Insider Secrets to Success on Your First Job

For many of you, you may have just started or you are about to begin a new job or internship.  For those of you who just graduated and may be starting your firs “real” job, this article (which I promise is a short read!) contains some great ideas and advice as you start. It is written by a colleague of ours from the NYU Wasserman Career Center, Trudy Steinfeld.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/trudysteinfeld/2012/06/25/insider-secrets-to-success-on-your-first-job/

An oldie but a goodie

Thinking about interviews? Or even what if you get a job offer? Check out this video chat from a while ago to get the answers you need!

Stop and Smell the Flowers

Today the office came together to take a break and wish our Director Suzanne a very Happy Birthday!  During our very rigorous day we stopped, took a moment and got together as a team to relax, wish Suzanne a great day and take some time for ourselves to smell the flowers.  FYI, the cake had flowers all over the top of it as well!

Around this time of the year  students are hard at work at their internship or summer jobs.  Gaining experience for their resume and maybe even saving a little money for school expenses in the fall.  While they're busy at their daily grind, they need to remember it is summer outside, the weather is amazing and yes the flowers are blooming.  So, stop a minute, go outside smell the flowers and take a little relaxation time to yourself.  It’s better to do it now because classes and fall semester are just around the corner!

Happy Summer to ALL & Happy Birthday SUZANNE!

~Joseph Gebbie, Assistant Director

But I applied online...

Have you ever applied to a company or organization directly on their website? Did you fill out a profile and online application? Did you set up a username and password?

Many applicants go through all of the above steps and in some circumstances, select what types of positions they are interested in or actually choose a job opening to apply for. However, many candidates do this once, and believe they are now "in the system."  This may be a crucial mistake! I recently was working with a graduate who applied with an organization over a year ago, believed she was in the applicant pool, and never heard anything. This graduate was shocked when I showed her that simply setting up an account was not the only step! In fact, each time a new job opening was posted on the site, she had to log back in and reapply with her existing account! It even gave her the option to upload a new resume and cover letter. Unfortunately, this graduate missed out on many opportunities with this organization.

This can happen on many job search websites where you create an account. Rarely will the organization or recruiters using the site "find" you; you need to find them and apply for each position you are interested in and qualified for.  For some really great tips on how to apply directly to companies, I recommend this short article:

Finding Jobs at Company Websites

~Suzanne Dagger, Director of Career Services

Stay on Track

This week marks the beginning of the summer’s new student orientations.  For the next few weeks, Hofstra will be hosting eager and excited first year students that will be attending the university in the fall.  Our office enjoys meeting new students as they are always surprised that The Career Center wants to help them this early on.   

The fact is our office can have the greatest impact on a student’s career development during their first and second years here!  To help students stay on track with their career development, we have created goals and checklists for each year from first year through senior year.  Take a look at this link to our website to see if you’re on track.  Then, come by our office and let us help you with your checklist!

~Deanna Rodin, Associate Director and Internship Coordinator

So you have a LinkedIn profile, now what?

If you don't already have a LinkedIn profile, now's the time to start one! It can be overwhelming at first, but just follow these 3 steps to start:

1 - Make a profile. Your profile is very similar to a resume.  Make sure you have all of your activities on your profile along with any jobs or internships.

2 - Get Connected! They make it easy for you by importing contacts from your email.

3 - Join Groups! Below is a snapshot of what groups I've joined.  You can do searches for groups according to industries, interests, and obviously your university. 

What's also great about LinkedIn is that they have a learning center and here is it - http://learn.linkedin.com/

Just make sure your profile is professional.  Recruiters check out profiles on here (as well as on Facebook) so keep it safe! Once you get the hang of LinkedIn, you will be able to search for jobs or even Alumni that may be working at the company you would like to intern/work for.  Good luck!

~ Kat Castro, Assistant Director

#Getajobsocialmedia

According to a NACE 2012 survey, 41% of graduates are using social media to look for jobs.  Are you too?

Social Media Job Search

In case you're wondering how to use Social Media for your own advantage, Reuters gives you some tips to boost your jobs search:

Using Social Media to Land a Job

Happy Tweeting to you!

~Kat Castro, Assistant Director

Thinking of Business School? The new GMAT

For those of you considering business school make note: there is a new GMAT coming to town as of today! Check out The Wall Street Journal's "Q: What Is New and Scary? A: The Revised GMAT "

For more information about the GMAT, business schools and other graduate school information visit our website and remember to start planning early!

Suzanne Dagger, Director of Career Services

Summer Fun!

For those of you who are not taking classes, we hope you are enjoying the summer break! But some of you may actually be interning! Are you having a great time? Are you learning a lot and meeting new people? Here are some tips to make your internship worth while:

 - If you're done with a task, be proactive and look for something productive to do. If there's nothing that your supervisor can give you, is there something you can do that can make his/her life easier? For example, AGES ago, when I interned at a local news network, I reorganized their videotape shelves. Yes it was a dirty job, but no one else was going to do it. They appreciated it so much, that at the end of the internship I was able to write a promo.  Little deeds go a long way.

 - Schedule informational meetings with people that you would like to learn more about. Is there someone in your department that you are itching to meet or learn about what they do?  Well go ahead and put yourself out there! Stop by his/her office and introduce yourself and make that connection. Afterwards, you can follow up  and ask if they have 15 minutes to have an informational meeting.  The worst that can happen is that they don't respond, but many people enjoy talking about their experiences (and themselves) and are willing to help out.

 - Be an active learner! Keep up the hard work and make sure you are a sponge, absorbing everything that comes your way!

 So tell us about your internship! Send us a tweet @Hofstra Career about your internship.  Make sure you use #HUinterns. Best of luck and keep us posted!

~Kat Castro, Assistant Director

CNN Report

According to the following CNN report, jobs in Marketing, IT, Computer Science jobs are on the rise for fall hiring. FYI