Experiencing Experience

Carla Certeza

This was a summer of firsts: my first time living in a house on my own [with roommates], and my first time getting experience closer to the kind of work that I want to be doing for my career. I’ve had summer jobs in the past—clerical worker, camp counselor—but I’ve never had work experience in my college major, graphic design, until now.

This summer, I’ve kept busy with two Purdue graphic design internships—one with Liberal Arts Career Development and one with Housing and Food Services Marketing. Because the two internships were structured differently, I was able to experience different aspects of the business world.

With Liberal Arts Career Development, there were only two interns over the summer, so my job included more general office tasks and management, along with design projects. Because I was the design “expert,” I felt that it was my responsibility to take initiative to improve designs that I thought could be further developed. I had more authority and independence, but less guidance since I didn’t work under an art director. I also had to complete a large portion of my work on my own time because we were only in the office five hours a week.

With Housing and Food Services Marketing, there is a team of graphic design interns who work year round. It has a graphic design and marketing focus, along with a more creative and social environment. Over the summer, we work thirty hours a week. This internship has more of an "employee" feel since we clock in and out and work under an art director. It is closer to what I want to be doing in the future.

Throughout the school year, I will be continuing my internship with Housing and Food Services Marketing, but unfortunately, I will not be continuing my internship with Liberal Arts Career Development. I am grateful for each of these experiences because I gained valuable knowledge from both, such as insight on work etiquette, time management, and design. I will be able to add more work to my design portfolio as well.

I am glad that I could contribute to Liberal Arts Career Development to help other students prepare for their future. This will be my last blog, but be sure to check your email for the interactive ‘welcome back’ PDF when school starts!

Good luck with all your future endeavors.

Here Are The Must-Know Secrets To A Great Business Card

written by Yuan-Wei Tan

Even in this paperless, Cloud-backed, wireless era, nothing can impress employers or clients as easily and quickly as a good business card.

Business cards are a great way to combine exchanging information with getting attention and appearing professional. Drake Baer at The Business Insider says that "business cards aren't just for giving people your contact info; they also launch conversations and spur relationships."

Baer and his colleague Skye Gould interviewed Chicago-based freelance designer Margot Harrington and Teresa Pereira, VP of brand and communication at online design shop Moo.com, to find out what she thinks is the best way to design your business card.

Pereira states that the design of your card should reflect what aspect of yourself you wish to promote. A simple, minimalist design is best for promoting yourself as business-like while someone like a designer trying to promote a portfolio would be better suited with an aesthetically pleasing design.

Read the full infographic here for more advice from Pereira on how to design your business cards as well as some attractive looking examples of cards done right.

Get LinkedIn to the Business World

Carla Certeza

LinkedIn is a professional networking site. It is the business version of Facebook. At the top of your profile, it should display a professional photograph of you, along with your current position, location, experience, and education. It also displays the number of ‘connections’ you have. This is where the networking aspect of the site comes in. LinkedIn provides suggestions on who to make connections with based on similarities in the information you have on your profiles. Once you start to make connections, LinkedIn suggests more connections based on mutual connections, (2^nd degree connections, 3^rd degree connections, etc.). The more connections you have, the better it is to expand your network.

While its main purpose is to grow your network, LinkedIn also acts as an online supplement to your resume. When on the job hunt, people do research to find out more about companies. But the people who are looking for work are not the only ones doing research. Hiring managers also research potential employees, and one of the first things that they look for is a LinkedIn account. Having a LinkedIn account provides you with another opportunity to impress employers without actually meeting with them. [See post, “Letters Leave an Impression.”] You are able to see who views your profile and the number of views you have as well. The site is free, but there are also upgrades available to improve your profile and have access to more visibility, reach, and search options.

Many people make the mistake of having the same information on your LinkedIn profile as your actual resume, which defeats the purpose of having a LinkedIn account as a supplement. Be sure to utilize the summary and description boxes to provide specific details that would not be found on your resume. LinkedIn even provides recommendations on how to improve your profile and gives a percentage of how complete your profile is. Like with your resume, don’t forget to update your LinkedIn profile as you gain more experience. Your connections are also notified with changes you make to your profile.

