My Career Advisor

May 5-11: Public Service Recognition Week

Jennifer Carignan — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:45:32 +0000

The Partnership for Public Service and Public Employees Roundtable will host Public Service Recognition Week on May 5-11. Students and alumni with a passion for public service and career aspirations in the federal government may be interested in participating in two events targeting the general public:

Public Service 5K Run/Walk

Sunday, May 5

Start time: 8:00am

Anacostia Park, Washington, DC

Registration: http://publicservicerecognitionweek.org/events/5k.shtml

To kick off PSRW 2013, government employees, their families and friends, and area running enthusiasts are invited to participate and show their support and appreciation for our country’s dedicated public servants.

Public Service Town Hall

Monday, May 6

Start time: 1:00pm

Registration: http://pps.convio.net/site/Calendar?id=102024&view=Detail

Moderator: Cokie Roberts, Political Commentator, ABC News

Federal agency leaders will discuss the value of government service, how to communicate that value to the American people, and ways to support and motivate employees in this challenging and uncertain environment.

Sequestration Watch: Updates on Federal Hiring

Jennifer Carignan — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:44:39 +0000

With federal agencies still facing the effects of sequestration, there have been many questions about the availability of jobs and internships in the federal government. In a recent interview with Federal News Radio, federal hiring expert Lily Whiteman notes that while a lot of agencies have cut back on hiring, not all have done so, and it’s important to continually check USAJobs for an updated list of vacancies. Whiteman also confirmed that Pathways and other internships are a great way to enter federal service; students and alumni who qualify for the Internship Program and Recent Graduates Program should seek these opportunities in agencies of interest.

It is especially important during these times to have strong application materials for federal jobs and internships. Take the extra time to develop a solid federal resume and carefully respond to application questionnaires to ensure that you have the best possible chance of being offered an interview.

For students and alumni searching for federal jobs and internships, we strongly suggest that you set up and monitor alerts on USAJobs to stay on top of vacancies and general hiring needs of agencies. If you’re interested in additional updates on furloughs by agency, visit Government Executive’s helpful furlough tracking site.

Job Search Etiquette: Common Mistakes, Part 2

Anna Litman — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:22:56 +0000

In my previous blog on Job Search Etiquette, I warned you about 3 common mistakes that may disinvite you from a job interview. Today, I would like to talk about one more etiquette mistake that some job seekers make in their job search process, and I would like AU students not to make it, ever! This concerns appropriate behavior after a job interview. If you do want the job, hopefully, you know what you need to do right after the job interview: send personalized hand-written thank you cards or/and e-mails to each interviewer–ASAP. But what should you do if you’ve decided not to pursue this job opportunity? You may have gotten a better job offer somewhere else, or you didn’t like the interviewers, or you’ve changed your mind about this job altogether. Do you let the employer know about your intentions or let them figure it out because you, for example, won’t follow up on your promise to send the employer a list of your references? The former is the right action, and the latter is a job search etiquette blunder that may have unpleasant consequences for you in the future. It is considered a common courtesy to inform your interviewer of your intentions, whatever they may be. You should send an e-mail, or call them directly, thanking for the opportunity and letting them know about your decision. Communicate promptly, directly, and politely! If you don’t do it there is a good chance that the interviewers will remember you as someone who lacks professional manners.

A bad reputation may follow you for a long time. It may hurt you when you least expect it. Professionals from different organizations working in the same field may know and interact with each other. You may run into your former interviewers at conferences or other events. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a chance of networking with this person, instead of feeling uncomfortable around him/her? I know of a student whose unprofessional behavior with one employer ruined her chances with her preferred organization. The student had interviews in two separate organizations. Her interviewer in the first organization happened to be married to the interviewer in the second organization. The student decided that she wasn’t interested in the first organization but didn’t let them know, leaving their e-mails and phone messages unanswered. She wanted the job with the second organization. The husband and wife talked over dinner about their work and found out that the ambitious young woman whom the wife was considering for the job was the same candidate who lacked common courtesy with the husband’s organization. The wife reconsidered her hiring decision because she started doubting the candidate’s interpersonal and communication skills. It’s a very small world. Cherish your reputation and act accordingly! Be enthusiastic and assertive when you want the job, while exhibiting courtesy and good manners in all professional encounters, including good-byes.

