Spotlight on Green Careers

Did you know that recycling is a $238 billion industry employing more than 1 million people? While "going green" is often associated with recycling, there are many career fields worth exploring that didn't exist 5-10 years ago. For example, do you know any wind resource analysts? They're the people who assess potential wind farm projects using meteorological data. In their book Green Jobs: A Guide to Eco-Friendly Employment, Llewellyn, Hendrix and Golden dispel a common myth by pointing out that the job growth we’re seeing in this industry isn’t limited to “strictly green” jobs; rather, there are openings for environmentally conscious researchers, accountants, managers, and more.

Are you interested in finding organizations whose missions align with your environmentally-minded values? Consider researching employers using websites like http://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org/, which lists companies that donate one percent of their profits to environmental causes, and The Carbon Disclosure Project, a site that allows users to track the progress of 2500+ companies that have chosen to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and corresponding climate change plans.

If these ideas sound good, you might also try...
http://www.fastcompany.com/mic/2010 - World’s Most Innovative Companies
http://www.inc.com/green/ - Scroll down to profiles of “The Green 50”
http://www.csrwire.com/directory - Good for searching organizations committed to social responsibility

Also, check out our subscription the Vault Online Library, featuring 90+ downloadable PDF career guides packed with useful info. Create an account with your Tufts email, log in, and click "Guides." In particular, you may want to look at the following:
- Guide to Environmental Careers
- Guide to Green Programs

Remember: Career advisors are prepared to discuss your field(s) of interest, whether it's green jobs or something completely different. Give us a call at 617.627.3299 to schedule an in-person, phone or email appointment.

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Make the Most of your Spring Break

It’s just about spring break--finally. We’ve survived below-freezing temperatures, clobbering workloads, and near-death midterm weeks. Now here’s the chance bask in some glorious time off from grinding academia and the stresses of being the first-class students we are. But between sleep catch-ups and non-stop fiestas, it never hurts to allot some time off toward your career-finding agenda--whether it means solidifying summer plans or tackling the fateful job hunt. Here’s some ways to mesh your relaxing spring break with some helpful steps forward. They’re not too brain-jarring…I promise!

1.Update your resume: As we all know, internship and job application opportunities pop up “anytime anywhere.” So dedicate brief spans of time toward plumping up your resume and tweaking content, organization, and presentation. You never know when the next spontaneous job opening or resume request might be.

2. Discover a favorite job and/or internship site: While curled up in bed engaged in the art of the Facebook stalk, why not turn your mouse toward some career searching? This time off is a great chance to both scour the resources you know and locate fresh sites that haven’t crossed your screen. But before plunging into the realms of Google, try your bets with the office’s handcrafted career resources, especially catered to Tufts students. Accessible through the Career Services homepage, Tufts Career Connect is helpful because it connects you with field-specific opportunities and employers connected to the Tufts name. A common Tufts alma-mater gives some employers an added incentive to hear you out, explore your interests, and take you under their professional wing.

Next to the catchy Tufts Career Connect logo await other resources. Both the Liberal Arts Career NetWORK (LACN) and engIN (for engineering students) list positions (primarily internships) shared among groups of schools.

While you’re at it, try perusing some field-specific career sites; while not particular to Tufts, they offer tons of opportunities targeted to different career fields. When it comes to general search sites, job aggregators like SimplyHired.com that draw from multiple places are worth a visit.

3. Check out our Career Resources on WebCenter-- a useful compilation of all Tufts’ career search and networking resources designed to focus our chaotic search lens. Simply sign into WebCenter, select Career Services Web Resources from the drop-down menu, and ta-dah! You’re face-to-face with a splattering of career tools. The site includes an employer search database called CareerSearch, Spotlight on Careers, a liberal arts career research tool, and the Vault Online Library, featuring downloadable guides on various career arenas--just to name a few. Connecting you to job openings, internship listings, and employers in mere clicks, the Career Services Resources menu on WebCenter is a fantastic place to catalyze the search process.

* Especially for SENIORS: Along with the above online resources, try your bets at job sites like www.onedayonejob.com, which lists a slew of entry-level jobs, and Current Jobs for Graduates, one of the subscription resources in WebCenter. Checking sites like these regularly will alert you to what’s out there job-wise and help direct you on your post-grad path.

