and produce an excellent employee.

Author

Michele is a Senior Recruiter for Sodexo, a world leader in quality of daily life solutions that contribute to the progress of individuals and the performance of organizations. As a former assistant director at the University of Maryland University College’s Career and Cooperative Education Center, she’s no stranger to students trying to plan their careers. During that time, she worked with non-traditional college students to gain school credit for on the job work experience. Michele also taught seminars on job searching, resume writing and interview techniques, and partnered with local employers to help students gain employment. At Sodexo, she has continued her interest in shaping student careers by serving as a mentor to an intern in the company’s Future Leaders Program. Michele began her recruitment career in 1999, joining Sodexo in 2008 where she recruits for a range of food, facilities and environmental services positions. Michele holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland College Park (go Terps), is a charter member of a Baltimore area Toastmasters chapter, and a Certified Internet Recruiter (CIR) and Certified Diversity Recruiter (CDR). When not giggling with her two girls, Michele enjoys writing … and watching the Yankees win, much to the dismay of her husband. Join her on LinkedIn or just Network with Us at Sodexo.

Tell Me a Memorable Story

Ronisha Goodwin — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 09:00:05 +0000

Recognizing that recruiters meet a plethora of candidates, it is essential that you maximize your time with them and ensure that you stand out. One of the easiest ways for you to do so is to tell a story during your interview. I know it may sound odd, but trust me–a recruiter may not remember the color tie you wore or how tall you were, but they will remember the story you told during your interview, especially if it was a memorable one.

Make your story memorable and interesting.

Recently, I met a young woman who was interested in completing a summer internship with Hyatt. She was 1 of 24 students I interviewed during my time on this particular campus. When I asked her to give me an example of a challenge she had to overcome, she told me about her internship at a hotel in Hong Kong.

This particular internship required her to answer phones and assist guests who did not speak English. Although she was somewhat proficient in speaking Chinese, it was truly a challenge for her to provide assistance to guests over the phone without the benefit of body language or visual cues. Her description of the experience was both detailed and interesting enough for me to paint my own mental image and to share with my peers when we were discussing the students we had met during our recent recruiting trips.

Practice and prepare your story.

When preparing for your interview, consider one or two stories you would want to share with your interviewer. Did you run a marathon at age 12 or raise a significant amount of money for your community? These are achievements worth sharing! Although you won’t know the specific questions you’ll be asked during your interview, it is likely that at least one of the stories you prepare will fit in nicely within your response to a specific question at some point during the interview.

Choose your story carefully.

You want to ensure that the story you tell is concise, demonstrates a positive behavior, and shows you in the very best light! You also want to be sure the story is interesting and memorable. Therefore, it’s extremely important that you rehearse the details of your stories in advance. Rehearsing the story out loud for others will also help ensure that your body language and non-verbal cues support your storytelling.

If you’re having difficulty finding a story or two to share, take a look at your resume. Sometimes students have difficulty condensing their resumes to one page. The advice I often give is to consider the items listed on the resume–are there achievements or details that would bring more value when shared during an interview rather than hidden within the content of your resume?

A firm handshake, professional appearance, and warm smile are all the building blocks of a good first impression. In order to build a lasting impression, good communication skills and a memorable story are both key components!

Author

Social Networks and Your Job Search (Part 2)

Sejal Patel — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 09:00:27 +0000

So you’re all signed up, now what? My last post, Social Networks and Your Job Search (Part 1), was dedicated to introducing some of the newer ways companies are opening themselves up by sharing the basics of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Now that you have the basics, let’s move on to what else you can do with these networks.

LinkedIn Love

If you build it, they will come–right? Wrong–but putting in some time now will help you in the long run.

Fill out your profile: Include past internships, leadership positions, work experience–anything that you would share on a resume!
Upload a picture: This should be a nice head shot of you looking at the camera, not one of you far off in the distance where you can’t be recognized. (This doesn’t have to be a professional photograph–as long as the photo is clear and appropriate, you can use it.)
Add your connections: This can take some time, especially if you’re brand-new to the network, but break it down into manageable tasks (10 people at at a time?) or use the tools that LinkedIn provides. You can log in with your email address and it will search your address book for contacts who are already on LinkedIn. You can also add connections by Colleagues (past workplaces), Alumni (your school) and People You Might Know (based on your network, skills and interests.)
Join a group: In the bottom right corner of your homepage, LinkedIn will recommend groups that you may like based on your profile and skills–join one. Heck, join a few! These groups often have their own communities and provide a means to connect with other like-minded individuals. These could people in jobs you’re interested in or with similar skills who could open you up to a new career path you hadn’t even considered yet. Some groups, like our Intel Student Lounge, are moderated on a daily basis by recruiters who share hot jobs–this can help you with questions about applying or what it’s like to work at the company and they even give away stuff!

