Career Carnival 2016: A Great Start to the New Year

What do you get when you mix KanJam, airball archery, and Keytar Bear with a bouncy house, free popcorn and an ice cream truck?  Career Carnival 2016! The event went off without a hitch thanks to Tufts Career Center staffers Jim McCarthy and Debbie Coughlin. 

Lots of students and staff came out for the event.  The ice cream truck gave away more than 700 sweets, and there were long lines at the spin art table. We were glad to see friends from across campus including Provost David Harris, Associate Dean Rob Mack, the College Transition Advisors, Admissions staff, and International Center staff. 

This year's event was heavy on the fun and light on the career education.  The message: Engage with the Career Center. We're nice people, we're devoted to students and alumni, and while we take our jobs seriously to provide you with the best resources and expert advice, we're also here to remind you that every now and then, you need to step back and have fun.

Here's to a great start to the new year!  Check out the pics below.

Nicole Anderson
Assistant Director/Career Advisor
Tufts Career Center

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The Career Carnival: Everything You Need to Know

Welcome to Week 2 of classes! There's new information for everyone at the Tufts Career Center's fall kick-off event, the Career Carnival this Wednesday, 9/16 from 12-2pm on the Tisch Library Patio. Here's what you'll find at the event:

Free! Free! Free!
There is nothing more effective for bringing college students together than free stuff. The Career Center is kicking off the year with free ice cream, raffle prizes, and cool giveaways. (TIP: You need to stop by the info tables to get a free ice cream ticket!) A special prize will be granted to two lucky seniors who will win lunch with an employer of their choice at the Career Fair on September 30!

Did someone say free ice cream?! (www.glappitnova.com)

Know Your Stuff
Wherever you are in the career development process, the Career Center has resources to help. Tables organized by class year, including a table for graduate students, will offer class-specific check-lists, handouts and a calendar of upcoming career events.   The event hopes to inspire you in your career development activities this semester.  This is a great way to learn about Career Center resources without having to make the trek to Dowling.

Start strong with your to-do list--or at the very least START! (charliehigher.wordpress.com)

Tufts Summer Internship Grant Recipients
The Tufts Summer Internship Grant funds students' education and experiences at unpaid internships throughout the U.S. and around the world. Although the Grant Program has been active for over ten years, this will be the second year that grant recipients will present their internship experiences at the Career Carnival. Recipients have created posters that illustrate the projects they were involved in and what they learned while interning. Feel free to chat with the students about their experiences and ask questions from 12-1pm during the Carnival. You may see an internship that you'll want to apply for this year!

These pretty posters, along with many others, will be hanging around Tisch Library Patio on Wednesday. (shown: Greater Boston Legal Services, New England Wildlife Center, and International Peace Bureau)

Fun facts about the grant recipients:

1. There are 56 recipients--the most we've ever had!
2. This was the first year Tufts Career Center offered grants to international internships. We had Jumbos in Switzerland, Australia, Zimbabwe, Ukraine and Belgium--just to name a few.
3. Students worked at a wide variety of organizations such as startups, research labs, theaters, and even the Conan Show!

Get to know what fellow Jumbos were doing this summer and see what the Career Center has in store for the upcoming year. But most importantly: NEVER miss an opportunity for free ice cream.

But don't let me tempt you...hehehe.

See you all there!

Thanks for reading!

Nina Joung

Class of 2018

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Career Carnival: A Senior Perspective

Hello again, readers!

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Career Carnival. I thought it might be helpful to offer my own experience with the Carnival, since going into things as a senior is a whole different ballgame. Even though it's still September and I'm trying not to psyche myself out too much this early on, I can't help but plan ahead. I went into it with the goal of discovering opportunities that I could seriously consider post-graduation.

I was especially interested in looking at the posters on display, because they came from students who had done internships through the Internship Grant Program. As someone who would be hard-pressed to take on the financial burden of an unpaid internship, I appreciate the fact that Tufts offers this opportunity. As a graduating senior I won't be able to apply, but I certainly encourage the Classes of 2016-2018 to look into it!