* Especially for JUNIORS AND SENIORS: Reach out to Employers. Now that class agendas are cleared, take the time to exchange smart dialogue with that admirable someone in your profession-to-be. It might be someone from around town, a friend-recommended contact, or even someone you hit it off with at our recent Internship Fair. We all love word-spitting about ourselves, so chances are you’ll be eagerly invited into the office or some sleek coffee shop nestled nearby. Networking, as it's professionally known, doesn’t have to be so formal or dryly official. Consider these phone calls or meet-ups not so much a way to robotically push out the resume, but to garner applicable advice, timely suggestions, and insight into what the job entails.
* FRESHMEN AND SOPHOMORES: Though you may not be thinking about your post-grad plans quite yet, you can still use the above tips and think about chatting with family friends and others who have interesting jobs while you're home for break.

5. Schedule an Appointment with a Career Services Staff Member: Whether to plump the resume, prep the interview, or jump-start the search process, schedule an appointment with someone who can expertly guide you at all stages of the career-hunt. Simply call our front desk at 617 627 3299 to snatch a half-hour slot.

Practice planning in advance - you may not think you need an appointment right now, but odds are you'll think of questions in the days or week leading up to the appointment!

For last-minute questions, Career Services offers a M/W/F drop-in hour from 12-1pm as well as daily 20-minute Quick Question appointments (booked by calling day-of in the morning). In any case, a friendly catch-up chat is a perfect way to move this process along. And, added bonus: staff (most-often) come equipped with candy.

6. Become our Fan on Facebook!: Not just because we’re techy and totally fan-worthy, but for the range of extra career tools and tidbits designed for student eyes. Brimming with internship listings, cool links, and upcoming career events, the page is a forum for our amassing resources we want to pass, or in Facebook lingo, post along.

The above advice applies to all ambitious undergrads pining their way through the career search. Of course, the specific steps and advice you may choose vary across the board-- depending (among other things) on your class year, self-set goals, and specific stage in the job hunt. But we thought we might as well lay it all out on the table--leave it up to you to see what best complements your personal career motives and snazzy spring break agendas. Most importantly of all, though, relax! Between depleting my kitchen of snack food and deafening my parents' ears with my favorite HBO shows, I certainly will be. So make some dents in the career search, but first and foremost, take advantage of this much-needed break from it all. We all deserve it.

Have a great spring break!

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Focus on Field-Specific Career Sites

Welcome back to campus! We hope you're able to make some time for a hot chocolate break between trudging through the snow to your classes...
Secret tip: The Dowling Resource Library is a good study spot for snowy days. But enough about the weather, let's talk career stuff!

Today's post features some of our favorite career field-specific web resources. What's that mean? Well, sometimes you may experience frustration when combing through large job & internship search sites that have a little of everything. Sites like these work well if you have good keywords for your searches, but can be a little overwhelming otherwise, e.g., if you were to search "intern" and "New York" and come up with 3,911 results like I just did. One thing you'll want to do is talk to someone in Career Services about how to make the most of these mega-sites. Another tactic involves visiting field-specific websites.

Here are a handful of samples, organized by field, to give you an idea of what's out there:

Advertising/Marketing/PR/Publishing AdAge BookJobs Ed2010 MediaBistro Arts/Theatre/Creative jobs AAM HireCulture Playbill StageSource Biotech and Life Sciences BiologyJobs Science Careers Education NAIS SchoolSpring TeachAbroad HigherEdJobs Engineering and Technology EngIN Dice Lots of professional associations like AIChE, ASCE, BMES, IEEE, SWE, and more! Entrepreneurial Fast Company U.S. Small Business Administration Startup Journal Environmental/Sustainability CSRwire Eco.org Links from the Tufts Office of Sustainability

Finance and Consulting Create an account through our subscription to the Vault Online Library to view the following guides: I-Banking and Middle Market I-Banking Sales and Trading Top 50 Management and Strategy Consulting Firms ...and more! Government/Nonprofit/ Think Tanks Idealist.org FPRI Directory Making the Difference USAJobs WANGO Health Care and Public Health ExploreHealthCareers HealthcareSource MAHospitalCareers Law & Legal Services ABA Legal Authority Martindale Politics Democratic Gain The Hill HillZoo

Now you might be saying, "Wait - my field of interest isn't on the list!" No worries! This isn't intended to be an all-inclusive list, and finding the best sites for both career research and position listings takes time. For more field-specific information, check out our subscription to the Vault Guides (you'll need to create an account first), Spotlight on Careers, and our Career Resources by Field. Web resources aren't one-size-fits-all, so your friend's favorite site may not do as much for you. Talk to a career advisor about coming up with your own list of go-to sites.

