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Career Center offers advice to job seekers
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Check out the Career/Job Fair, sponsored by the Boise State University Career Center, in the Jordan Ballroom Oct. 1 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For a complete listing of representatives that will attend, visit career.boisestate.edu.
University 108, Career and Life Planning
Career/major choices are very complex, one of the most difficult tasks students face is the identification of career/major options appropriate to personal goals and characteristics. At an early stage in your college career it is important to begin learning about yourself and the world or work.
The Career Center offers a University 108, Career and Life Planning course designed for but not restricted to, entering undeclared students. Through out this course students will learn more about themselves and develop career decision-making skills. Students will evaluate their abilities, values, personalities, and interests; examine the job market, develop search skills, and explore the many opportunities and options open to them.
This course will provide you with a panoramic view of your options and then begin your “focused exploration” into majors and careers that relate to your interest, abilities, and values.
Earn academic credit while learning about yourself and choosing a major. University 108 is a 2 credit course taught on the main Boise State campus. Please consult the class schedule on BroncoWeb to find current dates and times the class is offered.
Contact the Career Center with any questions at 426-1747 or career@boisestate.edu .
Jennifer Ross, Career Counselor
jenniferross@boisestate.edu
What do you bring to the table?
-Excellent communication skills ?
-Strong commitment to customer service ?
-Team player?
What do you bring to the table? What value are you bringing to the employer’s organization? Even though the economy has slowed, there will always be jobs for the right people. You must look at yourself and determine whether you are a good fit for the company, school or organization.
Take the employer’s perspective of “why should they hire you”. Think of your knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA’s) that make you the right person for the job. Hiring is a cumbersome process, but the employer wants fill the opening with the right person. He or she will make sure they do everything they can to get the best candidate.
What can you do for that employer? What skills do you have? What kind of experiences can you highlight that demonstrate you have the qualifications they can use? Think of skills you’ve learned in an internship or career related job. Did you use a specialized database? Did you help coordinate a citywide event? Did you use your foreign language skills to help patients in a hospital? If so, write them down and think of what you have learned from each of these experiences. This will backup your resume and cover letter.
So what if you don’t have any career related experience? Demonstrate your transferable skills. Transferable skills are skills you developed doing other activities in your life. For example, your current job, classes, sports, virtually anything showing you have the ability to use your skill set to do the employers job. You’ve managed your time between classes, your job and family. You’ve lead your project team in class to an “A”. You’ve guided tour groups through campus. These situations show time management, leadership and communication skills. Think of ways to articulate these abilities to show the value you will add to the organization.
An online resource to help you get the brain juices flowing is ONET, Occupational Information Network http://online.onetcenter.org/. This is an excellent tool that provides examples of skills, abilities, knowledge, job task and other topics. By typing a job title in the keyword search, you will be able to select from a variety of choices that best fit a particular type of job you may be exploring. Select an occupation that best fits your search and skim through the topics. This tool can also be helpful in creating your resume.
Lastly, you will also need to demonstrate those intangibles like personality, enthusiasm, professionalism and fit. How do you do this? You show this in your writing (i.e. cover letter, emails) and your phone conversation. Be professional in all matters concerning the employer. Hopefully you will be able to demonstrate this in person by knowing yourself and the value you bring to the organization.
The Career Center has dedicated professionals to help you through all phases of the job search process. Make an appointment now!
Alex Gutierrez, Associate Director, Career Development
alexgutierrez@boisestate.edu
Successful Networking Strategies
Did you know that the vast number of jobs available at any given time never make it into the classifieds? How do you tap that “hidden job market?” You probably know the answer: Networking! If you haven’t used or developed your network, now is the time to start. Some places to begin:
Friends and family – Get the word out that you are searching for a job. Ask friends about opportunities where they work. Contact people you know who work for firms where you would like to work. Ask for leads and referrals
A professional association for your field – Boise has chapters of many professional groups. Check to see if there is one in your field.
People in the field – Look for workshops, seminars, or presentations that match your career interests.
Internship – Gain practical work experience. Participate in hands-on learning outside of the classroom. Learn how to behave in a professional manner. Improve your knowledge of an industry. Gain experience to put on resume. Many interns get full-time positions from their internship employers or make connections with professionals that can refer then to opportunities with other companies.
