No Experience? No Problem

Written by Shelby Oyer

Many students are looking for a summer internship or full-time, post-graduation job and are suddenly stricken with the panic that they don't have any valuable experience to put on their resume. 

While you may feel you don't have any work experience, that doesn't mean you don't have valuable, transferable skills. 

Lea McLeod, blogger for The Savvy Intern, has handled this issue of "no experience" many times and has tips for you to build a "value inventory" for your resume*.

First of all, let's discuss what some of these valuable skills are. In one of her previous articles, Lea points out 7 college skills that matter on a resume:

1. Communication skills
2. Software skills
3. Writing skills
4. Time Management 
5. Networking 
6. Leadership skills
7. Integrity 

(To see a more thorough description of these skills, check out her article here.)

Now we'll look at how to determine and show that you have these skills. 

Start by making three columns on a sheet of paper, Excel spreadsheet, or wherever you want. In the first column, write down any work or major projects. This includes things like volunteer work, internships, athletics, club participation, etc.

In the second column, list the skills required to perform those tasks. This would be things like showed up on time, dealt with customers, led meetings, accomplished team goals, etc.

Finally, in the third column, list the soft skills learned and used to complete these tasks. For example, showing up on time represents initiative, responsibility, and self-managing. 

When you take the time to really dissect the work you've done, you'll find that you possess more skills than you even thought possible and will have a killer resume in no time.

*Check out Lea's full article on value inventory here.

Summer Plans

written by Tanvir Rahman

As the semester draws to a close many of us are thinking of our summer plans and it is never too early to start planning. Here are some things you can do to be productive and make the most out of your summer.

Internship/Part-time Job

Getting an internship or job is one of the best things you can do for your summer. It is important, especially these days, to get some sort of experience in your desired field and school can only teach so much. Getting a real-life experience is great for learning new things and really experiencing your field.

Working Out

Summer is great opportunity to get in shape and exercise. Take advantage of your new free time to get into shape and really focus on your body and health.

Going Back Home

Summer usually means going back to the family and hometown. Take this opportunity to spend time with family and go on a vacation. Take advantage of time you have now to visit family because you may not be able to as easily depending on your career and location.

Summer School

It’s always good to check into academics. Summer can be a good opportunity to catch up on credits or get ahead.

Get Organized

Summer is also a good time to refresh and restart. Look into social media, organizations you’re involved in, and other things that need to be refreshed. Summer is a good time to plan for the following semester and set goals for what you want to accomplish. Get your resume, portfolio, and professional skills ready for the new year.

Relax!

Summer is also about relaxing so make sure to make time to do things that make you happy. Spend time with friends, family, or just have a night in at home. You should be productive during the summer but remember to have fun too! Summer is a good chance to travel and do something new!

These are just some of the things you can do during the summer but the possibilities can be endless. Take time to think about yourself and what you need to do. Think about what you want to accomplish and you can have great summer plans!

reference: http://blog.chegg.com/2012/06/03/10-ways-to-be-productive-during-the-summer/

Is a Degree in Liberal Arts More Lucrative Than a Degree in Engineering?

Written by: Sarah Hornsby

A degree in the liberal arts is often said to hold little value; however, there has been a recent report published by the Association of American Colleges and Universities that offers a new way of thinking about how much value a liberal arts degree really holds.

The report states that people with a degree in the liberal arts earn more money over time than those with other various degrees.

The report can be found here:  http://www.aacu.org/leap/nchems/index.cfm

The Chronicle of Higher Education breaks down and discusses the report in a much shorter article that is easy to understand.

The article can be found here:  http://chronicle.com/article/How-Liberal-Arts-Majors-Fare/144133/

The report is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, which examines the payoff of a liberal arts degree over the course of a career, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The report showed that people with liberal arts degrees earn a lower amount of money right out of college than those with engineering and other various degrees.  However, the same report shows that during the time of their peak earning ages, 56-60, people with liberal arts degrees earn about the same amount of money, if not more, than those with engineering and pre/professional degrees.