It was a beautiful day for careers (and free ice cream)!

Margaret's informative poster about her internship!

In the midst of dozens of posters, it was easy to become overwhelmed by it all. Eventually, I spotted a poster about the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights. Civil rights are one of my passions, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to talk to the poster's owner. This was how I met Margaret Azzi (Class of 2016), who worked for the OCR this summer. We had a great conversation about her internship, and I learned a lot. She was gracious enough to answer a few questions about it for the blog.

How did you find out about this particular internship?

"I found out about this internship via the Tufts internship fair. I ended up talking with a member of the Office for Civil Rights and left my resume with them. I received an email within the week regarding applications and submitted a writing sample and a cover letter from there."

When are the important deadlines?
"Deadlines tend to be rolling for Spring, Summer, and Fall. I suggest inquiring about an internship as soon as possible!"

What was your "typical" day like at this internship?
"At the OCR there was never a typical day! Usually I was assigned a specific topic or project to work on, but the work I was doing varied from day to day. At the beginning of each day I stopped in and checked with my mentor regarding what she needed completed by the end of working hours . If there was nothing pertinent due that day, I was free to work on outside projects I’d obtained from other members of the OCR. If there was something extremely important due that day though, I would be called in to work on it with my mentor on that specific task. There was never a dull day at the OCR!"


What was your favorite thing about your internship?
"The people! The staff was so friendly and welcoming. They treated me as one of their own and were always there to answer my questions and help me when I needed it. I learned so many valuable lessons from them throughout the summer."

What was the most challenging aspect of your internship?
"The most challenging part of this internship, in my opinion, was the lack of clear direction on specific parts of projects. As my job included a plethora of reading and research, a lot of parameters of how to execute the project were left for me to decide. As a student, I was previously accustomed to having explicit directions for every written assignment I turned in. My projects at the OCR, though, were more open-ended. While they helped me to foster better writing skills and brought me to be more concise in the formulation of my thoughts, the lack of clear directions was hard for me at first and took some time to become accustomed to."

You were able to be paid for this internship through the Tufts Internship Grant program -- would you suggest this program to students who cannot afford an unpaid internship?

"Yes, I would without a doubt suggest that students apply to this program. It is a wonderful opportunity to fund an internship that is something directly related to my future career interests. The Tufts Internship Grant Program provided me the opportunity to truly explore a field that I ended up loving. Without the grant I know that I personally would not have been able to have this wonderful summer experience!"

It's clear from her words that Margaret's internship was an amazing experience that wouldn't have happened without the Internship Grant. During the Carnival, Margaret told me that she has even decided to continue working with the OCR this fall, since she loved her time there so much. That's definitely the sign of a successful internship!

To learn more about the Internship Grant Program, attend one of the information sessions coming up! The first one is on Friday, October 3rd at noon in Dowling Hall Room 745A. The other sessions are listed here.

Signing off,

Kelly Vieira

Class of 2015

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True Life: I was a Summer Intern

Internships aren't all the same. During my summer internship at New York Life I gained so much experience about the ins and outs of corporate America, from scheduling lunch meetings and mastering Excel worksheets, to networking among interns and team members. I thought it would be interesting to write a blog post summarizing a typical day including how to make the most of your internship through completing small tasks that not only help the company, but also instill career habits that shape you into a savvy job candidate.

Morning:

Ok, so, as college students, we all know that getting up in the morning is hard, especially when it's summer vacation, and you just finished watching a late night True Blood episode. But, have no fear, Nicole is here!  Managing my sleep schedule was one of the most vital things to ensure that I got through the day. Getting 7-8 hours of sleep is extremely important when working a 9-5 job.  Arianna Huffington, pioneer business woman and founder of The Huffington Post, believes employers should allow workers naptime for better work production and creativity in the office.  With Huffington's endorsement and Google's nap pods, I don't understand why corporate America hasn't adopted widespread change.  I think you understand how much sleep means to me now.

