Creating a Map: The Sophomore Career Seminar

Last Friday, the Career Center held its annual Sophomore Career Seminar, a 3-part lecture series that targets, as you might have guessed by the title, sophomore students. As I mentioned in my introductory post, sophomore year is a critical time for Tufts students – between choosing a major, keeping up with classes, trying to avoid the infamous sophomore slump, and attempting to relax once in a while, it can be hard to pay attention to career development. But, one of the main themes throughout the seminar was that it is never too early to start the planning process. Through workshops in self-assessment, resumes and cover letters, and internships and networking, the Sophomore Career Seminar helped the dozens of sophomores that actually got up on a Friday morning for a reason other than class (wait, what?) to put this whole “career” thing into perspective. Here’s a quick run-down of the day:

Self-Assessment

The first hour of the seminar, led by Nicole Anderson, was dedicated to self-assessment and its applications to choosing a major and exploring possible careers. Most of the sophomores in the room raised their hands when Nicole asked if anyone had declared yet, but a good portion of us (yes, I include myself) still had yet to do so. Nicole showed us the many resources that the Career Center offers for students who are unsure of their major or career path. These resources, many of which are based in psychology, analyze your personality traits and provide lists of careers in which people similar to you have reported job satisfaction. (Check out Nicole [Brooks]’s recent post for more details on self-assessment!) The most important piece of advice that Nicole gave, I thought, was the importance of reflection and discussion after receiving the results of these assessments. Whether it’s a career counselor, friend, parent, or alum, talking to people can give you a lot of information. It’s also important to process the results and give them ample consideration. In many cases, these tests will reaffirm things you already knew about yourself, but some results may surprise you. After completing a section of Focus 2, a Career Center self-assessment tool, some of the results I received included clinical psychologist, aerospace engineer, and attorney. Although I’ve never really considered any of these careers, I’m going to think about what connects them, and how they match my personality. I might discover an entirely new career that’s perfect for me!

Resumes and Cover Letters

The next section focused on resume building and cover letters. Led by Chris DiFronzo, a well-hydrated career counselor with experience as a hiring manager, I found this portion of the seminar to be the most informative, mainly because I never knew how much thought can really go into a resume. Chris elaborated on resume/CV do’s and don’t’s that I never would have even considered, but have dramatic effects on the fate of your application. These do's and don't's included:

·         -Think results, not responsibilities. Chris encouraged quantification of job descriptions. It’s great that you answered phones at your job as an assistant in the Career Center, but how does an employer know if you answered the phone 4 times a day or 40 times an hour? It’s much more descriptive and impressive to say “handled 400 customer inquiries”.

·         -Ask yourself, “So what?” after each bullet you write. It’s important to keep relevant information on your resume that highlights your skills and leaves a lasting impression on the reader. Cut out unnecessary information to make room for more tantalizing details!

·        - Don’t be too generic. This is a major piece of feedback the Career Center receives from employers when it comes to writing cover letters. Giving specific examples that prove your abilities instead of simply listing your characteristics will go a long way. Keep this in mind the next time you’re struggling with the scary idea of a cover letter.

Chris gave the example of "went to Antarctica to save the penguins" as clearly demonstrating
your determination and devotion to purpose, which is much more effective that simply saying that
you're "determined and devoted".

Internships and Networking

The last part of the seminar was all about internships and networking, possibly two of the scariest words ever for young college students. Networking? Talking to adults? Being a functional human being? Who would ever want to do any of that when Netflix exists? But, as Jim McCarthy, the director of this workshop, explained, the more effort you put into an internship search, the higher payoff you’ll get. You’ll find far more meaningful results if you try to network with alumni, family friends, or other professionals than if you simply Google the word “internship”. If you’re utterly lost and confused, the Career Center website is, as always, a great place to start. Resources like Jumbo Jobs, LACN, and the Tufts Alumni Network are invaluable resources in finding internship listings and networking with alumni. Another important point in the presentation was staying organized – don’t let application deadlines sneak up on you, and don’t let opportunities pass you by. Most of all, don’t lose track of where you’ve applied and accept an internship, only to have an even better offer come along.

They'll be there for youuu.... (If you don't know by now, I'm a
huge Friends fan.)

Although this is the “1000 words or less” version of the day, the Sophomore Career Seminar was, as you can see, a hugely informative experience. If nothing else, it definitely got me thinking about my plans for next semester, the summer, and my life after I leave the hill. If you’re a current freshman, be sure to check out the seminar next year. Or, if you’re an upperclassman and you already missed the seminar, don’t fret – the Career Center is ALWAYS there for you!

