Alumni Q&A: Christina Savage of iSupportU

This week’s blog was written by Parker Livingston, a sophomore economics major at CU-Boulder.

Christina Savage is a CU Journalism alumna currently employed by iSupportU, an IT start-up here in Boulder. She helps her clients increase efficiency and move their business ideas along. Christina took the time to answer a few questions for us about her day-to-day responsibilities at iSupportU. She also reflected on how her experiences at CU, specifically with Career Services, helped her along her path. 

Q: Tell me a little bit about yourself.
A: I moved to Boulder 10 years ago from the Philadelphia suburbs to attend college at CU-Boulder. I am still just as in love with Boulder now as I was when I first visited campus. I graduated in May 2005 with a degree in journalism and a minor in women's studies. I now own a condo in Gunbarrel and have a three-year-old son named Aidan. I volunteer on the board of Boulder 2140, and I am also the co-chair of their Marketing Committee. I help lead a team to organize and market events that inspire young professionals through philanthropy, networking, and professional development. I dig cooking, electronic music, technology and taking weekend trips to the mountains.

Q: How did you get into the line of work you’re in? What inspired you to pursue this?
A: I have worked with small businesses and organizations since I graduated college. In college, I worked with the Women's Resource Center as media relations coordinator, and I also helped to plan two annual International Women's Week conferences. This got me interested in organizational logistics and marketing, which is what led me to my current position. I really enjoy the energy and creativity that exists within small business, and it has always been exciting to me to help build something from the ground up.

Q: Did past internships help prepare you for this job? How and which ones?
A: Internship experience was a crucial step along my career path. I had three internships in public relations and marketing right out of college. Two of these were with the City of Boulder and one was with a local startup. These positions taught me the skills I needed to succeed in the business world and also gave me enough freedom to "own" my projects. I finally felt like a permanent employee with valuable input.

Q: How did you find your current position with iSupportU?

A: I found my job through networking, another great skill I would recommend honing. I was a client of iSupportU for a year-and-a-half before a position opened up that fit my skill set. The founder and CEO of iSupportU then recruited me for my job, and I joined their team.

Q: What’s your official title iSupportU and what is your role there?

A: My official title is Network Navigator. I do account management, project management and oversee marketing. It may seem like a lot, but that’s how small businesses work and I've always been one to wear many hats. The best part about my job is seeing the progress our team makes in learning to work more efficiently, which results in less stress and happy clients.

Q: What advice do you have for CU students and alumni that are job-hunting right now?
A: I felt like I had a lot of job options right out of college in 2005, but the current economic situation is difficult for some job seekers. However, I would say that the most important thing is to do what you love. It doesn't have to be perfect, but find something that you're passionate about and that you're interested in. I've also found that enthusiasm and an eagerness to learn will take you further than you could ever imagine. Also, develop real relationships with people; care about people you work with and about your mentors. Be genuine.

For those who are still in college, make sure to enjoy the time you have. College is such a unique time that you'll never get back...it's the only time where you'll have virtually no responsibility to anyone but yourself. There's so much flexibility and freedom that can come with it, so enjoy every minute!

How Volunteering Can Help Your Resume

This week's post is written by Kai K. Harvey, sophomore economics major at CU-Boulder.

The recovering state of the economy and dire job-outlook may seem intimidating to college students. However, there is good news. If you take initiative early in your college career, your job outlook will drastically improve when you graduate. Having work experience, leadership experience, and volunteer experience will go a long way in helping you find a job.

The first goal is to find a starting point. Most undergrads don’t have much work experience, especially in professional environments. This makes gaining acceptance into the best internship programs a difficult task because there isn’t much on your resume quite yet. But don’t worry, this is where volunteering can really help you get experience and build your resume, leading you closer to the internship of your dreams later down the road.

If you’re interested in politics, for example, volunteering for a political campaign or a grassroots organization is a great way to demonstrate to employers that you are passionate about your future field of work. Alternatively, volunteering at a homeless shelter or a retirement home shows that you care deeply about helping others, which is something employers look for in job candidates.

Building strong relationships with the people you volunteer with will only further what you gain from the experience. These people could be potential references for future jobs or internships and could even help you network your way into an interview.

When I first began my job search, I applied to about eight different businesses, but I did not get a single call back. The problem was my lack of work experience apart from taking care of my neighbor’s dog. I decided the best way to quickly build my resume was through volunteer work.

