Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Post Mock Interview

So in the craziness that was last week, I had my mock interview.... and the following review of it...

First off, being video taped wasn't awkward, watching the video directly after it definately was though!!! I think the worst part about it was actually seeing how bad certain parts that I knew weren't great were. That being said, the whole experience was extremely helpful. To be honest I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to prepare for the interview, and I wasn't expecting that fact to show as much as it did. I am really glad I took the oppertunity to be interviewed though because as it turns out, I have two interviews tomorrow TWO!! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. I have so much I need to do to prepare, but I think the biggest tip I can give anyone who has an interview coming up, is to review the packet on Interview Skills available in the CDC or on your Job Finder account and come up with various examples from different projects and experiences to answer the common questions listed. Also come up with a few questions YOU want to ask the employer too. These questions should never be "So what is this internship again?" or any variation of that question!!! Ask questions about how you will be interacting with collegues, other interns and mentors, what a day in the life of a person in that position is like: basically get creative but never suggest that you have not done research about the company!!!!!

Personally, I am still pretty nervous for tomorrow. Both interviews are for the same company, but for different positions. It's basically my top choice company at the moment, but I'm definately keeping all of my options open. Tonight in an effort to prep for the interview, I'm going to create lists of examples, iron my clothes, and GET SOME SLEEP so I don't say something stupid... which may or may not have happened during my mock interview.... whoops. Lesson learned: a good night's sleep makes the filter between my brain and my mouth work a bazillion times better.
On that note... I hope to post back later in the week, and let you all know how it went!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed, best of luck to all of you as well!!!!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Is it Friday yet???

I am having one of those weeks... You know the weeks where you have too much stuff to do and need another 10 hours in the day (15 if you want to get some sleep)? I know I wrote about how I needed to write my cover letter and I hate to say not much has changed in that department, it's just, as one of my friends puts it "You need to pass your classes before you can get a job." The thing that stinks about it though is that the job I need the cover letter for is practically my dream internship... I think. I don't know exactly what I'm looking for, so I'm keeping my options open but this one is focused around alternative energy, which is a field I would really like to learn more about. The only problem with this internship (other than the whole cover letter fiasco) is that it would be fairly far away. Normally I wouldn't have a problem with this, but money is tight lately and if I have the option, I'd rather stay close to my home or school so that I can save a little extra money. Like I said I am keeping every one of my options open, and I guess we'll see how it goes!!


Now onto happier news: I HAVE AN INTERVIEW!!!! I am super excited, but also wicked nervous because I haven't interviewed for anything in the past 3 years, and I think in total I've only had about three interviews. Needless to say, I have a mock interview scheduled for tomorrow. It's pretty interesting, because in addition to gaining an understanding as to what types of questions an employer might ask, the interview will also be video taped. I am still not too sure how I feel about this, as I feel like highlighting all of my nervous traits will just make me more nervous/self conscious about interviewing. A few of my friends have had mock interviews in the past and found watching the video to be extremely helpful, so I'm trusting them and going into it with an open mind... as nervous as I might be! The cool thing is that my mock interviewer is interviewing me for a job that I actually applied for, which will be helpful. I picked up an "Interview Process" handout from the CDC which has sample questions and helpful tips in it. I'd highly recommend looking through this packet if you have an interview coming up soon!


By the way, Mock Interviews at the CDC require 2 appointments (one initial appointment and then the actual interview), and if you haven't had one yet and would like one before an actual interview, make your appointment AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Companies don't always give you a lot of notice prior to scheduling interviews, and it never hurts to be prepared!!!


I'll keep you all posted on how things go for me, but until then good luck in your job hunting!!!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Post Fair Craziness: Now What?

So the Career Fair's officially over, but unofficially the work's just beginning! On campus interviews are popping up like crazy, due dates for jobs are fast approaching, and it seems that with every application I attempt to submit, there is some other document or piece of information I need to somehow obtain. Be careful about the deadlines listed in Job Finder!! I mistakenly put off applying to a job til the due date, just to discover that I needed to go through that company's online job application process as well. Most of the time this is a fairly quick process that would take less than an hour, except for one tiny detail: they are requiring a cover letter. Being the procrastinator I tend to be, I hadn't even thought about submitting one and now have a very short period of time to write one... Fun times...

