Copy
There's more to campus than FHP!  Each week we highlight a different campus resource you should know about.
View this email in your browser

Career services, already? I just got here.

...yes, already. It's never too early to think about your career plans or get a resume together.

Don't take this the wrong way: we're excited to have you at ISU, but we're even more excited for you to graduate and go off and get a job. In the meantime, we have 4-5 years of awesomeness planned for you on campus, but the ultimate goal is for you to graduate and move on to a job, program, or graduate/professional school that you're passionate about. Done correctly, the undergraduate experience at Iowa State should prepare you to be very competitive for life after college (and Honors will make you VERY VERY competitive), but it's important to think continuously about the choices you make - starting to think about building your resume and exploring career skills as a senior is too late.

Career fair season begins tomorrow, and you'll definitely notice the uptick in people running around campus in suits panicking about resumes. Each college at ISU has its own career services department, and they help with everything from interview prep to resume workshops. There is a link to the career services website below - definitely go through it, especially because there's a lot of different types of fairs this year, including virtual options.

**If you have no idea if you are in the right major or on the right career path, we'd be happy to help with that too! Talk to an academic advisor, anyone in Honors, or check out Career Counseling (their info is below as well).

The Writing and Media Center can help you with your resume or your cover letter(s)
Find your college's career service office information HERE!
One of your classes may require you to attend a career fair this fall, especially now that some are virtual ... check the registration requirements, do some company research, and iron (at least the top half if you're doing virtual) your clothes and smile, because company reps will remember you years later!

What/where is Career Counseling?

Career Counseling is an offshoot of Student Counseling Services and is a good place to start if you have absolutely NO IDEA what career plan you'd like to pursue, or if you've been jumping between majors with little success. CES offers several services very valuable for first-year students: You can find Career Counseling on the third floor of the Student Services Building across from Friley Hall.

Advice from an Honors Alum:

Mason Ohnemus, Agricultural Business & Finance '21
While getting wrapped up in the fun of college, students often lose focus of the “goal” of college. College, in my opinion, serves the purpose of equipping individuals with skills, experiences, and talents to ensure that they are more prepared for the workplace after college. Having fun and doing well in class is essential, but consistently taking steps to ensure job security after college tops all others for me. These steps come in many forms, such as chatting with professors, attending networking events, and my favorite, career fairs. This writeup serves as a few comments, as well as some tips that I’ve found useful in the past regarding career fair. The overarching themes that I will highlight in this are CONFIDENCE, INDIVIDUALITY, and PREPARATION.
I am a firm believer that confidence, individuality, and preparation are the biggest contributors to a successful career fair. To begin, let's start with confidence. When choosing groups for a final project in one of your courses, you're likely to pick a confident classmate who seems to know what they're doing. The same goes for career fair, where companies and organizations are choosing players for their team, and their first pick will always be someone who appears to be confident about themselves. As the saying goes, confidence is key. As for the second term, individuality is the most important thing a person can have, even in the job market. An employer is looking for a student that stands out, whether that is having a personality trait, a skill, a pitch or an experience that few other students possess. In a mountain of resumes and applicants, it’s extremely easy to be forgotten. Having individuality when interacting with the recruiter is one of the easiest ways to counteract that. Lastly, our favorite part, preparation. I understand that it’s easy to convince oneself that after three times reciting an elevator speech before walking up to the recruiter will land you the job, but it’s not near enough. My favorite methods of preparation are to attend resume workshops, research each company in depth (just knowing their name and what they do is NOT enough), and spend hours answering “most popular interview questions” in the days leading up to career fair. I understand that it’s awkward, stressful, and overwhelming, but the career fair can be extremely beneficial. I believe that if you’re confident, have individuality, and prepare well, anyone can be successful at career fair.

Why you need a resume, NOW:

--> If you don't keep track of your involvement (clubs, organizations, scholarships, research), you won't remember it later when you're applying for jobs and internships.
--> Even on-campus jobs (and scholarships!) need resumes and if you don't have one, you won't be considered.
--> Maintaining a resume helps guide you...don't have any info for the "leadership experience" category? That tells you that you need to seek some out. A resume helps keep you on track to achieving your goals.
Copyright © 2021 Iowa State University Honors Program, All rights reserved.


unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences 

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp