Category Archives: Uncategorized

Volunteering: Benefits and Suggestions

Posted on by | Leave a reply

Posted by Bobbi Meyer, Career Services Graduate Assistant

Volunteering is a powerful act that benefits not only those being served, but those providing the service.  As you mold a career identity and prepare yourself for life after college, volunteering can play a key in role in your development.  This post will help you explore the world of volunteerism through a closer look at the benefits of volunteering, advice on choosing an appropriate opportunity, and suggestions for where to start.

The benefits of volunteering are many.  A sense of achievement and worth are but two valuable personal benefits.  From the lens of Career Services, there are also professional benefits of volunteering.  Participating in a volunteer experience:

  • assists you in learning and developing new skills.  Employers are looking to hire people who are adaptable and bring with them a myriad of transferable skills from past experiences.
  • allows you to explore career options.  Deciding on a job path that is right for you can be complicated.  Volunteering is a great way to try out many types of careers.
  • betters your interpersonal skills. Through volunteering, you’ll better understand people and their needs, you’ll learn how to work with and motivate others, and you may have the opportunity to learn how to deal with a difficult situation.
  • connects you with a network of people in your field. The people you meet while volunteering may become mentors, future references, or the link you need to find a future job.

Once you have made the decision to volunteer, it is important be intentional about the type of opportunity you seek.  You should first consider your goals, motivations, and values; think about how you would like the experience to better prepare you for your future ambitions.  You must also be realistic with yourself and the skills you currently have, seeking out an organization that matches your strengths and interests.  Next, you should decide on the amount of time you are able to give to the experience, including the number of hours each week and the duration of time you are hoping to spend (i.e. one month, one term, one year, etc.).  When thinking about time, also consider what days of the week work best and what times during those days.  Once you are ready to voice your interest to a volunteer coordinator, be honest about the type of experience you are hoping for, but also listen with an open mind.

Oregon State University houses an office to specifically aid students in finding the perfect volunteer opportunity.  The Community Service Center’s website offers links to volunteer opportunities, hosts events to recruit volunteers, and puts on special projects of their own.  There is also a Nonprofit & Volunteer Expo coming up on January 20th where a variety of nonprofits will be present and you can check out their volunteer opportunities. I encourage you to engage in a volunteer experience; you’ll soon find how powerful your work can be.



InterviewStream – A great tool for preparing for the JOB INTERVIEW!

Posted on by | 1 Reply

Posted by Silver Trujillo, Career Services Assistant

If you’re nervous about an upcoming interview a little practice would go a long way in ensuring it will be successful. There are many ways to practice for an interview; it could be as simple as standing in front of the mirror and interviewing yourself or doing a mock interview with another person. However, if you feel that you need someone to ask you questions or don’t have time to make it down to our office to meet with someone then another great option would be InterviewStream. InterviewStream is an online interactive interview process where you can tailor the practice interview to whatever way you see fit.

In order to start InterviewStream you are going to need a computer with a webcam, microphone, and speakers. If you do not have any of these you are more than welcome to use our interview room to conduct your mock interview. After setting it all up you will pick and choose what kind of interview you would like. There are general interview questions that are asked by a prerecorded person and there are also questions that are more specific to different fields to choose from. After picking the questions that you would like, you are ready to start the interview. The prerecorded interviewer will ask you the questions chosen and the webcam will start recording you as you answer them. After answering questions you can review the video of your responses and look for anything that you may need to improve on. In InterviewStream there are also helpful expert tips, tutorials, interview webinars, places to schedule interviews, links to helpful resources and much more.

This process is a perfect way to conduct an interview in a professional manner while at the same time being able to see yourself as you would answer the questions in your real interview. InterviewStream is a fun new interactive tool that will prepare you for an interview and put you above the competition. If you would like to learn more about InterviewStream feel free to contact Career Services for more information at 541-737-4085.

Informational Interviewing

Posted on by | 1 Reply

Posted by Linsey Stripling, Career Services Assistant

Overview

If utilized, informational interviewing is one of the most valuable sources of occupational information. An Informational Interview is an informal conversation with someone working in your area of interest who will give you information and advice based on the questions you ask.