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All I Really Need to Know about Tufts Career Connect I Learned…Now

Think of all the important things you learned in Kindergarten: "Don't take things that aren't yours," "Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you," and "When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together."

Sound good? I thought so. Well, then you'll like this post with answers to important questions about Tufts Career Connect (TCC) - home to great job and internship listings, among other things (no warm cookies, sadly).

Have a question that isn't on this list? No problem! Give Career Services a call (617.627.3299) and we'll be glad to help you!

First things first...what is Tufts Career Connect?

TCC is the home of jobs, internships, and the campus recruiting program (employers who interview seniors on campus for jobs after graduation). Log in from the Career Services front page; if it's your first time logging in, you'll need to click "Forgot your Password."

Where do the job and internship listings in TCC come from?

The listings you see in TCC - fall, spring, and summer internships, full-time jobs, and more - come from employers who like Tufts students & alumni and are interested in hiring them. It doesn't mean that they will only hire someone from Tufts, but it does mean that they're thinking of Tufts and interested in receiving applications from you.

Why should I use TCC?
In addition to the reason mentioned above (employers interested in Tufts students), here are a few others:

-Email alerts. You can set up job agents in TCC, which will email you when jobs or internships matching your search are posted.
-Employer directory. TCC has an employer directory with thousands of organizations that have posted jobs and internships at Tufts in the past. Interested in an employer that doesn't have a job posted right now? That's okay! Talk to a career advisor about ways to network with that employer and discuss future opportunities.
-On campus interviews. A variety of organizations come to campus in the fall and spring to interview seniors for full-time positions and underclassmen for internships. These interview opportunities are listed in TCC.

How does your office increase the number of job and internship listings in TCC?
We have an employer outreach team in Career Services - staff members dedicated to forming new relationships with employers and strengthening existing ties.

Why don't all employers want to post their jobs and internships in TCC?
This is a complex question. Here are a few possibilities to consider:

-A matter of preference. Sometimes employers choose to use their own websites or large search engines like indeed.com and simplyhired.com as their main vehicles for posting positions. A career advisor can help you find other search sites to put on your list (including sites targeted to your field of interest, for example, bookjobs.com for positions in publishing).
-Regional considerations. An organization located on the West Coast is more likely to post positions at nearby institutions. Fear not! Career Services is familiar with helping students search for positions outside of the New England area.

Remember: Tufts Career Connect is one helpful tool for your search, and by talking to a career counselor you'll uncover others.

For more FAQs about TCC, including how to set up saved search emails, how to give an employer permission to view your resume through TCC, how to apply for an on campus interview and more, visit our FAQs page.

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Grad Guide Videos - all you need to know about using LinkedIn

Thinking about joining LinkedIn or wondering how to get the most out of the tool? Watch these short videos for some great tips and information about how LinkedIn can add to your career research or job/internship search.

The following videos are part of the Grad Guide Series:

1- What is LinkedIn and Why Should I Join?
2- Building Your Professional Brand
3- Finding and Pursuing Your Career Passion
4- Building and Maintaining a Professional Network
5- Turning Relationships into Opportunities
6- Researching and Prepping for Interviews & Other Opportunities

Already on LinkedIn? Use the group search function to find relevant Tufts groups, including the Tufts University Alumni Association and the Tufts Professional Network.

Enjoy! Don't Forget: Career Advisors are happy to discuss networking and using LinkedIn.
Call Tufts Career Services at 617.627.3299 for an in-person, phone, or email appointment.

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Ask the Career Counselor: Making the Most of Your Summer

Today’s Question: I'm looking for ways to continue my career exploration this summer, other than getting a full-time internship. How should I go about doing this?