Until next time,

Sean Boyden

Class of 2017

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Buried Treasure: A Sophomore Seminar You Need to Take

This past Tuesday, I sat in on a class entitled “Personal Career Development.” This pass-fail seminar is taught by Career Center Assistant Director Nicole Anderson and Career Advisor Betsy McDowell, and is offered through Ex-College for a half-credit. It focuses on learning and analyzing career development theories and applying them to your own personal career development. (Check out the course syllabus for more information and a semester schedule.) The best part? The course is designed specifically for sophomores. Unfortunately, I learned about the course too late to sign up for it, but it’s a great opportunity offered by the Career Center that specifically targets younger students.

The particular class that I attended featured an internship panel, organized by the instructors to give their students a chance to get perspectives from older Jumbos who've been in their shoes before. The rest of the class consisted of an internship workshop, which built on the self-assessment practices that the class has discussed in the first part of the semester. The panel consisted of 5 Tufts seniors, each of whom possessed a robust resume replete with summer internships, programs, and research opportunities, some dating back to their pre-Tufts years. The panelists also had a wide array of academic and professional interests—from an American Studies major, to an economics major and computer science minor, to our very own social media intern Kelly, representing her political science and pre-law peers. The panel was incredibly helpful and informative, and I noticed that several major themes presented themselves throughout the discussion: 

It's never too soon to start looking.

Exactly what happens if you let your internship
application deadlines slip by!

When asked about their internship search process, the panelists all agreed that earlier is definitely better. KC Hambleton, a Biopsychology major who's held several internships pertaining to marine biology, noted that the earlier you start, the less likely you are to miss deadlines. She recommended maintaing an Excel spreadsheet of internship options, deadlines, and requirements to stay organized. As Nadav, an Economics major, put it, "If you miss the boat, it's gone."

Use your resources.
Emani Holyfield, an American Studies major and Entrepreneurial Leadership minor, summed it up perfectly when she said, "See the ways in which you're valued by the outside world." She found many scholarship and internship opportunities that were targeted for students of her background, and was incredibly successful in her internship search.  Most of the panelists also used the many resources that being a Tufts student comes with: The Tufts Alumni Network, the Career Center website, and the Tufts alumni group on LinkedIn were all mentioned.

Take the interview seriously, and establish connections.
Interviewing is a key part in almost any internship application process, and can be one of the most stressful. However, with proper preparation, you can really make yourself stand out in the interview, establishing yourself as a competitive applicant. Kelly explained that in particularly competitive applications, it's important to show off "how unique you are," but also to show how your goals mirror those of the company you wish to intern for. By reading their mission statement and using similar phrases from it to describe yourself, you can really demonstrate to an interviewer that you are the best fit for the position. KC agreed, emphasizing the importance of research on the company prior to the interview.
Taylor Levesque, a Child Development and Psychology double major, also shared one of her interviewing "secrets": interviewers are people, too. It may seem like they're trying to trick you up, but they've been in your position before. They understand the stress you're feeling. Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise.

Same.

There's a learning curve to it all.
Much like the rest of life, it's okay to be a little lost once your internship starts. Taylor encouraged students to keep a positive attitude--"They hired you because you have the qualifications, so stay optimistic." As Emani put it, "You won't know what you're doing at first, but the point is to discover the process of learning."  KC agreed--after sharing that her initial work at one internship was sub-par, she explained that she had to work hard in order to improve. Once she did, though, she was very pleased with how her internship ended. "It's what you make of it," she explained, "You can make your internship into whatever you want it to be."

Outside of class, I got the chance to speak with Sarah Hamad, a sophomore currently enrolled in Personal Career Development. I asked her a few basic questions about the course, and she responded with this: "This class gave me the opportunity to do a number of things on my to do list-- informational interviews, resume writing, meeting with a Career Counselor, and more-- that I would have otherwise probably not gotten to. Nicole is very knowledgeable and very accessible, and wants to help. I definitely recommend the class. I think all sophomores should take it!" If you needed any more convincing, I think that should just about do it!

This was just one session of the course--imagine what you'd learn in an entire semester. If you're a freshman, keep Personal Career Development on your list for classes to take next fall.

Until next time,
Sean Boyden
Class of 2017

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Storm on the Horizon: Declaring a Major

As my fellow sophomores (hopefully) know, the deadline for declaring a major is this April (before registration of 5^th semester classes). Although it’s a long way away, I’m certainly already starting to feel the pressure. Several of my friends have already declared, and although I liked their Facebook statuses, I definitely do NOT like the fact that each one reminds me that I am nowhere close to a decision yet.

Some days, it's all aboard the struggle bus.
(An MBTA struggle bus, no less.)

