Job Search and Online Resume Tips

Some people see the title Job Search and think, "Well, that's for seniors." I disagree. People of all ages engage in job searches everyday. A 16 year old may be searching for his first job to save up for a new car. A college freshman may need a job to pay for movies, concerts, and off-campus food. The job search is not only for college seniors looking for a paycheck after graduation. Besides, I hope people understand that jobs (even as college freshmen) should pertain to their future careers in some way. For example, you may want to be a social worker. In that field you will work with kids and adults, so a good job in the meantime would be one in which you interact with many people everyday to build communication skills.

Now there are two ways to search for a job: actively or passively. Although passively searching by posting an online resume is a good way to attract attention, actively job searching will increase possibilities. Networking is a vital part of the active search. This allows for inside knowledge of openings. Talk to your friends, family, past and current colleagues, and alumni through Career Connection to actively get your availability known. Practice in clubs, internships and volunteer positions in order to increase your network. Take advantage of Career Services too: have your resume reviewed, attend job fairs and peruse JobShop.

If you still want to post your resume online while actively searching, here are some safety tips:

Step One: Research job sites and choose the one that best fits your needs.

First of all, don't post on every job site in hopes that more people will see your resume. This will look desperate and/or indecisive. It will also increase the chance for identity theft. The higher number of times you put your information on the Internet for anybody to see, the higher the chance that someone will use that information in a negative way. Besides, some sites are specifically catered towards certain career areas. Make sure you know what kind of employers will be looking at your resume. If you plan to be a teacher, you probably wouldn't want to post your resume on an automotive technicians site.

Next, make sure to read privacy policies. Sites that offer to "blast" or sell your resume should immediately send up red flags in your mind. These types of sites should be crossed off your list of potentials. ny sites that ask for social security numbers or bank information can be ruled out as well. Furthermore, don't trust a site that asks for your information prior to letting you looking at possible job openings.

Step Two: Replace convenience with safety.

Create a new email address that is professional, but not connected to personal information. For example, AOL users have profiles including their personal information, whereas Hotmail or Gmail do not. This not only helps to protect your identity (a theme I will constantly revisit), it may also prevent employers from learning too much about you, such as political views, marital status or sexual orientation.

Remove any contact information other than your email address. This may be inconvenient for the employer, but safety is more important and will hopefully be seen as cautious, not careless.

If you are currently employed, but searching for something new, you might also want to modify your employment history. For example, tweak your exisiting job title and place of employment to be more generic: "major cable provider" instead of Time Warner Cable. This will protect your current job and, again, protect from identity theft.

If right now you're thinking that these steps seem unnecessary, consider that although emploers have to pay some sites to see your resume, once it is downloaded onto their computers, they can do whatever they want with it. This should not deter you from using online resume sites because they could be phenomenal for your job search; however, it is something people don't always think about.

Step Three: Regulate your resume over time.

Update your resume biweekly. This will ensure that it continues to show up at the top of the list. Furthermore, if you have no responses after two months, the site is clearly not beneficial for you and different site may yield better results. (Or, perhaps your career field may not advertise openings online as these positions are mostly technology-based.)

Finally, delete all resumes you have posted online when your job search is over. Your new employer would not be happy if he/she say your resume still attracting offers online!

Brockport Alum to Visit Campus for a Poetry Reading

Mike Dockins,
author of Slouching in the Path of a Comet,
will be reading his work at
8:00pm in the NY Room of Cooper Hall tonight!

Since he graduated in 1999, Dockins continued his education at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst to receive his master's in English/Creative Writing in 2002. He is now working towards his doctorate at Georgia State University.

His poems are littered with scientific references - dating back to his brief stint studying Geology at SUNY Albany - and allusions to work by famous authors, such as Anne Sexton's "la la la."

Copies of his book are available at the campus book store. Buy now to get them signed by the author tonight.

Public Speaking

Everybody has to do it. You might as well get used to it. Practice makes perfect.

If you're one of those people who absolutely adores being in the spotlight, you should have no problem. Nonetheless, get some practice speaking in a professional manner to peers, professors, and supervisors. You may be a whiz at giving impromptu speeches around the dinner table with your family and friends, but speaking in front of 30 peers could be another story altogether.

For those of you who are shy or have never spoken in front of a group, here are a few tips to quell your fears:

Practice! Practice! Practice!

The better you know the material, the more comfortable you will be. If you are confident in your knowledge of the topic, you will feel more prepared in general.

Plus, you will be even more prepared for a technology crisis. For instance, say you had prepared a fantastic power point presentation with video clips, hyperlinks, pictures, and all those bonuses on top of your key points. What would you do if the technology in the classroom, workshop, or conference area was not working properly? Would you be able to give the speech anyway? I bet a lot of you are thinking, "No way!" My advice to know your material extends to video clips and hyperlinks. If you know the message that the video conveys, you can sidestep the technology crunch and provide that information without it! Other speakers may find themselves clueless without technology, but you will be prepared.

Dress appropriately.

First of all, dress professionally. If you're speaking to work colleagues, peers, professors, or anybody in a professional atmosphere, you should dress in business professional unless told otherwise. For information on what "business professional" versus "business casual" entails, please visit the Career Services website: www.brockport.edu/career.

