Alternatives to Your Dream Job

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Congratulations UW-Whitewater Spring graduates! As you celebrate your achievements during various events, you are probably hearing several age-old quotes and clichés.

Graduation is a big thing, but you still may get doubts that the “the tassel is worth the hassle.” You earned a degree, but you may not be excited about your new employment or may have no job at all. Graduation can be sobering when you do not receive the outcome you expected four years ago.

Do not fear. Now is a good time to replace your worries with planning and preparation. Here are three roadblocks and four alternative career considerations as you pursue your ideal career.

Three Roadblocks After Graduation

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

  1. Graduate School: It is amazing when someone pursues a graduate program in which they are passionate, committed, and prepared. The dangers of graduate school arise when one pursues graduate school just to avoid the workforce. Do your research before attending graduate school.
  2. The Couch: In 2011, the New York Post reported that up to 85% of graduates were moving back home. Disclaimer: Living at home does not mean a free-for-all on The View and Nintendo Wii. Continue to improve and develop skills through some combination of volunteering, internships, or other form of employment.
  3. Job Search Breaks: Continue your normal job search and set-up e-mail notifications for job openings. In addition, maintain your relationship with networking contacts and find ways to meet new contacts through various means (friends, family, professional associations, LinkedIn). Even if you have a job, stay up-to-date on position openings in your field.

Four Alternative Career Considerations

“Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X

  1. Duties of Interest: You may not immediately become a copy editor for HarperCollins or perform marketing for Google. For now, try to utilize the skills you love even if you are not working with the product, employer, or environment you love.
  2. Environment of Interest: Are you interested in working for the federal government? Get a job, any job, and use it to build networks and knowledge to help you move closer to your dream job with your employer.
  3. Service Programs: You may desire to build more experience or are still trying to discover fields in which you are interested. Try a service program to build experience and earn a few benefits along the way. City Year, AmeriCorps, and Milwaukee Teaching Fellows are just a few such programs.
  4. Temporary Work: If you are in the position to be flexible, staffing agencies can be a great way to build various skills. The key is to be  strategic about the types of positions you are willing to work.

Career services is here to help you develop and evaluate your job search strategies. Make an appointment at some point during the summer and we can assist you in your pursuit of your ideal career.

 ”…if one advances confidently in the direction of his dream, and endeavors to live the life which he had imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
- Henry David Thoreau

Photo by Sean MacEntee

It’s All About the Benefits

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Congratulations! All of the hard work you have put into your job search has paid off and you have received a job offer – or better yet, multiple job offers. Before you accept an offer and begin your career, there are a few important items to consider. While the starting salary in the job offer tends to get the most attention, don’t overlook the benefits package being offered by the employer.

Cat accountants

The exact benefits package included with your job offer will tend to vary from employer to employer, but there are a few “typical” categories of benefits that should be carefully reviewed:

Insurance Coverages

Most employers still offer employees a range of insurance coverages. These may include medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance plans. It is important to carefully review these plans, to inform yourself about the costs associated with each plan, and to ask some detailed questions. This includes:

  • What is your cost for the insurance plans?
  • What are the annual deductibles and your co-payments to use each insurance offering?
  • When do the insurance benefits begin? Are you eligible to receive benefits right away or is there a waiting period?
  • You should also educate yourself about items that the insurance plans may not cover

Retirement Savings and Investments

It is never too early to think about setting some money aside for retirement. Some employers will offer you options for retirement savings or even investment opportunities, including:

  • 401(k) – If your employer offers a 401(k) plan, ask if the program includes an employer match to the contributions you make.
  • Profit Sharing Plans
  • Stock Options
  • Pension Plans

Vacation and Sick Time

The amount of vacation and sick time allotted to employees will vary from employer to employer. Traditional plans will range from 2-4 weeks of vacation per year and one week of sick time. Some employers may even offer employees an allotment of personal days to use on an annual basis.

Additional Employer Perks

Even in today’s job market, some employers are enhancing their “traditional” benefit plans with additional employee perks. These perks may include:

  • Relocation Assistance
  • Gym Memberships
  • Tuition Reimbursement
  • Employee Assistance Programs
  • Child Care

As you begin to receive and evaluate your job offers, there are many items to consider. A great deal of your attention will undoubtedly be focused on the actual job you will be doing, the company you will be working for, and of course the salary that you will be paid.

