A Recipe For Success

I was reading through some discussions on LinkedIn the other day and saw an article posted that presented an idea that forced me to think a little bit outside the box. Although the overall premise was focused more toward professionals seeking a new job, there were some tips that I would strongly recommend to any student as well. The author called it his "recipe for success", and since creativity isn't necessarily my forte, I decided to use that title as well.

The recipe for success is a very simple four step process that anyone can implement.

1. Make a list of all the things you love doing or things that intrigue you that you'd like to try doing. This is brainstorming so don't limit the list or judge it; write down everything you can think of.

2. Separate the activities you do with people from the activities you do alone. For example, gardening, reading, meditating, and writing are alone activities. Volunteering to run a fundraiser is with people.

3. Look at the activities you do alone and figure out if you can (and want to) do them in a way that includes other people. For example, join a garden club. Or a reading or meditation group. Or write something that other people read (a blog counts!). If you can (and want to) make them activities that include other people, keep them on the list. If not, then cross them off the list.

4. Now's the fun part: Spend your time doing things you love (or have always wanted to try) with other people who also love doing those things. If possible, take a leadership role.


These are all things that any college student can do. Getting yourself out there doing things you enjoy will showcase you in a positive light. When people see you doing things you enjoy, they see the best side of you, which is the side you always want to portray in your job search. And like always, you never know who might have that golden connection that lands you the dream job, so you may as well look around while having a good time!

Your barn door is open...

When I was a sophomore in college I took a drawing class. Our professor was a professional body builder, a tall black man named Willie who was one of my favorite teachers ever. His career choice seemed so opposite of what one might expect from a man of his stature but once I saw his passion, not only for drawing and ceramics, but for teaching college students, I knew he was right where he needed to be.

One day when we were learning "line drawing" he gave us a short 10 minute lecture on the process. While he was speaking I noticed that his fly was down. I'm sure everyone saw... there were about 20 students in the class. As soon as he was done with his lecture, we were getting our supplies and starting our drawings. I approached him and told him that his fly was down. He thanked me and quickly zipped up.

As soon as everyone was starting their projects, Willie asked the class how many of them had noticed his fly was down. No one answered but many chuckled and looked around as if they had noticed. He pointed out that I was the only one who told him; and how much he appreciated me for that.

In my years since then, I have had many opportunities to share in similar moments... a crumb on the face, a spill on a blouse, and one of my favorites: a booger in the nose; sometimes I was the victim of such minor embarrassments.

Remember the golden rule? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. While it may seem awkward and impolite, you are doing others a favor by letting them know. Be respectful when letting someone know; just as you would want them to be.


Thanks to my experience years ago with art professor Willie, I will keep on closing barn doors, one at a time!

Live from New York!

We promised you a blog entry from the Big East Tournament in NYC, so here I am! This city is buzzing about March Madness and especially the BIG MU win! Wow!

As I got off the plane in my MU gear last night, a guy told me, "Bring back a win!" I laughed, but realized that Marquette's school spirit is contagious and I think all fans are both relieved and thrilled after the great game yesterday.

I will be meeting with other career services folks from the Big East Career Consortium today to help get ready for the fair tomorrow, but hope to get a ticket to the game against Villanova this afternoon.

Stay tuned and Go Marquette!

Comic Relief

Everyone loves comics, right? Whether its Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, or The Far Side, it seems that most people have some sort of humor they prefer.



Well, we're no different. So what we've decided to do was to make our own comic that can illustrate some of the pitfalls of job searching. Because let's face it, stories of things gone wrong are funnier than stories where everything goes to plan.



Here's our first foray into career comics, with the help of an online program, because if there's one thing we don't have (and I especially lack), its an art degree. Click on the actual comic to see a bigger, more legible version!

Writer's Block

Okay, if you are anything like me - you HATE developing those professional emails to "network" with those in my field. In an attempt to help myself (along with ALL of you) - I developed some templates I hope will be helpful.

Love Linkedin like me? - Here is a great template:

Dear Name:

I am currently a [year in school] at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin studying [Major/Minor]. I’m graduating this May and looking to start my career in the (be specific) field and am looking to connect with professionals in [State] for networking purposes. I have past experiences with [list broad experiences]. Your [specifc] background on Linkedin is very intriguing. I was wondering if you would be willing to answer some questions I have about the (specific) field or offer any advice to someone in my situation.

Any suggestions you have would be appreciated.

Name (signature)
Marquette University, May 2009 Graduate
[List college]

This template can be used for any type of correspondence so save it as a word document and tweak it for various types of emails.

Enjoy!

Making Bad Days Better

Let's face it, we all have bad days. It's easy to get discouraged and feel a lot of anxiety about the job search. Just about the only thing that clears my head these days is running. One of many reasons I'm training for a marathon is because the hours of running help me channel my energy (otherwise known as stress) into something positive. But training for a marathon is not for everyone. Instead, I suggest you to find your own outlet for stress, something positive to focus on when you just can't seem to find a smile. Maybe blogging?