From Facebook friend to Facebook fan

Are you using Facebook lists? If not, I highly recommend you do. It’s a huge pain in the butt to get organized, but it’ll be worth it–trust me.

By organizing lists, you’re categorizing your connections on Facebook–you can sort by family, friends, acquaintances, where people live, how you know them, etc. Once you have lists set up, you can adjust your privacy and sharing settings so that what your friends see and your aunt sees can be separated. Use the same thought process for what you’d want to share with a small group of people but not everyone you’re connected to via Facebook.

Many companies are setting up shop on Facebook through fan pages–are you a fan? Search for a company whose products you like or you’d like to work for, and chances are that they have a fan page out there. By becoming a fan (aka “Liking” the page), you’ll now get updates from the page to your newsfeed, the same way you get updates from your friends. Companies often post pictures, videos, and news about the company, keeping you in the loop on the latest and greatest. Some companies have specific pages for different parts of the organization–for example there might be a page dedicated to Jobs or Careers. By becoming a fan of a page like this, you might hear about the newest job opportunities by just checking your Facebook and seeing what came up in your newsfeed!

Fan pages aren’t just measured by the number of fans, but engagement as well. Use the wall to ask questions, comment on posts and like/share to your heart’s content! While different companies have different moderation policies, this could be your way of directly communicating with someone at the company. (For example, I manage our Discover Intel – Global page and personally try to answer every comment that comes through. Don’t believe me? Give it a whirl;-) )

Tweet tweet!

Ever had a good idea or thought, but no one to share it with? Enter Twitter. There are lots of conversations that take place on Twitter and they are open to anyone and everyone to join. I’d start by searching Twitter for to find people and conversations to tune into. Interested in a social media job? Search “social media”. Want to connect with someone at a specific company? Search the company name (and add in “+ recruiter” to find a recruiter!) Once you find people, start following them so that their tweets will show up in your feed. Once the tweets start coming in, RT (retweet) and reply (@) away! Sometimes you’ll be thanked for a RT or you’ll get a response to an @ and sometimes you won’t, but stick with it. You can also check out other people’s followers lists to find more interesting and like-minded folks to follow. There’s no limit to how many people you can follow (you get to decide what’s “too much noise” and what’s not) so click away! And if you find that you started following someone who isn’t relevant anymore, just unfollow them. Done.

Companies are joining Twitter as well! For example, we have a @JobsatIntel account that shares hot jobs, news about Intel and articles or posts we think you might interesting. Another type of Twitter account you can look out for is a cultural twitter account, like @LifeatIntel, which profiles a different Intel employee every week, giving you a chance to “follow” them around and see what their work week is like.

Twitter is the first place I turn to for a rant or rave–companies that respond to my tweets automatically get bonus points in my book. Why? Because they’re listening and who doesn’t want to be heard?!

Last time we talked about setting up profiles, today I gave you some tips on how to build you profiles and expand your reach on networks. Next time, I’ll go into some details on how to connect with recruiters and companies directly.

Author

Sejal is a Recruitment Marketing Project Manager at Intel. She is part of the team that is responsible for Intel’s global employment brand. This team helps connect candidates with Intel and Intel with candidates using channels such as the Jobs at Intel web site, the Life at Intel microsite and other Web 2.0 channels. Sejal specifically manages theJobs at Intel Blog and Intel’s recruitment Facebook strategy. Originally from Toronto, Ontario (yes—a real, breathing Canadian!), Sejal graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with her Bachelor’s in Communications before starting at Intel in 2008. When she’s not working, you’ll find Sejal working at crossing things off of her Bucket List (which includes skydiving, reading 1000 books and traveling the world), eating cupcakes or spending time with family and friends. To learn more about opportunities with Intel, visit intel.com/jobs, follow Intel on Twitter @JobsatIntel or check out the Jobs@Intel blog!

Is Your Resume Lost in Translation?

Michele Posehn — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 09:00:08 +0000

I was an English major, so it goes without saying that I love words. But, words can also be detrimental. As a job seeker, words can lead to your downfall if you’re not using the right ones on your resume or in your cover letter. As a college student, you’re likely to have summer jobs that don’t match up with your future career aspirations.

Even if you were a waitress, a cashier or a stock manager, you’ve gained some valuable skills that can be applied to your future career. You can also find experience in the work you’ve done with campus organizations, internships and even class projects. Your resume isn’t as empty as you think! Whatever your situation may be, try to figure out how to effectively say what it is you have done. You should translate your experience from one occupation to another–using the right words on your resume is key to getting noticed, recognized and called for a phone interview. Here are some tips:

1. Use keywords:

Make sure that you include the appropriate keywords on your resume. Including words that describe your experience and skill that reflect the requirements of a given job description help recruiters find your resume and quickly see how you match the job for which you’re applying. Sites like O*Net let you look up information about specific occupations. Within the description of each occupation is a listing of knowledge, skills and abilities needed for that profession. This is a great resource for finding career-specific keywords to include on your resume to reference your own skills and experience.

