Career Services CAREER 8 Kerr Administration Bldg. GUIDE Corvallis, Oregon 97331-2127 A Placement Manual® Series Publication http://oregonstate.edu/career (541) 737-4085 2008-2009 FAX (541) 737-0532 Oregon State University TABLE OF CON TENTS Career Services Doug Cochran, Director ....................... 737-4085 CAREER SERVICES Our Mission, Our Services 3 Adry Clark, Assistant Director ............ 737-0519 Career Development—A Checklist 4 Edie Blakley, Career Fair Coordinator ........................ 737-3654 SELF-EXPLORATION Career Counseling 5 Carrie Coplan, Career Counselor ........ 737-4085 Career Services Website 5 Written Resources 5 Cheryl Herring National Student Exchange Program 5 Employer Services Coordinator ........... 737-0523 International Study 5 Mike Mays, Student Interview Transferable Skills 6 and Employment Coordinator ............. 737-0520 Qualities Desired in New College Graduates 7 Barbara Harrelson, Receptionist ......... 737-4085 CAREER INFORMATION AND EXPLORATION An Internship and Job Search Checklist 8 Career Assistants: Students Summer and Part-Time Jobs 8 representing various OSU colleges Cooperative Education and Internships 8 assist with advising, workshops and special projects ................................ 737-4085 JOB AND INTERNSHIP SEARCH Information Desk .................................. 737-4085 Writing a Resume 10 Sample Resumes 11 Counselor Appointments .................... 737-4085 The Top Ten Pitfalls in Resume Writing 14 Power Verbs for Your Resume 15 Writing Cover and Thank-You Letters 16 Sample Letters 17 ADVERTISER INDEX Ten Rules of Interviewing 19 Dressing for the Interview 20 Are You Ready for a Behavioral Interview? 21 CareersAndColleges.com . Inside Questions Asked by Employers 22 Back Cover Questions to Ask Employers 23 Advice From the Experts 23 GraduatingEngineer.com . 27 Using Employer Literature for Successful Interviews 24 Skanska USA Building Inc . 7 Students With Disabilities: Acing the Interview 25 Job Search Strategies: Pros and Cons 26 U.S. Army ................ 22 About Beaver Recruiting 27 U.S. Navy ..... Inside Front Cover Tapping the Hidden Job Market 27 Network Your Way to a Job 28 West Coast Bank . 5 Career Fairs 29 Marketing Your Liberal Arts Degree 30 Evaluating an Offer of Employment 31 A Partial List of Anticipated Recruiters 32 Cover Photo—OSU Publications CAREER SERVICES OUR MISSION As a gateway to the future, we support the Location mission and goals of Oregon State University Career Services is located on the lower level of the through centralized services that provide skills and Kerr Administration Building. We are open from knowledge to develop career life-planning processes. 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. We stimulate a life-long attitude of inquiry, open- In ad di tion, our web page provides information at any ness, and social responsibility through partnerships time on available services, jobs, and employers. You with students, alumni, the academic community, and can access our page at: http://oregonstate.edu/career. employers. OUR SERVICES Career Seminars Career Fairs Workshops are offered frequently on topics helpful Career Services invites representatives from govern- to students and alumni in the job search process. Work- ment, private, public and non-profit organizations to shops include: come to campus and provide in for ma tion about their • Cover Letter and Resume Writing: Tips on business, possible employment needs and qualifications resume and cover letter prep a ra tion. to students. University-wide and Engineering Career • Interview Preparation: How to prepare for Fairs offer great opportunities for students and alumni to interviews. network with employers and explore job, internship, and • Job Search Strategies: How to organize an ef fi­ career possibilities. cient employment search, including Internet use. • Opportunities in Cooperative Education and Peace Corps In tern ships: The types and benefits of co-ops Career Services can connect you with a Peace Corps and internships while you are in college. representative to discuss international Peace Corps • Networking and Dining Etiquette: Learn effective networking skills, proper table manners and how op por tu ni ties in education, business, environment, agri- to make a great impression on potential employers. culture, health and nutrition, forestry, and community • Other related topics of interest to students and development. alumni are also addressed in workshops. On-Campus Recruiting and Interviewing Career Counseling Career Services acts as a recruiting and interviewing Appointments are available with career counselors center for industrial firms, government agencies, school for individual help in your ca reer search. Counselors districts, and other employers. During each academic are also available during drop-in time for brief consul- year, hundreds of organizations recruit prospective tations. Practice or mock interviews are available with employees through our office. Interviews are for Career Services counselors and may be videotaped. full-time employment, cooperative education and The “mock” interviews are reflective of actual inter- internships, and summer employment. Peace Corps views and are designed to provide feedback which can improve interviewing skills. Career assessments such as candidates are also interviewed in Career Services. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or Strong Interest Inventory The recruiting year begins in October of each are also available for a small fee to help students learn year and continues through the following May. about themselves in their career development process. Undergraduate and graduate students in an OSU degree-granting program and OSU alumni may Reference Library participate in campus interviews. A recruiting schedule Career Services maintains a library of books and of company visits for the current term is available via other materials re lat ed to career op por tu ni ties and Career Services’ home page. It is updated frequently. the job search. Other ref er ence materials include Our on-line recruiting system (Beaver JobNet) allows sample resumes and writing aids; career fields and students registered with Career Services to schedule organization descriptions; and job listings in various fields. Salary information, based on national surveys, interviews over the web. Suggestion: Visit our web is also available. Employers consistently remark that page regularly to get up-to-date information, addi- researching the company is paramount in making a tions, and changes of organizations participating in good first impression in the interview. recruitment—it changes frequently! http://oregonstate.edu/career 3 CAREER SERVICES—continued Student Employment Discover Career Services coordinates the posting of student The career guidance and information system, jobs, including on-campus jobs, off-campus jobs, Discover, is available for student use. This system Federal Work Study jobs, summer jobs and internships, allows students to complete an interest, values, and as well as full-time and career opportunities. Beaver skills inventory and to research occupational and JobNet is the web-based medium for these postings, educational offerings. as well as other events related to employment, making this information available to students and alumni from any location at any time. Employers post directly to the International Student Employment web; students access the jobs there and apply directly Information on regulations and procedures for prac- to the employer. Career Services also provides the tical training is available from International Programs, Student Employment Manual as the sole reference 444 Snell Hall. International Programs holds weekly for the conduct of student employment at Oregon sessions on practical training to advise students on the State University. Visit: http://oregonstate.edu/career. procedures, their opportunities and their responsibili- See page 27 for more information about Beaver JobNet. ties. Registration for a session is made through their receptionist at 737-3006. Resume Match When students and alumni register with Career Services and publish their electronic resumes, their Other Services in the Center: resumes become part of a searchable database. Career • Computers with Internet access and Discover. Services allows employers access to search the database for potential candidates. The employer may then • Computer lab. con tact those students directly. • Road Trip Nation information. CAREER DEVELOPMENT—A CHECKLIST Self-Exploration Career Information and Exploration q Meet with a Career Counselor q Research using Discover computer program q Take career assessments such as the q Review literature in Career Services Resource Strong Interest Inventory or Myers- Library Briggs Type Indicator q Conduct informational interviews q Use the Discover computer program q Join clubs and activities, seeking leadership roles q Take ALS 114 (Career Decision q Attend lectures of campus speakers Making course) q Talk with your professors q Spend time reflecting on preferences q Read/subscribe to books/periodicals in your and experiences fields of interest q Use assessment exercises in career q Talk to friends, family and alumni books and on web sites q Participate in an internship q Participate in National Student q Do volunteer work Exchange and/or study overseas q Get part-time/seasonal/full-time work q Go on company visits and job shadow Job and Internship Search q Attend Resume, Interview and Job Search workshops q