For some people, choosing a major is simple—they know what they like, they know what they’re good at, and what they like is what they’re good at. But for the rest of us, we either like too many unrelated areas of study, we don’t think we like any areas at all, or we struggle in areas that are interesting to us but very challenging. I tend to identify with the last category on this list. For some reason, I’m not at all interested in math or math-intensive sciences like physics even though I did best in these classes in high school. I’ve been considering a biopsychology major, but I haven’t declared yet because I have to work much harder in my biology and psychology courses. Does this mean I should give up and pick a major that will cause me significantly less stress? Or does the fact that I work harder in these courses demonstrate my interest in them, and therefore I’m correct in pursuing them? Where do I draw the line between what I like and what I'm good at? These are questions I constantly ask myself, and I haven’t quite found the answers yet. A quick poll of the adults in our lives will yield answers like "Follow your passion" and "It'll just come to you" and, my personal favorite, "You already know what you want, you just don't know you know it". While these phrases have merit and make you feel like your life is an uplifting after-school special, they don't exactly provide concrete advice or suggestions, which, let's face it, some of us really need. To quote a popular saying in the social media universe, the struggle is real.  

How I feel 98% of the time.

Besides my interest in biopsychology, I also began pursuing it as a major because of its relatability to my (potential) career. A required course of this major is Animal Behavior, and other classes discuss topics related to veterinary medicine. However, one of the biggest pearls of wisdom that the Career Center often gives is that your major does not restrict your career choices. The New York Times article Major Decisions highlights this point, emphasizing that most employers are interested in transferable skills: your ability to work independently and in teams, to problem solve, and many other skills that you'll learn in almost any discipline. Health Professions Advising further states that graduate schools place minimal emphasis on major, and an applicant can major in anything so long as the appropriate prerequisites have been completed. In other words, I don’t have to pick the major that I feel most strongly relates to my future career. For now, the only focus is choosing a concentration that is interesting and will enable me to succeed. Although this is comforting, it also means I have more options than I thought I did, which adds to the confusion.

So, that’s the unclear situation I’m in right now. In the next few months, some serious exploration is in order before I can formally declare. As the Career Center advises, looking on department websites can be very helpful—it familiarizes you with faculty and required courses, and gives you an idea of the course load for the duration of the major. It’s also important to take a few classes in the major before fully deciding; I was considering a history major for some time last year, and although the courses I took were really interesting and I did well in them, I found the reading and homework for these classes to be very dry (just my opinion—no disrespect to any history majors). Although it wasn’t the result I was hoping for, taking these classes definitely helped me narrow down my options for a major.

While talking to Nicole, she showed me a great handout published by the Career Center entitled Choosing a Major. The best advice I garnered from this handout is the idea of an informational interview with current students (particularly upperclassmen) who are majoring in the field you’re interested in. Asking current students questions like “Why did you choose your major?” and “What do you like most/least about the major?” can give you insightful perspectives that you won’t get from department websites and discussions with faculty. You can start with your friends, and if you don’t know anyone in a particular major, you can ask your friends’ friends—chances are someone will know someone. Also, talking to Nicole or any of the career advisors is a tremendous resource--if you're truly lost, you can always make an appointment with the Career Center!

This post certainly does not encompass the entire process of declaring a major, and my own process is far from over. However, I now have a jumping-off point and a plan for narrowing down my options. I hope that you, my faithful readers, have the same, and if you ever feel alone or thoroughly confused or like no one understands how alone and thoroughly confused you are, just know that somewhere out there I’m stress-eating family-sized boxes of Cheese-It’s at a time.

Until next time,

Sean Boyden

Class of 2017

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Career Fairs: Not Just for Seniors Anymore

...And what you did is make the Tufts Career Fair a hit! 160 employers and over 1,100 students stopped by Gantcher on Wednesday to network, learn about job and internship opportunities, and hopefully begin the process of securing a post-graduation career!

Despite a few hiccups—I forgot my dress shoes and ties at home, so I had to borrow an explosively pink tie from my roommate and wear Sperrys, not to mention my epic wipeout while rushing to the Fair in the rain—I made it to the Fair shortly after it began. It certainly brought back memories of last year—confusion set in, but this time more muted, perhaps because of the lack of general anxiety that seems to pervade all of freshman year. After chatting with Nicole about live tweeting the fair (follow the Tufts Career Center on Twitter if you don’t already!) I took a lap around the fair to get an idea of what to expect. Although I personally didn’t come looking for an internship, I talked with several employers and students about the Career Fair and their thoughts on younger students’ attendance thereof:

Student Interviews: Shaan Shaikh, Alex Tong and Jenna Weinstein, members of the class of 2017.

Q: Why did you come to the Career Fair?

Shaan: “I’m looking for a summer internship.”

Alex: “Can’t hurt to look around and check it out.”

Jenna: “I’m hoping for an internship and some networking experience.”

Q: What made you decide to attend as a sophomore, when the general belief is that these events are meant for seniors?