One thing I did today was pull out old letters of recommendation that I had saved from previous job searches. Those letters reminded me that I do have something good to offer and there are a lot of people out there that want to see me succeed. Remembering your past achievements can help remind you to focus on the future success that is ahead of you!

It's March Madness!

Happy Spring Break!

For those of you who are headed back east for spring break or are planning to attend the Big East Basketball Tournament, have you considered attending the Big East Career Fair on Friday, March 13th? For those of you looking for an internship or full-time position, this is a great opportunity to meet with over 100 employers looking for all majors!

Registration for the Big East Career Fair is still open! You can also register on site on Friday. The Big East Career Fair website also has all of the important information for the day of the fair, how to prepare, what to bring, etc.

I will be in NYC cheering on MU and will be working the fair on Friday, so I hope to see you there! If you have any questions about the fair,email me at kristin.finn@marquette.edu

Me, Myself, and I

There are tons of things you should know about when you are searching for a job. Some of them are simple, like what company you are interviewing with at the time (don't laugh, we've seen this mistake made in the past!). Others can be rather difficult, such as all the trouble shooting problems Google has you answer during interviews.

But if there is one thing you should know more than anything else when looking for employment, it is yourself. After all, you are the product that you are marketing. If you can't talk well about yourself, who can?

So how do you go about knowing yourself? Shouldn't you already know all of these things?

It's very possible that you do know each of these things before the interview. But it's equally possible that you don't know how to articulate them as well as you possibly can. Let's say you tell everyone you are a great communicator. This is a skill that many employers value and covet. If you talk about how you are a great communicator, you better be able to back that up by using your communcation skills to demonstrate that. Otherwise you've lost some credibility right away.

To prepare to talk about yourself, list out all of your skills and abilities. This kind of activity can be daunting for many people, but if you can materialize these traits, it will make it ten times easier for you when speaking with potential employers. In addition to your skills and abilities, make sure you have a solid example that can go along with each of those traits. Again, you don't want to be the person promoting communication skills and not being able to back them up.

A nice way to package all of this together is in what we like to call your 60 second commercial. In just one minute you can market yourself effectively to anyone you meet. The three main points you will want to touch upon are:

1. Where you are now (I'm currently a senior at Marquette University majoring in Chemistry. I am also an intern at XYZ lab where I...)

2. Where you've been (Last summer I worked as a research assistant with Dr. _____ where I worked on...)

3. Where you want to go (I'm looking for a position in _______ where I can use my skills....)

If you can master these simple things about yourself, you will find the job search much much easier. It's not everything you need to know by any means, but the rest of the information is out there for anyone to find. The information on you can only come from yourself.

Get your head out of the sand!

My fellow career center directors keep telling me to stop spreading gloom and doom... they say it's not so bad out there. Well, I disagree. It is bad out there; but that doesn't mean YOU (yes you!) can't find a job.



On Sunday I was listening to National Public Radio (NPR... it's all I listen to); specifically Marketplace Money and heard a story that gave some good advice.



Basically it was about people being too scared to open their 401K statements (retirement accounts) being equal to hiding your head in the sand. We need to know what is going on in order to effectively survive and navigate through it. This economic mess isn't going to magically go away. We need to be armed with the right tools to succeed.



The same is true for the college job seeker. Don't hide in the sand, instead, be prepared. Know what is going on, know how it affects you, know what you need to do to move through it.



Here are four actions you can take RIGHT now to be more successful in your job search:

1. Clarify your career goal... you MUST know what you want. When asked you need to be able to tell anyone what you are seeking.


2. Know your skills... you have hundreds of them... pick the top ten, make them relevant to your career goal, and be able to give an example that would demonstrate each one.


3. Communicate your skills and experiences effectively... this means be a pro at interviewing... this takes practice!


4. Master networking... this is the key to finding a job right now.

Each of these actions can be developed by anyone... including you! The Career Services Center have resources, services, and coaching for each of these.

Get your head out of the sand and get out there.

Next week I'll tackle each action item individually...until then

The 7 Secrets to the Hidden Job Market

Earlier today we as a staff viewed a webinar hosted by the University of Tennessee's Career Services Center. The speaker was Donald Asher, an industry leader in careers and higher education. He spoke for about an hour on what he calls "The Seven Secrets of the Hidden Job Market". This was a great presentation to listen to, and I think we all learned quite a bit. Here's a quick list of what Mr. Asher told us were the seven secrets:

1. The Hidden Job Market is Big

2. It's easier to navigate than the Open Job Market

3. You have to start with a target

4. You get jobs by talking to people

5. Ditch your resume (not entirely though, so don't just delete it!)

6. Don't ask for a job

7. The Hidden Job Market often leads to a posted opening

A lot of these tips seemed basic, but he stressed just how important it is to make all the connections that you can. Referrals are golden after all. If you can get your goals out to as many people as possible, you'll have a much better chance of tapping into this specific job market.

We'll hopefully have the whole presentation on our website soon. If you're interested in viewing it, let us know and we'll be glad to give you the opportunity.

Now get to work on finding those hidden jobs!