Benefits

  • Get first hand, relevant information about the realities of working within a particular field, industry or position.
  • Find out about career paths that you might not have know existed
  • Get tips about how to prepare for and enter a given career
  • Improve your communication skills and confidence when it comes to speaking with professionals
  • Initiate a professional relationship and expand your network of contacts in your career field of interest
  • Learn how professionals have balanced work and their other life priorities

Six Steps for Informational Interviewing

1) Research Career Fields

  • Do initial research on the career field or specific employer you are interested in

2) Identify people to interview

  • Pursue your own contacts then branch out to organizations within your interest area

3) Prepare for the interview

  • Develop as short (15-30 second) overview of yourself, including your reasons for contacting this person, as a way to introduce yourself and define the context of the meeting

4) Initiate contact

  • Contact the person by phone, mention how you got their name and what it is exactly that you are looking for from them

5) Conduct the informational interview

  • Be prepared, dress appropriately, arrive on time and be ready to direct the interview

6) Follow up

  • Send a thank you not within 1-2 days to express your appreciations for the time and information they provided you.

Overview of Beaver JobNet

Posted on by | Leave a reply

Posted by Fernando Ramirez

Beaver JobNet is an online job database that allows OSU students to search for jobs and internships, upload a resume for employers to see, search for employers recruiting on campus, and learn about on-campus events such as Career Fairs.

The easiest way to access Beaver JobNet is via the Career Services website. On the right-hand side you will see the Beaver JobNet login section. Click “Student Login” and login using your ONID username and password. If it’s your first time logging in, you will be asked to complete a short profile. Once you’ve completed that, you’ll have full access to Beaver JobNet.

The homepage on Beaver JobNet has a list of shortcuts on the right-hand side to make navigating through the site easier and faster. You’ll also see tabs across the top of the page. To search for jobs and internships, click the “Search Jobs and Internships” tab. This will bring up the job postings page. Here, you can view all the jobs posted on Beaver JobNet or apply filters to see only the ones you are interested in. Once you find a job you are interested in, click on it to bring up more information about the position. On the right you will see instructions on how to apply for the job as well as important dates, such the date posted and the deadline for applying.

One other thing you should know is how to upload your resume onto Beaver JobNet. On the top, click on the “Your Documents” tab. You will see a message that says “No records found.” Below it, click on “Add New.” Now fill out the required information. You’ll need to give the document a label (for example, “Resume”), and select the document type. Then click “Choose File,” select your resume, and click “submit”. Your resume should now appear on the Resumes page. Once you’ve uploaded a resume, you may want to add it to the resume book for other employers to see. If an employer finds your resume in the resume book and is interested, they may contact you about internship or job opportunities. To add your resume to the resume book, click on the “Your Documents” tab to bring up the Resumes page. Below the word “resumes,” click on the tab that says “Opt-In Resume Book.” You will see your resume under the list of documents. Click on the “Select Resume Books” button. On the new page, give your document a label, then click “select” next to “Target Opt-In Resume Book.” Select the resume book where you’d like to place your resume (you can select more than one) and click “Submit.”

These are only the basics of Beaver JobNet. Look through the tabs across the top of the page to explore other features of Beaver JobNet, and use the Shortcuts on the homepage to access important pages more quickly. Hopefully this information will be enough to get you started. Happy job hunting!

What To Do Before and After a Career Fair

Posted on by | Leave a reply

Posted by Hulali Kaapana, Career Services Career Assistant

The Career fair is right around the corner, happening on October 12, 2010.  Being prepared, organized and making sure to use time management wisely are key factors to success at the Career Fair. There are 3 areas of a Career fair; 1) Preparation 2) The actual fair 3) After the fair; follow-up.

1)     Preparation

  • Make sure you understand how the Career Fair is beneficial to you
  • Do research! Be educated about the companies you are interested in
  • Bring your resume. [Don’t forget drop in hours; Monday-Thursday 1-4pm]
  • Prepare a 1-minute introduction about yourself for employers
  • Questions, questions, questions. Don’t be afraid to ask!

2)     Day of the Career Fair

  • Dress the part, look PROFESSIONAL!
  • Eye contact, clear speaking and firm handshakes are good things to keep in mind
  • Be Confident in yourself and your resume
  • Try to refrain from large group greetings, be independent
  • Ask for a business card
  • Smile =)

3)     After the Career Fair

  • Send a “thank you” card

All these steps go hand in hand in preparing for a Career fair.  By preparing the steps shared above you will feel more comfortable and less nervous when the time comes to talk to the employers.  Don’t forget to have fun while talking to employers.  More detailed information can be found at Career Services website.