What to do With Your Old Course Syllabi

How does the saying go? Time flies when you're having fun, right? Well, I think time flies either way because one of my biggest problems is procrastination. I've been known to say, "Oh, I have weeks until that paper is due" and then I'm scrambling to finish researching, writing and editing that same paper by the deadline. I was much worse about this as an undergraduate though.

One nice thing about being a graduate student is that I've already completed so much research (and printed most of it out, too) that I can just reach over to my filing cabinet rather than running to the library. Yes, I'm a nerd who keeps all of my old research organized in a filing cabinet, but it comes in handy! My suggestion is that others pick up this dorky habit as well. In addition, students should always keep syllabi, handouts, notes and essays from previous courses. These will definitely come in handy. I don't mean that you should re-use a paper or anything! That'd be plagiarism. But, I do think that students can and should use information from old classes as a reference or starting point for current projects. The Works Cited page of my old papers really helps point me in the right direction to find pertinent research. Of course, looking at a published article's bibliography is even more helpful. Plus, if you plan to attend graduate school, you may be teaching some of those lessons in the future!

If not as a reference or starting point, why else should people keep their old class notes and whatnot? Well, what if you want or have to transfer to a new college? The syllabi from the classes you took are extremely important to this process. The new college will peruse the syllabus for each class and decide whether the topics discussed in that course matches the necessary curriculum. If so, the class is accepted as transfer credit. Without the syllabi though, the new college won't know if any of the classes match up.

Do you know how to safely post a resume online?

Although posting an online résumé is a good way to attract attention, actively job searching will increase your 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 promote your availability. Participate in clubs, internships, and volunteer positions in order to increase your network. Take advantage of Career Services: have your résumé reviewed, attend job fairs, and peruse JobShop.

If you still want to post your résumé 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 résumé. This will look desperate and/or indecisive. Besides, some sites are geared specifically toward certain fields. Next, make sure to read privacy policies; sites that offer to “blast” or sell your résumé should immediately be crossed off your list of potentials. Any 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 information prior to looking at the possible job openings.

Step Two: Replace convenience with safety.
Create a new e-mail address that is professional, but not connected to personal information. For example, AOL users have profiles including their personal information, whereas Hotmail or Yahoo do not. This not only helps to protect your identity, it may also prevent the employers from learning too much about you, such as political or religious views. Also, remove any other contact information before posting. This may be inconvenient for the employer, but safety is more important and will hopefully be seen as cautious rather than careless. If you are currently employed but searching for something new, you might also modify your employment history. For example, tweak your existing 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 employers have to pay some sites to see your résumé, once it is downloaded onto their computers, they can do whatever they want with it. This should not deter you from using online résumé sites because they could be phenomenal for your job search; however, it is important to know and something people don’t always think about.

Step Three: Regulate your résumé over time.
Update your résumé 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 a 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 résumés you have posted online when your job search is over. Your new employer would not be happy if they saw your résumé still attracting offers online!

Job Fair Nerves

I had never attended a job fair until I worked for Career Services.

I was a junior when I started working here, but I had already completed an internship and found jobs through networking – I guess I didn’t realize how much help the office would have been until after I learned about all of its services.

Anyway, the job fair was approaching and I was scheduled to work it. I had been helping with the preparations – creating signs, marketing, etc. – but I still couldn’t prepare properly because it was unknown to me, other. I had never experienced anything like it and therefore had no idea what to expect.

I realized that a lot of other students might feel this way so I decided to post these pictures of previous job fairs we’ve held. This way, students can see both the layout and proper attire in an effort to be better prepared. There are also workshops on the Career Services website that provide tips for attending job fairs.

Daily Quote Promotes Thought

Yesterday's Daily Quote (found in the right toolbar) was from Francis Bacon:

"By far the best proof is experience"

Bacon's succinct statement is pretty much the Career Services motto. We strive to let our students in on the secret that the more experience you have in your given career field, the better odds are that you'll find a job! Okay, so it's not a secret, but it seems that a lot of our students either don't know this or simply disregard it.

Here are two ways to get career-related experience while going to college:

1. Internships
2. Student Employment

Internships are great because they give you hands-on experience in your career field. Unfortunately, internships are usually unpaid. That's why student employment is another, maybe more feasible, option. If the job closely relates to your career, it'll be a great experience. If the job doesn't relate closely to your career, it'll still be a good experience but may need more effort to market it to future employers. Either way, internships and student employment are key to gaining the professional experience necessary to land a job in your preferred career field some day.

How do you go about finding these opportunities? Well, Career Services has a multiple ways to help:

• JobShop - This is an online database advertising on-campus employment (both work study and non-work study), off-campus employment, internships, and career positions. Click on the job titles to read the job descriptions, then contact the employers to apply!
  
• Optimal Resume - Once you find a job or internship of interest, this online resume builder can help format your previous work experience. It provides sample resumes, examples for each section of the resume, and the ability to research what employers look for in specific career fields.
• Career Counselors - During drop-in hours, every Monday through Friday from noon to 2pm, a career advisor is available to help students. These same professionals are also available for appointments during the week. If students are unable to come to campus for whatever reason, they can email their resumes to csresume@brockport.edu. A professional will send it back with comments and suggestions.
  
• Events! - Check out the Career Services calendar to find out about upcoming events. For example, we have a Jobs & Internship Fair next week on Wednesday, 11/4. Come prepared with a resume!

Grad Studies

Phew. I was accepted, finally, into the Brockport graduate program for English at the start of this semester. In the Spring, I was taking classes as a non-matriculated student (simply meaning I wasn't formally admitted into the program yet) because I didn't want to take a semester off between my undergraduate work and graduate work. Non-matriculation is tricky though, let me tell you! I couldn't take on a graduate assistantship or receive financial aid, except from a private bank. It was frustrating, but worth the wait to gain admission into the program. Now I'm working towards my Master's with nine credits tucked under my belt. Hopefully I'll keep up the good momentum I've started - nine credits per semester is ambitious. The only trouble I'm having now is trying to decide what to focus on. I'm leaning towards Medieval British Literature or at least Linguistics. However, because I plan on moving to Alaska (crazy, I know) at the beginning of 2011, I want to finish my Master's before then. This means I need to choose a focus quickly and take all of the courses necessary as soon as possible. The crazyness never ends.

While this is my personal graduate studies story, other people have been going through similar things in their own fields. I'm finding that the best way to learn how to navigate the graduate program here at Brockport is to ask other grad students who have already made these decisions. They have so many pointers! Just chatting before class is really helping me. It's scary to think that these people will be my professional colleagues in just a few years, but I'm happy to be networking with them now when I have the chance.

What about the decisions you have to make BEFORE coming to graduate school? Which program do you choose? What school do you choose? How do you finance it? There's an easy way to find these things out: the Graduate School Fair. On Wednesday, October 21st Career Services has scheduled representatives from about 75 graduate schools to meet in the Union Ballroom. They'll be there to answer questions about their colleges, graduate programs, etc. It'll give you a chance to compare 75 colleges at once! This is a great start for students early in the planning process, but it's also a great opportunity for students who already know which graduate school they want to attend. Find out what applicants need to stand out. If you have any questions, call 395-2159 to learn more about the event. Or, stop by to pick up a list of prospective graduate schools that will be attending!