In this issue: - Spring 2013 Events - Resumania Event - Career Spotlight - Going Global
WS U C a re e r S ervices
Hire-a-Shocker Issue 09 / 01.28.13
Using Information Interviews and Shadowing to Find Your Career Courtesy of the National Association of Colleges and Employers, copyright holder: www.naceweb.org.
The best way to explore a potential career choice is by speaking with and/or following someone who works in that career. * Do an information interview. Learn first-hand about your chosen profession by asking questions about tasks, business environment, and educational background. * Shadow a professional. Follow someone in your career choice as they go through a typical day or week on the job. Ask questions and observe the work. Finding a Profession(al) Finding someone to interview or shadow is not difficult. Ask your parents and your friends’ parents if they know someone you can interview. Ask your professors for recommendations of professionals in the field. Go to your career center: Many maintain lists of alumni and employers who are willing to help in your career exploration. Next, call or write a letter requesting an information interview or job shadowing. People who like their jobs tend to enjoy talking about them. You compliment the professional by expressing an interest in the career. In your phone call or letter, explain how you found the person you want to interview and request time for an appointment. Emphasize that you want to find out more about the career—you’re not looking for a job. If you’re lucky, the professional you contact may have other colleagues you can interview also. Asking Questions Takes notes during your time with the professional. Here are some questions you might ask: 1. What is your typical workday like?
Essential Knowledge -
Being in the right place at the right time can contribute to your success, but you need to be ready. Being ready means having a great resumé and interviewing skills to prove you are capable. Are you ready? Call 978-3435 to make an appointment with a career counselor.
2. What do you like most (and least) about your job? 3. What skills/abilities are most important to succeed in this job? 4. What is your educational background? 5. How did you get started in this field?
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“I say luck is when an opportunity comes along and you’re prepared for it.” Denzel Washington, actor
New Event: Resumania Resumania provides an opportunity for students to meet our staff, ask questions about resumé writing and have a resumé reviewed. Career counselors from Career Services will be out and about on campus this semester to help students prepare resumés for the upcoming Spring 2013 Job Fair. The Job Fair which is hosted by Career Services will be held on February 28 in Koch Arena from 4 to 6:30 pm. Resumania will happen in the Rhatigan Student Center Lobby on January 30 from 9 am to 3 pm. If that time doesn’t work with your schedule, the counselors will be in Clinton Hall from 11 am to 1:30 pm on February 13. The final Resumania will be held in the Career Services office in 203 Grace Wilkie from 8 am to 5 pm. No appointment necessary, just bring your resumé!
Using Information Interviews and Shadowing to Find Your Career Courtesy of the National Association of Colleges and Employers, copyright holder: www.naceweb.org.
Continued from page 1... 6. What courses were most helpful to you and which would you recommend? 7. What is the best way to get started in this field?
Career Fair For Certified & Classified Staff
Haysville USD 261
8. Do you have any additional advice to help me prepare? Following Up Your Interview Review your notes. What was your impression? Did you leave the interview feeling as if you can envision a future in this occupation or were you discouraged—you don’t feel you learned enough about the occupation or the job description doesn’t sound appealing any longer? Take your thoughts and concerns to the career center staff and get feedback on the next step to take in your career exploration. You may want to do additional information interviews in this career path or you may want to reexamine your goals and find a different path for your interests. No matter what you decide, send a thank-you note to anyone you interview or shadow. Whether you decide to forge ahead on that career path or find another one, this professional may be a good person to network with when you begin your job search.
Saturday, February 9, 2013 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Haysville Middle School 900 West Grand Avenue, Haysville
Haysville Schools Will Be Conducting Interviews Family Friendly So Bring Your Children Local Businesses and Service Providers Will Have Informational Booths
For More Information, Call The USD 261 Personnel Office At 316-554-2206
Career Coffee Blog...By Jan Mead Eight Common Resumé Mistakes
I see lots of resumés and lots of resumé mistakes. Here are a few to watch out for:
1. Including personal information. Employers don’t want to see your photo, your date or place of birth, marital status or other information which could be used to discriminate against you. 2. Unprofessional email address 3. Spelling and punctuation errors 4. Inconsistent formatting -- simple things such as not leaving the same amount of space between sections; bolding some section headings, but not all; using different font sizes and/or different font styles 5. Misuse of capitalization
Career Spotlight:Human Resource Professional Raw materials and information materials are needed to make a business function, but what about the people to make it run? Human Resource (HR) professionals manage the human factor...the employees. They perform duties such as recruiting, interviewing and hiring new employees, coordinating training and career development, managing compensation and compliance issues, and acting as a liaison between management and employees. Jobs in this area are found at almost all companies and fall into two categories: Specialists or Generalists. Usually at larger companies, a specialist will focus on a specific area such as planning and employment, development, compensation, employee and labor relations, or risk management.
6. Wordy objective. The employer wants to know what you can do to benefit him. He really doesn't care that you want a "challenging position offering the opportunity to grow and advance".
