Glass of Water? Sure.

By: Julie Smith

When you are offered a glass of water in an interview, take it. Why? Because that is the perfect opportunity to walk with your interviewer and make small talk about things unrelated to your resume or professional career.  When you are facing candidates with similar experiences or maybe even more experience than you, what is going to be that deciding factor that sets you apart?

It is important to be a real person beyond your resume. Having interests and knowledge about a variety of things will get you very far in your conversations with people both in interview settings and general networking.

In an interview I had recently, I was speaking with the Senior Vice President of the company, and we ended up on the subject of Purdue basketball. I was able to hold a meaningful conversation on that topic, which I think really impressed him. I was then able to tie that conversation back to something related to my career- a sports blog that I am in the process of launching. That was not something that was on my resume, but was a piece of me as a person and showed my interests and character.

So if the opportunity presents itself, accept that glass of water or that opportunity to veer off subject for a minute or too. Just be sure to keep it professional, as always! 

Dress to Impress

By: Julie Smith

The days of sweatpants and oversized sweatshirts need to be over- at least when you are in public anyways. As you are building your professional identity, it is important to dress the part. I am not necessarily suggesting that you wear a business suit every time you leave the house, but merely saying that you should be conscious of your appearance.

You never know who you are going to run into, but looking sophisticated is key. Case and point, in one of my flights from Indianapolis to Minneapolis, I was seated next to a lady in a business suit. We made casual conversation and realized that we both had something in common, Purdue. She then inquired about my year in school and my major. She happened to have a sister who lived in the Minneapolis area and could put me in touch with people to help with my job search. Luckily for me, I was dressed nicely. I was not in business clothes, but I had on a respectable sweater, jeans and leather boots combo. Comfortable, yet stylish. I have to imagine that if I was wearing sweatpants and ugg boots, this lady would not have thought twice about offering up this valuable contact.

Whatever the occasion, at this point in your life, you are an adult and a budding professional. Look the part so you feel the part! This way you will be confident to express yourself in any situation, and others will notice. 

Finishing Strong

By: Julie Smith

This semester is quickly coming to end, maybe even faster for some of us than we want it to. Regardless of where you are at in your schooling, it is so important to finish the school year with a bang. Staying on a consistent and productive schedule will help to ease your transition from school to that summer job.

Sure, this abnormally beautiful weather has not really been conducive to productivity, but that is not to say it is not possible to stay on top of things. The nice thing about daylight savings is that we have more daylight. Try and get up early and do your work so that you can be guilt free later in the day and spend some quality time outside with friends.  You can also take your books and head outside. Your body will thank you for that Vitamin D exposure, and your grades will appreciate that extra study time you put in.

The most important thing to remember when your days are numbered is to take advantage of every opportunity. If you finish strong and productively, you will most likely find yourself having time to indulge in more time with friends and extra-curricular activities without stressing over getting everything done. Just remember to do everything in moderation and any fear of missing out you may come across will hopefully be able to be conquered.

For all of you Seniors out there- remember you are ending your legacy at Purdue in just a few short weeks. I think there is definitively something to be said and to be proud of for all of the hard work you have put in up to this point, so do not back off now! We are almost there! 

Be a Team Player

By: Julie Smith

Be a Team Player

Group work. The dreaded words we see on our syllabus each semester. Now, some of us do not shy away from it- but most us know that group work means that there will be at least one person who slacks off while the rest of us pick up their loose ends in order to salvage our own grades.

But group work has its own advantages. Each group setting you work with is most likely going to be a learning experience for you. You will see what works, what does not work and even probably learn something new from your peers.

Group work also helps a lot in job interviews and even job settings. The difficulty of group work will provide you answers to the interview question, “Tell us about a challenge you faced and how you dealt with it?” It will also help you explain situations where you were both a leader and a team player. Group work forces you to take charge at times, but also how to be given a task and produce results.

No matter what the group situation is, you want to be a team player. Remember that your actions reflect either positively or negatively on the group. Take the chance to be an outstanding group member and others will notice. 

How to Make the Most of an Internship with Little Direction

By: Julie Smith

This summer was the best one I have ever had in my life and a big reason for that was my internship. My internship was with the European-Atlantic Group, a non-profit political organization in London. I did not exactly know what to expect from this internship, but I was excited none-the-less.

My first day on the job was somewhat introductory, I got assigned a project here and there and after a few days, I realized that my daily tasks were going to be pretty simple.  Once I felt comfortable enough, I started to ask my boss for more tasks. He gave me a few extra things to do, but most were fairly mundane.  So at this point, I took it upon myself to do a few side projects on my own.

I used my knowledge of social media to develop strategic databases for our event guest lists, by extracting followers from Twitter. I created a Facebook event to promote upcoming things we were doing. I wrote template press releases and an email blast invitation. After I had all of these things perfected, I showed them to my boss.  He was so impressed that I took my own initiative that he took the time to listen to my pitches and understand what I had created.

