Thursday, April 26, 2012

Negotiating the First Year of Rest of Your Professional Life

By Max Gompertz, senior communication and psychology major at CU-Boulder

While the transition from student to employee is undoubtedly a difficult one, some simple tips can make the shift much less intimidating.  These pointers will help you navigate the first year of professional employment.  Instead of allowing negative feelings like anxiety, uncertainty, or doubt to preoccupy you on the first day of the rest of your life, take advantage of this straightforward advice to keep calm and carry on.

Get Ready

1)   Review:  Look over the literature that you likely received when you were hired for the job.  Information about vacation time, sick days, and payment methods specific to the company will be included, and is expected to be common knowledge among all employees.  Asking questions for which you were already provided the answer will make you look irresponsible and unorganized in the employer’s eyes, so read up beforehand!
2)   Dress:  …to impress! Employers like to see employees who respect and enjoy their job.  Spend some time at a local suit vendor to select clothes that fit right, look professional and make you feel confident.  Confidence is the key to establishing yourself as a valuable addition to the company.

Get Set
3)   Get Organized:  Taking notes on your first day will make you look sharp, organized and motivated.  This will set a great foundation for you to begin your new job, and you’ll impress your superiors!  Although note taking may occur more often in college than in the corporate world, continuing this good habit throughout your life will put you a step ahead of your coworkers as well as help you focus and better understand what is expected of you.
4)   Attitude:  During the first weeks of employment, anything can happen… so be prepared.  As noted in McGill University’s Career Planning Service, it is crucial to be “positive and flexible” during your first year of employment.  Since your workflow probably won’t become concrete for the first few weeks, volunteering to help with whatever you can and exuding a positive attitude will make you stand out amongst other employees.
5)   Initiative:  Make a point to introduce yourself to coworkers.  Rather than waiting for other employees to introduce themselves, be outgoing and take the initiative to begin the introduction. Not only should you apply this to peers and coworkers, but McGill University also recommends that you “get to know your boss.” This advice may seem like a no-brainer, however, getting to know your boss is one of the best ways to get recognized internally and move up at a company.
6)   Attention:  Don’t overlook any details during your first year on the job.  Your superiors will be carefully checking your work, so it’s important to be careful not to miss anything.  Make sure you dot your I’s and cross your T’s if you want to find success during the first year of your new job.

GO!

7)   Culture:  As highlighted by the University of Missouri Career Center, be sure to “learn the organizational culture” at your new job.  Employees who understand the management styles and reward mechanisms their employers use will be more likely to benefit than those who don’t take the time to understand the company culture.
8)   Position:  Employees are encouraged to “learn their place” in order to make the biggest impact on their company’s profitability.  The connotation here is not one of penalty or ability, but rather, refinement and productivity.  In college, we were taught to speak up, but make sure you pause and think before doing so.  It is not to say that companies or employers do not value your opinion, but you must be careful not to waste their time on redundancies or trivialities.  Therefore, know your position and what contributions are expected of you.


Additional information can be found on these sites:

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

CU Money Smart Week


By Kelsey McWilliams, Marketing Intern at CU-Boulder Career Services

My dad recently told me that his one regret in college was not taking classes that would help him secure his financial future. He would have had an easier time and felt more financially prepared right out of college if he had learned how to invest money, negotiate a salary, take out a mortgage and build good credit before entering the real world.

With his advice and the help of Career Services I found CU Money Sense, a collaboration between the Bursar’s Office and the Office of Financial Aid to help educate CU students about money. This week Money Sense will be hosting Money Smart Week, which lasts from April 23-26.

Events during Money Smart Week will help students with credit reports, student loans, 401Ks, salary negotiations, investments, finances after college, and many other helpful financial tools.

The week is divided up into seventeen sessions that include guest speakers from Elevations Credit Union, Boulder Country District Attorney’s Office, Edward Jones, Wells Fargo, Automotive Avenues, Community Credit Counseling Service and Boulder Valley Credit Union.

Money Smart’s article about the week quoted Susie Jacobs of the CU-Boulder Bursar’s Office who said, "The most important thing we want to get across to students is that if they make time to learn one thing during Money Smart Week about managing money better and they put that one thing into practice, they'll be better off a year from now."