Answered by Susannah Krenn, Tufts Career Services


Great question! I often meet with students who are concerned that full-time internships are the only worthwhile way to explore potential career paths in the summer. Untrue! There are plenty of other ways to add experience to your resume, begin building connections in fields that interest you, and most importantly, figure out how your skills/interests/values translate to the world of work. Here are 3 to consider:

Think about volunteering with an organization that interests you
Much like an internship can help you test out different kinds of work, volunteering is a great way to gain experience in an area that interests you. Use the Idealist.org Volunteer Search to look for opportunities in your area or check out the Craigslist Community section for volunteer postings.

Request informational interviews
What if I told you that there are 8,800 people who want to share career advice with you? It's true! I'm not even counting the people in your personal network (friends, family, coaches, professors, etc.) I'm talking about the Tufts alumni who volunteer to be members of the Tufts Career Network, and the summer is a great time to ask them for informational interviews. What are informational interviews? Just short conversations with people who can help you learn more about career paths you think you might like. Read more about informational interviewing here, and for a personal testimonial about the process, read Kathy's post about networking.

Conduct research using Career Services web resources
We have a ton of great information on our website, and the summer is a perfect time to check it out. Look at this web resources page for special tools we offer for Tufts students. I recommend the Vault Online Library for PDF guides that give you a sense of the day-to-day work involved in particular career fields. (We tell you all about the Vault in another of our spring blog posts.)

Have fun learning about careers this summer!

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Spotlight on Post-Grad Resources

For all you seniors out there, I realize that the title of this entry probably makes you squirm. Or worse. It seem that as the number of college days remaining goes down, the number of panic attacks I suffer from goes up. There's a fun little inverse relationship for ya.

What seems to bother most people is the assumption that they'll be "alone" after graduation. This doesn't so much apply to family members (I know that my mother would be thrilled to have me move back in). Rather, students are afraid that they'll fall out of touch with the Tufts community, including the many resources that have been available to them for the past four years.

While sneaking into Dewick after graduation might get you a few weird looks, there are (more sane) ways that you can stay in touch with Tufts and make the most of your foray into the "real world."

Alumni Career Services assists post-grads with career management throughout their lives. The office provides services and programs to help alumni identify and reach their career and professional goals. Most of the resources available to undergrads are also available to alumni, including:

- Career Coaching (call 617.627.3299 to make an in-person, phone, or email appointment)
- Networking Events and Workshops , in Medford, around the country, and online
- Job Listings through Tufts Career Connect
- Connections to other alumni through the Tufts Career Network
- Career Research Tools such as the Vault Online Career Library

Make sure you sign up for the Online Community through the Tufts Alumni Association too. It features an alumni directory that helps alumni stay in touch, and helps Tufts stay in touch with alumni. The Online Community also offers a "Career Center" where you can post your resume and view jobs posted by other alumni. Once you graduate, check the Alumni Association website to find a local or regional Tufts alumni chapter and meet other Jumbos living in your area.

Don't think that your connection to Tufts (Career Services-related or otherwise) is over once you graduate. It's just the opposite! In fact, many alums say that they feel closer to the University now more than ever. You're a Jumbo for life - the school and other alumni are here to help you, so take advantage of it. And remember to return the favor down the road.

If you have any questions about resources available to you after you graduate, don't hesitate to call Career Services at 617.627.3299.

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Calling All Seniors - Jobs for Jumbos is here!

SENIORS- Thinking about life after Tufts?

Don't miss Jobs for Jumbos - a job & resource fair just for YOU!
Wednesday, April 7, 12 - 2 pm
51 Winthrop Street
Dress is business casual

We look forward to seeing you there!


GET A JOB
Meet employers who are hiring AS&E seniors for non-technical positions NOW.
Check out the list of employers who'll be there: http://careers.tufts.edu/students/AprilFair2010.asp

GET A PLAN
Manage finances and school loans, apartment hunting, dressing for work

GET AHEAD
Master social media, develop a 60-second networking script, avoid fatal interviewing flaws

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Career Services Resource Spotlight – The NEW Vault Online Library

Here at Career Services, we make it our priority to update you about the latest tools available for writing resumes, learning about employers, applying to internships, going on job interviews, etc. Last April, we featured a blog post about the Vault Online Library. It was a great resource then, and it's recently been redone to make it even better.

For people who are unfamiliar with the Vault Online Library, it is summed up nicely on the site's main page:
"Vault is the ONLY career information source with our own staff of more than a dozen industry-focused editors and researchers. Our staff stays on top of the latest developments in their industries through research of all the vital industry trade publications and research tools, as well as our own network of insider contacts, surveys, ensuring that our readers have the best and most updated information possible."

You can access it by logging into WebCenter and selecting “Career Services Web Resources” from the drop-down menu. Then select the Vault Online Library. You’ll need to create a new account by entering your email and filling out a short profile. (You’ll use your email and a password you select every time you access the Vault.) Once you activate your account and log in, click on “Download Guides” at the top menu bar. The PDF guides are organized by section – employer guides, industry guides, and so on. (Just so you know, although the Vault features a lot of information, we're focusing on the guides specifically so as not to overwhelm people. Feel free to peruse the other tabs if you're feeling extra ambitious.)

There are five different categories of guides: Interview & Resume, Career Topic, Industry, Employer and International. Depending upon your interest, you may want to look through just one, or a combination. If you look in Interview & Resume, you'll find guides about more general topics, such as how to craft a stellar resume and cover letter, and also guides about more specific subjects, such as how to ace a finance interview. For Tufts-specific resume, cover letter, and interviewing advice, visit http://careers.tufts.edu.

In Career Topic section, there is a Guide to Schmoozing that may prove helpful for people who feel that their networking abilities could use a little polishing. There are also "View from the Top" guides that feature valuable advice from high level business people, such as "Q & A with Legal Women Leaders."

The Employer guides are some of the most interesting to read. They feature the insider scoop on big name companies in a variety of fields, thanks to information collected by Vault from actual employees. You can the lowdown on anything from the Top 50 Accounting Firms to the Top Media & Entertainment Employers to Engineering Diversity Programs. Obviously, you shouldn't limit your research to the companies located in these guides, but it's a good place to start to get a feel of what sort of environment you'd most like to work in.

The Vault Online Library is a collection of immensely helpful materials. The downloadable guides are terrific because they cover a variety of topics, feature honest testimonials from actual employees, and are portable - read one on your laptop or print one out and stick it in your bag in the morning. You can whip out the Guide to Schmoozing during your coffee break at the Rez, and test out the advice right then and there. Corporate world - here you come.

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What To Do?? "Gap Year" Options for Seniors

Realizing that today is the first day of December made me more than a little anxious, I have to admit. The fall semester might as well be over by this point, which leaves us with about six measly months until we seniors graduate. Gulp.

By this point, you've probably given some thought to what you're going to do after leaving this fine home of the Jumbos. That doesn't mean you've actually settled on something though.
There are plenty of kids who are heading off to grad school. Others are jumping right into the workforce. And then there are those who still don't have the slightest clue about what to do with themselves (myself included).

Lo and behold...The Gap Year! This can mean different things to different people. For some, it may imply bumming around Amsterdam in a quest to "find" oneself. An interesting plan, but one that may not be easily explained on a resume.

Why do people decide to take a Gap Year? There are a myriad reasons: fear of the poor economy, academic burnout, a desire to try something brand new, etc. Taking this path can certainly be advantageous. You get the chance to be truly independent (not I'm-living-in-a-dorm-room-with-people-I-don't-know independent, but I'm-living-in-a-foreign-country-with-people-who-don't-speak-the-same-language-as-me independent), there are opportunities to develop new skills and talents (which will definitely bolster the resume), you can break out of your comfortable bubble and broaden your perspective on life (corny, but true)...the list goes on and on.