While thinking about employee benefit plans may not be the most exciting or the most glamorous topic, these are crucial elements to helping you choose the right opportunity to launch your career. Be thorough and review every detail of the employer benefits plans that are being presented to you.

If you have questions about any element of the benefits package, make sure that you seek clarification from a human resources representative at the employer.

As important as salary is, having an understanding of the “total compensation” (including benefits and perks) that is being offered to you will help you make a more informed decision about your job offer.

Photo by Jon Ross

Is Teaching Abroad Calling Your Wanderlust?

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On April 23, I worked at the Wisconsin Educational Recruitment Fair (WERF), which was attended by about 500 teacher candidates, as well as 38 school districts and organizations from Wisconsin, other states, and other countries. I met a representative from EduConUS, who was recruiting for teaching opportunities in South Korea and the Middle East, a rep from Teach and Learn with Georgia (the country, not the state), and a rep from Contact Singapore.

Korea_Garden_group

Attending WERF reminded me of the adventurous job searches of several recent grads, or current students, with whom I’ve worked in the recent past.

“Anthony” is an English Ed grad who has taught abroad for two years and is now teaching in the Philadelphia area. He landed his job as a result of working with EPIK, and his girlfriend benefited from working with Korea Connections.

“Michael” is a non-traditional, post-baccalaureate student who has taught abroad in Bangladesh and South Korea. He has worked with a number of placement agencies, but has less than positive things to say about them and urges caution.

“Lucas” is a post-baccalaureate Chemistry student who has also taught abroad in South Korea. He did not use a recruiting agency, and instead researched everything on his own. He found the email address of a HR Director of a company called YBM Sisa, which for him ended up being a more effective approach and outcome than working with a recruiter.

If you are considering teaching abroad, here are links to some of my favorite resources over the years:

Here is a quote from one of the students mentioned above about the adventurous nature of teaching abroad:

Going abroad to teach is like rolling dice. Even if you read the books and prepare yourself, you never know what you’re really going to get. You need to be okay with that. It helps to remember that a bad year abroad is still better than a year in your hometown watching TV and working at a job that pays $10 per hour.

Whether you’re seeking teaching opportunities out of the country, out of state, or in Wisconsin, please schedule an appointment with me, Brian, in Career & Leadership Development to discuss resources and strategies that will help you secure employment.

Photo by the U.S. Department of Agriculture

Is the Music Industry Singing Your Name?

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So you love music, but what on earth are you going to do with a degree in music? Well, there are a lot more opportunities and options than you think, and many of them are right under your nose. Even if you are not specifically a major in “music” but you enjoy it as a hobby, there are still ways for you to combine your passions.

Music - an art for itself - Headphones and music notes / musical notation system

Perhaps you have decided to pursue a degree in music, you have spent countless hours in the Greenhill Center of the Arts, and now its graduation time or close to it. There are many fields you could pursue with your degree that people often overlook. Maybe you have a passion for music, but for the law as well. You could consider becoming a Music Lawyer and protect rights of composers, artists, and copyrights. Perhaps you have a passion for media as well as music. The position of a Mix Engineer would be perfect.

Let’s say you have majored in some area of business, but you still play an instrument or like to spend your free time singing and just are not ready to let go of that interest. There are still plenty of opportunities for you.

  • Stage Design and Management
  • Tour/Road Management
  • Talent Scouting
  • Song Plugging

How do you get experience in these fields? Start off by working for the local campus radio station, volunteer for industry events, work in an audio equipment sales store to learn more about the technology, or organize song writing session with other students. Below are some websites that can help you with your music career search.

UW-Madison Music Career Services - http://wiscmusiccareer.wordpress.com/

Inside Jobs - http://www.insidejobs.com/

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Electronic Portfolios

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Know thyself. The accurate determination of what we like, what we value, and what we’re good at is one of the most important aspects of a successful career. An honest, straightforward self-assessment helps us know in which career field(s) we’ll be most happy and successful.

The process of self-assessment requires us to reflect upon our lives, our actions, achievements, and yes, our failures. Reflective thinking is a learned behavior that each of us cultivates over time, and in our daily focus on our to-do lists, it’s as important as ever to take time to reflect upon what we are learning and how we’re growing as human beings.