After Attending the Job and Internship Fair, What’s Next?

Taylor Roosevelt — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 18:06:37 +0000

[Contributed by Career Center Writer Roxana Hadadi]

Were you one of the more than 1,000 students who attended the Career Center’s Job and Internship Fair on Tuesday, March 27? Did you chat with one of the more than 130 companies, organizations, and nonprofits at the fair? Did you drop off your resume with recruiters? Well … now what?

Getting prepared for each semester’s career fair can be a daunting task, but after the fair is over, don’t become complacent, says Taylor Roosevelt, the Career Center’s customer service coordinator. Getting in touch with contacts, demonstrating your interest in their companies, and continuing the conversations you started at the fair are important steps to help employers remember you and understand why you’re the right candidate for them.

For more insights from Taylor about how to initiate follow-up chats, as well as information about the resources the Career Center offers to assist you in using your fair experience to your benefit, read on!

Q: What should students be doing immediately after the fair to act on the meetings they had with employers?

A: Immediately after the fair, they should have a sense of their interest in particular positions—that should have been verified by speaking with employers. If they haven’t already applied for those positions through employers at the fair, they should be doing so. Their first step should be to either log onto AU CareerWeb, or wherever the employer has their position listed on their website, and apply for those positions.

Q: And how can the Career Center assist in that application process, of crafting specific cover letters for these openings?

A: Students can meet with a career advisor or a peer advisor, and we also have sample cover letters that are available on our website, and we have several print books with cover letters that students can use. And they should also, hopefully during the fair, have jotted down notes during conversations with employers, and they can use those details in their cover letters.

Q: What about follow-up conversations with employers? Should students be reaching out to the people they spoke with, or waiting for contact instead?

A: It really varies depending on the decision of the employer. Some of the employers at the fair weren’t accepting resumes because they require applications to go through the same channel across the board, so students would have to apply online. But it doesn’t hurt to send the recruiter an email and say, “Thank you for speaking with me the other day; I wanted to let you know that I’m submitting my application and would like to continue this conversation further.” It really depends on the employer’s timeline, but regardless of whether a student technically submitted their application at the fair or if they’re doing it now, it’s a good idea to send an email follow-up.

If they don’t have the employer’s direct email, they can search for the recruiter on LinkedIn and connect with them that way. It’s never a good idea to send a generic LinkedIn message; they should edit it to say something like, “We spoke at the American University Career Fair about my interest in such-and-such position. I would just like to reiterate my interest in this position and I’ll be getting in touch with you soon with my application.”

Q: And if students decide to set that follow-up conversation process into motion, how much contact is enough to get you noticed, and how much is too much?

A: If the employer said, “We’ll be in touch with you,” if you call them the next day and ask if they processed your application, then that’s inappropriate. Also, the quantity of follow-ups can be inappropriate—if you send the employer an email on, say, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday after the fair, then that’s appropriate, but if you send them one on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday after the fair, then that’s excessive.

And you have to respect that the process takes time on the employer’s end, as well, because although you might be applying for 10 to 15 positions, the employer is looking through hundreds of applications. It’s good to send a follow-up so you’re fresh in their mind, but not to send too many so you’re discounted from the process.

Q: What if a student doesn’t end up securing the position they applied for through the fair? Is there a constructive way to maintain that contact with the employer?

A: A lot of that comes from how the employer communicates that they did not get this position. If the employer says, “You were one of our top candidates, but we chose to go in a different direction,” then it is appropriate to keep up that conversation in the future. If you got a form email saying, “We’ve hired someone else,” then we recommend expanding your network so you don’t just focus on that recruiter in terms of your network with that organization. Students can do that by joining the AU Alumni LinkedIn group and connecting to alumni who work with the organization so that they can be aware of other opportunities, and that way, if they apply for another position—even if it’s with the same recruiter—that alumni contact can say, “Hey, I know this student from American University, and I think they’d be a good fit.”

Q: What are some books in the Career Center Library that students should consult for this phase of the post-fair process?