Luckily, there are various options for how to spend a Gap Year. You can locate jobs/internships/teaching programs/travel opportunities in just about any area of interest you could think of. Start off by looking through http://www.gapyear.com/, which features close to 8000 organizations in 123 countries that students can work with. It might seem a little overwhelming at first, but just take your time searching through all the listings, and you should be able to find several different possibilities that appeal to you. Some popular organizations are:

- Americorps (www.americorps.gov)
- Centerstage (www.centerstage.org)
- City Year (www.cityyear.org)
- JET (www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/JET/)
- New Morning Farm (www.newmorningfarm.net)
- Public Allies (www.publicallies.org)
- Teach for America (teachforamerica.org)
- SCICON (www.tcoe.org/scicon)

There are also many other resources you can take advantage of to figure out how to spend your Gap Year.

- Log on to the Tufts Career Network and search by Major to see what alumni with similar interests as you are up to. Go ahead and get in touch with them to see what they did after graduation, and whether it might be something you'd be interested in doing too. Read the Career Services Networking and Informational Interviewing packet for advice on contacting alumni.

- Visit the Fellowships and Service section of the Tufts Career Services website. This will bring you to a list of scholarships, fellowships and post graduate internships that might be perfect for devoting your Gap Year to.

- Log on to Webcenter and select Career Services Web Resources from the drop down menu. You will find a variety of different helpful websites. I would concentrate on the Vault Online Library as a resource for exploring different career fields. There is a lot of information to browse through, but with a little patience, you'll be able to locate numerous guides that will give you helpful pointers about what to do during your Gap Year.

The point is, don't be alarmed if you find yourself not jumping into med school right after graduation (or ever, for that matter). Your options after graduation are not limited to grad school or a full time job. There are innumerable opportunities awaiting you should you chose to do something different and take a Gap Year instead. This is an extraordinary time in your life, so be sure to make the most of it!

P.s. This post is devoted to my frazzled friend Brenna. I hope it gives her some comfort.

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New Resource - Spotlight on Careers

Career Services held a focus group this past Monday to gather feedback from seniors about their expectations for the year. It’s no surprise, but an overwhelming number of students expressed anxiety about the upcoming job hunt. Although this apprehension is understandable, rest assured that there are plenty of resources you may take advantage of to make the process more manageable.

Hopefully by now, all of you are aware of the Career Services Web Resources available to you through Webcenter. Some of these include CareerSearch, Going Global and Internships USA. We are pleased to announce that we have added a new tool to the list called “Spotlight on Careers.”

Spotlight on Careers is part of the Liberal Arts Career Network, whose aim is to “position students and graduates for a competitive advantage in the global marketplace”…sounds pretty good to me.

To get started on your job hunt, choose from one of the many career categories offered to you, such as Business, Arts & Communication, Education, Science & Technology, and Government/Law/Social Services (each one is further broken down into multiple subcategories so that you may hone in on the particular job you are interested in researching). Once you have chosen a career field, you can start to learn about the specifics of that particular industry. Spotlight on Careers will provide you with an overview of the field, career options, current trends, types of employers, and advice from professionals working in positions that may interest you.

After you’ve finished doing a little background work, you may then click on the Jobs/Internship link. This will present you with a list of job/internship search engines that are specifically geared toward locating employment opportunities in fields that appeal to you. Whether you’re a first year student or a senior, it’s a great career research tool!

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Resource Fair for Seniors on Friday the 13th!

Join us at the Resource Fair for Seniors!
Friday, November 13, 2009, 2-4pm
Remis Sculpture Court

Stop by anytime from 2-4pm to collect information that will help you make the most of your winter break and second semester.

Topics include:

Budgeting tips and student loan repayment
Salary and employment benefits
Apartment hunting and transitioning to a new city
Effective networking strategies
Tough interview questions
Social media (Facebook, LinkedIn) and your job search
Staying connected to Tufts

and more!

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Consulting Career Tips from the Experts

Thinking about a career in consulting? Starting to prepare for applications and case interviews? Here are a few tips from consulting professionals to keep in mind when exploring this field.

And there's more...The alumni featured below are scheduled to speak at Careers in Consulting, Tuesday, September 22^nd, 7-9pm in Dowling Hall. Join us!