Generalists often work at smaller companies and manage all of these tasks. Successful HR
7. Weak action words. For example, don't say "Helped design" if what you actually did was "Collaborated with three team members to design." "Helped" doesn't tell me what you did or give you credit for what you did. "Collaborated with three team members" also points out you can work as part of a team.
an emphasis in HR. Another option is to complete an HR certification. To earn the certificate,
8. Tailor your resumé to the job. Point out how the skills and experience you have are "transferable" (a good fit).
professionals have excellent communication skills, attention to details, and sound judgment. The most direct way to enter the field is to earn a degree in HR or Business Administration with applicants take a test to demonstrate their knowledge and then must work in the field to prove their professional ability. Whether earning a Bachelor’s degree in HR or completing the certificate, experience is a must. Most entry-level positions require a year of experience so consider an internship or part-time job in the area. For more information about careers in HR visit WSU’s Human Resources Management major page at http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=bartonadvising&p=/HRMHome/ or the Society of Human Resource Management’s website at http://www.shrm.org.
Going Global
Hire-a-Shocker
Check out the latest tool on Hire-a-Shocker. Going Global offers job postings, career guides by country, and an employer directory. The cultural advice section includes country-specific career information concerning communication and negotiation styles. There’s even a section on how to behave like a local. H1B employer petitions from the US Department of Labor can be viewed by location in the USA/Canada City Career Guide collection. If you are interested in working out of the US or are an international student wanting to work in the US after graduation, we invite you to explore Going Global through March. Please let us know if you found this information helpful. Contact us: email: career.services@wichita.edu Facebook: Hire A Shocker Twitter: @HireAShocker
Education Interview Day
If you’re looking for a job, you need to check out Hire-a-Shocker, our online recruitment system. Post your resumé and search for part-time, full-time, degreed and nondegreed positions, including oncampus opportunities. Hire-a-Shocker also shows which employers are coming to career events and allows you to apply for on-campus interviews.
Wild West Welcomefest Event on Hire-a-Shocker
WHEN: January 22-February 1 EVENT LOCATION: Hire-a-Shocker FIND: Event-related job PRIZE: Hire-a-Shocker t-shirt
Education Interview Day will be held at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex on Monday, February 18, 2013. Local school districts and several districts from across the state will be conducting 30-minute scheduled interviews with education majors. Students must have an approved resumé in Hire-a-Shocker in order to select interview times. January 29, 2013 is the deadline to upload a resumé into the system for approval. The interview schedules will open up in Hire-a-Shocker on Sunday, February 10 at 4:00 pm. Organizers of Education Interview Day will be available from 4:00 to 6:00 pm on February 10 if students have questions or need help selecting interview times on Hire-a-Shocker. The phone number to call for assistance is 316-978-3435. “Make sure that you are on the system as soon as the schedules open on the 10th because they will fill quickly. It is highly competitive,” said Lori Godderz, coordinator of the event. Interview times are limited and for those students who are not able to secure an interview there will be a resumé drop through Hire-a-Shocker from February 13 -17. This ensures that resumés will be sent to the school districts of choice for each student who wanted but did not get an interview time.
W U
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Expand your horizons...your career...your future
S care servicer es
HOW: Log in to your myWSU account >Student Tools > Hire-a-Shocker link Click on Job Search Find the special event-related job •Do a key word search. •You’ll find hints on your Hire-a-Shocker home page. •Browse through the 500+ jobs. PROOF of SUCCESS: •Print out Page One of the job listing and bring it to our office OR •Come to 203 GW, M-F 8:30-4:30, and use our computers to find the job. COLLECT YOUR PRIZE!
Koch Arena
Grace Wilkie
Spring 2013 Job Fair The next best thing to a basketball game!
“Resumania” We’re small but mighty in Career Services!
Hughes Metroplex
“Education Interview Day” A little off the beaten path!
RSC
“Resumania” Caution: Resumé Review in Progress!
Clinton Hall
“Resumania” Get down to business, with a fresh resumé!
Locate the events below on the map above!
For more information on our events, refer to our website, www.wichita.edu/career Spring 2013 Events
Office Hours
Jan. 22 - Feb. 1 - Wild West Welcomefest event on Hire-a-Shocker
Monday through Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Jan. 30 - Resumania - 9:00 am to 3:00 pm - RSC Lobby Feb. 13 - Wu Wednesday - Resumania - 10:00 am to 1:30 pm - Clinton Hall Lobby
Walk-In Hours
Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday -1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Feb. 18 - Education Interview Day - 8:30 am to 4:30 pm - Hughes Metroplex Feb. 20 - Wu Wednesday - Window Letter Wednesday - 8:00 am to 5:00 pm - 203 Grace Wilkie Feb. 27 - Wu Wednesday - Resumania - 8:00 am to 5:00 pm - Career Services, 203 GW Feb. 28 - Spring 2013 Job Fair - 4:00 to 6:30 pm - Koch Arena Apr. 12 - Physical Therapy Career Fair - 2:00 to 4:00 pm - WSU Downtown Campus
Notice of Nondiscrimination Wichita State University does not discriminate in its programs and activities on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, marital status, political affiliation, status as a veteran, genetic information or disability. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies: Director, Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, Wichita State University, 1845 Fairmount, Wichita KS 67260-0205; telephone (316) 978-6791.
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