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Preparing for employment Tips from area colleges, universities By Jan Lefebvre jan.l@star-pub.com
As the world evolves quickly with technological advances across all career elds, some steps in landing that rst job have changed while some have remained the same. College students must navigate how to make the most of their school years so that they are more hirable at graduation time. Then, they must gure out not only how to locate job openings that best t them, but also how to land one of those jobs. Dairy Star reached out to career centers at several colleges and universities, asking them to weigh in with advice that could help graduates launch a career in agriculture. The University of Minnesota’s Career and Internship Services site suggests that students create relationships in their eld of interest throughout their college years, before needing those relationships for employment, by talking with
people who are in a career of interest as a way to gather information about career elds and particular positions. By networking during college, students can also increase their chances of hearing about internships while narrowing down the career path they wish to take. Internships continue to be valued by employers looking for candidates. “Internships or other kinds of immersive workplace experiences are crucial for gaining practical experience and making connections in the industry,” said Kristina Vack, director of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Career Services at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Students can enhance their chances of securing internships by networking with professionals, utilizing career services resources and applying to a variety of opportunities. While an internship ideally aligns closely with a student’s career interests, any relevant experience can be valuable and transferable.” The importance of internships was also stressed by Melissa Wilson, director of career services for the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. “For college students to-
day, internships and gaining ship program this past summer; relevant experience is critical seven had job offers or were to being competitive when ap- asked to stay on part time until plying for jobs,” Wilson said. a position became available,” “Many employers are wanting Howry said. “Most interns reto see two to three inceive job offers at ternships listed on rethe end of the internsumes when applying ships. An internship for full-time jobs. We does not have to be highly encourage all completely related to students to have one, a student’s specic if not two or three, ineld as long as the ternships upon gradustudent is learning ation.” the transferable skills Wilson said atneeded for the career tending career fairs Kristina Vack they want. For exis a great way to nd Director of the College ample, I know several internships. She also of Agricultural and Life students who are masaid it is common for Sciences Career joring in agricultural students at UW-River Services, UW-Madison business but are certiFalls to gain conneced nurses assistants. tions with employers They are learning to through student clubs work with people and and organizations, their families, which which can offer opcan make them great portunities to have salespeople.” employers and stuAs graduating dents connect. students prepare to Wilson’s colapply for jobs, guideleague at UW-Rivlines for resumes er Falls, Dr. Sierra Tammy Howe have changed, espeHowry, professor of Ag department cially in how they are agricultural econom- coordinator, focused. ics and director of Ridgewater College Wilson said reMcNair scholars, said sumes are expected that internships often launch to be more streamlined for a careers and lead to permanent specic position or company, employment. not just general statements of “I had nine students that I one’s education, job history supervised through our intern- and skills.
“The resume should speak to the individual job posting,” Wilson said. “Taking time to cater the resume to the job posting, using the job posting as a guide for what words and phrases to use in the resume, can yield much better results than using the same resume to apply for all jobs. I suggest taking the time to write the resume to the posting rather than applying to multiple positions with the same resume.” Vack agreed. “The latest trends in resumes emphasize a clean, concise format with a focus on measurable achievements,” she said. “Emphasizing internships, relevant coursework and any volunteer experiences can also make a resume stand out. Overall, students should tailor their resumes to showcase relevant skills and experiences, incorporating keywords from job descriptions.” Howry said some employers are moving away from expecting one-page resumes. “Things that will catch the attention of employers are internships, study abroad, research and being a part of student organizations; for many Turn to COLLEGE TIPS | Page 2