*Abrakadabra JOB!*

Hello everyone!

Sophomore year is (in my opinion) the best year of college. There’s no longer the uncertainty that comes with being a freshman, and not too much of the pressure that comes with being a junior or senior. However, there are some easy career development steps you can take now in order to make your junior and senior years much easier.

Explore extracurricular activities! Let’s face it; before you came to NYU, you were probably the star do-er of high school … why give up your passions when you come here!? Explore your interests and hobbies … ballroom dancing, Model UN, community service, journalism, whatever! NYU has it all, and if it doesn’t, you can always start a club with a few friends. Extracurriculars are not only fun but also when it comes to applying for jobs, can add a whole new dimension to your resume.

Make a resume! Making a resume is not only easy, but will save you much time in the long run. To begin the process, it’s very easy to first come up with a rough list of everything that would be interesting to employers. This would include: skills, your educational history, any prior jobs or internships, and your campus involvement/leadership. Also, look to Wasserman’s great resume samples here. After you complete a rough resume, make an appointment with a career counselor at the Wasserman center and get an official resume critque.

Make a CareerNet profile! Stop by the Wasserman Center during business hours and make a CareerNet profile. Though you may not be looking for a job or internship yet, it’s never to early to start exploring! Plus the Wasserman Center has free coffee!

Start looking for internships! Though you may not want an internship for the school year, summer internships will start the application process very soon! You want to apply as early as possible in order to get the positions you really are interested in, so start researching those summer internships!

That’s about it sophomores! Hope you’re all enjoying your year thus far!

Many of us have been told by those listening to our unemployment woes to make sure to visit the Career Fair to secure a part-time or full-time position. Many of us may have even taken extra steps to ensure that we are the most presentable we can be to employers: revising the resume one last time, buying a suit that fits just right, and even practicing your elevator pitch with your Mom over the phone. We walk over to the fair, pumped and excited and expecting the employer to fall at our feet, bedazzled by our meticulous preparation and outstanding credentials.
However, I never realized how absolutely frightening it is to visit the career fair as a job-seeker. Add to that the stress of that annoying statistic, claiming only so many graduates will be employed this time next year, as well as the vast number of students waiting to visit the same employer you had planned to speak to. It is enough to make you feel like all the preparation you did was for nothing.

Not true: you are neither helpless nor a victim of circumstance. It is a matter of re-assessing your approach. Here are some tips I picked up during my experience:

1. Focus on getting that contact information more than anything else, if you happen to be in a big crowd with other students waiting to speak behind you. Once you have it, you can email them to follow up on your conversation, and maybe ask for an interview.
2. Being selective in the employers you choose to visit is key. Plan to do some research before the career fair so that you can make a greater impression on the employer when you speak to them.
3. Be confident! And if you can’t, fake it to make it. Confidence makes you seem more appealing and attractive as a candidate. More importantly, if you can “fake” it, chances are you will be able to internalize your confidence, and embody it.

Last year, you juggled an 18-hour credit load, an E-Board position, your sorority, and still managed to have a social life. You’ve held down cool internships before and loved it! Now, you’re ready for something a little more serious—something with more responsibility, more hours, and more opportunities. Don’t you think it’s time to take on a formal internship?

This semester, I had the wonderful opportunity to intern at The Clinton Global Initiative (yes, I got to meet Former President Clinton!). Although I had to endure a pretty difficult application process as well as an incredibly large time commitment, I am really excited about everything I have been learning.

How do I find “formal” internships?
CareerNet is a great resource for NYU students! If you haven’t signed up for a CareerNet account, make sure you visit the Wasserman front desk soon. But make sure you also do a quick google search. Sometimes you can find some pretty interesting opportunities on company websites.

How do I apply to a “formal” internship?
“Formal” internship programs typically have more demanding application processes. Instead of just sending a resume and a cover letter, you might also have to write an essay and multiple letters of recommendation. Make sure you do your research well before-hand so that you aren’t rushed right before the deadline.

What should I expect from a “formal” internship?
“Formal” internships typically require a much larger time commitment. But don’t let the “20 hours a week” requirement make you run the other way. It can actually be much better. You’re in the office more frequently so you’re more available for pressing last-minute projects, as well as long-term projects. Sometimes, “formal” internships offer opportunities for continuing education in the form of a “Brown Bag Lunch Speaker Series” or Intern Events (like going to see the taping of a show). With these sorts of internships, there is typically a more set time period (a semester or year-long cycle).

Check out these awesome internship opportunities on CareerNet:
*For privacy reasons, we could not publish the titles or descriptions. But for more information, all you have to do is log onto CareerNet!
CareerNet ID: 780435, Deadline: 11/15/09
CareerNet ID: 780460, Deadline: 10/31/09
CareerNet ID: 780201, Deadline: 4/14/10

Best of Luck,
Nadine <3 :) ;P

It's such a cliché, but it's true--time goes by so fast, especially in college. I cannot believe that I am a senior that will soon have a diploma shoved in my hand, expected to get out there and do something with my life. It feels like I was dying over my second progression in Writing the Essay just a year ago, so what is this?