I spent about two months volunteering for a childcare organization as well as a summer camp for underprivileged children. Through these experiences I gained skills in problem solving, communication and leadership. With this experience now on my resume, employers could see that I had the ability to work hard and stick to my commitments.

Now my resume was stronger, and I also had two solid references from fellow volunteers. In addition, the skills I learned through my charity work gave me the confidence boost I needed to succeed in interviews, so I tried applying for more jobs. This time I was quickly hired at a local restaurant.

Luckily there many available volunteer opportunities, so it should be easy to find something that relates to your field of interest. Even if the charity doesn’t apply to your dream job in the future, volunteering is a great way to build your resume and yourself as a person! Local opportunities can be found through CU’s Volunteer Resource Center, or through our website, which offers the chance volunteer abroad.

Now you have some information about how to make yourself a more competitive applicant for job and internship positions. . In order to have a chance at a more selective internship, you should to start building up some basic experience. The best way to “get your foot in the door” is to start small and work up. In other words, take those small volunteer opportunities now to prepare yourself for the big internships later.

Googling Yourself: Why Should You Do It and How to Clean up Your Image

Have you ever Googled yourself?  Try it – you might be surprised by what comes up.  When I Google myself, I get 3,650,000 results of which approximately 20 are directly related to me.  The results I immediately noticed were my professional pictures, my LinkedIn account, my personal website, and a Spokeo search on me.  Seeing my professional pictures, LinkedIn account, and my personal website be among the first 10 searches was exactly what I wanted to see.  These are positive online sites about me that will enhance my professional image for recruiters and employers searching for me online.  On the other hand the Spokeo account can be a little disturbing and is something everyone should be aware of. 

Nowadays, there are sites such as Spokeo, whose purpose is to seek out intimate information about individuals including: personal addresses, phone numbers, email accounts, etc.  It is important to be aware of what personal information is on these sites and always try to minimize this information by privatizing personal social networks and acting with caution with your online presence.   

Nonetheless, Googling yourself is the first step to identifying what is online about you.  Once you know what is out there, you can minimize the negative things; and more importantly, enhance the positive things.   

MINIMIZING A NEGATIVE ONLINE PRESENCE

1. Scrutinize anything personal online, including your posts on Facebook and Twitter.
2.  Don’t post ANYTHING you could potentially be embarrassed about – once it’s online it’s hard to really remove it forever. 
3. Screen your friends’ postings about you (this can be customized in your account and privacy settings).
4. Separate your personal and professional online presence by not linking the two together and privatizing your personal account. 

ENHANCING A POSITIVE ONLINE PRESENCE

1. Create at least one professional online profile (Twitter, Facebook, Blog, Personal Website, Info-graphic Resume, LinkedIn, etc.).
2. Quality over quantity:  Just because there are many social networking sites to choose from, doesn't mean you have to be on all of them.  It’s better to master one and then move on to more social media sites rather than be on all sites and not put that much effort into them.
3. Sign up  for a LinkedInProfile.  
4.  Although you don’t want to completely privatize your professional profiles (since you want people to see it), make sure you don’t put personal addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses online unless you don’t mind the whole world having access to that information.
5.  Consistently update your statuses.  Social media won’t be useful if you don’t make an effort to update your profiles and engage with other people on the social networks.

For more information about creating a professional online presence visit the following web pages:

1. Create an Online Presence 
2. Leverage Social Media 
3. Linkin’It Up  Presentation

How to Market Yourself Through Social Networking

In light of our ever-changing technological society, the Peer Career Advisers facilitate an innovative workshop to share resources and opportunities to market yourself using social media. The workshop will focus on the primary social media tools and how to incorporate a professional edge when using these sites. The first half of the workshop will review best practices for Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and personal/professional websites to further your knowledge on the sites and how to use them to attract employers. The second half of the program will focus on LinkedIn with a demonstration and thorough review of the website and its benefits for students. LinkedIn is the primary professional networking site and is extremely useful and easy to use. Linkin’It Up 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.

Written by Brittany Moore

Kiley Kudrna's Internship in Publishing

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

Kiley Kudrna, CU-Boulder senior, just landed her first internship with the assistance of Boulder's Career Services office. Westview Press, a local publisher of undergraduate and graduate textbooks, hired her as an Editorial Assistant Intern.

