Connect with The Career Center: Gary Alan Miller

1. What is your role at the Career Center?

I have the good fortune of being the Executive Director of the Career Center, which means I get to support the work of the full team, making sure they have all the resources they need to best support Hofstra students. I also pay attention to things like our technologies, our budget and our overall direction.

2. What did you study in school OR what was your favorite class when you were in school?

As an undergraduate, I majored in public relations, with an emphasis on the recording industry. I thought I wanted to be a music industry publicist until I did an internship at Mercury Records the summer that "Achey Breaky Heart" was a hit. I spent three months promoting that song (and others on the label) and at the end of it realized I didn't want to be a music industry publicist. Thankfully, the knowledge and skills I developed there transferred nicely into lots of different areas. I started working in higher education in 1994 and haven't left since!

3. Where is your favorite spot on campus?

I have two, actually. I love the view from the 10th floor of the Library, and I like the calmness of the lush area between Phillips hall and Spiegel Theatre.

4. What is your favorite season and why?

I adore fall. I think growing up in the South you come to appreciate the crispness of the morning after a long, humid summer. Although fall is very busy here in the Career Center, there's just something relaxing to me about seeing the leaves turn, getting to warm your hands on apple cider and decorating for Halloween. As you can see in the photo below, I appreciate a good Halloween party. This is me as a zombie, taken when I worked at UNC-Chapel Hill.

5. What message do you have for the incoming class of 2019/returning Hofstra students as they begin their new school year?

I hope you take advantage of every moment. It's so easy to let college slip by without really making the most of it. Recognize what an awesome opportunity you have to learn and to do - make meaning of those experiences for yourself and really become who you aspire to be. Do interesting things and get to know administrators and faculty here at Hofstra - we want to get to you know and want to help you along your path!

Gary Alan Miller, Executive Director

Using Information Interviews and Shadowing to Find Your Career

The best way to explore a potential career choice is by speaking with and/or following someone who works in that career.  So, how do you do that? Informational interviewing and job shadowing are two great options.

Informational interviews help you learn first-hand about your chosen profession by asking questions about tasks, business environment, and educational background.  Shadowing a professional allows you to follow someone in your career choice as they go through a typical day or week on the job and ask questions and observe the work.

Finding a Profession(al)

Finding someone to interview or shadow is not difficult. Ask your parents and your friends’ parents if they know someone you can interview. Ask your professors for recommendations of professionals in the field. Go to your career center: Many maintain lists of alumni and employers who are willing to help in your career exploration.

Next, call or write a letter requesting an information interview or job shadowing. People who like their jobs tend to enjoy talking about them. You compliment the professional by expressing an interest in the career. In your phone call or letter, explain how you found the person you want to interview and request time for an appointment. Emphasize that you want to find out more about the career—you’re not looking for a job. If you’re lucky, the professional you contact may have other colleagues you can interview also.

Asking Questions

Take notes during your time with the professional. Here are some questions you might ask:

• What is your typical workday like?
• What do you like most (and least) about your job?
• What skills/abilities are most important to succeed in this job?
• What is your educational background?
• How did you get started in this field?
• What courses were most helpful to you and which would you recommend?
• What is the best way to get started in this field?
• Do you have any additional advice to help me prepare?

Following Up Your Interview

Review your notes. What was your impression? Did you leave the interview feeling as if you can envision a future in this occupation or were you discouraged—you don’t feel you learned enough about the occupation or the job description doesn’t sound appealing any longer?

Take your thoughts and concerns to the career center staff and get feedback on the next step to take in your career exploration. You may want to do additional information interviews in this career path or you may want to reexamine your goals and find a different path for your interests.

No matter what you decide, send a thank-you note to anyone you interview or shadow. Whether you decide to forge ahead on that career path or find another one, this professional may be a good person to network with when you begin your job search.

Courtesy of the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Gary Alan Miller, Executive Director

Preparation Begins with Motivation

There are a lot of reasons you might have a hard time motivating yourself to take steps with your career. Sometimes you might not feel confident; sometimes you might lack focus; sometimes you may feel like you are lacking direction.

When you struggle with issues like this, it sometimes best to simply get the ball rolling, even if you don’t know in what direction to roll it! 

I recommend you use your support network, and my guess is that you have a bigger support network than you even realize. You can speak with friends, family, career counselors, RAs, academic advisors, faculty members and many others here at Hofstra – all of these folks are just waiting to be your cheerleader, your supporter, your mentor.

The truth is, no one can take that first step except you. All of those around you who want to see you succeed typically rely on you to start the conversation. But, you can do it.  I know you can!  Decide today to make that first step a priority – just say to someone, “can I talk with you about where I think I’m heading?”

You absolutely can move yourself forward, whether you’ve decided on your goal or need to figure it out. As the late Zig Zigler said, “you don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” Get started today!

Gary Miller, Executive Director

3 New Technology Resources from the Career Center

Here at the Career Center, we are constantly focused on improving and providing new resources and services.  This semester, we launched quite a large list of new services and platforms to help you along the path of your career.  In this post, I want to highlight three that you may have missed when we announced them at the beginning of the semester.

• You can now make appointments with our career counselors through our website.  So, whenever you’re sitting at home or in your residence hall thinking, “I need some help with my career planning,” all you need to do is click over to our site and get on our calendars at a time of your convenience.

• While there is no substitute for practicing interviews and get feedback from us in person, we have launched an online practice interview module as part of the Pride-CMS system.  Access Pride-CMS through the “my apps” section of the portal.  Once you’ve updated your profile, you can click on the “resources” tab within Pride-CMS and use your webcam to practice any of the 30+ interviews we have built for you, or you can build your own from over 1800 pre-recorded questions.

• GoinGlobal is another new resource available within Pride-CMS (again, through the “my apps” section of the portal).  GoinGlobal is rich with information on career-related and cultural information from nearly 50 countries and a wide-variety of US cities.  Use this system to find best information about travelling to and working in other countries.  It’s also very useful if you’re considering a move to another area in the US.

Take a look at these new resources and let us know what you think!

Gary Miller, Executive Director