6 Easy Ways To Improve Your LinkedIn Profile.

written by Yuan-Wei Tan

As LinkedIn becomes more and more popular, standing-out to prospective employers becomes harder to do. Irene McConnell from Idealist Careers states that a "professional-looking LinkedIn profile can significantly strengthen your personal brand and position you as the winning candidate during job search." According to McConnell, here are 6 ways that you can quickly improve your LinkedIn profile.

1. Create a custom profile URL

This is a must-have. A personalized URL not only adds a professional touch, but also increases the clickability of your profile when it comes up in search. This means more views of your profile, which can lead to more job connections and job opportunities.

Custom profile names are available on a first come, first served basis, so don't delay in claiming yours. Follow LinkedIn's simple step-by-step instructions to get it.

2. Upload a professional photo

This is almost a cliche, but I need to mention it because I notice that many of my clients still resist having a public, professional-looking photo of themselves on their LinkedIn profile. In today's world, it is not merely a good idea — it is expected. Absence of a photo on your LinkedIn profile will prevent recruiters and hiring managers from reaching out to you.

A photo which was taken while you were out with your friends isn't the best choice, either.
If you can, invest in a personal headshot. If not, you can take a photo yourself, as long as you ensure that the picture:

• has an uncluttered background
• portrays you from shoulders up
• shows you smiling at the camera
• is taken in a professional setting (in other words, don't use a photo that was taken by a friend when you were out)

3. Add keywords to your profile

Every day, thousands of recruiters search LinkedIn for people with your job title and skills. If you're not coming up in search results, you're reducing your chances of being offered job opportunities.

To improve your profile's visibility in LinkedIn search results, ensure that your LinkedIn profile contains relevant keywords throughout your main job description, summary, job titles and descriptions in your job history as well as endorsements/skills section.

For example, if you're a communications manager at a national nonprofit, the obvious keywords to include would be "communications manager" and "non-profit."

However, recruiters might also be looking for you by using desired skills as a criteria and your job title won't always necessarily reflect those skills.

That's why, if you were the communications manager above, you could also also consider adding keywords like "community management", "project management", "campaign management", "print", "TV" and "digital" in your profile.

To further improve the chances of your LinkedIn profile coming up in search results, I recommend that you ask a few of your colleagues and clients to endorse you for skills that match your job title.

4. Update your status

You should be regularly reading interesting online content that is relevant to your career.
When you find something that you like, post it to your profile, adding a few words to provide your own context. Doing this not only keeps you informed, but also makes you appear up-to-date and relevant.

You'll find plenty of relevant and high-quality articles on LinkedIn Pulse.

5. Join and participate in a group

Which aspect of your career are you most passionate about? Chances are, there's a lively discussion happening right now in one of LinkedIn's groups on that topic. This is important because it gives you an opportunity to connect with other people in the nonprofit sector.

Best thing is, being part of a group allows you to bypass LinkedIn's standard requirement to be connected to someone in order to reach out to them. If you and another professional are part of the same group, you can communicate without limitations.

6. Link to your other personal brand assets

What other web properties do you own, which can improve how you look online?

Do you have an interesting Twitter feed? A blog on which you disseminate your ideas? An online portfolio of your works? A company page which mentions you?

By linking to them from your LinkedIn profile, you're giving recruiters a more comprehensive view of who you are as a professional.

Make sure you're linking only to material which is congruent with your personal brand and that you follow a well thought-through strategy, rather than haphazardly posting material online.

Turning the Tables: Informational Interviews

Carla Certeza

Conducting an informational interview is all about gaining knowledge. You are able to ask professionals for advice on your career. An informational interview is your time to ask questions that are as general or as detailed as you want. Don’t hesitate to ask, even if you don’t think that whoever you are asking knows the answer.

The purpose of an informational interview is not to get a job interview, but to help you gain useful information in preparation for your future career. There is more of a relaxed setting during an informational interview because you are the one asking the questions. You become the interviewer, so there is no need to be nervous.

