BECOME A STAR INTERVIEWER!

Effective Interviewing Techniques: Be a STAR!

Now that you have attended the Career Fair, followed up with employers, and been offered an interview, it is time to prepare yourself for the actual interview.  Interviews are one of the most nerve-racking experiences you will have to go through in your job search.  The secret to effective interviewing is similar to learning how to play a sport or musical instrument….PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!  The more you practice the easier and more natural interviewing will become.

While all jobs and all interviewers are not the same, there are certain questions that are usually asked of candidates during an interview.  These questions fall into two categories:  “the getting to know you” questions and “the why do you want this job” questions.  While companies are looking for different things, most employers look for candidates with the following characteristics:

1.            Communication skills (verbal/written)                                   

2.            Honesty/integrity                                                                        

3.            Teamwork skills (works well with others)                             

4.            Motivated/ willing to take initiative                                      

5.            Strong work ethic                                                                     

6.            Interpersonal skills (relates well to others)                          

7.            Analytical skills
8.            Flexibility/adaptability
9.            Computer skills
10.          Self-confidence
11.          Leadership skills
12.          Organization skills

                *Skills provided by 2007 NACE Job Choices Employer Survey

                                                                                                       

Behavioral-Based Interviewing

A common method for employers to check and see if you possess these skills is through behavioral interview questions.  Behavioral based interviewers believe that past behavior is an accurate predictor of future behavior.  They concentrate many of their questions on situations that candidates have encountered in the past.  What they want to hear is an illustration of your behavior.  To maximize the effectiveness of your answers, try using the STAR method.

S              = Describe a situation.   

T              = Talk about the task. 

A             = Explain the action you took.

R             = Talk about the positive results, quantifying if possible. 
                   (RESULTS are very important, but commonly forgotten)

COMMON BEHAVIORAL QUESTIONS YOU COULD BE ASKED:

·         What is the most challenging situation that you have faced?

·         What accomplishment has been given you the greatest satisfaction?

·         What are three of your strengths?  (Provide an example for each using the STAR method)

·         What are three of your weaknesses? (Reflect how you already have or can improve)

·         Describe a time when you have disagreed with colleagues, how did you handle it?

Once you have practiced and feel confident in your ability to accurately and passionately share your experiences, be a STAR and rock the interview! 

CHECKOUT ADDITIONAL INTERVIEWING ADVICE BY CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW OR CALL (414) 288-7423 TO SCHEDULE A MOCK INTERVIEW WITH A CAREER COUNSELOR TODAY!

Marquette University CSC Interviewing Strategies

Would you flip a coin to determine your Career Future?

One of my favorite podcasts is called Radio Lab.  Radiolab is a show about curiosity. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience.

Recently I heard a story about two brothers who read tea leaves, similar to flipping a coin,  to see which one would carry on the family business.  This game of chance changed their lives, their career paths, and their futures forever.

Would you leave your career path to chance? 

If you want a career path based on your interests, skills, and work values; one that fits who you are and what you are passionate about; one that gives you satisfaction... don't leave it to chance. 

Meet individually with a career counselor

Students meet with a career counselor to discuss the career issues of their choice. The counselor will likely ask about personal and career background, interests, coursework, and related aspects that effect career decision making to ensure a good understanding of the student’s unique situation.  Resources may be discussed along with next steps.

Schedule an appointment by calling 414-288-7423


The story actually turns out well.  Listen in... you won't be disappointed. 

fast forward to 13:30 in this podcast where Pat Walters shares the story of two brothers, Dennis and Kai Woo, who forged a deal with each other that wound up determining both of their futures.

Don't Let Your Hard Work Go to Waste: Follow-Up!

So you made it through the career fair last night!  You should be proud of yourself for preparing well, dressing the part, and having the courage to walk up to employers and begin a professional relationship.

Now it is time to build on that relationship.

Follow-up after a career fair is surprisingly uncommon and if you make the effort to connect with employers who piqued your interest, it helps you stand out from the crowd. All you need to do is send an email or hand-written note thanking them for their time at the fair and include a copy of your resume.  Don't forget to follow the application instructions provided to you at the fair and be sure to tell them in your note that you have submitted your application.

This one little step can make all the difference!

(And if you are going to the Technical Career Fair this evening - good luck! ...and don't forget to follow-up!)

Professional Organizations: But I'm a Student!

For those of you out there that have even glanced toward some research on your chosen field, you've probably come across something very familiar, yet equally foreign; the dreaded alphabet soup of Professional Organizations.  How are you supposed to know what all these 3-5 random letter combinations mean, or which ones are legitimately good?  It's a challenge that almost everyone faces as they begin the depth of their job or internship search.  For the ones that truly take advantage of such entities though, the search can be vastly transformed.

Professional organizations (or societies as they are sometimes known) can come in many different shapes and sizes.  For every national organization, there are usually regional, state, and sometimes even local versions of it.  Marquette itself even has student chapters of many large professional organizations, such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Society of Professional Journalists, and Financial Management Association. With such a plethora of options out there, there really isn't much reason to at least check out a couple in your chosen field.

So once you determine which professional organizations to look at, or even join, then what?  What's the purpose?  Well, as students, I believe that these organizations are goldmines for pertinent information.  As I certainly hope you've heard (whether from us or anyone else), networking is the way of the world when it comes to job searching.  You know the line, "It's not what you know, it's who you know."  It's a maddening line for many students, because how are you supposed to know all these professionals who can help you get a job?  Let's think about this though step by step

1. You are in a professional organization
2. You have a member list
3. Other members are likely established professionals in your field
4. You can contact these professionals, and thus, NETWORK!

