A Little Help from Your Friendly Neighborhood Career Consultant

In case you haven’t been told of the career consultation services we offer here at the BPC from any of your professors or friends, and even if you have and wanted to learn more, let us fill in you in on what could be the greatest news you’ve heard since getting that last snow day. As a business student you can receive free sessions with our career specialist, Christian Bryant, whom if you haven’t met is as bright as the California state she comes from. While working on completing her joint MA/PhD in Counseling Psychology, Christian brings her years of counseling and academic advising experience to our offices here to specifically help students in the College of Business.

Now before you get discomforted by the idea of receiving “counseling”, you should know that this will be able to help you with virtually any school related problems you may be having. Christian believes that “Everyone can benefit from career consultation; from CEO’s to young students, everyone can be helped with identifying their direction”. College students especially are at a time in their lives when big decisions are upon them, whether they are dealing with choosing a major, planning a career, finding work, or the stress that comes from this and our consulting services will be able to help you through it.

If you are interested in making an appointment, you simply can give us a call (618-453-2604), email (bryantc@cba.siu.edu), or stop in our offices (Rehn Hall, Room 113) to schedule a time. And if you do make an appointment all you need to bring is yourself and an idea of what you want to get out of it; Christian will work with you to figure out your goals and direction towards finding a solution.

Written by: Jon Robben, Business Placement Center

Making an Impression AFTER the Interview!!!

How to Write an Effective Thank You Note
(This advice has been customized with core content from http://www.thesimpledollar.com)

We are in the thick in interview season and one of the things I find most students (and even non-students) overlook is the interview follow-up. The first thing you should do following an interview is to SEND A THANK-YOU NOTE! Ideally you will send this within 12 hours of your meeting with a potential employer.

First of all, thank you notes can be written on basic stationery. You can pick up regular stationary just about anywhere - A bookstore, Staples, even Wal-Mart. There are plenty of styles to choose from that you can use to fit your personal taste. University Bookstore has notecards with the SIU seal embossed on them - these can be a great way to help personalize and 'brand' the note even further.

Second, always hand write a thank you note. A handwritten thank you note has a certain level of elegance that you just can’t capture by typing and printing a note. Take out your pen and write down your thoughts. If you prefer, you can draft the note at the keyboard, but then copy your final text from the screen to the card. If your handwriting is terrible (like mine), it's wise to practice on regualr printer paper before making the jump to the actual card (yes, I really will do this from time to time!)

Given that, it’s okay to use printed labels when addressing the envelopes. Not only does this save time, it also ensures accuracy of the address. As long as the note inside is handwritten, this is completely appropriate. Remember to get the appropriate address for your interviewer – You can ask for their business card, look at their email signature (if you’ve been emailing with them) or even ask the receptionist on your way out of the interview.

Addressing the thank you note: Start off with the word “Dear,” then imagine you walked into a room and saw this person (or these people) without having seen them for a year. How would you address them? That’s what you should use next. During your Externship did you call your sponsor 'Mrs. Smith' or 'Heather'?
The first sentence Say “thank you for” and state the opportunity you’ve been given. Here are four examples:
Thank you for the interview for the marketing internship
Thank you for the opportunity to learn how your business works.
Thank you for all of the professional insights you gave me last week.
Thank you for the advice you provided in terms of becoming successful in the sports marketing industry.

The second piece: Express a further detailed appreciation of the gift or opportunity by explaining what it meant to you or what you plan on doing with the gift. Continuing with the above examples:
I learned a great deal about Edward Jones and the financial services industry.
It was exciting and interesting to learn more about your organization and the educational technology field.
I feel extremely prepared in regards to my professional future.
Your insights have greatly helped me in figuring out that I really do want to work in the sports marketing arena.

The third piece: Try to build towards a future connection with the note target. Some examples:
I look forward to speaking to you in the future about other potential possibilities with Edward Jones.
I would greatly appreciate any other career-oriented advice, and I hope that your organization and I can have a long and happy relationship.
Next time I am in the area I would appreciate the opportunity to have lunch with you.
Feel free to call me anytime you visit Carbondale - I would enjoy the opportunity to show off the College of Business to you.

The signature: Sign it pleasantly and friendly, no matter what. I usually sign my notes “Thanks again!” or "Sincerely," and my name under that. I also generally like to enclose a business card for the recipients' records.