Carreer Fair Special

Research the World of Work

Plan Your Job Search Campaign

Decision Making Process

The Academic connection

Résumés that get you noticed

A résumé is a summary of your achievements and successes through the efforts of education, work experience, and skills. It is a means of introducing yourself to a potential employer, it is not a biography or a complete history. Often times the employer will spend no more than 30 to 60 seconds reviewing your qualifications before making a decision to interview you or not. Therefore, it is critically important and well worth the time you invest in writing a “winning résumé.”

Identifying information: At the top of the résumé put your name, address, telephone number (include area code) and e-mail address. Information such as age, height and weight should not be included. Do not include pictures of yourself.

Objective: The job objective helps provide focus and direction for the résumé. It follows your name, address and telephone number. The objective can take many different forms by stating the position in which you are interested; the skills you wish to use in the job; the type of field or organization in which you are interested; or any combination of these formats.

Examples:

Education: Your education should follow the objective statement; list the degree received, major, name of school, graduation date, or projected graduation.

Additional Information: List courses if they are relevant to the position for which you are applying. This section may also include special skills: computer skills, language skills, office skills. You may also list awards, publications, licenses, certificates, or achievements.

Format/Layout: The résumé format you choose should highlight your strengths. There are three basic résumé formats — the chronological, the functional, and the combination.

Affiliations: List clubs and/or organizations of which you are a current member. List organization name, (officer position), years.

Example: Ski Club, Vice President of Programs, CSUS, 1998-1999.

Community Involvement: Many employers hope that you will be connected to your community by volunteering your time to worthwhile organizations. Example: Food Closet, American Red Cross.

How can you find your dream job if you don’t know what your dream is?

Before you can begin to write that winning résumé, go into a “knock ‘em dead” interview, or even decide on the perfect job, you need to spend some time assessing who you are. What are your values and what impact will they have on your choice of work environment?

For example, in what order of importance would you place the following values?

Begin by taking a personal inventory; after all, this is not simply a matter of getting a job, you are developing a work and lifestyle. It is important that your work fit with your personality, values, skills, interests and goals.

This is not as difficult as it may sound. The Career Center has resources and people to help you:

Tools to help you with self-assessment:

Research can help you find out how your values, skills and interests match the needs of the job market. Use the Career Resource Library in The Career Center to:

Some research tools available to you in the Career Center:

Questions interviewers frequently ask

Company and Position

2. Why do you think you might want to work for our company?

3. What type of position are you most interested in?

4. What job in our company do you want to work toward?

5. What job in our company would you choose if you were entirely free to do so?

6. What interests you about our product or service?

7. What qualifications do you have that make you feel that you will be successful with this company?

Education and Campus Activities

9. Why did you select your college or university?

10. What subjects did you like best? Why?

11. What subject did you like least? Why?

12. If you were starting college all over again, what courses would you take?

13. What percentage of your college expenses did you earn? How?

14. Do you have plans for continued study? An advanced degree?

15. Do you think that your grades are a good indication of your academic achievement?

16. How has your college experience prepared you for a business career?

17. In what school activities have you participated? Why? Which did you enjoy most?

18. What extracurricular offices have you held?

19. What have you learned from participation in extracurricular activities?

Personal

20. What are your long-range and short-range goals and objectives? do you really want to do in life? are your major strengths/weaknesses? kind of work interests you?

21. What two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction? Why?

22. How would you describe yourself?

23. What are your salary expectations?

24. What qualifications do you have that make you feel that you will be successful in your field?

25. What personal characteristics are necessary for success in your chosen field?

26. How do you determine or evaluate success?

27. What qualities should a successful manager possess?

28. Do you have any specific geographic location? Why?

29. Are you willing to relocate? Does relocation bother you?

30. How do you spend your spare time? What are your hobbies?

31. What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort?

32. How much money do you hope to earn at age 35? age 40?

Work Experience

33. What jobs have you held? How were they obtained and why did you leave?

34. What did you learn about yourself from some of the jobs you have held?

35. What jobs did you enjoy most? Least?

36. Do you prefer working with others or by yourself?

37. Can you get recommendations from previous employers?

38. Do you feel your work experience is representative of your abilities?

Experience counts

INTERNSHIPS

Over the years, internships have become increasingly popular because they provide an opportunity to help students to:

1. Reinforce, or “reality test,” career objectives and personal values related to work;

2. Explore career options;

3. Identify and develop the skills needed to enter a given field; and

4. Get an edge in the competitive job market over those individuals with no relevant work experience.

STUDENT EMPLOYMENT

Jobs by Phone

The 24-hour touch-tone job listing service, Jobs by Phone, links part-time, full-time, volunteer/community service, service-learning, internship, and cooperative education job seekers to employer vacancy announcements.

Community Service Internship Program

The Community Internship Program provides guidance and placement in paid and unpaid positions in local non-profit community agencies and educational institutions. These positions allow interns from all academic disciplines to take action and apply academic learning to real-life situations.

Assistance is available from The Career Center to identify and review potential internship sites for referral to designated faculty for the approval of academic units of credit.

OnLine résumés

A new convenient way of submitting résumés on-line has been created by the Career Center.

The service is called résumé Link and is a free service developed especially for the Career Fair to be held Oct, 20.

The procedure for posting the résumé is fast and simple. Students can go to the website http://www.resume-link.com/res/col/evt/reg/csus.htm, where they’ll find a screen with the name of CSUS across the top. At the bottom there’s a login and a frequently-asked questions link. Click on login and a screen requesting a user name and password will appear. For new users, fill out the new user form to register. Once done with that, the posting of the résumé can begin.

Students don’t need any special knowledge or computer skills to upload résumés. The program will do it by itself; just follow directions.

If help is required, the directions given in the program are inadequate, or if any questions arise regarding the program, students can call Candace McGee at the Career Center, who says she is there to help students.

McGee, the experiential education program assistant at the Career Center, is in charge of setting the service up. “This is the first university on the West Coast to provide this new service to its students,” McGee, said. “This program is easy to use, very user- friendly.”

Only the companies attending the career fair at the Union Ballroom can access this site. With advance résumés, they can make arrangements to talk to students in whom they are interested in person at the fair. This service is paid for with fees provided by companies attending the fair.

Though this service will be open for students to post their résumés until Oct. 19, participating companies will be able to access them for up to six months after the fair.

In addition, for future reference, they will receive a computer diskette with a copy of all the résumés posted.

McGee says that this service will be of great benefit to students who will not be able to attend the career fair, because once their résumés are posted, interested companies can contact them via email. And for those who will be able to attend, a company can invite them to their booth to provide more information, or even for an interview.

Though the service’s main focus is helping graduating seniors find a job in their career field, it’s also useful for those students who are interested in internships.

“We need students to get their résumés there,”said Carol Williams, manager of the experimental education program at the Career Center.

The interview process

The interviewing process can be scary if you don’t know what to expect. All interviews fit a general pattern. While each interview will differ, all will share three common characteristics: the beginning, middle and conclusion.

The typical interview will last 30 minutes, although some may be longer. A typical structure is as follows:

As you can see, there is not a lot of time to state your case. The employer may try to do most of the talking. When you do respond to questions or ask your own, your statements should be concise and organized without being too brief.

You need to control more than half of the 15-minute personal discussion in order to make your key points.

It Starts Before You Even Say Hello

The typical interview starts before you even get into the inner sanctum. The recruiter begins to evaluate you the minute you are identified. You are expected to shake the recruiter’s hand upon being introduced. Don’t be afraid to extend your hand first. This shows assertiveness.

It’s a good idea to arrive at the placement office at least 15 minutes early. This will give you a chance to mentally practice your introduction and possibly size up your competition.

You can also use the time to relax. It gets easier later. It may mean counting to ten slowly or wiping your hands on a handkerchief to keep them dry.

How’s Your Small Talk Vocabulary?

Many recruiters will begin the interview with some small talk. Topics may range from the weather to sports and will rarely focus on anything that brings out your skills. Nonetheless, you are still being evaluated. First impressions often are the most important so this phase of the interview can be very critical.

Even though the small talk seems informal and relaxed, it has a definite purpose. Recruiters are trained to evaluate candidates on many different points. They may be judging how well you communicate on an informal basis. This means you must do more than smile and nod.

The Recruiter Has the Floor

The main part of the interview starts when the recruiter begins discussing the organization. He/she may spend a great deal of time talking about the position and the organization, while discussing your background. Or it may work the other way. Be prepared for either scenario.

If the recruiter discusses vague generalities about the position and you want more specific information, ask questions.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions during this part of the interview. Don’t interrupt the recruiter in mid-sentence, but ask your question at the first opportunity.

When the recruiter begins talking about your résumé or asking for clarification, it’s time to emphasize your positive traits. Your background may not be typical and the recruiter may be puzzled about your qualifications. You should indicate through thoughtful answers why you are an excellent candidate for the position.