Many of you might be asking, "What is a Cover Letter? What info should I include in it? Where are there samples??"

First things first, a cover letter is your preface or introduction to your resume. It states things that don't really fit in on your resume, like why Company X is your dream company, or what qualities you have that make you an excellent candidate, or maybe why you are pursuing a job in X field. Your cover letter inadvertently says alot about you as well. It can tell an employer how detail oriented you are (does your cover letter have a ton of typos), how your communication skills are (this is especially important coming from a technical school!!), and how organized you are (is there a flow to the letter, and clear organization of thoughts?). Quite possibly the biggest problem with Cover Letters is that unlike Resumes, you need a specific cover letter for each position you apply to (YIKES!). I am currently working on preparing 3 for internships that I'm interested in. ALSO, if you happen to see a text box below the resume submission part of Job Finder that says "Enter any extra notes you want the employer to see" THIS MEANS YOU NEED TO COPY AND PASTE YOUR COVER LETTER INTO THAT BOX!!!


On to how to write your cover letter.... The CDC has an extremely helpful handout available either in the office or online through your Job Finder account. Just go to "Documents" then "Podcasts and Handouts" and you can either view the podcast on cover letters, or view the traditional handout.

Also mark your calendars for...
THE HOW TO WRITE A COVER LETTER WORKSHOP!!!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
5 pm
SL 105



And now if you still don't know where to start, or just need to see more samples, you can go here to find a bunch of sample cover letters for both full time and internship positions!


When you've finished your cover letter, try to get it critiqued at the CDC. You cannot just drop off cover letters; you need to meet face to face with a counselor either during walk-in appointments or you can set up an appointment at another time.



I hope you are all applying like crazy right about now!!! Best of luck to all of you over the next few weeks, and I'll keep you posted when I start hearing about interviews!

Monday, September 21, 2009

I've got my resume but Unofficial Transcript????? And there's only 1 day left!

So there is one day left until the Career Fair, and I feel like I have been throwing this fact at you for a while now, so I'm going to move on to the APPLICATION phase (which for many companies happens before the Career Fair!!!).

I am ashamed to say for the first time in 3 years here at WPI I applied for a job using Job Finder. Insert gasps of horror and amazement here. I may use the system daily, but I found my previous internship through a family friend, and went about things that way. As many deadlines are fast approaching and several companies require you to apply in additional places (like through their website in addition to Job Finder).

I checked to see how my resume would look to potential employers to discover that the formatting was somehow changed in the process of uploading a word document onto Job Finder! Sometimes without warning it will change your margins or font on you during the upload process. Today I went back through and fixed this problem by going on a campus computer (my laptop doesn't have the capability), opening up my resume, and going to "Save As" and choosing "PDF or XPS Document." Presto problem solved!! I'd highly recommend this if you are uploading your own resume, especially if you are an upperclassman who has maybe possibly changed the margins to fit everything you've done on there (like me! :-) ). It's one of those things that only take a minute to do but will make you look more professional!

I also found a job posting that looked really interesting, and when I went to submit my resume I hit a major snag: they wanted to see my Unofficial Transcript.... what?? If you're like me and are thinking "How on earth do I do that??" So I tried and struggled to find the best way to do this. If you copy and paste it into Word, there are a ton of formatting issues, and it's the same with Excel... But finally I figured it out and am sharing it with all of you! Follow these fairly simple instructions!

1) Go on a campus computer (unless you have pdf/Snagit capabilities on your personal computer... which I don't).
2) Login to your Bannerweb Account, and go to "Student Services and Financial Aid" then to "Student Records" then to "Unofficial Transcript" and finally hit "Submit."
3) Open up "Snagit." If you aren't familiar with the program, now is a great opportunity to learn (if you are then you probably don't need the rest of these steps)!!
4) Choose the "Scrolling Window (web page)" under "Basic Capture Profiles."
5) Bring up the window with your Unofficial Transcript (make sure your scroll bar is at the top!), and then bring up the Snagit window.
6) Click on the giant red "Capture" button on Snagit, and then click on the middle of the window containing your Unofficial Transcript.
7) Let Snagit do its thing!!! Your Unofficial Transcript will scroll to the bottom.
8) At this point the Snagit Editor should be open.
9) Go to the "Image" tab in Snagit, and highlight your transcript from the top where it says "Transcript Data" to the bottom where it says "Unofficial Transcript" under the last semester listed.
10) Hit the crop button (top left of the toolbar).
11) Save as a pdf file! (Don't forget to save on your toaster drive... not the computer!)
12) Upload the document into your Job Finder Account as an Unofficial Transcript.