Informational interviews can play an important role before you go in for a job interview as well. Especially if you are interested in a specific company, you can gain inside information in addition to your previous research.

Career fairs are a great place to conduct informational interviews. Many students don’t use resources such as career week because they don’t believe that they will profit from attending if they are not ready to look for a job or internship. By utilizing informational interviews, you can take advantage of this resource, even as an undecided freshman.

It is also beneficial to conduct informational interviews even if a company is not necessarily hiring. You are still able to gain valuable information pertaining to the area in which you want to pursue a career. An informational interview gives you the opportunity to learn from individuals who are currently in the field.

5 Soft Skills to Showcase in an Interview.

written by Yuan-Wei Tan

Having the best qualifications and most impressive resume in the world means nothing if nobody likes you.

According to Miriam Salpeter at U.S News & World Report, recruiters hire candidates based not just on paper qualifications but on their likeability and potential to fit in with the rest of the company. This is referred to in human resources as the "cultural fit."  

Making improvements in this area is difficult, says Salpeter, since most employers don't provide specific feedback to a second-place candidate that they don't like. An employer can get in legal hot water for explaining that someone didn't get hired because the team just didn't like the candidate and couldn't imagine spending a lot of time together.

The solution according to Salpeter lies in building up emotional intelligence, otherwise known as soft skills. This is the category of skills most likely involved when evaluating likability or fit. Wikipedia defines them as "Personal attributes that enhance an individual's interactions, job performance and career prospects. Unlike hard skills, which are about a person's skill set and ability to perform a certain type of task or activity, soft skills relate to a person's ability to interact effectively with co-workers and customers and are broadly applicable both in and outside the workplace."

Soft skills include: attitude, communication skills, time management, critical thinking and a slew of other categories that do not relate to intelligence.
There's no question that soft skills play a role in most, if not all, hiring decisions. So how can you demonstrate these skills during an interview? Eddie Earnest from HigherNext (www.highernext.com), a company that offers the Certified Business Laureate (CBL) certification tests and credentialing system, suggests the following tips to help highlight these five soft skills during an interview.

1. Work ethic. Make sure to weave your thoughts about how important the company's mission and vision are to you and explain why you're willing to go the extra mile to help the organization succeed. One tenet of evaluating candidates is that past performance is a predictor of future results. Make sure you prove that you have a strong work ethic by giving examples from the past about how you went above and beyond the call of duty to get a job done. "Describe how you always complete projects efficiently and on-time, why you're punctual and persistent and how you balance your drive to succeed with the company's goals," Earnest says.

2. Positive attitude. Give examples of how you improved employee morale in a past position, or how your positive attitude helped motivate your colleagues or those you managed. Earnest suggests: "Some people are naturally bubbly and always upbeat. Others have a more tame and low-energy demeanor. Especially if you tend to be more low-key, smile when you shake the interviewer's hand and make an extra effort to add some intonation and expression to your responses." Make sure you aren't boring or dry, or you could lose your chance to be hired.

3. Communication skills. Your interview is a great opportunity to demonstrate how well you communicate, so be sure you prepare and practice responses to showcase your best skills. Earnest says, "Be concrete with these examples, and bring proof to the interview. Provide examples of materials you created or written campaigns you developed in past positions."

4. Time management. This is a crucial skill many employers seek in their hires. Earnest notes, "It's especially important for candidates who want to work in a startup to know how to manage their time, tasks and responsibilities effectively." Be prepared to explain how you prioritize the most important items first, delegate the items that others can do and figure out a way to get things done in the confines of your resources on the job.

5. Self confidence. Earnest reminds job seekers, "You can demonstrate self confidence at the interview by the way you present yourself, including how you dress for the interview, the way you approach to shake hands and how you speak about your experiences during the interview."
If you're not particularly confident, practice acting like you are. Make direct eye contact when speaking with strangers. Listen to your own voice—is it shrill or timid? Rehearse speaking in a more confident-sounding voice. Don't forget about your body language, which is one of the first ways employers will gauge your confidence levels. If you tend to hunch over, make sure you think about sitting up during your interview.

