Your Online Arsenal: Vault & WetFeet

So you’re looking to do some research on potential careers in the industry that you want to go into but everything that comes up on your Google search really isn’t enough, or perhaps you just need some advice on where to start with your job hunt, or how to go about writing that resume you’ve been putting off. Well these are just several of the tools that are offered online through the career help sites Vault & WetFeet, and luckily for business students we give you free access to everything these sites have to offer. Now we know that the hungry college student inside of you dances every time the word “free” is thrown around (which it should), so you should be delighted to know that these online services are worth a lot more than that free t-shirt you got by signing up for a credit card during a baseball game.

Since both of these sites offer similar services you might be wondering what the difference is and which site to use. The main way these sites differ is that WetFeet is intended for College of Business Undergrads, where as Vault is aimed towards College of Business Master’s students. This isn’t to say that an undergraduate student can’t use Vault or that a grad student can’t use WetFeet, however each sites' structure and information they offer relate to students in different ways. With WetFeet the information is presented in a more casual way with a little bit of entertainment thrown in, while Vault takes a more professional approach.

So how do you take advantage of these free services you ask? Well don’t worry, because this won’t be affecting your credit score; all you have to do is go to cobajobs.com and follow the link on the left called “Online Resources”. From there you can navigate towards either WetFeet or Vault to begin your research and your savings.

With WetFeet you will be able to access informational articles written by industry professionals, learn about trends and jobs in leading industries, find out requirements and job outlook information for individual careers, and research employers. You should also make sure to take advantage of WetFeet’s “Insider Guides”, informational books with topics ranging from more general such as writing cover letters or interviewing skills, to more specific such as careers in insurance and risk management. Another great aspect of WetFeet is its job search engine, “indeed”, which scans other job search sites, newspapers, associations, and company career pages to give you a one-stop search. Vault is also great place for research, whether through their 2,500+ company profiles, employer Q & A’s, industry overviews, or occupational profiles. Vault also has their own guide books with topics covering interviewing, careers, industries, and employers.

So in return for all of the money you will save on what would otherwise be expensive guide books, not to mention the priceless information and advice that will prepare you for your future, all that we ask of you is to simply use it! These resources are literally just a few clicks away, so save up that finger strength, take a little break from your Facebook creeping, and check out what they have to offer.

Written by: Jon Robben, Business Placement Center

Taking Advantage of What the College of Business Has to Offer: Workshops/Seminars/Lectures

Every year, every semester, every month, and nearly every week the college of business hosts workshops, seminars, lectures, or some other event to help students become better professionals. Just this past month of September we hosted events for goal setting and action planning, developing your personal mission statement, and learning how to remove doubt in an interview. In the 'real world' professionals have to pay for this sort of thing, but College of Business students get access to information like this and more for the low, low price of FREE! Besides, we like you and love helping our students develop into well-rounded professionals.

However all we can do is offer these workshops, whether you decide to take advantage of them is entirely up to you. Obviously physically attending events is the most important step, but in order to take full advantage of what is offered you should make sure to mentally attend as well. Make sure to pay attention to the speaker/instructor and try to take as many notes as possible - if allowed (some events require you to move all over the place, making note-taking difficult). Often times you will be shown outside resources such as web sites or offices related to a workshop for you to visit on your own time, a gift that can keep on giving, so make sure you know how to access them. You should also have some sort of idea of what you want to get out of the workshop beforehand, as this will help you to come up with questions to ask; and you should ask questions! One of the greatest benefits of a workshop is getting a direct response from someone with knowledge and expertise on the subject at hand.

While there are times that we'd love to make students attend these events, we're aware that you will get more out of them if you are inspired to attend on your own. So please do yourself a favor and keep an eye out for upcoming events offered both inside and outside your major, because it is all for your benefit. For upcoming events within the college of business you can check out the BPC Calendar for the most up to date schedule.

Written by: Jon Robben, Business Placement Center

The Grad School Grind

How to Pursue Graduate Schools and Professional Degrees

Why should I consider grad school? This is an important question that students need to ask themselves in order to find out if an advanced degree is the right path to take. Furthering your education can bring about many benefits; for example, on the average, students who graduate with master’s degrees earn more money than those with bachelor’s degrees, and it also allows you to keep your training and skills current, making you more marketable for career advancement. No matter what your motives are when pursuing advanced degrees, it is an important decision that requires a good amount of research and planning.