As a Humanities major, emphasizing in English and Psychology with a minor in Italian, Kiley loves to read, write, and travel. Before pursuing this internship Kiley knew she wanted to do something in publishing or editing.

Kiley found her dream internship using Career Services Online, our online database for CU-Boulder students and alumni interested in jobs, internships, and career events. She did so by coming into our Career Services office on campus in the Center for Community to meet with Career Counselor Jodi Schneiderman.

During their first meeting Jodi talked about looking for jobs and internships as well as the process of applying to them. She then sent Kiley several follow-up emails to help track her progress, which included a link to her current internship.

Their second appointment entailed working on Kiley's cover letter and resume, which Jodi helped with significantly. Kiley applied and got the internship at Westview Press thanks to her many skills as well as the help from Career Services. She says about our office, “I love it and I wouldn't have been able to be where I am without their help.”

She spends her time at work proofreading, finding professors to review textbooks, and making competition grids comparing Westview's books to others. She also researches potential professors to use Westview's textbooks in their curriculum. The part of her internship that she enjoys most is getting to know her coworkers. “They are all so nice and I know I am learning a lot about the publishing industry, which is preparing me for the future,” Kiley said.

After she graduates Kiley hopes to live in New York with a job in either publishing or editing. She has already begun applying to future jobs, and she suggests that other CU students “Keep applying and don't give up. You will find something that is the perfect fit for you.”

Narrowing Your Focus with Focus-2!

The major exploration process can seem daunting and the process of deciding what to do with your major can be even more stressful; however, many tools exist to make this process a little less intimidating, such as FOCUS-2.  My name is Meghan Draudt and I am a Peer Career Advisor (PCA) at Career Services.  Currently I am double majoring in neuroscience and integrated physiology with aspirations in medicine, but I always had trouble deciding exactly what I wanted to do with this major.  By exploring the features of FOCUS-2 I was able to narrow down my interests in the field and even discover jobs that I didn’t know existed.  

 FOCUS-2 is a simple program to use once you sign up and is designed to assist students in their career and major exploration based on your own personal interests and skills.  FOCUS-2 is also a great resource if you are in need of a strategy or plan for reaching your already defined career goals.  For more information on how to sign up for an account and how to use FOCUS-2 in general, look through a former blog post.

As I was exploring the features of FOCUS-2, I first completed the “Academic Strengths”, the “Your Career Planning Status”, and many of the assessments listed under Self Assessment.  By answering the questions, it helped me realize what my skills and interests actually are, rather than what they should be.  I now understand the importance of being realistic when choosing a career path, and these assessments allowed me to define my true strengths and professional interests. 

           

"Narrow and Refine Your Results" to see careers

Once I took the assessments, I used “narrow and refine your interests” to browse through the countless occupations that matched my assessment results, many of which I didn’t know existed.  From my assessment results, I was able to realize my strong interest in medicine, but by using the “Explore the Possibilities” section, I was able to narrow down this extremely broad field to a select few occupations.  I even discovered a career path that perfectly fits my interests and that was unknown to me – neuropsychology!  Although I knew nothing about this occupation, FOCUS-2 contained all the information I needed to generally understand the field, including the job duties, values, future outlook, earnings, resources, and even what to major in. 

Another helpful approach is to use the “What can I do with a major in…?” section to see what possible jobs match with your current major.  This section helped me to discover another interesting occupation – speech pathology.  To make it easier to compare the two occupations and determine the best career path, I then used the “Compare 2 Occupations” feature, which lists all the information for each occupation side by side.  It was then simple to see which occupation has a higher salary, greater education demands, and values and skills that align with my personality. 

Compare two occupations side by side using this tool

 After this exploration, I had found many possible occupations and majors, which I then saved to my FOCUS-2 profile so that I could refer to this information as my interests and my education continue to grow and change.  FOCUS-2 is a great tool.  I highly recommend using it!

Dating and Interviewing: Are these two really so different?

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

Chances are most of you have gone to a job interview or out on a date at one point in your life. You probably categorize these two scenarios into very different aspects of your life, but surprisingly there are many parallels between the two! Interviewing for jobs and dating both require preparation, confidence and patience in order to find success, and there are many other similarities as well!