13) APPLY FOR JOBS!!!!!






Anyways... I hope this helps all of you to apply for jobs this term!

Best of luck at the Career Fair to you all!! If you dress for success, bring your resume, and are confident nothing can stop you! :-D

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Resumazing!!!!

I decided to be nostalgic today and look back at my resume circa September 2008. What a difference a year makes!! My resume was practically all white space before my first critique... and now I barely have enough room to fit everything that I need to! I need to stress one fact very much: critiques help you increase the content on your resume. I haven't done too much other than my IQP since I started it, but after talking to each critiquer about different things I've done, I discovered that certain tasks do merit space on my resume. They've also help me reword some of my statements so I went from having "Researched various mold making companies and assisted a client in choosing the best company for them." as one of my statements to "Researched various vendors for ease of manufacturability assessing cost, strength, weaknesses, and ability to integrate into low volume production." You tell me which sound better???

Anywho... what I'm trying to get down to is that you should always view your resume as a work in progress. I have friends who have internships continuing from last summer who are convinced that they have no use for a resume... yeah right!!! As you work on projects or programs, periodically updating your resume will ensure that you remember all the great things you've done. You can also ask your boss questions about it too (maybe what certain common acronyms stand for or the proper terminology for something you're working on). Personally, I signed a non-discloser agreement about all of the projects I worked on, so I'd ask my boss for what I could state in my resume (ie calling projects "consumer products" or "injection molding product").


Now onto Resumazing!! It was so crowded, I waited for about 2 hours (and got a flu shot in the process haha). I was a little disappointed as I walked away with a resume completely free of mark-ups, but I guess this is a testament to how amazing the counselors at the CDC are.

My goal is to be completely ready for the Career Fair by Monday... I'll keep you posted though :-)


PS - CHECK OUT YOUR JOBFINDER ACCOUNT!!! Some companies are already accepting resume submissions online before the Career Fair! Don't miss out on great opportunities because you didn't check it out!!!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

ONE WEEK?!?!?!?!??!

I have a slight confession to make.... I have nothing to wear to the Career Fair. I have dress pants and a couple of nice t-shirts but nothing that is both modest and professional. This leaves me with a week to figure things out. I'm going home this weekend to hopefully pick some clothes up, but as I know there are probably a bunch of you out there who don't have the option to go home for and pick things up and who don't have a ton of money to spare. Seniors, you all have no excuse not to have at least one outfit to wear to the Career Fair. YOU WILL NEED THESE CLOTHES IN JUST A FEW MONTHS ANYWAYS!! Start looking for classic pieces that fit well (I can't stress that enough). Buy a little large and find a good tailor and get them properly fitted. You can buy slightly cheaper items this way (think Old Navy vs. Banana Republic) but they'll make you look 100% nicer.


OK so I've made suggestions for the seniors, now what about the rest of you? Don't have any dress clothes or any form of transportation? Option 1 - borrow something from a friend. I know it's a limited option but it really should be your first. Option 2 - Take the Woo Bus!!!! It goes to the Target Plaza on Fridays and Blackstone Valley on Saturday. The bus is free, and you can probably grab dinner with your friends or something while there. If you're on a tight budget, check out Target. Few items are more than $20. You can also work with pieces that you already have. For men, if you own a polo shirt, a pair of black, grey or khaki dress pants can go a long way. For girls, a nice sweater or dress shirt will give a professional look. If you can afford it (or already own it) a nice button down shirt will always impress.

Other Side Notes:
- IRON your clothes. If you don't have one the wrinkle releaser spray works amazingly... Hanging up your clothes and steam them while your in the shower works too.
- Don't wear heavy perfume/cologne.
- Don't wear hats.
- GIRLS COVER UP!!! (this includes a hidden safety pin if your buttons might reveal something)
- Don't let not having something to wear hold you back from attending the career fair.
- Girls, don't wear heels if you can't walk in them!



