Category Archives: Careers, jobs, and grad school

Grad School Advice – From a Classmate

Posted on by

Futurama grad school applicationIf you are thinking about Graduate School for next year — and we know many of you are considering it — it’s time to get serious in your planning.  Application deadlines are coming up the next few months and getting organized now can mean success this Spring.

To take some of the fright out of the process, we asked a fellow 2015 graduate, Megan Meuser, for some advice.  She started Grad School this Fall at Drexel University in Philly, so she’s been through the application dance.

Ryan Chartier: What are some things you wish you knew before applying to graduate school?

Megan Meuser: Just because a school seems wonderful doesn’t mean that it is the right fit for you. It is important to look at every aspect of the program you are applying for – the classes, the faculty, the curriculum, and the research opportunities available. I’m very fortunate to say that I made the right choice and love Drexel.

Ryan: Who did you ask for advice when thinking about a school or program?

Megan: I talked to pretty much anyone who would have any insight — my adviser, my professors, people who were currently in graduate school, people who have been through graduate school, other people who were also applying, and, of course, my family and friends.

Everyone had different opinions and I thought it was really important to hear about everyone’s experiences and thoughts so I could get a more rounded and balanced view.

Ryan: What was the most difficult part of the application process? 

Megan: I would say that the most difficult part of the process was waiting. I am not always the most patient person and easily let my nerves get the best of me. Each school gets a lot of applications and it takes a while for them to go through every single one.

Ryan: If you could go back and do something different, what would you do?

Megan: I would have liked to moved to Philly earlier in the summer, so I had more time to adjust to a new city before I had to adjust to a new school and academic program.

If you need more advice, check out the grad school section at the UVM Career Center Blog.

OK, you’ve got some solid tips, now:

apply-to-all-the-grad-schools

Actually Useful Career Tips (i.e. Not From Your Uncle Fred)

Posted on by

During our course giveaway, we asked how your job search was going.

Results were really interesting.  More than 50% of those who responded have a job and about 40% are still looking or exploring options.

Hows your job search going summaryWe thought some straight-forward, practical career advice might be a useful follow-up.

So we reached out to our friend, Lisa Torchiano, at the UVM Career Center, and here’s her advice. Of course, you can connect with the Career Center directly for support – stop by drop-in hours (for those in BTV area) or make an appointment with a career counselor (in person, phone or Skype.).

If I don’t have a job yet, what should I be doing aside from applying for jobs? 

  • Don’t shy away from internships. They are great ways to build industry specific experience and do it during a specific timeline.
  • Volunteer your time. Nonprofit organizations can benefit and you can grow your skills while supporting a cause you care about.
  • Create a LinkedIn profile and use it for research and outreach.
  • Craft your elevator pitch, your explanation of what you are looking for, and share that with friends, family, professors, and former colleagues.
  • Network! Arrange informational interviews in which you can learn about industries and career paths. Alumni can be great resources for this; use LinkedIn to connect.
  • Develop a skill set that is connected with your desired next steps. Take a class, watch online videos or do research.

What are some popular online job search resources?

  • Before I even mention other online resources, I want to make sure readers know that one of the best features of Catamount Job Link is the employer contact information. This is often the hardest information to come by in a job search. This is worth a great deal both for positions you are applying for and proactive employer outreach.
  • The Research Career Fields page on the Career Center website is a goldmine of industry specific job search engines and professional information.
  • Indeed.com should also be in your toolkit. It’s a powerful search engine; strong search words are key especially in large cities. And, you can have search results sent to you every week or so.

If I want to go to grad school next year, what should I be doing now to prepare?

  • Start researching the programs you are interested in and note their deadlines. These dates creep up quickly and some may be as soon as November and December of this year for fall admittance.
  • Study for and take any required entrance exams (GRE, LSAT, MCAT, etc.).
  • Start writing your statement of purpose. Depending on how many schools are you applying to, you may be writing numerous different statements. It’s never too early to start.
  • Connect with professors. You will need anywhere from 1-3 letters of recommendation and often a number of those are required to be from faculty members.
  • Check out the Career Center’s Graduate School page for information on the entire application process.

Win a Free Course

Posted on by

September 4 Update: Congrats to Vanessia Lam, who won the free course giveaway!  We’ll check in with her in October and post her thoughts on Afterword.

2015-08-17 14_07_42-Project Management Basics - Univ. of VermontAfterword has partnered with our friends at UVM Continuing Education to offer one lucky Class of 2015 alum the opportunity to do some learning for free.