CU-Boulder Career Services will be hosting two of the events during Money Smart Week. Be sure to attend “Your Money, Your Future: A Financial Resource Fair” on Thursday, April 26, 5:00-7:00pm in UMC 235 to learn about budgeting, subletting, investing, credit, job search, loan repayment, and more! Career counselors will be critiquing resumes at the event if you would like to prepare your resume for the job search!

Don’t miss this opportunity to take advantage of the many tools CU Money Sense has to offer through CU Money Smart Week. When you’re older you don’t want to look back like my dad did and have any regrets about college. Now is the time to make the most of the opportunities that CU offers before you enter the real world!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Do’s and Don’ts of Salary Negotiation

By Kelsey McWilliams, Marketing Intern at CU-Boulder Career Services

Sometimes it’s tough to know how to go about negotiating a salary. It may seem like an awkward topic to bring up to your boss, but it is a very important part of the job process.

Ro Medina, Marketing Manager at CU-Boulder Career Services suggests, “When negotiating your potential salary, always take time to think the offer over before accepting. Take a day to think about it and do some research to see where your skills and experience apply. Respond to the employer with a counter offer that you feel comfortable with. If there's a salary range, explain why you feel you deserve that certain amount based on skills and experience. Be realistic because the job market is still competitive.”

With the help of Career Services I have compiled a list of the basic do’s and don’ts of salary negotiation.

DO’S
Do your research. It is important to know how much money you should be making in order to ask for an appropriate amount. There are websites like PayScale that help you determine the right salary for your profession, region and experience.

Do feel free to withhold salary information from potential employers. They don’t need to know what you made at your last job and it may lower your chances of negotiating a higher salary.

Do think about your strengths, accomplishments and responsibilities at work, so that you have enough information to show your boss that you are worth the extra money.

Do be honest about your current and past salaries. Inflating the pay of your last job will not help you in any way. It is always best to be honest. Karma will help you get the salary you deserve!

Do be positive, upbeat and professional while salary discussions are taking place (and all the time at work)!

Do be realistic. There is a chance that you are shooting too high on what you should be earning. The industry, the economy, your experience and the competition can all affect the range of your salary.

Do aim high. Not too high, but remember that you can always go back down once you’ve offered a high number. Once you settle on a number and decide it is too low there is no chance of going back up.

DON’TS
Don’t give exact numbers when you’re asked about salary on job applications. You can just write “open”, “negotiable”, or “competitive.”

Don’t be shy about talking yourself up. Negotiating a salary is about pitching yourself to your boss and convincing them why you are worth more money. It’s okay to talk about your skills and accomplishments!

Don’t say your desired salary in an interview. Instead, turn the question around and ask what salary range they would be willing to offer.

Don’t be over eager. Even if the offer is more than you expected, don’t act like it is. It’s better to give a counter offer that is a little higher and see if your employer has any room to negotiate – usually they do!

Don’t be limited by your current salary. No matter what you are making now; you can always earn more money later!

Don’t rush into accepting a salary that you won’t appreciate very much longer after taking the job.

Hopefully those simple do’s and don’ts will help you understand and master the process of negotiating a salary. Just remember: show your employer why you’re worth it and your salary will reflect that!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Career Paths for Arts and Sciences Majors


By Kai K. Harvey, sophomore economics major at CU-Boulder 

Picking an internship or career path can be especially tricky for Arts and Sciences students. A quick peruse of job posting sites like CSO (Career Services Online), or a visit to a career fair can leave non-business or non-engineering students feeling hopeless. It may seem like every job opening out there is geared towards marketing, management, sales or some engineering discipline. Finding a job as a major in anthropology, creative writing, sociology, political science can seem like a daunting task at times. On the surface you may not see opportunities, but there are plenty of job openings available for any major. All that’s required is a little flexibility.


One of the biggest misconceptions college students have is that they are going to end up spending their entire careers in the same field they majored in. Talk to any college grad in a well-established career and you’ll quickly find out this is usually not the case. For example, the current VP of Marketing for Vail Resorts majored in veterinary science, the current CFO of Google in the Boulder branch majored in creative writing, and Steven Spielberg majored in English.

