Career Services helps students learn to focus

On-campus career help

In today's difficult economic climate, finding a job can be hard for anyone. For a college student with little to no experience, finding a decent paying job is even more difficult.

With the amount of people searching for entry-level jobs increasing, especially with upperclassmen and recent graduates, the competition causes employers to expect more of applicants.

Elizabeth Wilson, assistant director of AASU's Office of Career Services, said there are ways to work around this common problem.

"Academics are important," she said. "Being well-rounded and involved is also important, so if you can join a club or organization on campus – maybe one that's related to your major or what you want to do when you graduate – that would give you some practical experience as well."

Wilson said internships are the key to gaining experience when employers will only hire experienced applicants. College credit is attached to interning and can be established through Career Services and advisers.

Wilson said there are three main things Career Services does: it helps students pick their major and career path, it helps students get experience in their chosen field and it assists students - especially seniors - with job searches and graduate school decisions. Career Services can also help with resumes, cover letters and interview preparation for jobs.

For students in the early years of their collegiate career, internships may not be an option.

For students like Ryan Goetz, a freshman majoring in pre-pharmacy, the chances of attaining an internship in their chosen field with no classroom experience are slim.

Goetz said he hopes to be employed at McDonald's. "Right now I guess I'm looking at various fast food places," he said.

When the need for money has to take a momentary backseat to career goals, fast food venues are the easier alternative. Some students, like senior theater major Ashton Carr, have a need for both.

"I have a very, very flexible work schedule," Carr said.

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Weekly Grad Star: Kristine Jensen

Name: Kristine Jensen
School: University of Oregon
Major: Political Science & Spanish, minor in Business Administration
Job desired: I’m looking to pursue a career in student affairs as a program advisor/assistant or a position in higher education administration.
Graduation date: June 2010
Contact info: chelsea.j.baldwin@gmail.com

Why should you be hired?
Like many of my fellow graduates I had high hopes of landing the perfect career in the perfect location in less than a month after graduating. However the honeymoon is over and I have come to realize no one got to where they are without lots of hard work, persistence, and a strong passion for what they enjoy. I enjoy working with students and organizations. I am more than willing to move cross-country and work my heart out. I know that my strong interpersonal skills, creativity, organizational skills, work ethic, and student programs background make me more than qualified to work alongside educated professionals.

Bio
I’m Kristi, an outgoing, enthusiastic, relentless worker whom just graduated this past spring. I have had an abundance of experience in customer service and retail in my current employment at a retail store. However my passion lies in my volunteer experience that has heavily been in student organizations such as my sorority, panhellenic council and university student senate. As a member of my sorority and of my university’s student and faculty senates, I learned valuable budgetary skills in allocating student fees, which I continue to use and practice. My experience as an officer for my university’s panhellenic council improved my skills in organizing events such as scholarship banquets, new student orientations, and community forums, as well as furthered my ability to enforce guidelines and procedures for organizations. Other skills I possess from my education include my proficiently in computer programs such as Microsoft Office, Quickbooks, and ICS Recruiter and my understanding of the Spanish language I have studied and practiced for over 8 years.

Currently I work primarily in customer service but I also hold an internship with a sorority recruitment website and book. This internship has improved my interpersonal skills, technological capabilities, editorial writing, and increased my passion for student affairs. I truly enjoy working with students and organizations and believe that they are crucial in giving students the opportunity to learn and experience a wide variety of new things.


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10 Tips for the New Grad Looking for Health Coverage

Health care shopping tips - what to look out for as a college grad

Once their campus coverage expires either upon graduating or at the end of the summer in most cases, young people who haven't landed jobs with health benefits typically have limited choices: Stay on their parents' health plan if possible, buy a standard or temporary policy in the individual market or assume the significant financial risk of going uninsured.

"The first thing you need to convince young people of is they really, really need health insurance because they feel quite invincible," said Nancy Metcalf, a health editor at Consumer Reports in Yonkers, N.Y. "Often times if they don't have it through a job, they'll think 'I run everyday, I'm a vegetarian, whatever.'"

"Even if you're a careful driver, the best driver in world, you have car insurance because something can still happen. It's the same thing with your body," Metcalf said. "Health care is way more expensive than buying a car."

The message is equally important for parents. They can play a major role in helping kids get coverage and may have as much to lose if they don't get it, said Karen Pollitz, project director for Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute in Washington.

"If something horrible happened to your child and you didn't have insurance, you'd probably mortgage your house to make sure they were cared for," she said.

Young people make up a sizable and growing portion of the nation's 46 million uninsured. Nearly 14 million young adults age 19 to 29 lacked coverage in 2006, according to a study from the Commonwealth Fund. A third of college graduates and 38% of high-school graduates who don't go on to college are uninsured for part of the first year after graduation.

Here's what to do if you're about to lose coverage, according to consumer experts:

1. Stay on your parent's employer group plan for as long as possible. Check with your state insurance department to see if your state enables young people to stay on their parents' plans later into their twenties. About half of states allow health plans to continue to cover childless, financially dependent children until they are 24, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Florida and New Jersey allow them to stay on up to age 30.

2. Don't jump into the individual market right away if you can avoid it. "If you can stay on some kind of group coverage you're much better off because the individual market in most states is a place you don't want to be. It's OK if you're healthy. But the minute you start to get something like migraines or hay fever you start to get in real trouble." Pollitz agreed. "You might be able to find inexpensive coverage as a young adult, but the individual market tends to provide flimsy benefits," she said. "It tends to leave out important services or caps them. It's medically underwritten so you might get turned down even for something really simple like acne."

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Weekly Grad Star: Chelsea Baldwin

Name: Chelsea Baldwin
School: Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
Major: Communication, Journalism - minors in Spanish & English
Job desired: A position in Communication, Content Writing, Marketing, Sales, or Social Media within the publishing, marketing, green, non-profit, or other great industries.
Graduation date: May 2010
Contact info: chelsea.j.baldwin@gmail.com

Why should you be hired?
I have been told a number of times by fellow AIESEC Executive Board members, “Chelsea, I don’t know where our LC (local committee) would be without you.” It was a huge compliment, and it is a reflection of my work ethic: I am very passionate about my work, I always strive for excellence in everything I do, and I will never settle for less than my best.

I have a number of professional experiences under my belt, and I am a dedicated and confident individual with proven success and a great ability to communicate, whether in correspondences, in a controlled group setting, or on my toes. One of my biggest strengths is my organizational skills, and my ability to keep a cool head and thrive under pressure. I have a lot to offer, and can‘t wait to be productive within a company or organization once again.

Bio
I recently graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor of Science in Communication. I graduated with Magna Cum Laude honors, and as the top Journalism student within ASU’s Communication department.

In addition to my education and top grades, I spent the last 3.5 years as a member of AIESEC at Appalachian State. AIESEC is a student-run, non-profit organization present in 107 countries that focuses on developing global leaders through facilitating international internships. Not only did I participate in one of these internships by working at a leadership and team-working development camp outside of Mexico City, but by my last year I was working at least 30 hours per week leading the sales and marketing teams, facilitating conference sessions, managing campus relations through a wide variety of campus marketing tactics, and establishing a Board of Advisors. I developed countless hard and soft skills that will be applicable in any professional situation. Some of these include: a year of sales experience, social media marketing, blogging, external relations, team management, internal and external communications, and public speaking.

Since April, I have been writing freelance for a variety of online websites in order to keep my skills fresh and learn new writing and communication techniques. This has taught me a lot about SEO, using images, and a document’s visual layout. I was even invited to be a contributor for an environmental web magazine because one of the editors liked some of my articles that he had seen elsewhere.

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