Blind Dates

Although employers certainly do respect applicants who seek out the company and apply on their own, a referral from someone else will put you ahead of the game. Whether it’s a previous colleague, a close friend or someone who you met through networking, their recommendation will mean a lot to the interviewer. The same goes for dating – blind dates are a great way to meet people. So next time your friend tries to set you up with that cutie from her class, take her up on it!

Dress to Impress

First, you must prepare. Dressing the part is a very important aspect of going to a job interview or on a date. You want to fit the atmosphere of the office or the restaurant, dressing appropriately without being too fancy or too casual. CareerSpots.com provides some basic tips for how men and women should dress for interviews, which include covering up any visible body piercings or tattoos and wearing solid, dark colors like navy, brown and black. As for your dating life, feel free to take these tips only as useful guidelines for appropriateness because we all know a little color won’t hurt anyone!

CU-Boulder sophomore Molly Reynolds noticed the similarities between dating and interviews as well. “When you go out on a date you’ve talked with the person enough to exchange numbers and feel comfortable making plans,” she said, “Chances are with an interview you’ve exchanged a few emails or phone calls as well, so with both scenarios you know what you’re getting into.”

How to Read Them Like a Book

Judging your interviewers or your dates reaction is another important part of sizing up your potential for another meeting. Start with nonverbal communication like good posture, eye contact, and a strong handshake to see how the other person responds. Communication specialists suggest that people who are interested in you will mimic your body language, so look out for that as well! Also, you will be able to tell if your interviewer or date is genuinely interested in what you’re saying if they keep digging for more information. If they accept what you say and move on, it means that they’re probably not interested, so find another way to hook them in.

Scoring the Second Date

Now that you’ve aced the first meeting, it is important to follow-up correctly. Knowing when it is appropriate to send a follow-up call, text, or email causes great anxiety, and choosing which method to use does just the same! First of all, with all interviews make sure to send a handwritten or electronic thank you to your interviewer for the time they gave you. Skip this step with a date and just say it when the night ends, so you don’t come off as too eager. In both scenarios it is best to wait several days to see if they contact you as they said they would, and then follow-up within a week if you haven’t heard anything. For college-age students it’s best to send texts to dates and emails to interviewers, so that you have time to plan out what you’re going to say and review it before sending. Be sure to use spell check and write out words completely in your emails.

Patience is a Virtue

Unfortunately the next step is tough in both the world of interviewing and the world of dating because now you wait... Hopefully the information you’ve learned from this post and the additional tips and tricks on our website will help you ace your next interview, so that the wait is worth it. And maybe they’ll even help your love life as well!

Holding an Informative Informational Interview

I’m Tamara Berkman, a 2010 communication graduate from CU. After finishing a yearlong public relations internship, I am looking for a full time public relations or marketing position. To help further my job search, my friend suggested I talk to her neighbor, Ruth, who runs her own communications firm. I’ve heard of informational interviews, but I wasn’t sure how talking to someone who has no job to offer would be helpful. I deciding that hearing about the communications field from someone who is already a part of it would help me continue professionally.  After talking to Ruth - and some of her peers - I received great job searching advice.

Here are some tips on how to use an informational interview to guide your career path:

1)     Ask how people got started in their field.  This was the most eye-opening question I asked. Some started as assistants, while others volunteered and interned to gain the skills they needed. It took many of them 2-3 years to get an entry-level job in the industry, but they persevered and are now in a job they love. After holding multiple internships and volunteer positions, this was far from what I wanted to hear, but it helped me realize that I am on the right track even if the destination is still distant.

2)     Ask for resume, cover letter and interviewing advice. Those in charge of hiring can tell you several things they see from candidates that make great impressions or discard them from a job. For example, coming in to an interview with a list of questions is much more acceptable than claiming you already know the ins and outs of the position and company. Having questions shows you’re interested in the company, not just the job.

3)     Ask what you can do now to find a job. No one I spoke to was hiring, but they all had suggestions on how I could use social media, job boards and local groups to help my search.  Many suggested  Andrew Hudson’s Job List, Colorado Non-Profit Association Job Board and the Denver/Boulder based LinkedIn groups’ discussion boards.

4)     Write a thank you note. Anyone willing to take time out of their day to talk you about job searching is doing you a favor and deserves a thank you. I hand wrote each thank you note, as it seemed more personal and required a bit more effort.  Knowing I was meeting with so many people in such a short time, I made it a point to always have a package of thank you notes and stamps close by. To leave the best impression possible I sent each letter out within a week of meeting - while our conversations were still fresh. If you need help on writing a thank you note here are some examples.