It is important to remember that your college major teaches you important skills, but it is not necessarily training you for a specific profession. No matter what your major, these skills can benefit you in a wide range of jobs. A creative writing major, for example, doesn’t necessarily have to become a novelist. Strong writing skills are necessary in many different jobs from public relations to business. As a sociology major, one can apply their knowledge of people and society to a range of jobs, including marketing, international affairs and entrepreneurship.

The most important thing to remember when you begin your job search is opening your mind to different opportunities. If you are overly specific about what you want to do, it will be more difficult to find work. If you are willing to be flexible, however, finding a career opportunity that will allow you to apply your skills will be easy.

When you browse online job postings on CSO, think about the skills you have acquired and whether or not they are applicable to the job rather than only focusing on positions that apply to your major. It’s all about broadening your choices and increasing opportunities. You will soon find that in the real world there is seldom work that fits neatly into one field, but rather most positions require a combination of skills that could apply to pretty much any major. Remember, be flexible, and good luck!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

How Career Services Has Helped Me

By Kelsey McWilliams, Marketing Intern at CU-Boulder Career Services

I’ve been interested in Career Services since I first came to Boulder as a freshman. With two past internships under my belt I knew Career Services would be a great resource to help me critique my cover letter and resume as well as find jobs and internships. What I didn’t know was just how involved I would become with Career Services.

The first time I visited the Career Services office in the Center for Community (N352) was at the beginning of my freshman year when I was already thinking about internships. I scheduled an appointment with a career counselor and brought in my resume and cover letter for them to critique. I took their advice, updated my resume and got a summer internship with Smashbox Cosmetics with the help of the Career Services office.

The best thing I learned from this experience is that Career Services helps students with jobs and internships all across the country. If you live out of state it’s not necessary to stay in Boulder or Denver over the summer in order to find a job or internship. I was looking to work in Los Angeles the summer after my freshman year. Career Services helped me prepare to find an internship with Smashbox Cosmetics, a deluxe beauty brand in Culver City, California.

I am currently the Marketing Student Assistant for Career Services here at CU-Boulder. Career Services Online (CSO) is the FREE jobs/internships/career events database for CU-Boulder students and alumni that helped me land this job. After signing up for CSO as a freshman, I began receiving newsletters called, “Careers in the Buff” or “CITB.” CITB is a weekly compilation of career-related events and services provided by or sponsored by CU-Boulder Career Services. There are also interesting jobs and internships listed in there weekly.

I saw a job posting in CITB one week for a Career Services Brand Ambassador. This sounded like a great opportunity to work on campus and earn some money, so I decided to apply and got the job. I started in August 2011 by beginning to market and promote the Fall Career and Internship Fair. I also wrote press releases, edited articles, and helped with outreach to various CU student groups. This was a great experience because it allowed me to see inside Career Services and truly appreciate how much I could gain from the office.

After several months I was promoted to my current position, Career Services Marketing Student Assistant. My job includes writing and editing press releases and the Career Services blog, designing marketing collateral with Adobe Illustrator, social media marketing, and creating each week’s Careers in the Buff newsletter.

Working at Career Services has increased my knowledge in marketing, social media, and public relations. Being on the inside has shown me how much this office has to offer students at Boulder, and I encourage all of you to take advantage of their free services.

If you need help with your resume, attend one of our “Resumes That Rock” events with Career Services’ Peer Career Advisors (PCAs). If you’re looking for a job or internship, sign up for CSO and browse the 10,000+ employers who frequently post jobs on the site. If you’re preparing for an interview, come do a mock interview and see yourself on film. There are so many services that Career Services offers, you’ll be glad you came in for a visit.

Monday, April 9, 2012

I’m on LinkedIn – Now what? Part 3

This blog was written by Brittany Moore, CU-Boulder senior pursuing a double degree in business marketing and broadcast news.

Part 3:  Find your passion and nail that Interview!
Are you having trouble figuring out what you want to do professionally? LinkedIn is an excellent tool to help you figure out where your interest lies.  Through the Advanced Search tool you can use keywords to search industries, jobs, employers, and interests.