At this point, my boss knew that I was dedicated to the job, so he gave me more opportunities to succeed.  He let me send out my email invitation blast, which was something that this traditional organization had never done before.  He also let me utilize social media. The biggest compliment however, was that since we had formed such a great bond, and since he saw how professional I had been, he gave me a huge task the night of our event. At our event, there was a Russian diplomat in attendance who my boss was really interested in getting a direct contact for. My boss assigned me the task of securing his business card. I was shocked he asked me, since I was just intern status and he had other colleagues present. I am proud to say I succeeded with that, but even more proud to say that I had worked hard enough to be give that opportunity.

The biggest lesson that I can take away from my internship this summer is to always go above and beyond what is expected of you. People notice what you do, and if you do something unexpected it bodes well in your favor. Do not be discouraged by an internship that might not be ideal, make the most of it!

The Infamous To-Do List

By: Julie Smith

Some of us love making lists, while others dread it. No matter which category you fall under, I think lists are absolutely essential to having success.  Lists keep you organized, help you to not be forgetful, make you feel accomplished and have so many more benefits. There are some steps to follow when making lists so that they do not become overwhelming or ineffective.  

The key to making sure that a list does not become overwhelming is to include both simple and daunting tasks. Put things on your list that are easy to accomplish so that you can cross them off right away. It is so rewarding to complete smaller tasks and then move towards the ones that will take more time.  Once you have completed your smaller tasks, you will be motivated to work even harder on the bigger ones at hand.

Ineffective lists often contain unrealistic goals. When making a list, be sure to make numeric goals. Such as, “write 5 thank-you notes.” Avoid things like, “write thank-you notes.” That is so vague and hard to know how many you actually have to write to be able to cross it off your list. Also, try not to make a “to-do” list that resembles a goals list. They are two completely different things, but both important for different reasons.  Make an effective list of “to-do’s” to accomplish things on your goals list. Try making a list that says, “apply for 8 positions, ” with the goal being to get an interview.

If you are a list guru, then you are probably familiar with these techniques and utilize them on a daily basis. If you are new to list making, then I suggest you start with the basics and move from there. I, myself was not big into lists until this year, but I have found them to be extremely helpful. 

Must Take Courses for Liberal Arts Majors

There are two classes that I believe every single liberal arts student should take. I would even go as far to say that most other majors should take them as well, but I will stick with liberal arts for the purpose of this blog post.

The first class is CNIT 136. This online class is a basic computer science class. In short, it teaches you everything you need to know about Microsoft Office. The course spends a few weeks covering Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Access.  I have been using these software programs for years, so I thought I had a good understanding of them. After taking that course though, I realized how much more these programs had to offer.  As I have been applying for jobs, I have noticed a consistency in criteria for most of the open jobs. Almost all of the jobs I go to apply for require a candidate who is proficient in Microsoft Office. It is so nice to be able to put this on my cover letter, resume and even talk about it in interviews. It has also made some of my school assignments a lot easier. In short, I would recommend this course to anyone and everyone!

The second class, while more focused towards liberal arts and communications, is still a great class to take. This course is COM 252. The title of this course is “Writing for Mass Media.” Basically, you learn all the essentials for many different types of professional writing. You learn how to write a press release, news release, media release, radio commercial, memo and so much more!  Perhaps one of the most important aspects of this class though, is that it is intensive in teaching AP style writing. If you are like me, you grew up writing with MLA style, so the switch to AP has been sudden and sometimes frustrating. I was so happy that I took this course and really learned the ropes with AP style. Now I know it like the back of my hand, which has come in handy on numerous occasions, one of those being writing tests for my potential public relations jobs.

So I will leave you with this senior insight and hope that if you still have more time at Purdue that you will consider enrolling in these courses. I promise you will thank me later!

Networking: The Do's and Don'ts

Networking: The Do’s and Don’ts

Do: Contact any and all connections you have

Don’t: Wait months to get in touch with a contact someone gives you

Do: Be forward in arranging a meeting/informational interview

Don’t: Ask for a job or position interview right away

Do: Dress up for your meeting

Don’t: Show up in jeans because it is just a coffee house- first impressions are everything!

Do: Make a little bit of small talk about things unrelated to the job you are seeking

Don’t: Get right down to business and expect them to have all the answers

Do: Ask what they look for in a potential candidate and what an average day is like at their office

Don’t: Whip out your resume and say, “I am qualified, hire me”

Do: Talk about things you are interested in doing in a potential job

Don’t: Rule anything out or say something like, “I’m only interested in…”

Do: Ask if they have an intern or entry-level program and how one would go about applying for it

Don’t:  Ask when you can interview

Do: Send them with a hard copy of your resume and a business card

Don’t: Rely on the fact that they saved the previous email copy of your resume you sent

Do: Thank them profusely. Mention the insight and advice they gave and how beneficial it was. Follow up with a written thank you note. Their address will be on the business card they gave you.

