Let Candid Career Work for You!

If you’ve read our weekly emails (which you should!) or have stopped into our office (which you really should!), then you’ve probably heard our team members talking about an online exploration resource called Candid Career.

“Nope,” you say, “What’s Candid Career?” Well, if you’re thinking about a certain field you’d like to pursue as a career, or are on a certain track and wondering what options might be available to you, what better way to learn than hearing from people who are currently in those fields and positions?

That’s what Candid Career does; they go to the pros and ask questions about things like how they got into their field or what a day on-the-job is like, then record those informational interviews and put them online for you to view!

But enough from me about all the great work they do, check out their latest commercial to hear straight from them about how Candid Career can help you!

Oh, and one more thing; you can access Candid Career by logging into Pride-CMS through the Hofstra Portal!

As always, if you have more questions about Candid Career, or how you can use it to gear up your career exploration or decision process, let us know! We’d love to help.

Happy Exploring!














Amy Smith, Assistant Director

Interviewing Tips to Get Closer to Your Internship/Career

As the Holidays are getting closer, many students are starting to study for finals or possibly make more time to search and apply for internships. This Forbes article lists some great interview tips to become a more “persuasive interviewer.”

Some of my favorites are “Take an interest in both the company and person.” and “Always thank the interviewer following the Interview.”

Interviewing is a developed skill, rather than a natural talent. It takes lots of practice and preparation to be the best you can be.

Don’t wait until your actual interview to perfect your interviewing skills. You can make an appointment at The Career Center at Hofstra.edu/career or 516-463-6060 to schedule a mock interview with a career counselor. Also PrideCMS has the mock interview module in its Resources tab, which is perfect for preparing for virtual interviews. We are open and available for appointments during Winter break.

Nayelli Perez, Assistant Director

Changes at The Career Center!

As the summer comes to a close and the first day of classes quickly approaches, I wanted to fill you all in on some great changes that have taken place in The Career Center over the past few months. We are so excited to move forward with these new initiatives and look forward to continue to evolve to best serve you, our students! Check out the changes below. 

Extended Quick Question Hours

We've added more Quick Question hours! Quick questions hours will now be Monday-Friday 10am-11am & 2pm-4pm. There is no appointment needed during these times, so come on in if you have a quick question for us!

Career Counseling Appointments

Career counseling appointments can now be made online! Simply go to hofstra.edu/career and click on "Make an Appointment" on the right hand side of the page. 

Virtual Mock Interviews in Pride-CMS

You can now practice your interview skills whenever and where ever with our new virtual mock interview module! To try it out, log in to Pride-CMS (located under "my apps" in the portal) and click on the "mock interview" option on the left hand side of the page. Wait, there's more! Once you have completed your mock interview, you have the option to send it to the career counselor of your choice for a virtual critique! 

Goin Global

Another new feature in Pride-CMS is GoinGlobal, which provides country guides and advice on careers abroad, international career applications, Visa and related requirements and much more. International students can use it to learn about U.S. Visas. The site also contains career guides on states and cities within the U.S.

If you have any questions about these new initiatives, feel free to call the office at (516) 463-6060. We look forward to seeing all of you on campus next week and wish you luck in the upcoming academic year! 

Kaitlyn Riley, Assistant Director 

A Few Job Search Tools to Consider...

While there can be many hurdles during a job search, finding interesting places to seek out opportunities is not one of them.  In fact, there are probably more tools for finding job postings right now than there has ever been in the past.   

Here are a few to consider:

• Of course, we want you to always remember that Pride-CMS is a great home base for job searching.  Access it through your Hofstra portal.
• LinkUp.com is my favorite jobs aggregator.  It is similar to Indeed.com and SimplyHired.com.  However, LinkUp.com produces results strictly from company websites, leaving out third-party sites and other job boards. 
• Assuming you have a LinkedIn profile (and you absolutely should!), Jojari is a site that examines your profile and recommends jobs based on its analysis. 
• Jobfox has been around a while (since 2005), and it provides an easy way to set up email alerts when positions that meet your keyword and location criteria are found.
• We know that having connections at companies where you are searching is always a plus for your success rate.  Jackelope Jobs is a site that analyzes your LinkedIn and Facebook accounts and lets you know at which companies you have the most connections first before directing you to job postings at those companies.

But, here’s an important thought about job postings and job boards – don’t think of finding job postings as the end-all/be-all of job searching.  We like to say when you submit your materials, you’re pressing “send,” not “end.”  It’s always important to try to connect with individuals whenever possible, do good follow up, and research as much as you can about the companies you are pursuing.  As always, we’re here to help you navigate everything!

Gary Alan Miller,
Executive Director

Is It Too Late to Apply for a Summer Internship?

One of the most frequent questions that students are asking at The Career Center is “is it too late to apply for a summer internship?”  The answer is “no, it’s not too late.”  Truth be told, though, it is crunch time.  To be successful in finding a quality internship, you will need to plan at least 4-6 months in advance of when you hope to begin interning.   Yes, I can do math and this only leaves you with less than 3 months to prepare.  However, the majority of college students are notorious for waiting until spring break to apply.  It is very difficult to manage classes, midterms, clubs, jobs, and a social life while applying for internships.  So if you want to beat the rush, don’t procrastinate and start now.  The process can be overwhelming.  To help you out, I have broken it down for you in a few manageable steps:

1)   Decide what type of internship you would like.  You can choose by major (i.e. I want to internship in journalism) or by industry (i.e. I want an internship focusing on sustainability).  You can even narrow it down by type of employer (i.e. I want to intern with a political candidate on a campaign).  If you need help brainstorming, take a look at our resource called “What Can I Do With This Major?”  It is important to be open minded, however, searching for an internship without a focus is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

2)   Prepare your resume and cover letter.  Whether you have a connection through your network, you meet an employer at event, you are attending a career fair, or you are applying online, you will always need a resume.  If you don’t have one, use our career planning handbook on our website to draft one and have it critiqued during our quick question hours. 

3)   Schedule a mock interview at The Career Center.  You can have the best resume in the world but it comes down to the interview as to whether you beat out the competition or not.  Our counselors offer individual feedback to help you practice and prepare during our mock interviews.  Schedule one by calling the office at 463-6060.

4)   Search and apply.  There are many ways to go about applying to internships.  I am only going to mention two here.  First, log onto Pride CMS (our online job/internship database specifically for Hofstra students).  Secondly, search on Internships.com, accessed through Blackboard.  Third, attend our Spring Career Fair on April 2^nd. 

5)   Don’t do it alone.  Schedule an appointment with The Career Center so we can support you through the process.  Let us tailor our resources and program recommendations to you.

That’s it!  Follow these five steps by tackling one and moving on to the next.  It is that simple once you get started.  Good luck!

Deanna Rodin, Associate Director

How do you PAY YOUR PRIDE FORWARD?

It’s been great to see all the wonderful acts of kindness that the Hofstra community has done in the last few weeks!  I am an administrator at Hofstra and I am also a student.  I love my job because I get to meet students just like you and watch you grow through your college experience.  I love when students make a connection with The Career Center. Their focus shifts into gear and they walk out with a plan.   

You have a “Personal...responsibility” to be true to yourself and have P.R.I.D.E. in who you are and your future goals.  So, move a step forward with your future focus, and remember we’ll be here to guide you if you need us. You have a voice, come into our office and tell us what you need!  Do you need a resume critique? Do you need an internship?  Or simply stop in and meet the staff!  

Join us tomorrow and connect with 100 employers that are coming to Hofstra just to meet you!  Who's Coming to the Career Fair-click here

 ~Enza Vario, Director of Operations