A: One of our most popular books is Self-Promotion for Introverts: The Quiet Guide to Getting Ahead by Nancy Ancowitz, and we have a copy of that in the library. It is techniques for introverts who usually don’t like talking about themselves or don’t like processing information out loud; it’s techniques for them to network and to be able to talk about themselves effectively in a way that they can promote their skills.

Another one that’s helpful is Social Networking for Career Success: Using Online Tools to Create a Personal Brand by Miriam Salpeter. It has guidelines for what kinds of networking on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are appropriate versus inappropriate, and how to tailor your Facebook public profile so that employers will be more interested in you, rather than not having one, which can sometimes be a turnoff—or having one that has a lot of inappropriate content on it. It also has information on LinkedIn, which is the most professional social networking option.

Q: And lastly, what is some advice for students who couldn’t make it to the fair this semester, but want to attend in this upcoming fall?

A: We encourage students who are even freshmen and sophomores, who might not be looking for positions currently, to go to the fair because it’s a good way to build that relationship with employers. They can get to know more about an organization’s culture, and if they get a contact within the organization, they can say, “I’m still really early in my coursework, so I’m not able to apply for an internship yet, but is there anything you would suggest for me to do to make myself a better candidate in the future?” So it doesn’t matter if students are applying for jobs right now—they can use the fair as a way to build those connections.

Career Center Resources for Different Learning Styles

Taylor Roosevelt — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 17:07:53 +0000

Are you a hands-on learner? Do you prefer lecture-style classes? Or perhaps group work is more your style. Regardless of the way you prefer to access and process information, the Career Center has a variety of resources to suit your preferences. Keep reading for more information on our resources for verbal, visual, interpersonal (social), and intrapersonal (solitary) learners.

Verbal Learning

If you enjoy grappling with concepts in conversation, consider setting up an appointment with a Career Advisor to discuss your job search strategies. We recommend that you come to your appointment having considered several key questions that will get the conversation rolling.

Attend one of our information sessions if you learn more from an instructor-led, lecture-style format.

Visual Learning

Do you like information to be short, sweet, and to the point? Visit our Pinterest page for inspiration about job search attire, online branding, and school-specific career resources.

Or, check out our CareerSpots videos. You can watch brief videos covering a variety of subjects, including job searching, interviewing, salary negotiation, networking, and more. Each video is less than 4 minutes, and includes insights from students, employers, and career advisors.

Interpersonal Learning

Workshops are a great opportunity not only to get expert insight about job search-related topics, but to engage with your peers in the learning and brainstorming process. Check out our events calendar for upcoming Career Center workshops.

Intrapersonal (Solitary) Learning

If you prefer having time to yourself to process through concepts and ideas, come check out a circulating book from our Career Resource Library, and browse the School-Specific Resources on our website.

Cover Letters…Writing about yourself without making it about yourself

marcsth — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:47:54 +0000

Cover letters are your official introduction to an employer, whereby you intrigue them enough about your background and experience so that they’re compelled to read your resume and eventually say “we have to interview this person!” Yet, for most folks, writing a cover letter ranges from being an exercise in monotony to downright uncomfortable. Cover letters for many go against everything they’ve been taught about being humble, while for other folks one page seems like not nearly enough to talk about themselves.

However, the secret to writing great cover letter letters is keeping the following in mind: It’s About Them, Not You. The best cover letters are those which focus on the organizations needs and illustrate how your skills and experiences match those needs. An important part in ensuring whether your cover letter is focusing less on yourself and more on the employer is a basic one: grammar usage, specifically of the personal pronoun “I”. When a cover letter is filled with “I”, it can (albeit unfairly) leave readers with an impression that a candidate is self-absorbed, arrogant, and only concerned with what the company can do for them. To avoid this common mistake, Greg Simpson of Lee Hecht Harrison advises three simple steps to ensure that you don’t fall into the “I-Trap”:

Gather some representative samples of your job search letters (cover, networking, follow up, etc.) written at various stages of your search.
Look at each document and circle every use of the personal pronoun “I.” Then underline how many times you used “I” to start a sentence. Were the sentences consecutive?
Practice re-writing the letters deleting all but one or two “I’s” and instead using “my,” “mine” or the pronouns we, our, you, and your. Shying away from the use of “I” not only engages readers but also projects confidence in your abilities without the arrogance.

