Make the Most of Winter Break

You’ve survived finals week! The only thing on your mind is going home to sleep and get caught up on your favorite TV shows; however, winter break is a great time for career exploration, networking, and job search preparation.

Take advantage of these four homework-free weeks by:

1)    Updating your resume:

·         Add your most recent jobs and internships

·         Evaluate and revise position tasks and responsibilities

2)    Job Shadowing: This is a great way to meet with a professional within your field of interest. Job shadowing is an excellent way to explore various careers and gain first-hand insights about a particular career. The handout ‘Job Shadowing’ on our website provides tips on creating an effective job shadowing experience.

3)    Network: Whether you are at a family, friend, neighborhood, or company party over this holiday season, use this opportunity to make professional connections! Introduce yourself to new people, learn more about their careers, and communicate your career goals and aspirations. That professional connection could help you find a job someday!

4)    Looking for job opportunities: Take the time over break to check out what internships or jobs are posted on MU Career Manager. Hiring and recruiting season are in full swing; use your break to get a jump-start on the job/internship search process.

Career Services’ Online Resources are a great way to find additional information over break.

After break, stop by or call Career Services for additional assistance.

Marquette University
Career Services Center
Holthusen Hall, First Floor
Phone: (414) 288-7423

Most importantly, use break to rejuvenate and relax!

Networking: Put yourself out there!

Last month after boarding my flight to Kansas City for a family reunion, I began to think about the diversity of people sitting around me on the airplane, including the different places they are traveling and the reasons for their trips.  As an extravert, I occasionally find myself striking up conversations with fellow passengers and discussing a variety of topics from where they are going and the book that they are reading to learning about their job and hearing stories about their friends and families. 

As my bad traveling luck would have it, prior to taking off to Kansas City the pilot realized one of the computers was not functioning properly.  As a result we sat in the airplane and airport for an extra two hours.  While this time was filled with much grumbling from individuals on the plane, it also allowed me to get know some of the people around me.  Specifically, I talked in-depth with an IT consultant from Kansas City, a hotel director from San Diego, and an individual working for a professional sports organization in Milwaukee.  While this may seem like a random group of individuals, our conversations allowed me to learn a lot about their different lines of work.  Specifically, my conversation with the gentlemen from Milwaukee included discussing employees that work for him and their connections to Marquette. After explaining my role as a career counselor at Marquette, he stated that in the past Marquette students served as interns within his office.  At the end of the flight, I exchanged business cards with him and told him I would be in contact to further discuss potential internship opportunities that exist for students.  

While this may seem like a random chain of events, the moral of this story is that, in order to meet people that may help you with the job search, it is important to put yourself out there.  If you find talking to a stranger intimidating, you may want to begin with having a conversation with a friend or family member who works in a particular industry that you want to learn more about. Furthermore, they may know other individuals that can help you.  If you are already job searching, you may consider passing a resume along to individuals working within that field of interest.  Even if that individual does not know of any current job openings, they may have position open up in the near future or be aware of other companies that are hiring.  You never know who may be able to help you!

For more tips to becoming an effective networker, see the following link that Jeremy Eudaly mentioned in Networking in 7 Simple Steps. These steps can help you put yourself out there and become an effective networker.http://workbloom.com/articles/networking/networking-for-college-students-and-recent-graduates.aspx