After meeting with multiple people in the communications field, I am certain that while this job search will not be easy, by taking advantage of any opportunity to do an informational interview, I can make many connections with those already working in areas that are of interest to me. Eventually, I know I will reach my ultimate goal of a full-time communication position.

For example, I reached out to my friend Alex who has been working in the communications field for a few years and asked if she knew of any good contacts. Alex got me in touch with Steve, her former boss at Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Over the summer Steve left CP+B to start his own communications firm, Sapka Communications. After our conversation, Steve offered me a part time job at Sapka Communication gathering press contacts, tracking media and managing social networks. This will be a great opportunity to learn from a communications veteran and expand my network more. Through experiences like this and my commitment to furthering professional connections, I know eventually I will reach my ultimate goal of a full-time communications position.

Career Services also offers assistance with informational interviews. Check out our Quick Tips here. Consider joining the University of Colorado Boulder Alumni LinkedIn group to network with a variety of professionals and conduct additional informational interviews.

A Day in the Life of a Leadership Associate

Although Kelsi Cooke graduated from CU last year with a degree in journalism, it was her internship and work experiences during college that led to her pursuing a career in another field.

“Throughout my college experience, I worked at a few start up businesses and really enjoyed the entrepreneurial atmosphere and decided I am interested in having my own business someday,” Kelsi said.

“Since I didn’t get a business degree, I took a job with Consolidated Graphics to learn how businesses operate.”

Kelsi first discovered this opportunity at Consolidated Graphics because she worked at Career Services. As a sophomore, Kelsi visited the Career Services office for the first time to learn about job prospects in the journalism industry. Over the course of her college career, Kelsi worked with career counselors to gain assistance with writing and editing her resume. She sought advice on how to network with professionals in industries that interested her so that she could decide which internships would help prepare her for the career path of her choice. Kelsi also used Career Services Online, the job posting system in Career Services, to  search for and apply to internships and jobs for after graduation, including her current job at Consolidated Graphics.

As a Leadership Associate at Tewell Warren Printing, a Consolidated Graphics company, Kelsi’s job entails extensive training in all of the different departments of the printing business in rotations that last from 6 weeks to 1 year. As she goes through the rotations and learns about “how it all fits together to successfully run a printing business,” Kelsi notes any suggestions she has to improve efficiency.

What does a day in Kelsi’s life look like?
> At 7 a.m., Kelsi wakes up.
> At 7:40 a.m., she heads to work.
> At 8 a.m., Kelsi gets to work and then checks in her current supervisor to see if she has any work for her to follow up on.
> At 8:30 a.m., she has a Luna Bar breakfast. J
> From 9 to 12, Kelsi works on various projects. In fact, she goes through different rotations every few months. Right now, she works in accounting, so the company controller is teaching Kelsi how to handle daily accounting tasks such as assembling various reports, especially at end of month. In addition, Kelsi is also working on getting new insulation installed in the company’s warehouse, planning the company 50th anniversary party, learning about their solutions software, and more!
> From 12 to 1 p.m., Kelsi takes a break for lunch.
> From 1 to 5 p.m., Kelsi works on tasks that are similar to those she tackles in the morning, “although no days are the same and there is hardly any sense of routine,” she explained. In the afternoons in the accounting rotation, she gets the mail and handles all of the accounts receivable and payable for the day. In other words, she receives invoices and matches them with purchase orders so the company can pay its vendors. She also deposits all checks they receive that day
> Between 5 and 6 p.m., when her projects are completed or she has reached a stopping point for the day, Kelsi heads home.

What’s ahead for Kelsi?
“I would ideally like to keep learning about business at my current job, but then get more involved in some sort of start up, entrepreneurial project.”

What advice do you have for current CU students?

When Kelsi was in college, she was constantly busy with one or more jobs. Armed with these work experiences, Kelsi said she was able to build her resume in a way that emphasized the various leadership positions and internships she held that also helped her develop her communication skills.

“Showing that you can effectively write and have good verbal communication is a plus for any employer,” she explained.

Looking back on her own experience in college, Kelsi suggested that, in addition to getting a job in college, CU students should get involved in any extracurricular activities of their choosing so they can demonstrate their interests, skills and experiences to employers.