Informational Interviews – Target individuals in fields or organizations with whom you would like to contact for an informational interview. Call key people whose names you have obtained and ask for an appointment to learn more about their specific industry. People are often quite helpful when asked for advice and may provide names of others for you to contact.
These names lead to other names and you will begin to build a network of contacts. As your network grows, job opportunities could emerge. NOTE: do not use the informational interview as a cover for a job interview. Focus on gathering information and leads.
Volunteer – Find an agency or group that needs people with your talents and interests, and get involved. You may meet some people (or people who know people) who can be helpful in your job search.
Even in a difficult economy, employers still need good people with good skills. You must work at positioning yourself to be in the right place at the right time when the right job becomes available. Your opportunity is out there.
For more networking information and assistance with internships, call the Career Center at 426-1747 to make an appointment.
Vickie Coale, Associate Director, Employment Services
vickiecoale@boisestate.edu
Do what you love… Is that all there is to it?
We’ve all heard the phrase “Do what you love.” Is choosing a career really that simple? We all have hobbies we love. So how come it can be so hard to figure out what to do with your life? It’s because what you love to do is only one factor in your career choice. To find the right career for you, you have to look at all the factors involved.
There should be 4 big factors in your career choice:
Interests + Abilities + Values + Personality Preferences = your ideal career
Interests: What types of things do you enjoy doing?
If you’re going to spend so much of your time doing something, you want it to be something you enjoy doing, right?
Abilities: What are you good at? What skills do you have?
You don’t have to be great at something when you first start, but having some natural ability in that area makes the processes much easier and more enjoyable!
Values: What things are important to you to have and not have in a job?
People often forget about this factor until it’s too late! Just because you’re doing the thing you love doesn’t mean you’ll actually love your job… if all the pieces don’t fit right. For example, some people many not want to be stuck behind a desk all day, and want a job where they can be more active. Different things are important to everyone, and it usually takes some purposeful effort to figure out all the things you want and don’t want!
Personality Preferences: What type of environment fits with who you are?
Because of who you are- your personality- you’ll fit better in certain environments than in others. Have you ever noticed that some people’s jobs just seem to fit with who they are, while you might feel a little like a fish out of water in your job? There are jobs out there for you that will feel like a natural fit, but first you have to understand your personality preferences so you know what you need in a job. For example, does being around people energize you or drain you? How do you think about things? What type of information do you like to work with? How do you make decisions?
So how important are each of these in your career choice? It all depends on your personal priorities! For some people, pursuing a passion may be their top priority, even if it means giving up other things they’d like to have in a job. For other people, values, such as having a high income, may take priority over other things. You just need to know what you must have to be happy, and what you can give up.
The career that is a perfect balance of these things is out there for you! Visit the Career Center to help you find it.
Jennifer Iuvone, Career Counselor
jenniferiuvone@boisestate.edu
Boise State Graduates: Where Are They Now?
Are you interested in knowing what happens to students once they graduate from Boise State? What kind of jobs are they getting? Where are they choosing to live? How much money are they making? How did they get those jobs?
The Boise State Career Center conducts an At-Graduation Survey each semester in order to gather just this type of information. The survey is conducted during the three weeks leading up to graduation. All the information below is based on student responses at that time. The Career Center also conducts an Alumni Survey to see what graduates are doing a year or two after graduation.
This fall will be our fourth semester of conducting these surveys. Our average response rate for these surveys has been 51%. The following data is the based on the average from the three previous surveys. For additional survey information, please go to our website at http://career.boisestate.edu and click on the Career Center Surveys link.
What are Boise State graduates doing?
20% of survey respondents plan to continue on to graduate or professional school within the next year
48% of survey respondents say their degree helped them obtain new employment or advance within the organization where they are currently working.
85% of survey respondents chose to stay and work in the Treasure Valley upon graduation
40% of survey respondents will earn $40,000 or more in their first year out of college.
10% of survey respondents will earn $60,000 or more in their first year out of college.
What did these graduates do while they were in school in order to help them after graduation?
44% of survey respondents participated in an Internship while at Boise State
34% of survey respondents who participated in an Internship were offered career employment as a result of their internship
An additional 30% of respondents participated in a program-specific field experience which was not considered an internship. Over 40% of those participating in this type of experience were offered career employment as a result of this experience.
