Graduating students are often asked what they are going to do after college. If this common question is asked without the answer of a job lined up for after graduation, do not worry. There are a number of steps to try and opportunities to take advantage of when looking for a job.
It is never too early or too late to take the first step. R??sum??s and cover letters can be written in a number of ways, but here are some tips from the Writing Center's ??sum?? and cover letter writing workshop,"" offered periodically each semester, that can help job applicants stick out on paper.
Companies have started to screen r??sum??s for specific keywords. Computers count how many times a desired word or words are on the r??sum??. This may sound unfair, but when a company receives hundreds of r??sum??s a day, they cannot go through all of them thoroughly. ""Created and provided are good action words to use,"" advised Neeta Kantamneni, project assistant at the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Career Center.
It is important that r??sum??s and cover letters are specific to the job applied for. If the details of the position are known, one is able to emphasize his or her skills and knowledge pertaining to its duties. According to the Writing Center workshop, simpler is better when it comes to the layout of the r??sum??. Avoid trying to make the it look fancy with graphics, fonts and other means. Kantamneni stressed: ""be concise"" and ""formatting is as important as content.""
Also, information can be picked up on writing r??sum??s and cover letters at any of the Career Centers as well as the Writing Center.
The next step is to find places to send r??sum??s to. Letters and Science and Human Ecology Career center offers eRecruiting. For $15 a semester, students can have opportunities to extend their own job searches to explore jobs specific to their major and entry level position, which includes but is not limited to on-campus interviewing. There are also books of available job listings at the Career Center, located on the corner of University Avenue and Park Street.
""The best advice to give a student if they are still looking for employment is to go to one of the career center offices and talk to the staff,"" advised John Archambault, from the Engineering Career Center.
All of the Career Centers provide a number of other services including career advising appointments with informed counselors. Workshops are limited for the remainder of the semester, but next semester they will feature a number of related topics. L&S/Human Ecology Career Center has a collection of informative videos that can be seen upon request. Additional help, such as brochures and books, is available for reviewing r??sum??s and cover letters at all of the Career Centers.
With the semester winding down, students hear questions about plans after graduation more and more. However, it is OK not to have a definite plan yet. Take some time to work on r??sum??s and research the jobs out there. Throughout the job-search process, Greg Iaccarino, career advisor, said he generally advises job seekers, ""Be patient, be as flexible as you can and be resourceful of information.\