Photo Credit: The Chronicle of Higher Education website

According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, "one big reason that older humanities and social-science majors out-earn professional majors is that about 40 percent of people in the former group also hold a graduate degree."  Therefore, the wage growth in the careers of liberal arts degrees is largely due to the graduate degrees earned on top of the bachelors.

The report from the Association of American Colleges and Universities has caused a heated debate, which can be seen in the comments of the article.  Some people agree and many do not.

What do you think?

Embrace Minimalism for a Better Lifestyle

Written by: Bronwyn Huddleson

Things, things, things. How important are all of your material things? I think about this on occassion, when I am doing a quick clean in my room or closet, but I don't do it regularly enough to comprehend so many of the material items as anything more than just that, (empty) things. A lot of the things I have do not hold a special importance, and most of it I haven't touched in months.  I am a very organized person, but that doesn't mean I do not have clutter and confusion sometimes. Well, I stumbled upon some great advice that really made me feel more motivated to further my cleansing, by really evaluating the things I have and their true importance.
I recently discovered an article from CareerAddict.com discussing 8 ways to declutter your life and maximize your happiness and well-being. This article opened my eyes and my mind to so many possibilities for a much more calm lifestyle, less stress, less clutter, less things in general because I can slowly but surely free myself of these material items I once thought held a deeper meaning. Not only has this helped me cleanse my life, but it is better preparing me to take on bigger tasks, such as a long-term career. I feel more capable of embracing difficult situations and determining what is important to me, not just in general but also for my career path and my future altogether.

 Now I want to share this information (from careeraddict.com) with everyone, because a more minimalistic lifestyle makes for a happier life:

1. The Morning Meditation
Start your day off on the right foot. Strengthen your embrace of minimalism beginning with the mental game. Make the pre-commitment to put in place these minimalistic habits as the day progresses.

2. The 1-Year Rule
If you have not touched an item in the last 12 months. Donate it, give it away, or throw it in the trash.

3. Borrow Before You Buy
Before making the purchase, consider whether there is someone in your network of friends and family who may have the item you need.

4. The 2-Minute Tidy
If you are able to tidy an area up in 2 minutes- then drop everything and do it.

5. F.O.C.U.S.
Follow one course until success. Predominantly another productivity tool, multitasking also has a way of cluttering your lifestyle when you have too many jobs going on at one time.

6. Give & Take, Take & Give
Have designated places where things are to be neatly put away. Clutter happens when items do not have a home.

7. The Daily Time-Out
For at least 30 minutes a day, disconnect from all forms of social media. Embrace solitude and allow your mind to declutter itself.

8. The Online-Offline Relationship
Similar to the interconnected example of the car with homeowners, your online habits also reflect and connect with your offline lifestyle. Get a USB and save everything externally.



For more details and full article, click HERE

Successful Before 30- Ronan Farrow

By: Maureen Corbett

For all you political science majors out there or anyone who is pursuing law school, Ronan Farrow is someone you'll want to know. The son of Woody Allen and Mia Farrow, Farrow's resume includes jobs such as activist, journalist, lawyer, former U.S. government advisor, and soon-to-be TV host. And all at the ripe age of 26.

Farrow graduated Bard College and Yale Law school, and received a Rhodes Fellowship to attend Oxford University and pursue degrees in politics and international relations. He got an early start to his career by being the youngest college graduate Bard College has ever had at the age of 15. By 17 he was a UNICEF spokesperson, where he worked as an activist for women and children caught in turmoil in Sudan. He has written and published many articles regarding America's lack of support for the African Union, and spoke out passionately about the need to assist the poor. Many of his articles have been published in noteworthy newspapers and magazines such as The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and The Guardian. Farrow has worked with several U.S political figures, including Barack Obama as an advisor for humanitarian affairs in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as Hilary Clinton as an advisor for global youth issues. He is also set to host the talk show "Ronan Farrow Daily" on MSNBC in late February.