Secondly, you may think that weather won't play a role in the way you dress for this upcoming presentation. But, keep in mind, it is winter. Heaters will be blasting. Or, if it's summer, air conditioners will be blasting. If you're unsure (as most of us are) how the temperature will be in the room, dress in layers. Jackets can be taken off. Sweaters can be unzipped. Try to do these things prior to the speech however, otherwise you may come across as nervous or simply unprepared.

Pay attention to your body language.

Are you a hair flicker? Do you sway from side to side or switch legs a lot? Do you sometimes realize your hands and arms are flailing about in an excited windmill of gestures? Stop that.

Contain your movement. The more you sway, the more the audience has to look around to follow along. If you like to walk around, only do so when necessary for the presentation and always practice first. You wouldn't want to be one of those people who stands in front of the projector failing to realize that you're blocking your beautiful power point slide.

Don't take my advice to mean that you cannot move or use hand gestures in any way, shape, or form. In fact, your audience will appreciate your excitement if you do so. Don't be a boring Billy who stares at his note cards without moving an inch the entire speech. But, don't be over-animated to the point where people think you're doing a dance - unless a dance would be appropriate to your presentation. To sum up, use appropriate hand gestures and movement.

Look at your audience.

Eye contact is crucial to a speech. First of all, it shows you're prepared and well-informed on your topic. Secondly, it helps promote persuasion. You will seem more confident. If you're attempting to make eye contact, but accidentally goof up your sentence, do not apologize. Simply correct the mistake and continue with your speech. Occasionally, you should make direct eye contact with an audience member. This will help that person and others feel more involved in the discussion.

Speak clearly and with conviction.

Pauses are not a bad thing if used correctly. A pause may be used to emphasize a particularly important piece of information or to convey specific emotions. A pause can also be used to help transition to a new topic. Please, do not insert "um" or "like" in pauses. This will make you sound unprepared, nervous or simply uninformed. Remember: you want to come across as knowledgeable as possible about your topic.

If your audience can't hear you, the speech is pointless. If your audience can't understand you, the speech is pointless. Speak clearly. Don't ramble. Let your audience process your information.

Use conviction as a tool. If you believe what you're saying, you will be able to persuade your audience much more effectively.

Humor...

A lot of people offer the advice that humor is important in speeches. I agree, but please be appropriate. Remember that humor is subjective. What you find funny may not be to another person. Run your jokes by a friend or family member first if you're unsure. This will test the appropriateness and gauge a response. Overall, humor does decrease the boring factor. You wouldn't want people falling asleep.

I hope this advice helps allay your reservations about public speaking. I know I've always felt comfortable speaking in front of a crowd; that is, I was never extremely nervous about public speaking. However, that doesn't mean I'm good at it. Everybody can use tips on this subject, so please soak up the information above and put it to good use!

Getting Up Early Won't Kill You

I am not a morning person, but for some reason - possibly the pile of bills on my kitchen counter - I scheduled myself to work everyday of the week at 9 am. Now, that doesn't sound extremely early, but think about all the preparation necessary to get to work by then.

I have to set my alarm for 6 am. It beeps every 9 minutes until 6:54 when I finally get up. I know that I get up every morning at 6:54 because I know that if I don't, my alarm clock will also go into sleep mode or snooze. Basically, my alarm clock turns itself off because I've tuckered it out by making it ring every 9 minutes for an hour. So by the time I finally roll out of bed, I'm extremely annoyed by the beeping machine on my nightstand for its energetic attempt to wake me up and its defeat after just one hour.

I stumble around my room looking for clothes to wear that day. Usually, my boyfriend leaves me a note telling me what the weather is like so I can dress appropriately. He knows I have no patience in the morning to wait for RNews to tell me the weather on the 9's. (For those of you who don't watch this channel, RNews always shows the weather at the end of every 10 minutes: 7:39, 7:49, 7:59, etc.)

So, I'm ready to shower. The time is now 7:20.

I get out of the shower, get dressed, and brush my hair. Finally, I have time to sit down and eat breakfast while reading a book. This lasts for less than 2 minutes because my kitten comes zipping into the living room - under one couch, up onto the coffee table and landing in my cereal bowl. He doesn't try to be a menace; he's just really good at it. After cleaning up the mess of milk and Cheerios, I have to finish getting ready: brush teeth, do makeup, clean litter box, feed and water kitten, find cell phone, pack school bag, put on shoes, put on coat, put on gloves, pet kitten, open door and leave.

Finally, I'm out the door and not a second too late; it's 8:20. (In the Fall, Spring and Summer, I can leave at 8:30, but in the winter I have to leave earlier to scrape the ice and snow off my Camry.) I only live 5 minutes from campus, but any commuter knows that finding a parking spot is near impossible if you don't get there very early. Either I can leave at 8:30 am everyday and easily find a spot, or I can leave at 10 of 9 and circle the lots, stalking people until I can steal their parking spaces.

By the time I get to work at 9 am, I've already been awake for 2 hours. I am not a morning person. But, I'm learning to be. This morning, unlike every other morning since the beginning of the semester, I turned my alarm clock off and got out of bed at - drum roll please - 6:30! I had time to read and eat breakfast before my kitten woke up. I had time to watch RNews. I had time to relax before going to work.

For those readers who are just as reluctant as me to get up early, I suggest you make the effort like I did. Someday, you will want/need to enter the real world. Be prepared to to do so at 8am, not noon. Get used to waking up early. Take 8am classes, schedule an internship or job as early as possible, or exercise before class. Whatever way you choose to do it, practice makes perfect!