DCA Connection Spring 2010 EXPLORE. EXPERIENCE. ACHIEVE. Director’s Corner Departmental Career Advisors, The top qualification that companies seek of college graduates is evidence that they have had experience related to their career field. With today’s economy, finding opportunities to gain such experience could be easier than in past years. According a survey taken by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (2010), many companies and government agencies are expecting to hire more college students for short terms positions (summer jobs, internships, and coops) because the justification for and process of hiring these employees is easier than hiring full time employees with benefits. As we all know, layoffs and hiring slow-downs result in fewer staff to accomplish organizational goals. Hiring short term staff is a win-win situation for the organization to meet the workload demands and for our students to gain excellent experience as well as earn money. Another bonus -- recruiters have recently mentioned to me that it is also easier to extend offers to students who are about to graduate if they have previously worked for them, than to gain approval to hire those who have not. Career Services’ 2008-09 Post Graduation Report supports this, indicating that 29% graduates who were employed stated that they took positions with previous employers, compared to 23% who graduated in 2007-08. As we work together to encourage Virginia Tech students to pursue career-related experience, please keep in mind that Career Services has many resources to help connect students with jobs: Hokies4Hire (an online, centralized job listing database where students can also post their resumes for employers to review and check for companies coming for on-campus interviews); Internet job listings on our website; Listings of companies, non-profit organizations and government agencies listed by geographic and industry preferences can be found through CareerSearch and Going Global; and Resume, job search and interviewing assistance through career advisors, our Career Planning Guide (free), and the Career Services website. Let us know how we can best assist you as you provide advice to students in your departments. Best regards, Donna Cassell Ratcliffe Director, Career Services ANNOUNCEMENTS DCA Award for Excellence in Career Advising Calling for nominations for the Award for Excellence in Career Advising!! The deadline for nominations is April 19, 2010. For more information and nomination forms, click here. Betsy McCoy to Retire Please join our staff in saying “Thank you! A job well done!” to our incredible colleague who exemplifies significant change and success of Career Service. She has given so much of herself to build relationships and serve organizations to meet their hiring goals. Betsy’s last day at Virginia Tech is Friday, April 30; but her last day on-the-job is Wednesday, March 31! If you would like to send a letter, photos, card, and/or contribution towards a special retirement gift, please send these to Ms. Lisa Boothe, Career Services, (0128), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061. CAREER EXPLORATION UNIV 2004 Are you working with students confused about their career choices? Please encourage them to consider our class: UNIV 2004: “Exploring Careers: Making Decisions and Plans” For second semester freshmen, sophomores and juniors, Career Services offers a P/F, 3-credit course designed to help students learn how to make effective career-related decisions. A small class size and our emphasis on active learning strategies, makes this an effective learning environment for many students. After successful completion of this course students will be able to: Assess and identify personal attributes such as interests, skills, values, and personality type while developing an understanding of how these attributes relate to career choices. Research and explore career options, and use an effective decision-making process. Demonstrate effective job search skills and an awareness of professionalism in the workplace. Develop short- and long-term career goals. FALL 2010 CLASS TIMES CRN# DAY TIME 95784 95783 Mon. & Wed. Tue. & Thu. 2:30-3:45 11:00 – 12:15 JOB SEARCH TOOLS Hokies4Hire (H4H) H4H is Virginia Tech’s own online job database. By being active on H4H, students are able to: Access employer information through the Employer Directory. Apply for On-Campus Interviews. Obtain information about employer information sessions. Apply for jobs (co-op, internship, and full-time) through job listings. Learn about Career Services events. Upload their resume (Employers are able to search the H4H resume database). If you would like to know how many students in your college/department are taking advantage of this service, please contact Mary Ann Cole, mcole@vt.edu. Also as a DCA, you can browse through H4H to become familiar with the system and to be “in the know” about job opportunities and employer recruitment activities/events here on campus. Contact Career Services at 231-6241 for assistance. Call to Serve & Federal Job Search Series “Many college students say that they are looking for opportunities to make a difference and view federal service as a way to accomplish that goal. Unfortunately, their knowledge of federal job opportunities is low. The Call to Serve initiative is designed to bridge the knowledge gap for students and their advisors. Call to Serve is a joint effort of the Partnership for Public Service and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to