So the next time you’ve finished cranking out that cover letter, before hitting submit, review it and ask yourself “is this cover letter about me or them?”

Job Searching During Sequestration

Jennifer Carignan — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 15:46:05 +0000

The Career Center understands that the uncertainty caused by sequestration will have an effect on our students and alumni who are currently searching for jobs and internships. We are planning a series of workshops to discuss the possible impact of sequestration on the job and internship search and offer ideas to address this challenge. In the meantime, here are some resources to find jobs and internships outside of the federal government:

AU’s Spring 2013 Job and Internship Fair will feature more than 100 employers across all sectors that are hiring for temporary and permanent positions. AU students and alumni can register and see the list of attending employers on AU CareerWeb.
Despite sequestration, many federal contractors are still hiring to fulfill existing contracts. Indeed and LinkUp are good sites to search for positions in these organizations, and setting up job alerts will allow you to view new openings without much effort. If you’re interested in researching contractors by agency to broaden your job search, visit USASpending and create a search by cabinet departments and smaller agencies. From there, visit the websites of these contractors to see if there are additional job and internship openings.
NGOs are still hiring, too. Set up job search alerts on Idealist to ensure that you’re immediately receiving any new openings in these organizations. Conduct an organization search to research new employers in the NGO sector.
Networking is still a key part of your job search, particularly during this period of uncertainty. Use LinkedIn to locate AU alumni and other contacts for informational interviews. Sign up to receive weekly DC Linktank emails for informational and networking events in the local area. If you’re outside of DC, check out the AU Alumni Association’s list of regional (and international) alumni chapters and reach out to the leaders of these groups to develop a relationship.
Keep in mind that regardless of the state of the economy, acquiring new skills is critical to your career development. AU students can take advantage of trainings offered by the library and Lynda, an online technical training site accessible via the AU Portal. Local alumni might consider auditing a course at AU to develop a new skill sought by employers.

Value of Networking & Using LinkedIn

Felicia Parks — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 18:39:46 +0000

Mention the word “networking” and it will send most people running in the other direction. The fear of networking stems from “not knowing how to approach a room full of strangers during an event” or “believing that the recipient of an email request for an informational interview will dub the individual as needy.” Whether in person or through social media sites, networking is the key ingredient to more than 80% of the hires made in the United States. According to Bob McIntosh on the Recruiting Blog “smart jobseekers attend networking events because they understand that personal networking coupled with online networking will yield better results than spending the majority of their time” on various job boards.

What is Networking & How Do I Use it Effectively?

I work with a team of professional career advisors that teach American University students the value of networking – “making connections and maintaining relationships with people who support you throughout each phase of your career” (source: http://www.american.edu/careercenter). Our very own School of Communication Professor Chris Palmer and Career Center advisors share the 7 secrets of effective networking* -

Prepare an “elevator speech”
Act with confidence even if you feel shy or intimidated
Communicate in a warm and sincere way
Follow through with referrals, and always thank your contacts
Look for ways that you and your contacts can help each other
Create a system for tracking contact information and notes
Manage your “online image”

*further details provided on American University’s Career Center website – Networking)

Networking Through LinkedIn – Professional Social Media Tool

As mentioned in a previous blogpost, Your Online Brand, 89% of employers have made a hire through LinkedIn. This professional network platform has more than 200 million members and it opens the line of communication that help users discover connections and learn about the skills they need to market to future leads. Essentially, your network of contacts may help you to choose the right career, find rewarding opportunities, develop your skills, and achieve your goals. Once you’ve decided to create your profile, LinkedIn will guide you through various steps to include your contact information, photograph, experience, education, recommendations and more in your profile. You’ll also get a chance to edit your privacy settings – what is viewed publicly and how you would like to connect with others in your professional network. Find detailed instructions, including videos on how to use LinkedIn effectively through Lynda.com.

So what’s next? Take a bold step and begin networking in person during upcoming events as well as create your LinkedIn profile. Our Career Advisors are happy to help you develop your elevator speech, discuss networking strategies and review your LinkedIn profile during an advising appoi ntment.