Farrow is an example of someone who took his passion for helping others and turned it into a career. His political science based degrees gave his a solid foundation to be successful in this area and be successful at everything he's accomplished. Any Purdue students who are interested in studying policy, or even just want a career that will help others in some small way, should try to channel Farrow's ambition and use his success as inspiration.

Sources used:

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/sudan_30546.html
http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2014/feb/02/ronan-farrow-young-blue-eyes
http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/10/18/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-ronan-farrow-that-will-make-you-feel-horribly-unaccomplished/

Use Social Media to Your Advantage

Written by : C. Raven Anderson

For almost my entire time attending Purdue University I did not understand how important social media is becoming in the job search. Many employers will check out your profiles to see if you are the type of person they want representing their company. More often than not people will be turned away from the content on their profiles because it is unprofessional. Dave Kerpen, the CEO of Likeable Local, wrote an article giving tips on how to use social media to your advantage.

1) Optimize your Profiles 

       

      LinkedIn: Extend your Resume

• Do you have a picture? If not, make sure you have one that represents yourself in a professional manner!
• Reach out to relevant connections for recommendations. Don’t just ask your supervisors at previous jobs, but ask your peers and reports.
• Have you listed all of your accomplishments and skills? Sometimes better than finding the right job is being found for the right job! LinkedIn Recruiter allows companies to look for specific skills and past positions. Make sure you list them so you can be indexed!
• Endorsements are a great way to easily gain credibility. You should give them as well as ask for them.

Twitter: Show your expertise!

• What is your picture? Make sure it represents you as you want the world to see you.
• What are you sharing? Your tweets should reflect your personality and expertise. Share articles and quotes from thought leaders in your industry. As a guide for sharing jokes, thoughts, and everything else, if your mom wouldn’t approve, don’t tweet it.
• What does your Twitter bio say about you? Make sure you include a link where people can find you. Consider making it a link to your LinkedIn profile.

Facebook: Clean it up!

• What do your profile picture and cover photo say about you?
• Check your privacy settings and make sure you understand them. They may seem difficult to navigate, but they are really important when it comes to your public image. I'm all for openness personally, but for many, you'll want to make sure photos and videos for friends aren't visible to your next employer.

2) Network Appropriately

LinkedIn:

Search your 1st degree connections to find interesting 2nd degree connections. Connect with people, but make sure to be upfront about why you are connecting. Don’t ever send the default message! Instead, give them a reason to connect with you. If you really want an in, tell them you’d love to learn more about their company and the position they have. People love to talk about themselves and a 15 minute informational interview, whether in person (ideal) or via phone or video chat - is an ideal way to learn more about a company while subtly showchasing yourself.

Twitter:

Follow the people that interest you at companies you'd like to work at. Follow the CEO's, marketers and other industry leaders. Follow the Head of Human Resources. Watch what they are doing and find the right time to engage with them. It won't work to bombard them on a Friday night with a tweet about how you want a job, but Twitter does give you the unique opportunity to engage in conversation with someone you don't know. When they talk about the Lakers game, or thier kids, or their trip to Costa Rica - just reply with interest, if you have something to say. Show them you're interested in them - and they just might be interested in you.

Facebook:

Most people keep Facebook for their existing network of friends, and some don't even connect with professional collaegues on Facebook. However, you can like the companies you are interested in and engage with their content. You can also find company and industry leaders to subscribe to, (one way communication, similar to Twitter) which can give you insight into their lives! You never know when a common interest might help.

3) Research

Use LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to research the organizations and people where you might want to work before you reach out to apply for a job or schedule an informational interview. You can learn a lot more about a company's core values and culture from their social sites than their website - and if it's a dream job you seek, be sure that the the company's values and culture align well with yours before any interview.  