educate a new generation about the importance of a strong civil service, help re-establish links between federal agencies and campuses, and provide students with information about federal jobs. The Call to Serve network consists of more than 680 schools and more than 75 federal agencies.” (Cited from Partnership for Public Service Website: http://ourpublicservice.org/OPS/programs/calltoserve/) I am pleased to share that on February 12th, 2010 Career Services and President Steger signed a “Statement of Purpose” which commits Virginia Tech to educating our students about opportunities in the federal government. What exactly does this translate to? It will allow for Career Services to receive support and training from the Partnership for Public Service in order to create events, identify speakers, gather materials and provide other assistance throughout one’s federal internship/job search. Please alert your students that Career Services will be offering a Federal Job Search workshop series, which will take place over five weeks starting Wednesday, March 24th. Topics to be discussed will include: Networking, Understanding Job Announcements, Navigating usajobs.gov, Federal Resume Writing and KSA Writing. Students must register to attend and can do so via Hokies4Hire. For more information please look at the calendar of events on the Career Services website. If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact me: ~Kristin Eicholtz, Career Advisor (kristin3@vt.edu) Interview Stream: The Umm…Like…You Know, New Approach to Interview Practice As our Mock Interview Program increases in popularity, finding available time slots is becoming increasingly harder for our students. I’m excited to say that after careful evaluation and review of various on-line interview programs, we have purchased and are using a program called Interview Stream. What is Interview Stream: Interview Stream is a web based mock interview program to assist individuals in preparation for upcoming internship, job, or graduate school interviews. It is a simple, fun, and effective way to go about refining and mastering ones interviewing skills. How can this help us better help you? -Students will not have to worry about a lack of time slots to select from or that fit their schedules. Students can do a mock interview wherever/whenever they want, instantly review their responses, and there is even a tool for them to self-assess themselves. -Students are provided a link after their interview which they can email to you DIRECTLY. You can review their answers AND you can review their self-assessment and make your own comments! -Of course if students have questions or are struggling with interviews we are MORE than happy to work with him/her! All they would have to do is call our office to schedule an appointment and state that they would like to review their Interview Stream interview with an advisor. Our hope is to be able to help as many students as we can, by providing timely, new, and easy to use technology that allows for educational growth! As you plan your semesters and are thinking about Mock Interviews….think Interview Stream! And do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns! ~Kristin Eicholtz, Career Advisor (kristin3@vt.edu) For more information on Interview Stream including access click here. LinkedIn Job Search Tip #1- Networking!!! Is it true that it is not what you know but who you know? Well not exactly. In today’s economy, you have to be technically strong and know the subject matter for the job you want, but it also doesn’t hurt to know someone that can help you. This is done through networking. College students are experts at social networking through sites such as Facebook and they connect with people all over the country through Twitter and other sites. But are they able to use these networking skills in their job search? Yes, they can if they know how. One social networking site that all college students should be on is Linkedin. Linkedin is one of the fastest growing social networking sites and it is geared to professionals. It is a great place to get connected with people that may be able to help you in your job search. Many corporate recruiters use Linkedin as a primary source to find talent and new hires. The main reason is your Linkedin profile looks much like your resume, so anyone looking at your profile could be looking for someone with your skills and educational background. Once you are on LinkedIn, your network grows and grows and you have a great source of information as well as contacts in industries and locations that can be extremely valuable in your job search. I have found much success on LinkedIn, both as a recruiter and a job seeker. If you would like for me to provide a short demonstration on the many benefits of LinkedIn and how students can use this tool to aid them in their job search, please let me know and I would be happy to do so. ~Jim Henderson, Associate Director Employer Relations (jim2@vt.edu) Post Graduation Report View the 2008-2009 report for each college by clicking on the college name. College College College College College College College of of of of of of of Agriculture and Life Sciences Architecture and Urban Studies Business Engineering Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Natural Resources Science Follow us on: Facebook and Twitter © Virginia Tech Career Services, Smith Career Center, Corner of Washington Street & West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061