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Doing Good, Doing Well: Making Good!

By career

Hands on the Earth

On Friday, April 20th, 2012, Billy Parish spoke at UVM regarding his book Making Good: Finding Meaning, Money and Community in a Changing World.

His book covers six steps to take in order to “make good”:

Reflect, Adapt, Connect, Design, Launch and Organize

During his talk, Billy provided some ways to get started:

  1. Identify the change you want to make in the world. Now. Think big, think mission, think forward.  Where do you really want to spend your energy “making good?”
  2. Choose a skill to master that will most impact this change.  What skill do you want to master in order to bring about this change?  Achieving mastery, according to Malcolm Gladwell, takes 10,000 hours of practice – so how do you want to spend your time?
  3. Gain mastery by one (or several) learning pathways: school, apprenticeship, on the job training & the do-it-yourself approach.  What makes sense for you at this point?
  4. Identify 5 people to spend time with to move you in the direction you want to go.  Parish commented that we are an average of the 15 people we spend time with.  Who do you want to be with and who do you want to be?  Choices begin with the people with whom you surround yourself.

Need ideas to get you started?  Take a look at Doing Good and Yes!’s People We Love.

Need encouragement? Start Close In.  One step at a time, while looking forward.  You are in good company!

~Holly

Finding Your Fit: Choosing an Academic Major

By career

Major Choices

Upon entering college, the pressure to choose a field of undergraduate study may seem overwhelming. Many mistakenly believe that this major will dictate the pathway of your life, when really it will become the foundation for any career. If you are feeling that your major is not a reflection of your interests, perhaps it is time for a change. According to MSNBC, approximately 50% of college students change their major at least once. If you do decide to change majors, take some time to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses.

Are you considering a major change?  If so, here are some steps you can take to help you reach your decision:

1.)    Make a list of your interests. Do they match any of the classes that you have taken?
2.)    Visit UVM’s list of majors and minors
3.)    Run a Cat’s Audit Report, then a “What If” Audit. Those can be helpful if you are looking to see what academic requirements you will need to graduate.
4.)    Set up a meeting with your advisor, and also with a department faculty or staff in programs of interest to discuss your thoughts about changing majors. This is especially important if you are looking to transfer to a different college/school.
5.)    Come to Career Services Drop-In hours to speak with a counselor (Monday- Thursday, 1-4 in L/L E-140; Tuesdays 11-1 in Rosa Parks Room, Davis Center)
6.)    Become involved in clubs, volunteer, and/or work experiences that will allow you to gauge whether this is a field you would enjoy.  Seasonal or part time experience is a good start.
7.)    Make sure that all of the proper paperwork is filed with the UVM Registrar’s office

~Shayna, Career Peer Advisor

Networking for Beginners

By career

Networking Event

Why should I network? How should I network? How should I prepare for a networking event? If you are currently battling with the job- or internship-search process, it is probable that you have asked yourself at least one of these questions.

Being a student, I find it difficult to prepare for networking events. Without a general push in the right direction, it could be tough to find the motivation to network, so I asked and answered the following questions to get started:

Why should I network?

Networking is a great way to build connections and opportunities. With the job market being as competitive as it is, general career and industry-specific advice from professionals can make all the difference.

How should I network?

  1. Identify opportunities to grow your network such as UVM’s Vermont Career Networking Night, or other networking events.
  2. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are great ways of social networking as well.  Research and follow your preferred employer to keep updated on new trends and events.
  3. On LinkedIn, join professional groups or alumni groups such as University of Vermont Career Connection and University of Vermont Alumni.

How should I prepare for a networking event?

  1. Research the networkers. Look them up on LinkedIn to learn about their career paths.
  2. Research the companies represented at the event.
  3. Come prepared with questions for the networkers.
  4. Make business cards or build your resume. Both of these are great ways to get noticed.

This should get you started!

~Randall, Career Peer Advisor

Job Fair Follow-Up: Insights from an Employer

By career

Randy Blender of Enterprise Holdings

Organization: Enterprise Holdings
Representative: Randi Blender, Talent Acquisition Manager

The Job Fair is over! What do you suggest that students do to follow up?

When I meet someone at the Job Fair, it’s always nice to receive a thank you and see his/her online application.

If a student secures an interview from the Job Fair, what should they do to prepare?

Learn as much as you can about the company, explore their website, connect via LinkedIn to learn more. Get prepared to interview: ensure you have a suit or appropriate outfit and transportation, practice answering interview question and build your confidence. Think, what kind of person does the company want to hire and what are your strengths, why should someone hire you?

What if a student wasn’t able to attend the Job Fair or didn’t connect with a particular recruiter?

Get the list of employers and reach out to employers. From my perspective, if someone didn’t make it and had interest I would think he/she would call or email me, apologizing for missing the fair and express interest in learning more about the opportunity and how to get started with applying.

What do you recommend that students do next to find jobs and explore careers?

Do informational interviews and be prepared with questions. Think of friends’ parents, your own mentors, coaches, and professors. Ask them about job searching and how they landed where they are.  Call a staffing agency, ask them questions about the job market, and ask for a referral. Search Linked In and seek out connections and learn more about career paths and companies.

He Got His Job Through the Job Fair; So Can You!

By career

CED at Job Fair

Guest Blogger: Owen Manahan, ‘10
Job Title: Management Trainee
Employer: Consolidated Electrical Distributors (CED)

1. You got your current job after attending a UVM Job Fair.  What do you do and what do you like about it?

I was hired by Consolidated Electrical Distributors after meeting them at the UVM Spring Job Fair.  CED is one of the largest electrical distributors in the country and is a Fortune 500 Company.  I am currently about halfway through their industry leading management trainee program.  This training program is unique and has offered me the opportunity to learn about every aspect of both CED, and the electrical industry as a whole.  I really enjoy the day-to-day interactions with customers, as well as the in depth views of how such a company works internally. In the past two years I have also had to opportunity to travel extensively for trainings and have met some fantastic people in the process.  It is exciting to know that within just a few years of graduating from UVM I will have the opportunity, and be prepared, to manage a multi-million dollar location.

2.  What did you do to prepare for the Job Fair ahead of time?

Before the career fair I looked up most of the companies that I was interested in online, though I will admit I did not find too much about CED.  We are a privately owned company, so there is not as much information publicly available when compared to other companies of this size.  I also made sure I had my resume ready to go and a few questions prepared to ask.

3.  Why do you think that you stood out to CED as a strong candidate?

I think some qualities that made me stand out to CED were strong communication skills, a sales oriented mindset, and the fact that I wasn’t just looking for any job right out of school.  I was looking for a company that could offer a career.  After the fair I followed up with an email, and was contacted a few days later for an initial phone interview.

4.  What advice do you have for students looking for jobs and internships?

My advice to students heading to a career fair would be to take some time beforehand and look into who is going to be there to talk to.  There are so many different types of businesses represented that it can become a little intimidating trying to find one where you think you will be compatible.  Conversations at fairs are often very brief and surface level, so if you have a little bit of knowledge about a company going into it, you can prepare yourself with questions that will give you a better opportunity to dig deeper into what they are all about in just a short amount of time.  That being said, if you don’t have time to do any background checking, or can’t find the information you are looking for, don’t be put off.  A career fair is the first step in opening a conversation, so don’t hesitate to go up to anybody there and just start talking!

The Spring Job Fair is Wednesday, March 21, 2012, 2-5pm, 4th Floor, Davis Center

See Who’s Coming to the Spring 2012 Job Fair
Job Fair Preparation and Tips

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