Career Services

What's the point? How about networking!

Friday, October 2, 2009

By Lisa Knapp
Career Services Graduate Assistant

Walking down the hall of the Student Services Building, I overheard someone say they wouldn’t be attending the Oct. 14 GVSU Careerfest career fair. Why? “There’ll be too many people and not enough jobs. There’s no reason for me to be there.” Au Contraire!

Consider this. The definition of a fest tells us this will be a gathering with a specific focus. (Think jazzfest, artfest, foodfest.) The definition of fair implies this gathering will promote the availability of opportunities. In other words, Careerfest career fair is a singularly focused event for which the sole purpose is to look at all the opportunities available to job-seekers. Everyone should be there.

Will everyone walk away with a job? Not likely. Some might. Others will secure interviews and information about companies they hope to work for (maybe they won’t want to work for.) Did I mention the networking opportunity found in this setting?

According to the experts at Quintcareers.com, networking is THE most important tool in the job-seekers toolbox. Please keep in mind that the goal of networking is to enter into mutually beneficial relationships of sharing information, ideas, and experience. So, whether you practice networking at the GVSU Careerfest, another job fair, at church, in class, at the dentist, at a party….you should keep these things in mind.

1. Networking is about being yourself. The idea isn’t to shake as many hands possible. The idea is to meet potential business contacts and begin building a relationship with them. If you aren’t yourself when you’re entering into the networking relationship, it is likely to backfire down the road.
2. Ask yourself what your goals are before attending an event. Are you going to practice your one-to-two minute speech about yourself? Maybe your goal is to gather information about the type of training companies have for new employees. Perhaps you simply want to introduce yourself to three employers you’ve researched and are interested in. Doing some research ahead of time will help you define your purpose, allowing you to be actively involved in the fair.
3. Ask open ended questions. You’ll have better conversations with who, what, where, when, and how questions versus yes or no questions.
4. Know how you can contribute to a company. Again this means planning ahead. Research a company via the internet, your existing networks and market reports. Once you have a sense of what their needs are, you can articulate how your skills might match their needs.
5. Finally, don’t let your preparation and active participation be the end of the story. Follow-up with the recruiters you spoke with. A nice handwritten thank you note is a good way to let them know you appreciated their time and you’re interested in their company.

Posted 10:20 AM 0 Comments

Questioning corporate culture: finding a company you'll love

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Ever heard of Crosby, Stills and Nash?
Even if you don’t know their name, you probably know their songs: “Southern Cross,” “Drive My Car,” “Haven’t We Lost Enough?” Still doesn’t ring a bell?

Well, for a one-time fee of $9.99, you can ring your cell bell and download one of the more famous CSN songs: “Love the One You’re With,” You know this one: “If you can’t be with the one you love, honey, love the one you’re with.”

Good song, bad advice. Let me explain.

This week, staff members from the LGBT Resource Center invited staff members from Career Services to join them on their visit to Herman Miller, a global furniture company, head-quartered nearby in Zeeland, Mich.

The visit offered a chance to thank Herman Miller for a recent contribution they made to the LGBT Resource Center.

It was also an opportunity to learn how they received top rating of 100 percent for a second consecutive year in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s seventh annual Corporate Equality Index.

Throughout our visit, Herman Miller folks shared about their company. By the end of the day, it was apparent why Herman Miller has earned a magnitude of industry awards and recognition.

Equally evident was the Herman Miller corporate culture.
Corporate culture is defined as the sum of company values, customs, traditions and meanings that make a company unique.

Many experts summarize corporate culture in six words, “How we do things around here.”
Walking around Herman Miller it was hard not to ask the question, “Who wouldn’t want to work here?” Yet, even though Herman Miller is an industry leader with a great working environment, the answer has to be, not everyone.

Not everyone who interviews with Herman Miller can see themselves as “we” or agree to the “way we do things” at Herman Miller. Every company is not for every job candidate.

Whether you’re in an active job search or just starting to do informational interviews and job shadows, now is the perfect time to start exploring a companies’ corporate culture. As you learn, ask yourself these questions: Am I “we”? What is “the way”?
And do I really want to spend time “around here”? The bottom line: “Do I fit in here?”

While it’s tempting to pursue the perfect job- or in a tough job market, take any job- if you haven’t done your research, you might start your new position only to learn it’s not the right place for you.

Then what? You’re left with the daunting task of starting your job search over or making the most of the job you’ve got.

Ring any bells? If it does, keep in mind, the boy in the song, who’s lovin’ the one he’s with, still spends the whole song wishin’ he was with the one he loves.

Posted 1:31 PM 0 Comments

The Truth Will Set You Free: Mantra (prayer), Maxim (truth), and a Little Conventional Wisdom

Thursday, September 3, 2009

A new version of the Grand Valley State University Career Services Web site went live today, http://www.gvsu.edu/careers/.

If you have not had a chance to check it out, you should. I know you’re bracing for the Career Services mantra; networking starts now, build your resume as you go, internships lead to jobs, blah, blah, blah. Consider this. Maybe it’s true. Maybe it’s the Career Services maxim, not the Career Services mantra.

Still a skeptic? Consider the results of a 2009 student survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges & Employers. More than 35,000 students, including 16,500 graduating seniors, from more than 840 colleges and universities nationwide participated in the 2009 Student Survey last spring. The official report will be available in the fall, but preliminary results show that students who subscribe to the career services mantra — networking, building resumes, practicing interviews, attending job fairs — also testify to the Career Services truth: An on-going relationship with your Career Services Office works.

As a class, just 19.7 percent of 2009 graduates who applied for a job have one. According to the NACE study, that number jumps to 26 percent rate of employment for those who applied for a job AND made use of the career services center.

Have you ever been the second-to-the-last person to make the team, get the part, land the job? If so, you can imagine what a big difference it makes to be a graduate in the 4.3 percent of students who could have used career services and didn’t. Now that’s the truth!

Posted 5:56 AM 0 Comments