Portfolio

Electronic portfolios have been shown as an effective method to engage the learner in reflective learning. An electronic portfolio is a collection of items that provide evidence of your learning, skills, knowledge, and abilities. The process of identifying, gathering, and organizing artifacts that accurately represent you is what elicits the most learning.

It’s not necessarily the product, it’s about the process.

Students engaged in developing a portfolio have the opportunity to bring together evidence from various aspects of their experience – academics, co-curricular involvement, work, internships, athletics, and so forth. This opportunity to reflect on the interconnection of our lives helps significantly with our career development.

PDF Portfolio

UW-Whitewater students interested in developing their own electronic portfolio have access to various campus resources to assist them. Interested students should contact Ron Buchholz in Career & Leadership Development.

Photos by Hans Gerhard Meier and Hung Le

What’s a Curriculum Vitae (CV) and How Do I Create One?

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Research is an incredible way to prepare for graduate and professional school. UW-Whitewater has a number of opportunities to engage in research including the Undergraduate Research Program, the McNair Program, and various opportunities to participate in ongoing faculty research.

As you develop skills to become an effective graduate student, it will be  very important to learn how to appropriately market yourself. When applying for employment, assistantships, fellowships, grants, and other opportunities, resumes will no longer be the document of choice. Instead, you will be asked to submit your Curriculum Vitae (CV). Curriculum Vitae is Latin for ‘course of life’. The purpose of the CV is to provide a snapshot of your education, professional background, and research interests.

Students in "class" on Bascom Hill

Academic and International CVs
There are two types of CVs: the academic CV and international CV. Several countries outside of the U.S. use the term CV to refer to their equivalent of the American resume. Domestically, it will be necessary to begin a CV if you fit into one of the following categories:

  • Planning to attend graduate school
  • Engaging in student teaching
  • Participating/conducting research
  • Interested in academia

CV or Resume: What’s the difference?
A CV and resume are both documents used to provide a snapshot of one’s skills and experiences. The CV differs from the resume in that it is:

  • More comprehensive and longer in length
  • Used primarily for jobs in academia, research and when applying for grants, conferences, or graduate school
  • Strictly a professional document that should be approached conservatively

How do I begin my CV?
Create a master CV document. It may be easiest to request the CV of faculty member in your field of interest to get an initial idea of how a CV in your field of interest will appear.

  1. Outline information. Outline the following information: contact information, education, professional employment, research experience (publications, presentations, grants, etc.), teaching experience, honors and awards, professional service, professional affiliations. The CV does not need to be limited solely to this information, but the aforementioned are a few samples. Accompany each experience with the position held, name of organization, dates present and location
  2. Create headings and organize. Create headings that are relevant to your experiences. The list in Step One identifies information that may be used as headings. Place corresponding experiences underneath headings. Research and teaching experiences are often the first sections following the education section. Note: In regard to section order, the most important information will be listed toward is the top of CV. However, information within each heading should be listed in reverse chronological order.
  3. Create descriptions. Fill in experiences with descriptions regarding your accomplishments. Use complete citations for research (including publications, presentations, and research in progress).

The CV length for undergraduate and graduate students will likely range from 2-5 pages. For more information, explore ‘Additional Resources’ below and make an appointment with a career counselor in Career and Leadership Development and faculty member in your department.

Additional Resources:
http://seaver.pepperdine.edu/careercenter/doc/CV%20Packet.pdf
http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/creatingmaintaining-your-cv/26887 http://chronicle.com/article/The-Rhetoric-of-the-CV/131404/

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Career Advice for Athletes from Athletes

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On Sunday, March 18th, Career & Leadership Development, along with UW-Whitewater Intercollegiate Athletics and the Student Athlete Advisory Council, sponsored the first ever career panel for our student athletes. Seven panelists, all former college athletes who are established and successful in their career fields, provided sage advice for our current student athletes in attendance.

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The purpose of the panel was to provide career advice to students, specifically how the qualities and mindset gained as a college athlete helps with career success. Graduation years of the panelists ranged from 1985 to 2001. All are highly successful in their careers, and each provided our students with great career advice that will serve as a formula for career success.