These tips will help anyone become a better, more professional you on their social media profiles. I challenge you to go through your posts and pictures on your social media sites and clean up your image. A post could be funny to some, but offensive to others. Make sure you are sending the right message to potential employers about who you are.  To read the full article written by Dave Kerpen click the link below. 

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130121115222-15077789-3-essentials-to-landing-your-dream-job-using-social-media

5 Resume Mistakes to Avoid

Written by Shelby Oyer

College is a time when everyone is working on perfecting their resumes in preparation for landing that perfect internship or job. While many places on campus can help you craft a killer resume--like the LACD and CCO offices--here a few mistakes, suggested by Skip Freeman from Personal Branding Blog, that you can learn to avoid at home.

1. Confusing Layout/Design
While having a creative and unique resume can be a good thing in the right industry, if it's too much, it will only hinder you. Don't get too excited with bolding, italicizing and underscoring. Too many colors, graphics, words or a confusing layout that's hard to skim will also make employers far more likely to toss your resume than actually read it. 

While you want your resume to stand out from the crowd, make sure it's still easy to read and skim. If you're not looking into a somewhat artistic career, consider making your resume more unique by simply using a different font or atypical layout rather than changing the entire thing to look like an infographic. If you are going down a more artistic path, employers are more likely to appreciate a creative resume rather than feel overwhelmed by it, but still be sure it's easy to navigate. 

2. Grammatical Errors
While some minor grammatical errors may get overlooked by the unsuspecting eye, do be careful of more obvious ones like misspellings, lack of proper capitalization or missing words. 

Double- and triple-check your resume to make sure everything is properly spelled and punctuated. Have a friend or two look over it as well to catch anything you may have missed.

3. Lack of Clarity or Focus
Do your best to make it clear to employers what you have to offer them and what you are looking for. Making them guess the significance of your previous work experience or how your listed skills fit in with their company is something to try to avoid. 

Do your research. Find out what skills and goals the company you're applying to has and tailor your resume to them. Make sure you highlight how you've acquired those skills in previous positions so it's clear to your prospective employer why you're right for the job and why they're bothering to read your resume. 

4. Incomplete/Incorrect Contact Info
Believe it or not, some people may have a stunning resume but don't get the job simply because they can't be contacted. 

Make sure your contact info is both complete and up-to-date to avoid missing out on an opportunity simply because you moved or changed your phone number. Also, some college students feel the need to include both a permanent and current address. This isn't actually necessary and may confuse employers about how to contact you if they wish to mail something. Just include your current address and make sure you update it every time you move. 

5. Length
Many employers won't even bother reading your resume if they don't like the length of it. In nearly all instances, your resume needs to be limited to one page and one page only. I've personally seen resumes thrown out simply because they're two pages long, regardless of if the candidate was qualified or not. 

Don't let this happen to you! Adjust the margins to 0.7" all around if you need more space. Cut out everything even remotely insignificant. Do what you need to do to make your resume exactly one page long. 


This is my take on Skip's article. Read the complete article here.

Do More by Doing Nothing

written by Tanvir Rahman

We are always told that in order to achieve our goals and success we need to do more, however sometimes it is better to nothing at all. We are already busy and we cannot put more useless time wasting things on our plate. It is all about being productive and eliminating the things that can damage our productivity.

Anger

Anger is one of those things that will only damage your productivity. Some people might say it is good to get angry sometimes but it can also be that emotion that takes you over the edge. You have settle down and get perspective through patience and time. Sometimes when you’re angry, it is better to do nothing.

Paranoia

Paranoia is another emotion that can blind our productivity. Thinking about the worst things happening or what can go wrong will only make you worry and expect bad results. Sometimes we picture the worst things that will most likely never happen.

Tired

Doing nothing is the perfect thing to do when you are tired. You cannot effectively work if you don’t have the energy for it. Getting sleep and keeping up with hygiene is the best way to improve productivity and you will feel great. Stay away from work and get some rest.