You may have points in your background that could be construed as negative; i.e., low grade point average, no participation in outside activities, no related work experience. It is up to you to convince the recruiter these points are not negative, but positive attributes. Admit your shortcomings, then point out three quick hard-hitting strengths (even if unrelated to your weakness) that are relevant to the job opening.

Many times recruiters will ask why you chose the major you did or what your career goals are. These questions are designed to determine your goal direction.

Employers seek people who have direction and motivation. This can be demonstrated by your answers to these innocent-sounding questions.

It’s Your Turn to Ask Questions

When the recruiter asks, “Now do you have any questions?” The best way to blow the interview is to say, “No, you’ve answered everything I need to know.” There is little chance the two of you could have covered everything. You should be able to ask at least five or six questions at this point.

Dr. C. Randall Powell, author of “Career Planning Today,” suggests some excellent strategies for dealing with this issue. He says questions should elicit positive responses from the employer. Also, the questions should bring out your interest in and knowledge of the organization.

By asking intelligent, well-thought-out questions, you show the employer you are serious about the organization and need more information. It also indicates to the recruiter that you have done your homework.

Don’t ask questions simply to impress the recruiter and make the interview run over. Ask a few questions and indicate that you still have some things you’d like clarified, but you realize time is almost up. The recruiter may suggest a meeting later in the day or writing for more information. The important thing is to be aware of time constraints on the employer and allow the recruiter to decide whether to extend the interview.

The Close Counts, Too

The interview isn’t over until you walk out the door. The conclusion of the interview usually lasts five minutes and is very important. During this time the recruiter may be assessing your overall performance as well as how you handle yourself during the last few minutes.

It is important to remain enthusiastic and courteous. Often the conclusion of the interview is indicated when the recruiter stands up. However, if you feel the interview has reached its conclusion, feel free to stand up first.

Shake the recruiter’s hand and thank him or her for considering you. Being forthright is a quality that most employers will respect, indicating that you feel you have presented your case and the decision is now up to the employer.

Expect the Unexpected

During the interview, you may be asked some unusual questions. Don’t be too surprised. Many times questions are asked simply to see how you react.

For example, surprise questions could range from, “Tell me a joke” to “What time period would you like to have lived in.” These are not the kind of questions for which you can prepare in advance. Your reaction time and the response you give will be evaluated by the employer, but there’s no way to anticipate questions like these. While these questions are not always used, they are intended to force you to react under some stress and pressure. The best advice is to think and give a natural response.

Evaluations Made by Recruiters

The employer will be observing and evaluating you during the interview. Erwin S. Stanton, author of “Successful Personnel Recruiting and Selection,” indicates some evaluations made by the employer during the interview include:

1. How mentally alert and responsive is the job candidate?

2. Is the applicant able to draw proper inferences and conclusions during the course of the interview?

3. Does the applicant demonstrate a degree of intellectual depth when communicating or is his/her thinking shallow and lacking depth?

Evaluating the job offer

Congratulations! You have successfully managed your interviews and have been offered a job and perhaps you’ve even received offers from more than one employer. Whether it is one offer or more, your euphoria is sometimes quickly replaced by anxiety about decisions which lie ahead. You may be wondering, “Is this the ‘right’ job for me?” or “Am I going to be happy in this job, or should 1 just take it because I need a job, period?” Careful evaluation of your job offer and some serious thought as to how well the position and organization meet your needs can enable you to make the best choice for yourself. One of the Career Center staff can help you sort through the decision-making process.

In evaluating your job offer, there are three critical questions you should address:

How closely does the offer match your career goal? Think back to when you started your job search. What was important to you? What factors regarding a job, organization and work enviroment? How well does this position fit these factors? Below are some factors you may want to consider in evaluating your offer. Some of these may not be important to you, and there may be other factors not listed which are extremely important to your decision.

Do you need additional information about the offer (or anything) in order to make a decision? It is not unusual to discover, as you’re weighing different factors about the offers, that you have additional questions, lack some factual data, or simply need a better sense of what the job and organization are like. If this is the case, stop! Don’t go any further in your deliberations until you address these issues.

You may need to call one of your interviewers and ask additional questions, or contact an alum who works for their organization. If you need a better understanding of what it would be like during a day on the job, call the employer (if they are local) and ask to spend an afternoon observing an entry-level employee in the job you are considering. Most employers will be willing to accommodate you.

Are there issues you may want to negotiate, which would bring the offer closer to your goal? Perhaps the issues which concern you about the offer can be changed. If the job seems ideal except for location, then you might want to raise these issues with the employer. Some start dates are non-negotiable because training classes must begin together. In some instances, however, the start date can be adjusted.

Factors for Consideration