30% of survey respondents participated in an undergraduate or graduate research project while at Boise State.
BroncoJobs was the Career Center service used most by survey respondents with a little over 25% using the system to conduct their job search.
21% of survey respondents also took advantage of the Career Center events such as the Career Fairs and Graduate and Professional School Day.
Other services offered by the Career Center that survey respondents took advantage of were Career Counseling/Major Exploration, Job Search Assistance, and On-Campus Interviewing.
If you are interested in getting the most out of your college experience in preparation for your professional career and would like assistance, call the Career Center at 426-1747 to make an appointment with one of our Career Counselors or Job Search Advisors. While there are many ways to go about planning your career and conducting a successful job search, the Career Center would encourage you to “Begin with the End in Mind”. Remember, everything that you do from the time you start college to the time you graduate will help prepare you and your resume for future career opportunities!
Debbie Kaylor, Director
debbiekaylor@boisestate.edu
Internships: Don’t Leave College Without One!
Boise State University students participate in over 1500 internships with organizations in the Treasure Valley and beyond each year. These organizations include large international companies, small start-up businesses, state and federal agencies, and non-profit organizations. Boise State is in a perfect location for many exciting opportunities! Some internship positions provide pay for students; others do not. The most important part of an internship is in the experience gained and the contacts made. Below is a profile of one intern and the organization sponsor. This profile was written by Dr. Roger Munger, Associate Professor of English and Internship Coordinator for the English Department.
Intern Sponsor: Don Baumgartner
Rekluse Motor Sports
In fall 2006, Don Baumgartner, business manager for Rekluse Motor Sports, sponsored Pat Burroughs (tech-comm emphasis). Founded in 2002, Rekluse was established for the purpose of designing and manufacturing the z-Start, an automatic motorcycle clutch, for the off-road motorcycle and ATV market as well as for Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Located in Boise, Idaho, Rekluse Motor Sports uses the varied terrain of the region for extensive testing and further innovation.
Owner Al Youngwerth started the business with support from the TechHelp program offered through Boise State University. TechHelp provided Rekluse staff access to a lab and engineering assistance to design the clutch. English intern Pat Burroughs helped develop the manuals for the new product line as well as revise, edit, and update existing manuals. Below, Don answers some questions about his role as an intern sponsor.
What are some of the benefits to Rekluse for sponsoring an intern?
The main benefit we have received is having someone with a technical writing background to provide input on the manuals for our products. Pat brings an external perspective that in conjunction with his writing skills have served to help us develop a new manual design for a new product line. As a small company, this is expertise we could not take advantage of without the English Department’s internship program at Boise State.
What have you found most rewarding as an intern sponsor?
Remembering back to my days as a student, it is very rewarding to now help someone work toward their goal of getting their degree. It has also been very rewarding to see the interaction of our intern with our other employees and the professional nature with which projects were completed.
What were some of the accomplishments of your intern?
We are working on a new product line so one of the key requirements was to have an installation manual for that product. On day one, Pat jumped in to design and revise a rough draft to send out with our first test units. Since then he has taken the feedback from those test customers and incorporated it into the manual.
Additionally, Pat has revised and improved the manual for a complimentary product that currently has our highest level of support calls. So, we are excited to see how this revision benefits our customers.
What advice do you have for students considering an internship at your company or elsewhere?
I think there are two keys that are important for students to consider. The first is to treat any internship as a real professional work opportunity. Taking an active employee attitude goes a long way to making the internship successful for both the employer and the intern.
The second is working with the organization to balance internship duties with their other school responsibilities. Making sure to do that and communicate it clearly with your intern sponsor really helps to set expectations and make the internship successful.
Making a good impression goes beyond a good first impression. You need to think of your internship as a 16-week job interview:
-Arrive on time and be prepared to work
-Dress like your supervisor is dressed
-Get to know your colleagues and the culture of the organization before suggesting a “better way” to do something
-Spend more time actively listening and observing than you do talking, especially at the start of your internship
-Demonstrate that you are committed to helping the company meet its goals and not using it as a “stepping stone” for bigger and better things
-Establish yourself as a dependable person by doing what you say you’ll do, on time
-Use company resources only for company business and not personal use
-Practice proper business etiquette, including not contributing to office gossip or telling offensive joke
Anne Evans, Internship Coordinator
anneevans@boisestate.edu