Another way to learn about an industry is by joining groups. Groups have a variety of discussions by professionals that can provide knowledge about their industry. LinkedIn provides a great platform for communicating with professionals. Many of the group members are willing to aid each other in answering questions and facilitating informational interviews, so don’t be afraid to ask for assistance.

Career Explorer
One of my favorite applications on LinkedIn is the Career Explorer beta program.  This program is more or less your personal, virtual career advisor.  You can find the program under the “More” tab by clicking “Skills”.  Career Explorer allows you to build a projected career path for each industry you are interested in.  You can build your path up from entry-level positions to more advanced jobs.  For each job you choose, Career Explorer shows you age distribution, geographic distribution, salary expectations, etc.  The program provides a wealth of knowledge that might be hard to find elsewhere. 

Nailing that Interview!
The key to success in the job application process, especially during the interview stage, is knowledge about the company and job you’re applying for. Employers want to know specifically why you are choosing their company to work for over others. LinkedIn is one of the best places to find company information in order to impress employers.  The site includes general company information, current events/news, mission statements, and competitors.

In addition, one of the most useful parts of LinkedIn is that it shows you how you’re directly connected to a company.  The website separates your connections by first contacts and second contacts, which is someone you don’t know directly, but through one of your other contacts.  You can use this information to network with employers and even gain introductions that will benefit your job search.  Additionally, the different company websites also list their employees, including recently hired employees. This information is useful because it allows you to see what qualifications the company looks for in their employees.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

I’m on LinkedIn – Now what? Part 2

This blog was written by Brittany Moore, CU-Boulder senior pursuing a double-degree in business marketing and broadcast news.

With over 150 million members, LinkedIn is the leading professional social media site on the web.  Resumes are no longer enough, LinkedIn is the best way to network with professionals and search for jobs. With 80% of companies using LinkedIn to recruit it is crucial to have a professional online presence.

Building a Professional Network
Now that your profile is complete the next step is growing your network.  There are several ways you can build a professional network through LinkedIn.  The first and most basic way to do this is by using the contact tab to upload contacts through on your email account.  Additionally, you can search professionals by name using the search bar. Another effective way to network online is by joining groups.  You can do so by using the directory under the groups tab.


You can search groups for alumni, college, high school, fraternity, sorority, clubs, etc.  Some of the best resources for CU student’s are the LinkedIn alumni networks, including CU Herd, Forever Buffs, CU Alums, etc.  As a part of the Association for Women in Communication networking group I have worked a lot with the CU Alumni groups, which gave me a lot of great networking experience.

The group directory on LinkedIn is useful because it also distinguishes members by location, so you can search for professionals in your area. This tool is particularly useful for students looking for jobs away from Boulder. Say you’re going home for the summer, you can plug in your home state and seek out professionals nearby, which will help you build a network at home as well as in Boulder.

When you are asking new connections to be a part of your network it is important to send a personal message with your invitation. This can be as simple as adding on a sentence or two about how and where you met the contact as shown below:


Once you have made connections it is important to build and maintain your network. One way to do this is reaching out to professionals in your network to set up information interviews. You can send a private message that says something like this:

"I am doing career research and interested in learning more about your occupation. Could I talk with you for 20-30 minutes to ask you questions about your background?"

Some questions you could ask during an informational interview or even through a private message on LinkedIn are:
  • How did you get into this field?
  • What do you like best about your job?
  • What recommendations do you have for breaking into the business?
You can also use Twitter and Facebook to search for jobs and network with professionals as explained here.


How to Market Yourself Through Social Networking
In lieu of our ever-changing technological society, Career Services’ Peer Career Advisors (PCAs) facilitate innovative workshops to share resources and opportunities to market yourself through social media. Our “Linkin’ It Up” workshops focus on how to use primary social media sites in a professional way.

The first half of the workshop reviews the best practices for attracting employers on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and personal/professional websites. The second half focuses on LinkedIn with a demonstration and thorough review of the website and its many benefits for students. LinkedIn is extremely useful and easy to use and our Linkin’ It Up workshop is a great way to keep up with new digital media and learn how to adequately market yourself in a professional manner! Participants are encouraged to bring their laptops to follow along for a hands-on learning experience.