With graduation less than a year away, it's time to think about what I'm doing after I graduate, and I know that I'm not alone. (And by the way, it's never too early in senior year to think about post-graduation plans. Grad schools often have things due by early December.) Many of my friends and I are standing at the same fork in the road, wondering which way to go:

Graduate school or work?

I always thought that this would be a simple answer. I want to be a professor, so why wouldn't I just go to grad school? Why wait? But, as I started researching graduate schools, I realized that "what I want" is only half the equation; "what grad schools want" is the other half.

I thought that any grad school would be happy to accept recent graduates. I was a fool. If you're thinking about heading straight to grad school, learn this lesson: slow down and do some research. For certain majors and vocations, it might be a good idea to head straight to the next level of education. However, in quite a few majors (like mine, which is International Relations), the graduate schools sort of suggest that they want students with practical work experience. For example, Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs says that its average first-year student is 26-27 years old. Do the math.

It's much the same for lots of people in business. I even went to Wasserman's Grad and Professional School Fair a few weeks ago and asked International Relations representatives up-front whether they wanted students with work experience. I got one of two answers: "No, anyone is welcome to apply!" (but you could clearly tell that work experience wouldn't hurt) or a hushed "Yes, we prefer that you have work experience." It was a pretty solid response: work experience never hurts one's chances at grad school, and often will help.

"Psh, whatever," you might say. "Forget this low-life's advice and forget working. I'm going to grad school if it kills me." That's fine, too. There's no reason not to give applications a try. In fact, my plan is to apply for a few grad schools I really like and then also apply for jobs. If a grad school takes me, awesome. If a job takes me, that's just as awesome. But the key lesson here is to not put all your faith in only one option. That is the worst way to short-change yourself and your opportunities--especially in this environment, where people are all rushing to obtain a job or a space in grad school in order to ride out the recession.

Everyone will have a different strategy. And looking back, I realize that this entry is really stream-of-conciousness-ey. But hopefully this gives you an example of what another student is thinking about. (And how messy all of this is in his head.) Of course, I can't speak for everyone. So how can you figure out what to do?

Remember to check out the Wasserman Center's resources. They have job fairs all year long and can even help you talk things out. My career counselor couldn't tell me what to do, but she provided a sounding board that helped me straighten out my thoughts. And sometimes, that's all you need.

Either that, or spend another year at NYU by failing Writing the Essay. But I really don't recommend that.

I find it a bit ridiculous that I am a senior in college and I am still dealing with senioritis. Well, “senioritis”.
As a senior in high school, I knew I would get into college. It was simply a matter of applying. In the manner of many overachievers, the issue was really getting into the best college I could. In any case, I had a plan of action, and I knew how to get there.
This time around, I am filled with a type of anxiety I suspect will only increase as I get closer to graduation. Deciding it would be better after all to delay my application to law school, I will be entering the job force for the first time as a full-time employee. In many ways, I know this is the best decision for me. I am still uncertain of the type of law I would like to practice (perhaps even questioning whether or not law is a field I would like to pursue). Getting a job that allows me to develop transferable skills that I will need to use in law school (writing, analyzing, etc.) will help me make that decision, as well as allowing me to start paying off those pesky student loans. At least, those are the reasons I recite to my dad when he asks me (again and again) why I did not just apply to law school right away.
I’ll be honest; I am terrified. I am so terrified of not finding a job that I am paralyzed with inaction. It is a type of “senioritis” no one talks about, the kind you encounter when you graduate college and realize that you may not have a job lined up right after graduation. And it is only magnified by our worldwide recession, which makes me a bit resentful of future graduates who will not have to deal with it upon graduation (Class of 2013, I’m looking at you!).
Now that I’ve identified the problem, I have shifted to overdrive to combat it. Even if it’s only looking at NYU CareerNet or simply talking to someone about possible employment after graduation, it’s something. Now I know that if I do graduate without a job lined up, it won’t be because I didn’t try.

I recently had a job interview that didn't go as perfectly as I had hoped. I thought I would share my experience in a post. Here are a few of the things that I should have remembered:

Prepare you resume according to the job! (I was applying for retail and didn't list all my retail experience).

Emphasize all possible relevant skills. If you don't have a lot of relevant experience, spin your other experience so that it it seems, perhaps, more relevant than it actually is. (i.e., I am a Wasserman PIC, so I could have mentioned in the interview how being a PIC has helped to improve my customer service skills).

Reiterate your excitement about the position. Even if you do not see the position has helping you to build towards any future career goal, make sure to show how excited you are anyway.

Illustrate how your unique skills could help you in the workplace (even if these skills don't seem directly related). (i.e., if you are conversational in a foreign language, you could say that you have the ability to communicate with a specific clientele).

Always smile and look agreeable. You want to let the interviewer know that you are comfortable and enjoying yourself.

These are just several of the many things you should do during an interview. For more information, set up an appointment to meet with a counselor at the Wasserman Cetner.