Shaan: “There’s no harm in getting an early start, and it’s always good to learn how it works for when I come back next year!”

Alex: “Plus a lot of these companies will be here next year too, so meeting the recruiters now is a great conversation starter for the next time around.”

Jenna: “I want to start making connections as soon as I can. Plus it’s good practice to come now, when the stakes aren’t as high.”

Employer Interviews: Heather Woodcock, recruiter for the Shady Hill School Teaching Residency, and Elizabeth Morini, from DebtX Debt Exchange.

Q: What do you think are the benefits of coming to a college career fair?

Heather: “There are tremendous benefits. Events like these give students exposure to what’s out there, things they may not have known about. They can establish contacts, figure out what they really want in a career… The list goes on. I’d really encourage students to attend.”

Elizabeth: “It gives students an avenue to talk with multiple employers, and even find new interests. It’s a great learning experience overall.”

Q: Can any of these benefits be reaped by younger (non-senior) students?

Heather: “Certainly. Students can better plan about what they want. They can see what’s out there and not feel limited in their choice of careers.”

Elizabeth: “Off the top of my head, I think it’s an important learning experience. Students can practice talking to adults in a professional manner and get comfortable doing so.”

Q: What do you look for in an ideal candidate? What makes a student really stand out to you?

Heather: “I run a teaching program, so I’m interested in why a student wants to teach—what are their reasons for pursuing the field? I also look for people who are personable, passionate about teaching, and empathic. It’s definitely a function of personality. I don’t necessarily look at how a person dresses; personality and substance are definitely more important than appearance. I also am always interested in the types of questions students ask. It’s usually a pretty good indicator of who they are and what they’re looking for.”

Elizabeth: “I look for someone who is engaged and friendly. They definitely have to be personable. My rule is that if I make eye contact and smile, and they smile back, I know it’s going to be a good conversation.”

Maybe it’s the psychology major in me, but I’m intrigued by the similarities between the interviewees’ responses. All of the students, for example, mentioned that it’s great to get a head start, and the employers had similar opinions. Although both mentioned that they mostly recruit seniors, they seemed very open to talking with younger students as well—one of them even gave me a little career advice of my own after I explained my (rather confusing) situation to her!

I hope this post has shown what its title claims: the Career Fair isn’t limited to upperclassmen. If you think you’ll be all alone at the Fair as a freshman, think again—besides the people I interviewed, I saw countless other students with "2017" and “2018” scrawled on their name tags. If you didn’t get the opportunity to go this year, check out the spring Career Fair. It’s just one of the amazing resources available to you—take advantage of it!

Until next time,
Sean Boyden 
Class of 2017

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Setting Sail: An Introduction

Hello everyone! My name is Sean Boyden, and I’m one of the Career Center Social Media Interns for the 2014-2015 academic year. I’m a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, and according to Nicole, our supervisor, this makes me the youngest Career Center blogger ever.

I’m excited to be back on campus again (although moving into my 4^th floor West triple was not fun, no matter how nice the architecture is). I spent the summer in my hometown of Leominster, Massachusetts, which was recently called the "Most Boring Place in Massachusetts". Hometown pride, right? For the first 2 months of the summer, I interned at a small animal hospital in a neighboring town, where I gained valuable experience and learned a lot about veterinary medicine. I spent the rest of the summer working full-time on a local farm, which, despite my small frame and noodly arms, was a lot of fun.

This year, I hope to be sharing with you my personal experiences as a young college student attempting to find a career and prepare myself for life after graduation. So, I think it’s best to start with a little background on myself. For most of my life, I was certain that I wanted to be a veterinarian, and pursued it avidly through internships (like the one I mentioned above) and extra-curricular activities dating back to middle school. However, since coming to Tufts, my mind has exploded with possibilities. Like many of you, I have dozens of ideas about the perfect career for me. Part of me earnestly wants to pursue veterinary medicine, but some days I wake up wanting to go to (human) medical school. Other days I think I’d make a fantastic history teacher, and sometimes I just want to run back home and work on a farm for the rest of my life.

My aim for my blog posts is to reach out and connect with younger students who, like me, may not have a set idea for their career. Sophomore year is a crucial time to get oneself on a track for the rest of their life—we must choose a major, identify an academic adviser, and seriously search for internships, research opportunities, and other items to add to our resume. No pressure for a 19-year-old, right?

Hopefully I’ll be able to shed some light on the dark and scary world of adulthood, or at the very least, ensure my classmates that they’re not alone in utter confusion. So, here we go! I’m excited to get back to school, work hard, try to overcome my social awkwardness, and maybe even find myself along the way! 

Stay tuned for my weekly blog posts, and good luck to everyone else on the start of another school year!

Until next time,

Sean Boyden
Class of 2017

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