It’s a 4 week certificate course on project management that will give you real-world skills you can use in your job right away (or you can use to help you get a job). It’s normally an $849 course.

Enter your name here for a chance to win.
price-is-right-million-winner-o

OK, it’s not a million bucks (and we won’t shower you with confetti), but a free course is useful.

It will walk you through the key steps for managing a successful project, from initiating, planning, executing, and closing projects–big or small. You’ll learn various project-management strategies from a range of examples used in everyday workplace situations. If you want more details, you can read about the course here.

Put your name in the hat to win by going here.

(And, don’t worry, there are no strings attached to entering your name or to winning–this is actually just a simple giveaway)

We’ll announce the lucky person on Friday, September 4th and the course starts on September 16th.

Tips for Tough Interview Questions

Posted on by

If you haven’t yet experienced an interview question that leaves you speechless, consider yourself lucky. It happens in almost every interview.

Someone throws you a question that freezes you. You stumble. You stammer. It kills your confidence.

Our own HR guy at the UVM Foundation, Andrew Flewelling, has thrown plenty of these questions to job candidates, so we thought he would be the best guy to give a few tips on how to handle these questions.

Andrew Pic_jrcHe’s interviewed hundreds of candidates and he’s seen seen the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Here are some tough questions and Andrew’s advice for answering:

“Tell me about yourself.”

  • Why interviewers ask this question: With this question I am not interested in your thoughts on politics or where you grew up. I want a very brief top line of your history – where you went to school and what you studied (for recent grads), maybe a brief work history and recent career experience.
  • Tips for responding: Emphasize what you have done most recently that lead you to applying to this position. It’s important not to waste your best points as this is likely a warm up question to get you talking. This is your opportunity to demonstrate how articulate you are and begin engaging the interviewer. The goal is to make me look up from your resume that I may have only looked at for 3-5 minutes and start paying attention to you. 1-3 minutes at most should suffice here.

“What’s your biggest weakness?”

  • Why interviewers ask this question: With this question, I might try to gauge your honesty and self-awareness, as well as any major red flags that might make you ill-suited to the position.
  • Tips for responding: Someone who identifies project procrastination in a fast paced environment just lost the job. But if you answer that you can sometimes be a perfectionist and take a bit too long to deliver – but you are working on letting go of projects earlier, that gives me a better sense of why it might take you longer to get things done.

“Tell me about a time you failed”

  • Why interviewers ask this question: I’m looking to gain a sense of the types of mistakes you make – we all do – how it happened and what you did. In a best case world, and dependent on the industry, I’d be more receptive to mistakes that came from taking a calculated risk that you thought would advance the objectives of the organization, rather than a total flub at a sales presentation….
  • Tips for responding: Ultimately, demonstrating how you used the failure to create a breakthrough puts even the biggest mistakes in the best light. Don’t under any situation say that your failure was because of someone else. Take responsibility for your actions and don’t try to lay the blame elsewhere. That makes you look weak and like you lack integrity.

“Why should I hire you?”

  • Why interviewers ask this question: Like a good cover letter, you should be able to succinctly articulate your understanding of the position and the ways in which your skills and experiences meet the organization’s needs.
  • Tips for responding: I’m really looking for the candidate to do my work for me. I don’t like simple answers that make me put the pieces together. Rather, I am looking for the candidate to synthesize her/his work history, specific skills, life experiences and personality in such a way that I can envision them at a meeting with me, listening to their ideas and benefiting from their opinion. Highlight the top 3-5 things that make you outstanding and connect them directly to the responsibilities of the position you are trying to secure.

“What questions do you have for me?”

  • Why interviewers ask this question: You will invariably get this question at the end of the interview. Never say you have no questions, or that everything has been covered in the interview. That just says that you haven’t looked very closely at the company.
  • Tips for responding: Ask about the work place culture. Ask the interviewer how long they have worked there and why they joined, or why they have stayed for so many years – you’ll learn a lot and will cue the person across the table that you are assessing them, as much as they are interviewing you. Ultimately, this is your last chance to sell yourself. Be confident, thank them, and restate why you think you would a terrific addition to the team.

Here are a few articles with more tips for your first (or next job) interview:

How to be Persistent in Your Job Search

Posted on by

Searching for a job sucks. It just does.

Roadrunner-Coyote-A

It takes loads of time and energy and what do you get most of the time? Rejection.

But, you’ll get that job you are searching for–it just takes persistence.

Our friends at The Muse (our favorite free career website) have lots of tips to stick with your search and find success. Here’s a round-up of some of our favorite articles to keep you focused: