Career Search By Ashley E. Ingels Career Search W riting a great resume can be an opportunity to present yourself as one in a million. The follow ing will provide a map for confining all the wonders of your hiring potential to a page or two. Preparing a resume may be easier than you think since the subject matter is one you are most familiar with — yourself! Hook, Line & Sinker Catch the best jobs with a well-crafted resume Present Your Accomplishments J How Long? Gear Your Resume Pursue the top employers in your field by researching who they are. Dr. Douglas Perrot Starr, professor of journalism at Texas A&M advises job hunters to “research the company so you will know what the company does and what it wants its employees to do and be able to do.†As you are gearing your resume to the specific wants and needs of different employers, it is fitting to have different versions of your resume to submit to dif ferent employers. If you were going fishing at Lake Somerville this weekend, you would not just throw out any old grub worm on your line (even if it were big and juicy). Rather, you would throw out the bait that you know that rainbow trout can not resist. It’s the same with your resume. Tailor your resume to the enter prise you are pursuing. If your resume is packed with stellar accomplishments, but lacks explicit information of what you can offer that employer, it will be like the grub worm-packed with juicy stuff, but not intriguing to the appetite. The time invested in researching the enterprise can also pay off in the interview. Interviewers ssY you bAve questions tot them. Knowing a lot about the enterprise makes it easy to ask questions. Doing so shows you took the time to get to know them as they are getting to know you. With an idea of what your potential employer wants, consider the accom plishments to include in your resume. List your accomplish- ments, activities and internships in your own words. Transform them to phrases that seem likely to appeal to the employer. u Vou need to put your job experience in terms that employers are looking for,†said Rae Lynn Mitchell, who teaches public relations at A&M. Penelope Trunk, writer for the “Brazen Careerist†of Bankrate.com, gives exam ples of how to transform past activities to successful accomplishments. She said, “Don’t say: ‘Managed two people and created a tracking system for marketing.’ Say: ‘Managed a team that built a track ing system to decrease marketing costs 10 percent... Think of it as the difference between writing, T went to my classes and took tests’ vs. T have a 3.5 GPA.’†Emphasize Classwork Everyone who goes through college has experience and has learned how to work. Mitchell said to mention skills you learned in class or group projects, such as web page design, developing brochures or spe- eveivlqlammy,. Inventory tire tools you learned m class and due tools you used in group projects. Christian Kelly, an industrial engi neering student who graduates in May, has been offered a job with Fujitsu Computer Systems. Kelly said, “I didn’t have any work | experience, so I had to focus onj i- ^ my strengths with other | things, like community serv ice. 1 worked at a day camp in Denton as the director. WARNING! Including the items listed below in your resume could work against you. • age • date of birth • sex • religion • political affiliation • health • photo lSo, M had the leadership quali fies they wanted. I led my peers. k They’re looking for someone to [be in a managerial position ^someday.†Include tidbits [about your life that you may [not see as important or rele- [vant to a resume, but that [employers might consider Lgold nuggets. Knowing what content to include and how to present yourself, organize your information into categories such as con- tact information, educa tion, experience, activi ties, volunteer work, scholastic achievements and awards. Opinions differ as to how long to make your resume. Different fields allow different lengths. “A resume should be complete,†Starr said. “The length is of no con sequence. Some resumes are one page, some two, some three, depending on what the applicant has achieved.†Trunk said, “I don’t care if you are the smartest person on earth... a resume gets only about 10 seconds to impress whoever’s looking at it. So, every line must say you are amazing because you don’t know where the person’s eye will go first. Cut your resume to one page.†Don’t explain everything in the resume; do that in the cover letter and the interview. Starr said, “The resume is the bare bones. Explanations, such as what Fish Camp is, are left to the mandatory cover letter.†Nitty-Gritties of Style Starr advises using Times New Roman ot Palatino at 12 point without underlin ing, and witn italics, as, appropriate. Tire first and most important words on the page are your name. Put your name in boldface or in all capital letters. Make it stand out! The Resume Packet Include other documents along with ^ your resume, to elaborate on P fb yourself and to give the reader r other things to reference after looking at the resume. Include: 1 Cover Letter Find the name of the person hiring by calling the office and asking for their name, title and spelling. Address your letter to a person by name and title. Tell the contact what you can do for the enterprise, what your talents are, what you have done and can do. Mention career Some experts say to include your GPA, even if it is lower than you would like. They say that if you exclude it, it may lead the reader to believe it is lower than it is. Starr said to include GPA only if graduating with honors. Seek the advice of a professional in your field to determine whether or not to include your GPA. Consider including your major GPA if it is higher than your over all GPA. Under the GPA line, the Career Center suggests adding, “Achievement: worked full time while in college to fund 100% of expenses.†Mitchell explained, “This shows your work ethic — that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to obtain your degree.†With 10 seconds of read-time to moti vate your reader to put you in the yes pile, Starr said it is imperative to write tight! Squeeze out every unnecessary word. “Write in the active voice,†Starr said, “and omit adjectives. Recast the sentence to avoid prepositional phrases. Avoid redundancies and cliches. In short, write plainly.†Last, proofread! Once you think you’re done, ask sev eral people to proofread your resume. “You’ll get one interview for every 50 resumes you send,†Trunk said. “That’s if you’re great. If you’re not great, double that resume number.†Trunk compared resumes to lottery tickets, “The more you have, the luckier you’ll feel.â€. Starr recommends sending a thank- you note one week after the interview. You’re still fresh on the interviewer’s mind. Mention how much you appreciat ed their time. Soon, you’ll get some bites on your glowing resume, your well-selected bait. objectives. "Do not begin the cover letter with the first person singular 'I.'" To begin with yourself "puts too much focus on the writer when the focus should be on the (enterprise). You could begin with a reason for wanting to work at that (enterprise) or the (enterprise's) reputation." 2 Resume 3 List of References Include 3 to 5. Many times the employer will contact the references before contacting the applicant. 4 Samples of your work If relevant to your field, include no more than 6. Career Search It’s a Junsle Out There Hunting jobs when they’re hiding in other prospective bushes <J) By Shannan E. Johnson Career Search H ave you ever rolled out of bed early, put on your Sunday’s best, made several copies of your resume that you revised more than a million times, and arrived at a career fair that wasn’t up to par? This happens to eager job seekers far too often. The average student depends on his or her college or uni- versity to help them network with the right companies at the right time - usually the career fair. These stu dents put all their effort into trying to make themselves look like the best candidate for the recruiting compa nies. But when they show up, they can hear their heels clicking on the newly waxed floors because of the lack of hustle and bustle from the would-be competition practically jogging from booth to booth. The only table in the entire exhibit hall is occupied by a pimply-faced teenager from the fast-food chain who is looking for an assistant manager. What a waste of time! For those students who are willing to go above and beyond, here are some alternative paths to finding a career: Crashing Career Fairs Sssss! Fellow Aggies are thinking. But when it comes to a career, seekers have to broaden their minds past “Goodbye to Texas University,†and instead say “hello.†The Texas A&M chapter of the American Advertising Federation (AAF) plans trips annually to the UT Communications Career Fair. The vice president of programs visits the UT Communications School Web site and calls its career center for information on when and where the career fair will take place, what compa nies will be present and for what positions they’ll be hiring. Then university-excused slips are passed out and the Aggies road trip down Highway 21. “We are disadvantaged by not having the actual advertising degree (which can be obtained from UT and many other smaller state schools), and ad agencies do not normally actively pursue employ ees from A&M,†said Melissa Scates, current vice president of programs for AAF. “Going to events (tours, companies, speakers) help us form contacts and learn from the best in the business.†Never underestimate the career fairs of neigh boring schools. Aggies might hate rival teams when it comes to football, but after the Big XII game graduating seniors still need jobs. So, when you’ve been misled into thinking career fairs at A&M are the only place for resources^ravel^rave , r network of your on-going job search and be sure to pro vide them with specific details about your job objective, qualifications and skills.†Call and set up a tour at various companies of inter est. Besides crashing career fairs, AAF also sets up tours at advertising and design agencies in close prox imity to Texas A&M. “HAF (Houston Advertising Federation) has proved to be a good connection for our group as they host the competition we attend every fall. From there we are able to meet with representa tives from 15 to 20 agencies in one day,†Scates said. “Each person then brings back their information and we share it, and grow our network.†Many companies are happy to let students tour the company, ask questions, or shadow an execu tive for a day. One ^ never knows, there might be an Aggie work ing at the company. “Remember, you must ask for help and people will be willing to do so,†Alexander said. Leanne South, director of College Relations in the College of Liberal Arts, suggests students try volunteering at non-profit organizations in their area. Non-profit organizations such as March of Dimes, Twin City Missions and the American Heart Society always need extra help in their public rela tions, event planning and accounting departments. “It is a great opportunity to develop people skills and social consciousness of life,†South said. “Later when stu dents are in need of jobs, The Hidden Job Market i-hr, roropr Onter. 80 The Internet Is Your Friend The people resources listed below can be tapped into for referrals and secondary contacts in your job search. • Check out the Web sites of interesting companies such as: National Basketball Association http://nbateamjobs.teamworkonline.com /teamwork/jobs/default.cfm Random House Publishing http://www.primapublishing.com/careers/ FOX http://www.foxcareers.com/ • Check out the career center Web sites of schools in which your area of expertise is accredited. Harvard University (http://www.law.harvard.edu/ocs/) Florida A&M University (http://career- center.famu.edu/) University of Texas at Austin (http://communication.utexas.edu/ccs/) • Surf the job banks on the sites of soci eties and associations in your career field. For example: American Society of Magazine Editors (http://www.magazine.org/Editonal/MP A_ASMEJob_Bank/) American Society of Mechanical Engineers (www.asme.org/jobs) American Sociological Association (www.asanet.org/sectioncbsm/jobs.html) • Click on sites such as: www.Jobs.com www.monster.com www.career.com they will remember your work.†What is the motto of this article, boys and girls? Don’t give up if the jobs aren’t pouring in for you like they seem to be for everyone around you. It will take some work on your behalf. “You must be diligent and have a well-organized plan of action. This helps you to stay focused and helps you to not give up,†Alexander said. The Career Center teaches students to start early, giving themselves six months to a year to find what they want. Just remem ber, don’t settle for the empty exhibition hall — do something about it. How to find professional societies at Texas A&M Looking for a professional/academic organization to join? Go to Texas A&M's Student Activities page; http:/ / studentactivities.tamu.edu/stuactweb/search. All of the academic societies are listed by schools. Click on your respective college and find the group that best suits your interests. Good luck!