Don't forget to think about soft skills when you prepare for interviews to be sure you demonstrate everything you have to offer the employer!

Letters Leave an Impression

Carla Certeza

It's pretty much common knowledge that a resume gets you an interview, and an interview gets you a job, but these are not the only factors that employers take in to consideration during the hiring process. Give yourself an advantage by utilizing cover letters and thank you letters.

                    

A cover letter is a short, one page introduction that you send with your resume. Cover letters allow you to make a first impression without actually meeting with the employer. A cover letter adds a personal touch to your resume. So many applications are received by companies every day. With a cover letter, you are able to stand out in a sea of resumes.

A thank you letter comes in to play near the end of the hiring process. A thank you letter should be sent within one day of when your interview was conducted. Not only does it thank your interviewer for taking the time to meet with you, but it allows you to reiterate why you would be a good candidate for the position you are applying for. Thank you letters provide you with another chance to leave an impression after your interview. You can even do damage control if you didn’t make the impression that you wanted during your interview. Whether your interview went well, or not so well, thank you letters give you the opportunity to increase your chances of being hired.

Sending cover letters and thank you letters demonstrate to your, hopefully, future employer that you are thorough, you take initiative, and you go the extra mile. They can make the difference of whether or not you are called in for an interview or hired for a job. In many cases there are several qualified candidates for a single position, but by writing a cover letter and thank you letter, you give yourself the upper hand and have a greater chance of being selected.

5 Tips to Get Yourself Noticed as a Job Seeker.

written by Yuan-Wei Tan

In today's over-saturated and hyper-competitive job-market, standing out during your job search has never been more important.

Heather Huhman at Glassdoor states that hiring managers are tasked with finding candidates that not only possess the right skill-set but also the right personality and attitude. This is so that the chosen candidate fits in with the "culture" of his or her new workplace.

Here are five tips that Huhman has to make you stand-out during your job-search process.

1. Show how you’re a service to your industry.

Every job seeker knows they need to market their expertise in order to get noticed by employers; however, the key to getting noticed is showing how you’re a service to your industry.

Job seekers who consistently market themselves, look for opportunities, and show their dedication to their industry are the ones who land jobs. Employers want to see how you’re putting in the effort to make a contribution to your given industry and how you can make an impact within their organization.

2. Market yourself for the future of your industry.

Employers are all about having a competitive advantage in the marketplace. As you apply for jobs, show employers how your skills and experience make you a trendsetter for their industry.

During your job search, ask for advice from colleagues, mentors, and professionals for their opinions on the future of your industry. Their insight will help you figure out what skills and experience you need in order to follow those trends. Once you know the future of your industry, you’ll be better at predicting future trends, which is an appealing quality to employers.

3. Understand the position of the employer you’re targeting.

When researching employers and job opening, make sure you know the position of each company. Read through their mission statement and company values. Take a look at their culture and what employees say on Glassdoor about working there. This information will give you a better idea of who the company is and how you can market yourself to fit their mold.

4. Know how to apply your skills to new roles.

Employers like hiring employees who are Jacks or Janes of all trades. If you’re applying for a job outside of your industry, use examples from your experience that show employers how your skills are versatile. Job seekers who can transition from different roles are sought after candidates because it makes the training process easier for employers and can contribute more to the organization.

5. Pay attention to the feedback others give you.

Whether it’s advice you receive from a colleague or getting turned down by an employer, use this feedback as a way to improve your image as a professional. Positive and negative feedback is critical to professional development and will make you a better individual. Especially when searching for jobs, receiving feedback on your job search tactics, resume, or cover letter can help you get ahead in your job search, too.

As you continue to search for jobs, remember to never give up. So many job seekers get close to success and eventually give up just before they land a job. We all know jobs aren’t easy to come by, but if you remain persistent, network with the right people, and highlight your best qualities, you’ll land a job before you know it.