“My overall biggest tip would be to begin networking early and seize opportunities to differentiate yourself. While I love Tufts, it still is not seen as a hotbed for top consulting firms, so internships, marketing any kind of unique experiences, etc. can go a long way to getting in the door.”
-Alexander Bezdek, Associate, Investor Group Services

“For students entering the interviewing world, "do your homework." Don't show up at an interview without thoroughly researching the company, what it does, and what you would be doing if hired. And don't go into an interview and ask how many hours you'll have to work. It's consulting - hours are unpredictable and often long. Asking makes it seem like you are already planning on slacking. A better question would be about work/life balance...but again I wouldn't ask that on a first-round interview. I would focus more on the job you'd be doing and the people you'd be working with.”
-Lindsey Bosak, Senior Associate, Economic and Valuation Services, KPMG

“The biggest tip I could offer would be for students to really take case prep seriously and imagine those cases as potential clients and try and see if that variety of work would keep them excited and stimulated.”
-Joanna (Vaillant) Bradshaw, Member, BCG Alumni Panel

“A great differentiator in interviews is an impressive case-question performance. Make sure to practice this prior to your first consulting interview.”
-Diana Chang, Associate Consultant, Putnam Associates

“There are an endless number of directions you can take a career within consulting; specialization can be key and may set you apart from the pack.”
-Brian Cooperman, Research Analyst, McKinsey & Company

“Flexibility is key.”
-Lisa Cruz, Analyst, Analysis Group

“Understand who the company's clients are. Understand what the company's value proposition is. Understand why you're part of it.”
-Alex Levy, Principal Consultant, Arcadia Solutions

"Gain diverse experience at home and abroad before entering the consulting profession. Graduate degrees are not necessarily a prerequisite.”
-Robert Maldman, Consultant, Romar International Inc.

“Know the business. I can't tell you how many cover letters and resumes I've seen that look like they were written specifically for I-Banks and other finance jobs.”
-Ben Micheel, Senior Consultant, Simon-Kucher & Partners

“Recommended Book: Case in Point: Complete Case Interview Preparation by Mark Cosentino. I've heard this called "Critical Reading." Read and understand the newspaper on a daily basis. I recommend USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. If you don't understand what an article is talking about - teach yourself or ask for help to learn. For every article you read, ask yourself how someone would turn that specific article into a case interview.”
-Brendan Mulcahy, Consultant, Accenture Strategy Consulting

“Things that make people successful in consulting: Professional demeanor; Analytical and strong problem-solving skills; Smart yet not narcissistic nor a know-it-all; Driven and proactive; Takes initiative; Ability to work well in a team; Strong oral and written communication skills; Ability to learn new things quickly; Attention to detail”
-Pamela Tarro, Director of Recruiting, Exeter Group, Inc

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Spotlight on Career Resources for Alumni

Are you a recent Tufts grad looking for information and assistance from Career Services? Consider these options for staying involved with us this summer:

1. Alumni Career Tele-Seminars
Connect to critical career workshops from anywhere in the world! All you need is a phone and a computer with internet access. These workshops will be limited to 15 participants for an interactive discussion.
Networking for Success - 3 pm EST August 19
Effective Job Search - 3 pm EST August 20
Resume Writing - 3 pm EST August 25

2. Sign-up for the Career Launch eNewsletter! Career Launch is sent out monthly from Tufts Career Services and it contains job listings, articles, resources, webinars and events specifically for new Tufts alumni.

3. Check out the Jobless Jumbos blog for a post about using the Tufts Carer Network (our alumni database) after graduation: http://joblessjumbos.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/ask-the-career-counselor-using-the-tufts-career-network-effectively/

Questions? Give Career Services a call at 617.627.3299.

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Career Services Resource Spotlight - Vault Online Career Library

The Vault Online Career Library is a spectacular resource for students wishing to find more information about a particular career field. The site features a wide variety of tools to help with such research, including information-packed career guides.

How do I access the Vault?
Log on to Webcenter, click on ‘Career Services Web Resources’ from the drop-down box, and then select ‘Vault Online Library.’

The expanse of information available on this site may seem overwhelming at first, but do not be intimidated. All of the resources are straight-forward and easy to use.
First, check out the downloadable Vault Guides. These are PDF guides about specific industries (Vault Career Guide to Biotech), employers (Vault Guide to the Top Media and Entertainment Employers), and even networking essentials (Vault Guide to Schmoozing). With over 70 different guides, students have easy access to information about many career fields.

