Author Archives: Ryan Chartier

Domino’s, Dining Halls and Dives. Your Favorite Burlington Eats – Part 2

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Time for another adventure off campus to explore some classic Burlington eats!

A few weeks ago, we met up with a 2017 grad to grab some lunch at his favorite place:

KKD’s! This hole in the wall has been providing fantastic late night eats to Burlington’s weekend warriors since 1992, located right next to the Flynn Theater.

We met up with Ben Citrin ’17 to catch up and learn a little bit about what he’s been doing since graduation in May.

But first things first, why is Kountry Kart Deli your favorite?

“KKD’s has been one of my long-time favorite restaurants around Burlington.  I actually discovered it during orientation years ago.  Kountry Kart Deli offers a huge menu and is one of the only late night food establishments open that is not strictly fast food (like McDonald’s, Burger King, etc.).  I love supporting local business that provides great food at a reasonable price.”

Lets check out the goods:

Kathryn’s Chicken Tender Sandwich,

Ben’s classic Sausage Shiner, and

Ryan’s Italian wrap.

We hopped across the street and found a spot on the city hall steps to catch up more about Ben’s post grad life.

How has your first year out of UVM been? (So Far)

My first year out of UVM has been very interesting.  Although I have still been living in Burlington, I have been doing a lot of traveling throughout the summer.  I had several grad parties to attend in addition to a wedding.  Aside from traveling, I have been enjoying the summertime amenities Burlington has to offer, such as beaches, cliff jumping, and seasonal restaurants.

What so far feels like your biggest challenge and how are you going to overcome it?

My biggest challenge is figuring out what I am actually going to do next.  I have been interviewing with companies both local and in larger cities, mainly Boston and Philadelphia.  I have been overcoming it by weighing all the pros and cons with moving and ultimately deciding on what feels right.

What are you learning from your post grad experience?

I have learned that it is okay to take some time off to figure out what I actually want to do.  I did not want to rush right into the workforce the day or week after graduation–I am thankful I was able to travel during the summer while holding an internship at the UVM Medical Center doing web development.  I am learning a lot of things that aren’t taught in school, such as how to prepare a 401k plan and save for retirement (all the things I don’t want to think about yet!).

What are you looking to do next?

I have actually just accepted a job as a software developer for an established consulting firm in Colchester called C2 (competitive.com) and am every excited to start there in a couple weeks.

Congrats on your new job Ben! We love to hear about our alums and their adventures in the real world.

 

Are you in Burlington? Want to meet up and grab a snack?

Let us take you out! Submit your name and a suggestion of where to eat, and maybe you’ll be the next person we pick from the hat!

Maybe we’ll see YOU on our next trip to Flavortown.

Get Off the Pile: Cover Letters, 2017 Edition

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Here at Afterword, we want to provide helpful advice to guide you through the real world of job searches, interviews, personal finance and much more. This series “Get Off the Pile” is where we focus on these topics.

Right now, a lot of you are job searching, or preparing for that process as the summer winds down, so, this week we ask “how can you get off the pile of endless applications with a stellar cover letter”?

Andrew Flewelling, our HR expert at the UVM Foundation has some helpful tips for how to write great cover letters. Andrew has a graduate degree from UVM and is the Senior Director of Human Resources here at the UVM Foundation. Today he’s going to discuss writing expert cover letters.

The 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 are not good practice.

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 yourself will help you catch mistakes, missed references or awkward phrasing. Have a friend do this with you too, it always helps to double check.

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

Get Off the Pile: A Survey for You!

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We want to help! For the past year we have been offering up career tips and hacks through our Get Off the Pile series, now we want to expand and include tips from experts at UVM on how you can best manage your personal finances.

Personal finance can be tricky in the 21st century (how many of you feel like you spend all of your money on food and rent?)

We’ve certainly been there.

Sometimes it feels like it’s difficult to get ahead and save money with student loans and everything else we are paying for. How can we still do what we want to do AND be fiscally responsible at the same time?

Take a minute and fill out our quick survey about what personal finance advice you would find most helpful in our upcoming posts.

Have a great weekend!

Kathryn & Ryan

Class of 2017: Check-in Survey

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Wow! It’s been two months since you graduated. That might feel like a really long time, or no time at all. It really depends on what you are up to. With that in mind, we have a survey for you to complete so we can check-in and see how you are doing.

As we mentioned in our first post for you, we are here to help you navigate your first year out of college. We are not keeping track of how many jobs you have. Trust us, that would stress us out too.

Everybody has a different plan and we want to find out where you are and what you need so we can support you through this challenging and exciting first year out of UVM.

The more we know, the more helpful we can be.

So we’ve put together a quick five question survey to touch base.

To make it more fun, we’re giving away a free UVM Long Sleeve Shirt to three randomly selected survey respondents!

Fill out the survey and enter to win a UVM shirt!

Cheers!

Kathryn and Ryan

What’s the Deal with My UVM Email? 2017 Edition

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You’ve had your UVM email address for 4+ years now and you may be wondering what’s going to happen with it now that you are an alum.

Two things are going to happen very soon:

  1. You’ll get some weird messages about your current email account, but don’t despair, you’ll have it for a few more months at the least.
  2. You’ll have the chance to create a permanent, lifetime UVM email address. And, you get to log-in using your current NetID and password (nothing new to remember!).

First, the weirdness.

If you haven’t already, one of the first things you’ll get is a cryptic-looking email from UVM that reads like this:

This is an automated email sent to all recent graduates like yourself that makes you feel like you are reading this:

It is definitely confusing and looks like someone may have hacked your account, but don’t worry, it’s really just a message to let you know that a change is coming to your NetID and email.

The most important thing you need to know is that if you want to keep a UVM email address forever, you can very soon!

Your uvm.edu email address will keep working for another few months, and soon, you will have the option to receive a lifetime email address that ends with @alumni.uvm.edu. You’ll activate your account using your existing NetID and password — super simple.

Your lifetime alumni email address will be available in just a few weeks and you’ll get a message announcing when you can log-in from the Alumni Association.  We will be sure to remind you as well.

And, just to get you thinking, here are 5 great reasons to use your alumni email account:

  • 50 GB of inbox space (miserly Gmail only gives you 15 GB)
  • No advertising and no data harvesting (we’re looking at you again, Gmail)
  • Allows you to keep a consistent email address as you change jobs, addresses, and internet access providers.
  • You can have it flow right into your mail app on your phone (just like when you were a student).
  • You get to rock your school spirit in email form — forever.

And while we’re at it, if you’ve moved recently, feel free to update your mailing address here, so you don’t miss any of our fun stuff in your home mailbox: alumni.uvm.edu/updateinfo.