Sounds pretty good, huh?  Let's also not forget other added benefits of membership, such as professional development opportunities, interesting lectures, and, oh yes, a field specific job board!  I can assure you that any professional organization with a job board isn't going to get overrun with pyramid schemes!

So what are you waiting for?  Go out there and look for the best professional organization for you, and enrich your job search as a result!

Careers in Service

Career Services is aware that not every student plans on joining the work force immediately after graduation.  Some students may purse graduate school, others post-graduate internships, and yet another group, post-graduate service opportunities.  Offering a year or two of service looks different for every individual. There are hundreds of volunteer programs available offering a wide range of speciality areas, positions, living situations, and locations. 

Maybe you, in the past or presently, have considered a post-graduate service opportunity. If you  have, the Career Services Center will be hosting a Careers in Service panel:

Tuesday, September 18th
AMU, Room 163
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

The Careers in Service panel is an opportunity for students interested in a year or more of service after graduation to gain a direct perspective from current corps members and recent alumni on their experiences, the application and interviewing process, and much more.  Organizations in attendance include: Alliance for Catholic Education, City Year Milwaukee, Teach for America, Peace Corps Chicago, Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest.

Outside of attending the Post-Graduate Service Fair, we encourage anyone who's ever been interested in partaking in post-graduate service to attend this panel.  Come and get your questions answered by those who've been there!

My First Career Fair Experience

When I think back to my first career fair experience three things come to mind: sweaty palms, nerves and a lack of preparedness.  Although I was dressed to impress and had brought several copies of my resume with me, I went to the fair to talk to only ONE company.  I never even approached another business.  I went straight to the booth I wanted, dropped off my resume and quickly shook the representative’s hand before I scurried home.  Looking back on this experience I can’t help but wonder “WHAT WAS I THINKING??!” Yes I know I was feeling intimidated and overwhelmed, but I wish I had not been so closed minded and nervous. 

If I had the chance to do it all over again this is what I would do:

-       

I     -I would have my resume critiqued by MUCSC and printed on resume paper (also available for          free in MUCSC)

-      -I would create business cards ($3 for 30 in MUCSC) and hand those out along with my resume

-        -I would push myself to visit more companies and map out a plan-of-attack ahead of time

-         -I would remind myself that this is a great learning opportunity

-         -I would create a 60 second commercial telling each company representative more about “Sam” (more then what can be read on my resume)

-        -I would practice and then re-practice my handshake

-        -I would tell myself to take a deep breath and not be so nervous

I know my experience would have been a lot different (and more relaxed) had I prepared for the fair more in advance.

With that in mind, I give you my last piece of advice: Determine what you want to achieve at a career fair and decide the best approach for getting the job done. No one ever said finding a job or internship was easy, but by planning early and using resources like the MUCSC, the road can be a lot less stressful. 

Good luck my friends and remember to just be you J   

Graduate School: Dressing the Part

While most of us are aware that appropriate dress is a must for any interview, many of us fail to consider how our day-to-day attire influences our professional image.  This can be particularly true for new graduate students who may be inclined to dress in the same manner they did in undergrad.  Whether we like it or not, our personal appearance plays a role in how we are perceived by our professors, colleagues, classmates, and especially our students. Marquette graduate students might consider the follow tips from @kdshives via Inside Higher Ed to help make positive impression in Dressing for Battle: Academic Armaments .

Employers are excited to meet you!

Summer is slowly winding down which means on-campus recruiting will start very soon. On-campus recruiting includes job and internship postings, on-campus interviews for jobs and internships and career fairs. It's not too early to start thinking about your job search.

Did you know?

-Most employers would like to complete their hiring for next summer by the holidays. Unfortunately most students do not know about this until it's too late, so we want you to be ahead of the game!

-It can take 6-9 months to find a job, so it's never too early to start.

Here are 3 things you can do now to make sure you are prepared and don't miss out on these great opportunities!

1- Make sure your MU Career Manager is activated with a current resume. All undergrads now have an MU Career Manager account so this is easy!

2- Search on MU Career Manager to apply for job and internship postings and request on-campus interviews for jobs and internships.

3- Make an appointment with a career counselor to talk about your internship/job search. We are open Monday-Friday and are here to help!

Questions? Contact us!

Phone: 414.288.7423

Email: career.services@marquette.edu

Stop by: Holthusen Hall, first floor

Networking in 7 simple steps

The thought of networking can be scary and you may not know where to start. The good news is that networking does not mean calling an endless list of people you don't know, but it does take effort.  This article breaks it down into 7 steps that you can take right now:

http://workbloom.com/articles/networking/networking-for-college-students-and-recent-graduates.aspx

Manage Your Online Brand

By now we all know that our internet activity is not private; in fact, most of it is just a quick Google search away. Add to that the increased use of the internet for connecting with others on a professional level and there is an obvious need to be more aware of your online brand.

MyWebCareer.com is a free service that helps you to discover, evaluate, and manage online data that may help your career prospects.  They use sophisticated link analysis, visualization, and semantics technologies to enable you to evaluate and explore data that may relate to you making it easy to assess your Professional Online Brand and stay on top of any changes to it.

In addition to these services, they also have an informative blog related to making the most of your online presence.  Check it out today!