Author Archives: Afterword

Farewell, Derrick! (and 3 Tips for leaving a job)

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As the old adage goes, all good things must come to an end.

My Afterword partner, Derrick Dubois, is leaving the UVM Foundation to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a pilot.

He’s off to the Aviation Technology Program at Vermont Technical College which, in partnership with the Vermont Flight Academy, offers the only pilot certification/licensure program in the state of Vermont.

I’ll miss my partner here on the ol’ blog, but I’m really happy for Derrick. He’s making his dream a reality — which is not always an easy thing to do. To send him off, we made one last overly dramatized Afterword video for you:

And in true Afterword form, Derrick and I put together some tips and lessons learned from his experience to share with you.

3 Tips for Transitioning out of a Job

1. Give appropriate notice – once you’ve accepted a new job, a grad program, or whatever your next step may be, be sure to give your current employer notice of your departure. Work with your direct supervisor to decide on an end date and communicate that date with the rest of your organization.

2. Wrap it up – take stock of the projects and programs you work on. Set ‘hand-over’ meetings with those who will take over (whether permanently or temporarily) for you. Make sure important files are saved on shared drives so they can be accessed by your successor and share any instructions and log in information that needs to be passed on before you leave.

3. Keep in touch – leave the lines of communication open when you leave. Be available to answer questions or help locate a file or contact for your old colleagues and the person who takes your place. You never know when you’ll need your old colleagues.

Farewell, Derrick. Don’t be a stranger…

— Ryan

Happy Hour at Alumni House

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We’re throwing a Happy Hour at the newly completed UVM Alumni House. Come have a drink (on us, of course) and be one of the first alums to see the historic house.

Alumni House Happy Hour
Date: September 29
Time: 5:30 – 7:30PM
Location: UVM Alumni House, 61 Summit Street, Burlington, VT
The fun part: Your first two drinks are on us!

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Not familiar with Alumni House? It’s your new home on campus. Check out this video – where Ryan gives a tour of the house, MTV Cribs style.

If MTV Cribs isn’t ringing a bell, let us remind you. It was that show where celebrities toured you around their homes and explained the contents of their fridges, showed you weirdly shaped pools, and talked about their tacky furniture (see this beautiful summary from Buzzfeed).

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Register here and we hope to see you on September 29.

You are invited to a Happy Hour!

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2016 happy hourIn July we asked you what kind of events you’d like to attend and the overwhelming majority said: happy hours.

Well, we heard you. The first Class of 2016 Happy Hour is happening on Saturday, September 24 during Alumni Weekend, and we hope you’ll be there. And it’s free!

Date: September 24, 2016
Time: 9:00pm (a little late for a happy hour, but you get the idea)
Location: DRINK (Burlington, VT)
The fun part: If you register (for free), your first two drinks are on us!

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Below are three quick tips for getting through the registration form in under a minute:

  1. Select Alumni Weekend and click “let’s get started” that will take you to this page where you’ll select the Class of 2016 package (don’t worry about the word “purchase”, it’s free for you).
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  2. Add any friends you plan to bring with you.
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  3. Skip to the bottom of the next page and click the “next” button to submit your form.
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See you there!

Get off the Pile: Cover Letters

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This week on Get off the Pile, we consulted our favorite HR expert, Andrew Flewelling. Andrew has a graduate degree from UVM and he is the Senior Director of Human Resources here at the UVM Foundation. (2015-ers, you might remember Andrew from last year). Today, Andrew is talking about how to write stand-out cover letters.

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Cover Letter Basics

When it comes to cover letters, the most common mistake I see is that the applicant merely restates what their resume says. I CAN read, so there is no need to make a sentence out of a bullet that is listed on the next page.

Instead, a good cover letter is one that does my work for me. It clearly articulates why the position is of interest; and illuminates the skills and abilities that make the applicant special.

It’s great to talk about a few (2-3 max) examples of success. Bonus points if the applicant can quantify the success (% increase, overall sales, maximized efficiency by x measure, etc…).

What Makes a Cover Letter Stand Out?

The letters that really stand out are the ones in which the applicant takes their experiences, skills, and successes, and synthesizes them for me, highlighting their direct and/or transferable nature for the position they seek. The best letters demonstrate that the writer knows enough about the position to be able to overlay their own skills on what we are looking for.

Tips for Writing a Stand-out Cover Letter

1. Keep it to one page. And be aware of the formatting — dense, long paragraphs in eight point type is not the way to go.

2. State the important. In the opening paragraph mention the position applied for and where the listing was posted. In the rest of the letter discuss what the position requires (skills, characteristics, temperament, values, etc.) and demonstrate/prove that you possess those requirements.

3. Mix it up. Use a good mixture of short declarative statements and longer, multi clause sentences to make sure the letter flows.

4. Be Yourself. Don’t be afraid to inject a bit of personal passion. Depending on the position, it may be appropriate to articulate your understanding of the importance of the position to the company, industry, society overall. You should also be able to articulate why the position is important to you.

5. Read it out loud. Hearing what you’ve written aloud and having others hear too will help you catch mistakes or missed references.

6. Proofread to perfection. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation are non-negotiable deal breakers.

Move-In Day: Class of 2020 Edition

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For us, one of the weirdest things about graduating was not returning to school that next Fall. Many of you may be feeling that same mix of nostalgia and weirdness.

The cure? Be a part of Move-In Day at UVM. Today (Friday) the Class to 2020 will arrive on campus and we hope you’ll help us welcome them.

Follow the UVM Facebook page or #moveuvm on Twitter or Instagram to catch all of the fun and excitement. We even have some great Move-In Day filters on Snapchat.

So go crazy and we’ll keep an eye out for your posts, tweets and snaps.

Lastly, for the third year in a row, we welcomed UVM’s newest class with a 48-hour fundraising challenge (don’t worry, it’s over – plus, we’re not asking you to donate – just keeping you in the loop!).

This year’s focus was funding new internship opportunities. Donors gave nearly $40,000 to create new internship opportunities at UVM — pretty amazing!

You can check out the results here and watch our silly video below (you may even recognize two of your favorite alumni bloggers).

#MoveUVM: 2020 Edition from Afterword on Vimeo.