Don’t: not write a thank you note.

Do: Follow-up periodically. Even if you know they are not hiring until the summer, get in touch every month or so to keep your name fresh in their minds

Don’t: Wait months to re-connect and then expect them to help you out with a job

This is what has worked for me so far, and most of the networking that I have done has produced very positive results. Sometimes it isn’t what you know, but whom you know! 

Advice to my Freshman-self

Here are ten pieces of advice I would go back and give to my freshman self if I could. I think these are applicable to each and every one our lives anyway, so they are still good rules to live by.

1.     Do all things in moderation. Spend time studying, with friends, relaxing, sleeping, eating, working out, etc. Do not over indulge and keep your life as balanced as possible! A little bit each day will go along way!

2.     Try new things and get involved right away. Hey, you are basically a foreigner here and you barely know anyone! Go out and explore your interests and meet some people who share them. You will be happy you did and will probably meet life-long friends.

3.     Make mistakes. Failing a test, screwing up a relationship, oversleeping for class, those are all things that are going to happen. What you learn from them is what truly matters.

4.     Like everyone, trust few. Everyone is in the same boat as you with trying to make friends. Treat everyone you meet the same way, but wait to trust anyone until you really see who sticks around. You will be happy you did this.

5.     Make a resume and cover letter. You might not need them right away, but when you make it, you will see how much room you have to fill.

6.     Learn everything you can about your school. Purdue pride is something you should be a part of. You did chose to come here after all, so make the most of your short four years here (trust me, they will go fast!)

7.    Don’t sweat the small stuff. Life is too short to get wrapped up in things that don’t matter.

8.    Be open-minded. Our school is very diverse and there are so many great people you can meet and learn from. You will meet people from all over the globe. Don’t shy away from your peers knowledge and experiences, embrace them.

9.    Do what you really want to do and pursue your interests. If you don’t like what you are doing, stop doing it! Find what you really like and go for it! (You know those Pharmacy classes you are in right now? Yeah, you actually really don’t like them. Try communications, you are so much better with your words! )

10.  Thank your parents. They got you here and they are your biggest supporters. Be appreciative of them and continue to look to them for support.

Social Media: Friend or Foe?

By: Julie Smith

Social Media: Friend or Foe?

In this day and age, not being on social media sites is like social abomination. You want to stay connected with your friends and be as up-to-date with worldwide happenings as you possibly can. Smart phones, iPads, iPods, Laptops, etc. all aid in our ability to update our status, tweet, or upload a photo to the Internet via social media at the click of a button. This however, can cause serious problems for you as a professional.

Separating the Personal and Professional

You can do it.  Exert some self-control when you feel the urge to post something potentially controversial or inappropriate.

Try having a personal and a professional Twitter account. Follow your friends and celebrities on your personal account. Still maintain some level of professionalism on this page, but use it more for social interaction with your peers.  Your professional account is where you should follow professionals.  Follow companies you are interested in working for. Make this site public to anyone. Still monitor your followers and keep spammers or negativity away from your page. Use this as a place to market yourself. Add your LinkedIn account as your website and tweet about things you have accomplished and are proud of. Re-tweet industry related articles and "favorite" great posts by great companies.

My rule of thumb with Facebook is: do not post anything you would not want your grandma to see. Even if you have the coolest grandma in the world, you know there are some things that are just off limits. Sure, grandma probably does not care that you went to Harry’s with a couple of friends, but I would be willing to bet she would not want to see you excessively drinking or dancing on bars. A recruiter once told me that pictures in a bar are fine, as long as your eyes do not give you away. The bottom line here, just be smart.

Be Careful With What You Endorse

What you like, follow and post on Facebook or Twitter does define you. Make sure they are things you would be proud to bring up in a face-to-face conversation with someone. Also be aware of how much you are endorsing. Your Facebook friends probably do not care if you “like” every single book you have read, movie you have watched or television show you like. Moderation is key here. It is good to show some personality by endorsing things you are passionate about, but be careful to not over do it.

Privacy Settings Are Your Friend

Play it safe and keep things private, especially on Facebook. Take off your email address and phone number because those are easy ways that someone looking to find your Facebook can search you by. Check your privacy settings every now and then, because sometimes Facebook will change their policies and not alert you. In reality, the more private you are, the better things will be. Is that not the truth in your day-to-day life anyway?

In conclusion, social media has so many benefits both personal and professional. Using your best judgment to filter out the good and the bad will help you to successfully use social media for personal and professional use. Just remember- if you are ever unsure about whether or not something is social media appropriate, have your grandma look over it!