Two main themes emerged during the panel. First, as college athletes, the panelists indicated that they developed attitudes, behaviors, and skills which have helped them tremendously in their careers. Because of their dedication of time, and the physical and psychological energy required of a college athlete, all panelists believe they learned a tremendous lesson that they’ve applied to help them succeed in their work and life in general. From their current perspective, they each looked back and realized they benefited from athletics in more ways than they realized while they were a student.

The second theme was the advice for career success they provided to our current student athletes. This advice is applicable to all students, but was grounded in the mindset the panelists learned as a result of their participation in college athletics. Here is a sampling of their career advice:

  • Participation in college athletics is hard work. So is a career. The work ethic you develop as an athlete should be applied to your career. Understand that your career requires you to fully dedicate yourself – it’s more than just a 40 hour a week job. If more time is needed, then work more time.
  • Athletes are all part of a team. They need to work effectively with their teammates, coaches, trainers, and everyone else who contributes to success. The same goes for your career. To be successful in your career, you need to be able to get along well with your co-workers, to work effectively as a member of a work unit, and to know when to lead and when to follow.
  • Athletes have a competitive drive. They like competition and don’t shy away from it. Many career fields, such as business, require a competitive drive. This same drive that has helped an athlete succeed should be applied to their career as well. Always strive to do better, to perform better tomorrow than you did today.
  • Self-discipline is required of athletes. Most recruiters I know refer to this as self-management. A bit different, but similar in many ways. Career professionals need to effectively manage their time, organize their work, maintain a healthy body and mind, deal effectively with stress, and accept and learn from failure. Sounds a lot like what athletes need to do to succeed.

Thanks to the following panelists for continuing to give their time and talent to UW-Whitewater:

Mike Grahl, 1998 UWW graduate – Baseball
Interactive Marketing Manager with the Milwaukee Bucks

Aaron Jagdfeld, 1993 UWW graduate – Track & Field
President & CEO of Generac Power Systems, Inc.

Cyndee Kelsey, 1988 UWW graduate – Softball
Client Relations Director for Great-West Retirement Services

Matt Krueger, 1995 MATC graduate – Basketball
Managing Director/Owner in the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network

Tim Patterson, 1995 UWW graduate – Football and Baseball
Owner/Partner of Ansay & Associates, LLC

Lisa Schaffer, 2001 UWW graduate – Gold
Professional IT Recruiter for TEK Systems

Jack West, 1997 UWW graduate – Wrestling
District Marketing Manager for Federated Insurance

Photo by Fabio Stefano Alla

Careers in Biology: Tips from Sciences Employers

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BPAE cells

Each year, Career & Leadership Development compiles an Annual Report of Employment & Continuing Education, a record of where the past year’s graduates are employed or are attending graduate or professional school. Here is a sample of where some of the Biology grads from the past several years were employed after graduation:

I recently contacted some of the employers that have hired UW-W Science grads, and here are some selected comments from them about employment preparation.

Online Image

  • Facebook is fine, but control access and privacy, and pay attention to what’s on your page. If you’d be embarrassed for your mother to see it, it is most likely not going to make a good impression on an employer.
  • LinkedIn – Use it! This is where you can really refine your professional online presence. Highlight your education, publications, accomplishments, and get recommendations from reputable sources (professors, respected researchers) as appropriate. Read LinkedIn profiles of recent grads from your major/profession to get an idea of what should be present on your page.
  • Twitter is good too, but tweets should be relevant. Tweeting every weekend about how awesome the latest party was won’t help you.

Resumes

  • Creative resume formats are not rewarded in science professions. Your resume should be professional, clean, and very easy to read.
  • Highlight your research topics and skills along with your talents and accomplishments.
  • Be succinct. Writing should be short and to the point. Run-on sentences or entire paragraphs will just get glossed over by a hiring manager.
  • Employers don’t care about anything from your high school unless you are an undergraduate looking for internships.

References

  • Be sure to contact your references to verify that their contact information is correct and to inform them that they may be contacted to serve as a reference. It is always most professional to ask permission of each person you desire to use as a reference. You want your references to be prepared to speak to your strengths.
  • Once a person agrees to serve as a reference, you should help them understand the company and type of role you are pursuing. This will allow the referee to tailor their comments accordingly.