2. Understand what counts:

Are you just graduating and think you don’t have experience? Perhaps you’re changing careers and don’t know what’s relevant? Take some time to learn about transferable skills. Understanding how to translate your experience–whether in part-time work, another career or things you did for various college campus associations or clubs–can help you make a connection between your activities and experiences, and the type of employee you’ll be for a company. On campus, your Career Center should be able to help you identify and categorize your skills appropriately on your resume. You can also head to Google and read a ton of information on various types of transferable skills or even use worksheets to help you identify your skills.

3. Focus on accomplishments:

The first time you build your resume, it can be tempting to list every single task you were asked to do at each job or internship you’ve held. While this can be comprehensive, it’s more important to focus on your accomplishments to showcase your work rather than a job description for each position. Did you complete any major projects? What were the outcomes? Can you quantify any of your work? For example, did you exceed any goals, improve processes or manage specific programs/projects? Showing your capabilities tells recruiters more than the laundry list of daily tasks. Feel free to can cite any awards you’ve received for academic or work performance. Here are some examples:

As a leader in my fraternity/sorority, responsible for new member recruitment, I was able to increase candidate applications by x percent.
As a summer sales associate at a department store, I claimed top sales for the day on the reader board – or – I increased sales by x percent.

4. Flowery Language is a No-No:

You may want to remember the old adage–bigger is not always better. Your experience will speak for itself–get to the point so you don’t lose your audience. Your resume should consist of factual information and therefore substantiate your accomplishments.

5. Avoid Acronyms:

Avoid using acronyms if they are company or organization specific. People outside your organization will be ignorant to their meaning. Try to rework to make them more generic and relatable. As a general rule, unless the acronym is a well-recognized industry term, avoid acronyms.

6. Use a Resume Translator:

There are great resources out there to help you take your industry-specific terms and turn them into words we can all understand. For example, if you are in the tech field, do a Google search for topics like “tech terms to avoid” or, for those with a military background, try sites like GI Jobs or Military.com to help translate your technical terms into corporate keywords.

As a job seeker, your first impression hinges on what you say and how you say it. Being clear and concise will allow a recruiter to identify what exactly your contribution can be to an organization. In a world of thousands of candidates being reviewed yearly, make sure that in the few minutes a recruiter looks at your resume, it tells a story of not only your background, but those intangibles of dedication, leadership, and ability to learn. Cutting through the muck of buzzwords you learned in class will help to lift the fog.

Author

A Career Navigation System

Lisa Simmons — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 10:00:17 +0000

Last week, I had to travel across the state to pick up a purchase. Since it was dark, I had to use a navigation system instead of the printed directions I had brought–this made me a bit uncomfortable because I wanted to be able to see where I was going. While on my drive, I was taken off the most obvious path, but I used my intuition to bring me safely to my destination.

Can you relate to this?

Have you ever been out in the middle of an unfamiliar nowhere after dark? Have you wished that you could better see the road ahead? I’ll bet you have, but perhaps not in the way that you might think.

Take hold of your career path.

The term “career path” is often used in speaking about careers. The word “path” assumes some sort of movement between points. As you travel between two points, it is necessary to obtain and follow some type of directions, much like visiting an unknown place. At times, it may feel as if you are traveling down a dark road and you don’t really feel all that comfortable. You would like to be able to see ahead, know more about your surroundings or, at least, feel as if you are not alone in your travel.

On dealing with the “bumps” in the road…

I have some good news for you. In a way, you can think of your career center as your career navigation system that can assist you along your career path. Your career center has the tools that can help guide you in the right direction. Like a navigation unit, they know where the roads lead. They know when you should turn left or right and slow down or speed up. They can also help you navigate along alternate routes if necessary.

Don’t wait until senior year to ask for assistance in your career journey. That would be like me heading out last week without a map and a navigation system. Can you imagine the consequences? Don’t be that person!

Good luck in your journey!

Author

As Assistant Director of Recruiting within the Wake Forest Schools of Business Employer Relations team, Lisa’s passion is connecting employers with student talent and creating a positive experience for both. She manages all aspects of recruiting, retention, and systems for the graduate business school. Her strengths include relationship management, networking, social media engagement, information aggregation, process facilitation and communication. Lisa has been employed at Wake Forest since the fall of 2002. She has over 20 years of work experience in various roles. Prior to arriving at Wake Forest, she was an entrepreneur, venturing into web-based international sales and marketing of salvage automotive parts and accessories. Before that, she was a trust officer in the Employee Benefit Trust area of Wachovia Bank. Lisa is also a veteran of the United States Air Force. Lisa earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Rollins College and a Masters in Liberal Arts from Wake Forest. Visit Lisa’s blog, follow her on Twitter, or connect on LinkedIn.