These are just some things that doing nothing can be the remedy. Next time you feel like you are burnt out, losing productivity it’s best to just step back, sit, and do nothing. Get away from work and get yourself back together to that calm state of mind and you will be feeling great. Doing too much can burn us out and sometimes if we can do more by doing nothing. 

references: http://99u.com/articles/20576/5-ways-to-do-nothing-and-become-more-productive

Choosing a Color to Represent Your Brand

Written by Sarah Hornsby


Now that Career Week is over and you all have a better understanding on how to succeed professionally it’s time gather everything you have learned and put it into practice.  The first thing to do is to develop your professional brand.  Your brand should be a representation of who you are professionally.  Your brand will speak for you.  This is how future employers will see you, which is why it’s so imperative to spend some time carefully developing your brand.  

A lot of work goes into developing your professional brand.  Afterall, your brand will affect everything you do professionally, including the design of your resume, networking card, etc.  When constructing your brand, it’s important to educate yourself on color psychology.  The colors displayed in resumes, cover letters, networking cards, etc should be chosen for a reason.  The colors you use to represent your brand can either hinder your brand or complement your brand.  For example, if your professional brand is someone who is loyal and trustworthy and you choose the color red to be displayed in your professional documents, then you will probably not be seen as loyal or trustworthy because the color red represents power and ambition.  

The key thing is to develop your brand and choose a color that represents your brand well.  Below is a short list of colors and their meanings:

Red: A warm and positive color associated with our most physical needs and our will to survive.  It exudes a strong and powerful masculine energy.

Orange: The color of social communication and optimism.

Yellow: Considered the happiest color.  It is optimistic and cheerful.

Green: The color of balance and growth.

Blue: The color of trust and peace.

To read in further detail about the colors listed above and color psychology, clink on the link below:

http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/meaning-of-colors.html

What does Career Week do for You?

Written by: Bronwyn Huddleson

This week long event we title as ‘Career Week’ has had a great impact on my life, including academia, fitness/sports, networks, and my professional life in general. Career Week, consisting of 14 speakers, a scavenger hunt, workshops, prizes, and a Career Fair has positively influenced the way I think and the way I plan to continue leading my professional life. Each speaker had their own unique way of getting the attention of the audience while sticking to the main overall theme: “The Amazing Career Race: Fight to the Finish”. As I think back to the talks I listened to and the people I engaged with, they all tied together, some in a very subtle way, and some very obviously. 

I remember one speaker, Bryce Carlson, more than a lot of the others because he connected his presentation to athletics, and more specifically, his athletic goals and accomplishments. I can relate very easy to this kind of talk because I have always been very athletic and involved in sports and physical activity, by choice. What was great about it, was that you didn’t have to be able to relate to the athletic part of the presentation because the academia/professional life side was incredibly impactful and memorable as well. There was a lot of talk about how you have to find out what you love to do and do it, you have to have experiences before you know what you really love. I found this so important because more often than not I know that students worry about their GPA over everything else, and they are earning that GPA doing something they don’t even enjoy just because they want to have a big paycheck, or make someone else happy (maybe their parents). The way I see it, the only person to worry about making happy is yourself, the rest will fall in place once you know you are happy, and you cannot be happy if you are stuck in a career that you do not enjoy. In Carlson’s presentation he played a video at the end, a very motivational and inspirational video, basically tying together everything he talked about with athletics and your professional life. From this video I wrote down a quote that I found very powerful, “If there’s no enemy within, the enemy outside can do no harm”. This stuck out to me because it ties back in with my point of being happy, and finding a career path that you truly enjoy and want to learn everything about that you possibly can. I want to want to learn, and since I switched my major to doing what I truly love, at least for now, I am enjoying learning more than ever before. 