Something else that has been drilled into our brains is the importance of breakfast. I mean, who doesn't like breakfast? It's the most important meal of the day and without it, you'll be sitting miserably at your desk, your stomach grumbling loudly with hunger. I know that we all have time constraints but even a granola bar and a banana make a huge difference. Breakfast is the fuel of the masses.

gif by ReallyAlly http://lotrgifs.tumblr.com/tagged/Peregrin_Took

At Work:

When I settled into my cube for the day I immediately checked my email and schedule. Many companies have programs like PivotNote that save calendars and show when people are online for instant chatting if you have quick questions. One skill that I enhanced this summer was sending professional emails. Email may be the most common type of correspondence you'll have with colleagues so it is important to use professional email etiquette  (even when you're itching to greet your boss with "Holla"). Communication is key in an internship, allowing you to contribute effectively while learning new skills from coworkers.  One thing I enjoyed about my internship was the inability to access work email from home. This created a necessary boundary and a strong motivatation to finish tasks before I left for home.  And when I did arrive home, I wasn't worried about work. An 8 hour workday can be exhausting, so this boundary was important.

When I decided to be a New York Life Intern, I wasn't sure what to expect working for an international insurance company. As a consultant, my job was to broadly assist my manager and team in completing tasks. Interns often don't know what to expect at the start of their internship.  You can avoid this by asking questions during your interview! Great questions demonstrate how important the internship is to you and how committed you are to company goals.  A common theme I found in many of the projects I was assigned was using Microsoft Excel. Dun dun dunnnn. I hadn't used Excel since freshman year, and that was for doing a basic scatter plot in Bio 13. If you learn one thing from this post, that would be to freshen up your Excel skills, especially if you are looking to intern in the finance, consulting, and communications sectors. (I will be writing a post about this later. Look out for it!)

Lunchtime = Networking Time!

Lunch is a time to relax and take a break from your day. However, many people don't realize that it's also a very useful time to get to know your colleagues better and to learn about their career experiences.  Schedule lunch or coffee with managers and other leaders in the office in order to gain insight into how they were able to achieve success at the company. New York Life encouraged interns to network. Everyone seemed open to meeting with interns, and I enjoyed many informative lunch meetings. It's important, then, to review business lunch etiquette. One day a friend and I lunched with a Tufts alum, and we weren't sure who was going to pay the bill. Do all three of us split it, or do we offer to pay for it? What if the alum offers to pay? We were so anxious about this one detail. In the end, we ate at a small sandwich place, so we all paid separately.  Even if you are just taking a short coffee break, remembering to employ good etiquette is key.

And this all leads to the importance of "follow-up."  Following up and sending a thank you is not only common courtesy in the business world, but also shows that you know how to close a deal.  The person you met with will know you are grateful for their time, opening the door for continued conversation and making a positive impression of you as a potential employee.

Strike the balance!

An internship is an amazing opportunity to build skills in networking and etiquette, among other things. It's important to strike the balance, so you gain the best experience while also demonstrating strengths and talents to your employer. Here is Forbes' list for the best internships of 2014 - great internships with amazing benefits and opportunities.  

Finally, I hope you were able to attend the Career Carnival this past Monday. It was a blast! If any of you missed it, check out Sean's blog post about tips for finding the internships you really want and the resources available to you on the Career Center website.  Also, information about the upcoming Career Fair and how to prepare is on the website.  Approximately 145 employers are scheduled to attend, the most employers attending the annual event to date.  This is a major opportunity to learn about summer internships and to gain experience in talking to employers.

Hope the first few weeks of school haven't been too busy, and everyone has embraced the beautiful New England fall weather. But remember, winter is coming.

Carpe Diem,

Nicole Brooks
Class of 2016

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Welcome Back to Campus & Happy Labor Day!

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."

By far, this is one of my favorite quotes; I am a career advisor, after all.  Often credited to Thomas Edison, it really could have been authored by a number of people including Henry Dodd and Paul Larmer. Edison makes sense, though, because when we think of the history of work in this country, we think of Edison as one of our great inventors.  So, in the spirit of work, let's get down to business.