Anyways that's my rant.... have fun above all!!!

For more info on Dressing for Success go here.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Get Started Already!!!

It seems like everyone I know is finally getting started on preparing for the Career Fair. If you haven't, what are you waiting for??? The weather's gross for this weekend, so you know you'll have extra time to work on it. If you haven't gotten started this is a great place to start. It outlines all of the content you should include in your resume. If you're staring at a Microsoft Office resume template (yes you know who you are), head here to check out different examples. You can also login to your Job Finder account and check out the resume packet there.

So you've got it started and you have a week to get it critiqued. That may seem like a long time, but let me tell you that it's NOT. Get started as early as possible, and DON'T forget that Resumazing is your last chance to get your resume critiqued before the career fair. Sophomores, keep that date in mind, as you need your resume critiqued to apply to do your IQP abroad. There will be a week after the Career Fair before your applications are due, so you're better off getting it fixed now and you can kill two birds with one stone.

No matter what step in the process you are, you've got a week and a half to get ready, USE IT WELL!!!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

The Career Fair is only 2 weeks away!?!?!?!

So, lately my blogs have consisted of my epic journey to discover the perfect resume before the career fair... ok well maybe not perfect but as close as I can get to it. Today I had some down time and updated my resume with all of the suggestions I got from the last time I got it critiqued and added in my IQP. As I hope all of you know, Walk-In appointments are offered every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 1-3 pm. Today, I checked the time and it was 2:15, and I thought "OK perfect I can fit in a critique before 3, AWESOME." Needless to say, by 2:15 all of the slots for critiques had already been booked. This happens every year once the Career Fair comes around, I just didn't realize that it was that time of year already!!

In case this has happened to you as well, I have a few suggestions.
1) DON'T GIVE UP. There are still plenty of ways to get your resume critiqued! Sitting around and complaining that you couldn't get an appointment will get you nowhere!
2) Resumazing may just be your lifesaver, as it's on September 17th from 1 to 7 pm.
3) Walk-Ins continue until the 16th, and if you get there early (and sooner rather than later) you shouldn't have a problem getting a spot.
4) There are a few appointments available if you can't make it to Walk-Ins (I can't stress enough that you need to act NOW to get these spots because they are going fast).
5) You still have the option to either email or drop off your resume at the CDC (cdc@wpi.edu) and pick it up 4 business days later. (If you decide to drop your resume off I would suggest getting it in by the 14th at the latest to make sure that you get it back in time for the fair)


And, if you still haven't started your resume yet (yes I am talking to YOU) the CDC has an extremely useful Resume Writing handout available either in the turnstile in the office or through your Job Finder account online (found in the Podcasts and Handouts section of the Documents tab). This handout includes samples of resumes that cover your entire WPI career from freshmen to seniors.



Lastly, BEST OF LUCK and go work on your resume... NOW! :-)

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

A resume critique AND a free t-shirt?? COUNT ME IN

Any of you who know me know that I love the fact that you can almost always get free t-shirts from WPI. But now, the first 250 people who get their resume critiqued in the month of September get a super spiffy t-shirt for FREE. I know pretty awesome right? Ok truth be told I'm more excited about getting my resume critiqued and brought up to date than I am about the t-shirt (hold off on the geek comments :-D ). I spaced out a little bit and forgot to add on my IQP onto my resume, so I've still got to get it critiqued another time or two to figure out how exactly to fit everything I want to display onto one page.

Before I started my resume 2 years ago, I thought it was something that you write, get critiqued, upload into Job Finder and then forget about... HAHA. Resumes should always be a work in progress, and should get updated often, with new courses you've taken, new skills you've learned and experiences that contribute to your qualifications. It's a good idea to get your resume started as early as possible and update it minimally once or twice per year to make sure it shows everything you've got to offer. I'd be mortified if I handed a company my resume that left out my IQP or some of the new courses I'm taking. This is just something to keep in mind, and maybe on some random Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday from 1-3 when you're chilling out in the Campus Center biding time before your next class, you'll remember that Walk-Ins are available and only take about 15 minutes of your time. You'll thank me later, I promise!!!!