Since I have been enjoying what I am learning, and teaching myself even more outside of the classroom as well, I was able to really connect with Josh Boyd’s presentation on Sustaining Healthy Brands. Boyd made his presentation so that it was focused around his brand, and how he got that brand, and why he is successful. The biggest thing that I got from his presentation was not only networking, but making yourself memorable. You want to stand out to any and every employer and even just your network, because once people start remembering who you are, more opportunities arise. Boyd also tied in the topic of finding that career you enjoy, even if it takes multiple other paths to get there, you just have to get there. 

Not only did these presentations, along with many others, catch my attention and keep it, but they have stuck in my mind well enough that I have found myself relating personal situations and general conversation with some of the general topics and key points. I am very grateful for the experience to listen to these successful professionals and get their true opinions and helpful advice as I journey on a path toward my goals and my dream career. 

Successful Before 30 - Kevin Systrom

By: Maureen Corbett

Today’s successful businessman is Kevin Systrom, the CEO and co-founder of Instagram. With a net worth of over $400 million, most people would say this entrepreneur and software engineer has his life made. But getting to where he is today took a lot of determination and hard work, something Systrom thinks is essential for any success story.

This now 30-year-old Standford grad got his undergraduate degree in management science and engineering. While these degrees are not offered in Purdue’s college of Liberal Arts, I’ve chosen to feature Systrom because Purdue offers a B.A. in Economics which is closely correlated to what Systrom studied at Stanford. After graduation, Systrom got his first internship at the startup Odeo, the company that eventually gave birth to Twitter. He then spent two years at Google before eventually starting his own company to work on developing Instagram when he was 27. Within 14 months of its launch, Instagram turned into one of the most popular social networking sites in the world with over 15 million users.

Systrom claims the secret to his success was making the app user friendly. He said that while working on the project, he really wanted to focus on making Instagram easy for everyone to upload photos and make them beautiful within seconds.

“The lesson I’ve learned is that you need to make sure to always cut what doesn’t work, cut the stuff that isn’t popular, and focus on continually improving your product and your focus.” Systrom said in an interview with the online blog KissMetrics.

To learn more about Systrom and his successes, check out the following links below:

http://landing.newsinc.com/forbes/video.html?vcid=23824180&freewheel=91218&sitesection=forbes

http://blog.kissmetrics.com/kevin-systrom/

The Importance of Networking

Written by: C. Raven Anderson

Most people do not fully understand the importance of networking throughout college and the business world. Networking can be used to help you find a job, change careers, get new business leads, improve your business practices, and even sell products. It comes in many different forms such as online, professional associations, asking friends for introductions or recommendations, and attending career fairs. 

Before, when people started out they were told, "It's not what you know that counts; it's whom you know," that was a reference to the importance of networking. It is a tool that many fail to utilize to gain personal growth in the business world, but if you follow instructions below and make every experience an opportunity to build your network, you will soon have a large network you can use to help you become a better, more professional you.

First, you have to actually go to events or career fairs so you are exposed to professionals in your field. Once at the event the next step is to start up a conversation with a recruiter. Introduce yourself and then make a connection between the recruiter and yourself. Then wrap up the conversation and promise to stay in touch, and do just that. 

Second, you must keep in touch with your contacts. You should write a thank you note after first speaking or meeting with the recruiter. Then you need to follow-up by sending them an updated resume or scheduling a one-on-one informational interview.

Finally, it is important to understand that networking is a continual process. You must be committed to keeping your network strong. You can do this by keeping in touch with the professionals in your network. Send these professionals updates on where your career has taken you and what you have learned. If you keep a strong connection these professionals will be happy for you and possibly offer you advice for your future endeavors. 

A great place to start networking would be the Liberal Arts Career Development Career Week. It runs from Monday February 3rd through Thursday February 6th. There are events such as Resume Reviews, Interviewing 101, many different speakers, and on  Thursday from 11 am to 3 pm is the Career Expo. It is a chance for you to practice networking and hopefully gain some valuable contacts. So come on out to develop a better, more professional you!