The 2014-2015 Tufts Career Center Bloggers will reveal themselves, and their task ahead, later this week.  The purpose of this blog, after all, is communication by students to students.  In the meantime, on behalf of the Career Center, Welcome Back!

As you make the transition to campus, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Labor Day!  That's right, Labor Day, the national holiday that all career advisors look forward to each year: rewarding a hard day's work. On this day, we break out the party hats and balloons and celebrate the spirit of the American worker  . . .

Well no, not really, we don't do that.  What we are doing is enjoying a BBQ, or in my case, taking advantage of the first weekend of apple picking in New England - all the while counting down the minutes until our students hit campus en masse and flood our offices and our email with big, existential questions about work, careers and life.  And WE LOVE THIS.  So, it is a holiday of sorts, with high anticipation and planning.

Since many students at Tufts are back on campus before Labor Day, we, career advisors, don't have to wait long to engage with our audience. Labor Day weekend at Tufts coincided with New Student Orientation, so prior to apple picking, I was on campus presenting to first year students at Join the Party with Tufts Career Center.  About 50 students attended.  Party leis, chocolate and the musical stylings of the Gorillaz c/o Pandora kept students interested for the entire session (see pic below). We didn't discuss Edison or Labor Day; instead we talked about how the Career Center works with first year students and we plugged our kick-off event, Career Carnival on Monday, September 8 on Tisch Plaza (come one, come all, there will be an ice cream truck!). 

Career Advisor, Jim McCarthy, talks with new students at an orientation program with Career Center staff on Saturday, August 30, 2014.

What's more, at this year's Carnival we'll celebrate work in our own way, displaying posters of 48 students whose unpaid internships were funded through the Tufts Career Center Summer Internship Grants (we know it's a mouthful).  If you've ever wondered "where do Tufts students intern?", the Poster Session is a convenient way (who doesn't walk through Tisch Plaza during open block?) to chat with students about their internship experiences. 

Stay tuned.  In the next post, our new Career Center blogger and sophomore will introduce himself.

Nicole M. Anderson
Assistant Director/Career Advisor
Tufts Career Center

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Welcome From The NEW Career Center Student Ambassador

By Angela Sun 

Hello Tufts!

Angela Sun (Photo: Angela Sun)

My name is Angela Sun, and I am a senior majoring in International Relations. I have a broad range of career interests, but currently dream of being a TV anchor/ host one day. In the upcoming school year, I will be contributing to this wonderful blog maintained by the Tufts Career Center.

I have been working with the Tufts Career Center since freshman year for my own professional development. I’ve definitely come a long way since my first resume (half of which, embarrassingly, consisted of one-word bullet points like ‘dedicated’, ‘team-player’, ‘quick-learner’)…many thanks to the patient guidance of the career counselors. And so, to now have the opportunity to be part of this team is really exciting for me.

Looking ahead, I hope to continue the tradition of writing blog posts that inform students about upcoming events; share student experiences with jobs and internships; and discuss ways to market oneself in the job market. I will also be constantly looking for new ways to make this a better resource for you, so let me know if you have any ideas for posts or content. You can connect with me via twitter Follow @angelasun2013


Have a wonderful start to the semester!

Sincerely,

Angela Sun

P.S. Make sure you stop by the Career Carnival this Monday, September 10th between 12-2 pm on the Tisch Library Patio. The Career Center will be out in full force with free raffles, music, food, and, of course, lots of great career advice and resources!



Follow @TuftsCareer

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Stop by the Career Carnival, Monday 9/12

12 - 2 pm, Monday, September 12
Tisch Library Patio (across from main library entrance)

Stop by your class table to gather helpful information, indulge in carnival snack food, enjoy the music and weather, and enter a raffle to win gift cards to the Tufts Bookstore or early admission into the Career Fair and a chance to be the first to speak with employers of your choice.

We look forward to seeing you on Monday!

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