To help you decide if graduate school is right for you it is necessary for you to have your career goal in mind; then you need to ask yourself if or how earning a graduate degree will help you reach this goal. If you are unsure of the answer to this question, graduate school may not be the right path to take until you can figure it out; it would be a shame for you to invest all that time and money to find out that you wanted to do something else. However if you do know the answer to this question you have a good start towards pursuing your advanced degree.

If you are considering going to graduate school you need to ask a number of questions that will help guide you in your decision making process; mainly when, what, and where.

The first question, “when”, regards whether or not you should continue your education right after earning your bachelor’s degree or if you should work a few years before. Again you need to know your career goal as this will help you to answer this question since both routes have different benefits; some occupations require an advanced degree even for “entry level” positions. If you go straight from your bachelor’s to your graduate program you will still have the good study habits and momentum from being a student. On the other hand, going to work for a few years before going to graduate school allows you to better assess your career goals by working in the field for a few years, which could also be beneficial since some graduate programs require work experience. Having this time in between your studies also gives you time to mature, giving you a broader outlook on your studies.

The second question that you need to ask yourself is, “What is the best graduate degree for me?” The two traditional categories of graduate degrees are master’s and doctoral, however many universities offer numerous hybrid-combined degrees and certificate programs as well. Master’s degree programs can be either professional or academic; the professional degrees are designed more for employment or advancement within a given field where as the academic degrees are designed for intellectual growth. Doctoral degrees can also be either professional or academic, with the professional degrees focusing on application of knowledge and skills and the academic degrees focus on advancing knowledge through original research in a given academic field.

Answering the question of where to go to graduate school is just as important as your decision of going to graduate school. To help you answer this question you will need to develop a list of criteria to use when evaluating programs; this will probably include factors such as your academic focus, the programs reputation, the degrees offered, accreditation, the school’s location, and the costs required or the financial aid that is available. By picking the elements of a program that are most important to you will allow you to compare graduate schools, ultimately guiding your decision to find your best fit.

As you can tell, making the decision of going to grad school requires a good deal of self-assessment (i.e. Asking yourself all of these questions), especially if you want to get into a program that you want. If you are seriously considering attending a graduate school, the sooner you start planning the better your chances of finding the right school will be; an upcoming event for you to mark in your calendars is the graduate school fair on October 14^th which will be a great place for you to start your research. For more information visit the BPC Calendar.


Written by: Jon Robben, Business Placement Center

Preparing for a Phone Interview

A lot of organizations like using the phone for their initial screening interviews. The reasons for this are pretty reasonable. They may want to save on travel costs, have multiple individuals on the phone call and see how the applicants' communication skills are.

That being said, phone interviews can be frightening - you don't know the reactions of the HR rep on the other end of the phone as easily as you would if you were being interviewed in person. The more you prep for a phone interview, however, the better you can come across. Follow these simple tips to stay comfortable and make your brand shine during a phone interview:

• While you could do the interview in your underwear - DON'T! Dress as if you are really going to the company. It has been proven that you perform better if you are professionally dressed (yes guys, this means wearing a tie).
• Try to schedule the call where you can use a landline phone. A phone interview is the wrong time to have your cell drop out. If you simply can't, make sure that wherever you call into the interview (or where you wait for their call) has strong service.
• Set up a well-lit and comfortable place to sit (or stand, if you are more comfortable) during the call.
• Have a notepad handy to jot notes down on during the call.
• Key tip here: Have copies of your resume, references, company info, and job description laid out. While you should know these documents inside and out, it's nice to have them handy.
• Have some questions for them! Remember, the interview is as much for you to get to know them as it is the other way around. This may lead to a career for you - make sure that you will be happy there. You can get some ideas about what to ask them here.

The BPC can help you prepare for any type of interview - phone, in-person, panel - you name it. Come by 113 or call 618.453.2603 today to schedule a consultation.

More Externs!

Following up from my post yesterday, this is the stack of actual student applications we have to go through before next week. This process includes typing all the information into a spreadsheet, scanning them into digital form, and then organizing them in time for next week.

Careful What You Wish For!

Getting back in the groove after Thanksgiving break can be tough for students and staff alike. Unfortunately the BPC doesn't have a choice, as next week we will be interviewing all of the College of Business applicants for the Extern2008 program. We had nearly 90 applications this year!!! (That's a picture of our interview schedules for next Monday through Thursday)


A big thanks goes out to all staff and faculty who helped us get the word out about this great program!!!

Now, time to get back to work :-)