Interviews

  • Go through mock interviews. Ask a career counselor, professor, or science professional to interview you as if they might hire you. Ask for honest feedback after the fact about your interview performance and demeanor. Make sure you do not have any nervous habits that can be distracting to a potential employer.
  • It’s difficult to overcome an unfavorable first impression. Portraying yourself in a professional manner is crucial for a successful interview. A significant part of a hiring decision is based on grooming, clothing, accessories, body language, eye contact and listening skills. It is important to carefully plan the professional image you want to project. Campus clothing and work clothing are two completely different worlds. Unfortunately, many recent grads underestimate the importance of conservative, professional clothing when interviewing.
  • Get a suit or other appropriate business attire. This is especially important when trying to get a job in industry. Showing up in jeans and your “nice” shirt will not send the message that you are serious. Consider the money for a good interview outfit to be an investment in your future.

Several science employers have scheduled recruitment visits to UW-Whitewater in April, and several others are in the process of scheduling. Watch for announcements for those events, and be prepared to impress the employers based upon the tips that they’ve provided.

Photo by Joseph Elsbernd

Let’s Talk Money!

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At some point during your job search process, you will likely run into a question related to your salary expectations. You may see it on a job application where an organization may ask “What salary range are you looking for?” Or you may be asked during an interview, “What are your salary expectations?”

Money

No matter where you encounter this question, it often poses a challenge for job seekers. What do you say? If you quote a figure that is too high, will you price yourself out of a job? If you quote a figure too low, will you be selling yourself short?

One of the keys to successfully handing this question is to do your research during your job search process. Career & Leadership Development has several resources available to assist you:

As you review the salary information, keep a few things in mind. First, some employers offer very little room to negotiate salaries for entry-level positions. Be sure to set realistic expectations for yourself and establish a budget to determine what you need to make.

Second, when considering your future earnings, remember to account for other variables including the benefits that may be offered by the employer and the cost of living associated with the geographic location of the job.

By utilizing this information, you will be better prepared to handle the salary question. You may choose to tell the employer that your salary expectations are negotiable or that you are interested in learning more about the benefits program to get a complete picture on the total compensation offered by the organization.

If you do quote a salary figure, be sure to justify your response based on the research you have conducted, and cite your sources!

If you would like additional assistance regarding how to handle salary questions, or assistance with job searching and interviewing in general, schedule an appointment with a member of the Career & Leadership Development team.

Photo by Andrew Magill

Unpacking Your Study Abroad Experience

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Students who study abroad frequently describe their experience as life-changing. The opportunity to live in and learn from another culture, as well as see and experience another part of the world, provides the participant with a great reason to reflect upon their life, their culture, and their identity.

The experience demands an investment of physical and psychological energy which will test and enhance the participant’s communication skills, ability to solve problems, adapt to change and be flexible. And, not least of all, there’s a good deal of confidence to be gained by successfully negotiating the challenges inherent in living in another country.

Paris_10_2006_ 053

These mindsets and skills are highly transferable and will help students both obtain and succeed in their careers. What follows are a few tips that may help employers understand the value of your study abroad experience as you conduct your job search.

  • First, don’t assume that your interviewer understands the value of your study abroad experience. Chances are most recruiters and hiring managers haven’t studied abroad and may not fully understand the numerous, varied ways that the experience has contributed to your learning and career development. They may view the experience as interesting and fun, but miss the learning implications inherent in the experience. The student will need to “connect the dots” on their resume and in their interviews.
  • Second, many students who participate in study abroad present the experience on paper and in person as “academic tourism.” When asked about their experience during interviews, a common mistake is to talk about how much fun the experience was, or how incredible it was to experience Amsterdam or the Great Wall. While true, understand that the interviewer wants to know how your experiences have contributed to the development of skills and competencies they desire. Therefore, it’s better to talk about what you learned as a result of your experience and specifically align what you learned with the skills and competencies that the employer seeks in the ideal applicant for the position for which you’re interviewing. Basically, they want to know how your experience abroad will add value to their organization if you are hired.
  • Lastly, spend some time to reflect upon what it is that you’ve learned as a result of your study abroad experience. What did you learn about the culture of your host country? Did the experience expand your knowledge of your own identity and culture? What skills did you use to adjust and adapt to your host culture? Have your attitudes about your home culture and country changed as a result of the experience? These are just a few of the questions to ask yourself during and after your study abroad experience.

Photo by Ralf Schulze