ASK

Image courtesy of http://ask.depaul.edu.

If you’re wondering whether you would actually be interested in a prospective career, you might be looking for someone from that field to talk to. Not only would it give you a better idea of what the career would be like, but it might also be a good way to network and get your name out.

Alumni Sharing Knowledge (ASK) is DePaul’s network to allow you to do just that. There are nearly 1,000 volunteer mentors that are part of the program. Whether you’re from the College of Communication, Commerce, or LA&S; or whether you’re looking for the corporate or private sector, there are professionals available to aid you as you are making career decisions.

A couple of the services the ASK program provides are job test drives and resume advice. The test drives are available around the country from California to Florida to Chicago’s surrounding suburbs and give you a chance to shadow for a day-in-the-life-of experience.

You can also schedule a practice interview with an ASK mentor in your prospective field. These interviews usually take about an hour and give you valuable time to discuss details of careers, resume tips, and interview tips.

To set up a practice interview or job test drive through ASK, you can call their office at (312) 362-8282 or contact them via e-mail at ask@depaul.edu.

Careers in nonprofits

If you’ve ever thought about a career in the nonprofit sector (or would like to consider the possibility and want to find out more about them), mark your calendar for this event. Next quarter, DePaul is teaming up with Idealist.org for a Nonprofit Job and Internship Fair.

Idealist.org is the online project in conjunction with Action Without Borders, a nonprofit organization that functions in the United States and Argentina. On the site, Idealist.org identifies itself as a place “where people and organizations can exchange resources and ideas, locate opportunities and supporters, and take steps toward building a world where all people can lead free and dignified lives.”

This year, DePaul is one of only six schools in the nation where Idealist will be hosting career fairs. Nonprofit employers will be at the fair recruiting for full-time positions, internships, and volunteers. If you’re looking to get some service on your resume, take advantage of the opportunity and get involved with one of the organizations. The event will be held on Tuesday, May 19 between 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. in the Student Center on the Lincoln Park campus.

Meet our Peer Career Advisors

The Career Center has a small team of Peer Career Advisors that are available for your consultation during office hours at both the Lincoln Park and Loop campuses. If you feel like you’d rather talk and relate to someone your own age, these students are experts of the Career Center’s services and how you can optimize them while here at DePaul.

Don’t feel like leaving your room? It doesn’t matter, if you’ve got an internet connection. The peer advisors are available by phone at (312) 362-5415. Or you can contact them through instant messaging (on AIM and Yahoo! under the username dpucareercenter and on MSN under the username career_center@depaul.edu). OR you can contact them by e-mail at peercareeradvisor@depaul.edu.

About a week ago, I instant messaged the peer advisors over AIM to get some advice. I got a response within one minute (impressive, considering sometimes even my best of friends don’t respond that fast…). The answer was thorough and the advisor was friendly, even over the internet.

These students know all about DePaul’s recruiting, campus employment, job search, resumes, interviews, and graduate school search. So if you’ve got a quick question about careers, considering talking things over with them.

Note: I borrowed this image from DePaul’s Career Center website.

DePaul's Two Cents

JOUR 363 isn’t the only source of students blogging here at DePaul. The Career Center has a student-run blog titled My Two Cents. You may have seen their promotional posters around campus as of late, but they’ve actually been posting since March of 2008.

The student writers cover topics such as the state of the economy, tips for financial fitness, job hunting, pending graduation and debt negotiation. There are also several “guest blogs” from employees here at DePaul who’ve got career information to share.

The concept of a by students, for students informational blog is becoming a great way for students to support and give advice to each other, and I think our fellow bloggers are doing a pretty good job of providing that. I would like to see a little more content on the site, but I think they’re testing out the waters of blogging like our Online Journalism class is.

You can check out My Two Cents here.

Winter Job Fair tips from the Career Center

Here are some tips for the Winter Job and Internship Fair from Natalie Guerrero, Event Manager at DePaul's Career Center.

Check out the full list of employers who will be at the fair - there are 90 of them as of today! A lot of the companies recruiting are looking for students from all majors.

This Thursday, there is a free "How to Work a Job and Internship Fair" workshop from 3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. in SAC Room 151. Pretty self-explanatory title, and it could be some useful knowledge to gain.

Just as a reminder, the fair is one week away - Tuesday, February 17 from 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. in the Lincoln Park Campus Student Center. You can pre-register through eRecruiting or register onsite in Room 120. Dress professionally and bring plenty of resumes.

Creative interning

**Note: Back post from 2/1/09.

With the condition of the job market, it’s easy to get terrified of impending graduation. Are you going to be able to find a job? Is your field looking to fill entry-level positions? The truth that we have to face is that the time it takes to find a fitting job is growing a little bit longer. It’s time to get creative.

For example, you might want to consider a postgraduation internship. More and more companies are offering internship programs to graduates, which are geared toward those with the classroom education but no on-job experience. Maybe the field you’re seeking to go into isn’t full of internship opportunities, and it has left your resume lacking. A postgraduation internship might be a great opportunity to get your feet wet in your particular desired field.

Another option? Try creating your own internship. If there’s an organization that you want to work for and they don’t have any internship positions posted, why not try to get a hold of someone working there and suggest one? The initiative you take in “creating” an internship could serve you in two ways:

1) You’re showing the organization that you have a sincere interest in working for them in the future.
2) You’re showing the organization that you’re willing to learn the ins and outs before you try diving in for a career.

Don’t get discouraged with the struggling economy – meet the challenges of it and get creative.

Social media networking

I know I don’t have to tell you because you’ve heard it a million times, but I suppose it bears repeating – you have to network to get a job! But knowing someone (or knowing someone who knows someone) is often the most important part of being able to find a job. Networking can potentially be a socially awkward situation (I don’t know about you, but I tend to feel so strange at those mixers), not to mention a forced face-to-face interaction.

With all of this social media waiting at your fingertips and the limited number of jobs out there, it’s time to put them to use for yourself. Sometimes the easiest people to get a hold of are fellow alumni – if nothing else, you have your alma mater in common which helps to break the ice. Plus there’s power in numbers; there are over 130,000 in the alumni community.

DePaul’s Alumni Association has their own Facebook page – and there are over 3,000 fans of it. There’s a launching point.

Not so keen on mixing business with Facebook pleasure yet? Try the more professional-geared LinkedIn, which also has a page devoted to the Alumni Association.

I’ll have more on networking with alumni in upcoming posts.