A new addition to the site is Vault Video. Students who do not have the time to read through all the written material can use this feature to learn about topics like “Job Search and Internship Advice” in a shorter amount of time.

Something that the Vault Library offers which few other resources have is access to thousands of employer profiles and employee surveys. This way, students can learn what a person working for Dell, Pfizer, or General Motors really thinks about his or her job. This application puts a more personal touch on career research.

There are many other features on this site which are of invaluable use to students. These include “A Day in the Life of a Volunteer for Americorps,” “Answering the Weaknessess Question During an Interview,”and “Turn Your Summer Internship into a Job Offer”. The Vault Online Career Library is an exceptional resource for students because of its multi-faceted design. Whether someone wants to learn more about a particular employer, get advice for how to nail a job interview, or figure out how to design a superb cover letter, it can all be found in the Vault Online Career Library. Log onto Webcenter, and take a look around today. You’ll be amazed at what it has to offer, and asking yourself why you didn’t visit sooner.

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Career Services Resource Spotlight - CareerSearch

For college students, locating an internship or a job is a source of tremendous stress. However, there are various resources available to help make this process a little easier. One such resource is CareerSearch. CareerSearch is a large and comprehensive database that allows students to search for employers by location, industry, and other variables. Tufts students can access it by logging into WebCenter (https://webcenter.studentservices.tufts.edu/) and selecting ‘Career Services Web Resources’ from the drop down menu under the Navigation tab. CareerSearch is listed on the next page.

CareerSearch is a valuable instrument to use in employment searches, and it will best serve students who have a good idea of what they are looking for. For students who are completely unaware of what kind of job or internship would interest them, CareerSearch can seem overwhelming. If that’s the case for you, I would recommend talking to someone in Career Services before diving into the CareerSearch resource

CareerSearch Step-by-Step:

1. CareerSearch allows an individual to determine what search type s/he would like to use. One can choose from a variety of search tools, including US Search, International Search, and Contacts Search.


2. Suppose an individual chooses to search in the US; next, she would check off all of the industries in which she is looking for a job or internship. Multiple industries can be selected, if desired.


3. Choose the location of her desired job or internship, based upon region, state, zip code, etc.


4. Specify different keywords to incorporate into the search, whether it is the name of a particular company or the name of a particular contact. Be careful, though, as this keyword search isn’t like Google; it might actually rule out companies of interest if the terms are too specific.


5. Click “Get Results” to see what companies arise.

A student may scroll through the list of results to see if anything catches her eye. If so, she can click on a company and a pop-up will provide further details about the organization, including address, annual revenue, the number of employees it hires, and the names of people to contact. It is not guaranteed that every company that appears on the results list has a definite job or internship opening. Rather, it is up to the individual to check out the company website or contact the company to inquire about employment opportunities.

When used effectively, CareerSearch produces a list of companies that mesh well with users’ interests, taking factors such as industry and geographical location into account. There is still work left to do in finding a job or internship, but CareerSearch is useful in that it can be used as a stepping stone along the way.

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Career Services Resource Spotlight - Going Global

What it is: a website that has information for internships/jobs abroad. It profiles 26 countries, including the United States. All country profiles include a variety of information from web links to a country's job posting sites and insights into the country's business culture.

How to access it: Go to https://webcenter.studentservices.tufts.edu/ then log in with your student ID # and password (Just like logging into SIS). Go to the "Navigation" bar to select the Service--"Career Services Web Resources." The "Going Global" resource is at the top of the page!

My Thoughts: The easiest way to navigate the site is to go to "Country Guides" near the top of the screen. You can then browse a specific country's resources by clicking on a country, identified by its flag. For example, if you're interested in working in Italy, find Italy, click, and you're immediately directed to Going Global's information on Italy. Going Global is a great resource because it not only guides you through finding an international internship/job, but it also discusses the different cultural atmospheres of each country. I found the business and cultural advice and guidelines for interviews, cover letters, and resume/CVs (which change for each country) very interesting and helpful. After browsing the site, I have a better knowledge of the international business world and the cultural dimensions of each nation's job market, office setting and professional protocol. If I ever decide to pursue work outside of the US, this is the first site I will go to look for information.

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