Job Search Etiquette: Common Mistakes, Part 1

Anna Litman — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 20:07:23 +0000

With the spring semester getting into full swing, your search for internships and jobs is, hopefully, moving to the next, very desirable, phase: from sending out resumes and cover letters to receiving invitations to interviews. Start maximizing your chances of being hired by doing a little self-check of your knowledge and practice of job search etiquette. Today, we’ll talk about 3 common mistakes that you don’t want to make when you are waiting to hear from prospective employers.

Mistake 1: Having an inappropriate voice mail greeting on your phone: jokes, jingles, or preserving your baby voice for posterity, etc.

When employers want to invite you to an interview, they will most likely contact you by phone. They are interested in you as a professional, and you want to come across as a professional, starting with your voice mail greeting. So, please review your greeting and re-record it if necessary. I wouldn’t recommend using auto (standard) greeting. It is courteous to assure people, in your own voice, that they have in fact reached your phone, and not just a phone number. Keep your greeting short and nice: e.g. “You have reached the voice mail of Anna Litman. Please leave your name, your phone number and a brief message and I will call you back as soon as I can. Thank you.” One trick of the trade: to make your voice sound pleasant, try smiling when you record your new greeting.

Mistake 2: Checking your voice mail messages irregularly.

The employer called you on Wednesday and left a message inviting you to an interview, but you only checked your messages during the weekend. By then, they may have already crossed you off from the list of candidates. Actually, even a 1-day delay in responding to the voice mail message from your prospective employer inviting you to an interview may seriously jeopardize your hiring prospects. The employer will think that you are not interested in the opportunity! Don’t forget to check your voice mail messages a few times a day.

Mistake 3: Using the “call back” function on your phone to return the prospective employer’s call.

It’s already midnight and you are checking your voice messages for the day because you don’t want to make Mistake 2. Hooray! They’ve called! They are inviting you to a job interview! You want to respond right away and leave a message in the employer’s office voice mail informing them that you are happily accepting the invitation! You press “Call Back” and, instead of “you have reached the office of..” you hear the disgruntled voice of the last person on Earth you want to disgruntle. Oh, no!

People can make business call from their personal phones, which doesn’t give us an excuse to call their personal numbers. So, don’t use the call back function unless you are 100 % sure that this is the employer’s office number.

Avoid making these mistakes, and happy interviewing, everyone!!!

Follow Your Passion and Pay the Bills

marcsth — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 20:53:13 +0000

Greetings AU!

My name is Marc St.Hilaire and I’m the newest member of the AU Career Center. I’ll be working with graduate students within SIS alongside John Charles, so I’m looking forward to meeting with you all either one on one or during drop-in hours at the SIS atrium.

On my first day at AU which was exactly two weeks ago my new boss said these fine words about careers: “Follow your passion and pay the bills”. At some point we’ve all been told to “do what you love,” but for some that doesn’t always mean a salary. Very often what we enjoy doing can sometimes feel mutually exclusive to what “pays the bills.”

So how does one combine their passion with that inevitable need to make an income? The answer: It’s all about the small steps.

If making a leap to your true passion is not a financial option at the moment, take small steps that’ll eventually lead you there. A key element to doing this is setting aside time to develop your passion. Even if it’s as little as 15 minutes a day, make this time your own to do one or all of the following:

Start learning and developing relevant skills through independent study and/or coursework
Build relationships with people who work in your industry of interest through social media ( i.e. LinkedIn) and other networking
Intern, volunteer and/or job shadow in an organization(s) of interest
Work on side projects and other freelance activities

Whether you’re being paid to do something you love or taking steps to eventually get there, keep at it because these activities will enable you to work at your peak. In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review entitled “Choosing Between Making Money and Doing What You Love,” the authors – Leonard A. Schlesinger, Charles F. Kiefer and Paul B. Brown – state ” You simply want to be doing something that you love, or something that is logically going to lead to something you love, in order to do your best work. That desire will make you more creative and more resourceful, help you get further faster, and help you persist”.

So get out there and follow your passion, the bills will get paid sooner or later.