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Career OprtunitjesTuesday, October 1 8,183
DDUonirDe" noos overseas may oe a cimauiiepge
By CRYSTAL BERNSTEIN
Staff Writer : .' .
Positions arc few for those hoping
to work abroad after graduation, said
Troy Briles, placement counselor for
education and Robin Joseph,
experiential learning coordinator at
the University Career Planning and
Placement Office (UCPPS).
Although most jobs are scarce,
teaching positions are some of the
most abundant overseas opportunities.
American schools abroad hire State
Department assistants to teach an
American-style curriculum to foreign
nations. They usually prefer teaching
certification and one to two years of
experience, Briles said.
, The Department of Defense
maintains schools overseas, for
children of military personnel.
Americans might find teaching
positions in such schools or in small
private schools, where they could
teach English. -
Working abroad is "not a lucrative
proposition," Joseph said.
'Teaching jobs usually pay enough
to subsist on," Briles agreed.
Opportunities are available for
volunteers to work through
organizations like the Peace Corps
for small monetary benefits, but there
are few well-paying positions
available, because an employee
generally must have experience with
a company before it will send him
abroad, Briles said.
"Most people will move their
people from within to overseas posts,"
hesaid.
One impediment to working
overseas is applying for an
employment permit. "It's more and
more difficult every year to get into
European countries with a visa," Briles
said. Unless an employer arranges
the visa, it must be obtained from the
embassy of the country where the
employee plans to work, said Frances
Lane, the owner of Immigration
Assistance, a private business in
Raleigh.
Each country has its own rules and
regulations pertaining to foreign
workers, she said.
Those who hope to work abroad
next year need to start planning now,
Briles and Joseph said. The process
of locating employment abroad
requires a great deal of research and
writing, and can be expensive.
"Language skills no longer in and of
themselves are enough, nor is
international experience,'' said Briles.
For those undaunted by the
challenge, Vicki Latz is available to
work with liberal arts, majors at
UCPPS, augmenting the services of
Joseph and Briles. "It is something
that takes research, but it is not at all
unusual for students to do it after
their senior year," Briles said.
-.
Graduates talcing time off most face coosecjoeinices
By MARY JO DUNNINGTON
Staff Writer
For a college senior facing
graduation and the important career
decisions that accompany it, taking
some time off can be an attractive
prospect
After spending 17 years in school,
a graduate may feel that he deserves
a chance to travel or just hang out for
a while before the responsibilities of
a job start rolling in. What he may
not realize is that taking time off after
graduation may be hazardous to his
career.
According to Sharon Wiatt,
associate director of UNC's Career
Planning and Placement Service
(UCPPS), students who postpone
finding a job to take time off often
face lowered job opportunity.
"They don't realize they're hurting
themselves," she said.
One important obstacle to a post
graduation job search is that
employers frequently gear their hiring
and training around the school year,
Wiatt said. Recruiters visit college
campuses during students' senior year.
Training programs then start in May
or June, right after graduation.
"Even students who just take the
summer off are out of luck when they
show up in September or October,
and they're already four months
behind," she said.
Another factor is an employer's
attitude toward someone who starts
looking for work at some point after
graduation. Wiatt, who once worked
as a recruiter in the oil industry, cited
four conclusions that employers tend
to draw about such people.
One, an employer might view the
applicant as less mature and less ready
to assume the responsibility of a full
time job.
'The employer would be thinking:
'Why did you wait? What were you
doing your entire senior year? My
number one priority would have been
looking for a job," Wiatt said.
Two, the employer might see the
person's delayed job search as a lack .
of motivation and willingness to work.
Tom Brinkley, manager of recruiting
and college relations for R J. Reynolds
Industries, said that on a recent
recruiting trip to Athens, Ga., he talked
to a UNC alumnus who had graduated
in May and was looking for a job.
'Tasked him what he had been
doing since May. He said, T sort of
messed around.' I wrote him off
immediately as having no motivation,"
Brinkley said.
A third prejudice an employer may
have against people who have taken
time off is that they are "leftovers,"
Wiatt said. That is, it may be assumed
that the person has been looking for
a job all along, but has been
unsuccessful.
Donald Carson, senior vice
president and division executive of
international banking at First
.Wachovia Corporation, said his initial
reaction on meeting an applicant who
graduated in May of 1987 was, "Why
hasn't this person found a job yet?
"That's not a fair conclusion," he
admitted. "But it's a cynicism that
companies have."
Finally, an employer may be
suspicious of a person who has taken
time off, Wiatt said. The person who
shows up looking for a job in October
creates an inconvenience for the
employer, who was interviewing on
campus during the person's senior
year.
"The employer is going to wonder,
'Why this sudden interest now, when
I was on his doorstep a year ago?. "
she said.
According to Wiatt, 266 employers
recruited on the UNC campus in 1987.
These included banks, chemical and
oil companies, communications firms,
consulting firms, certified public
accountants, government agencies,
health and pharmaceutical agencies,
non-profit organizations, research
agencies, retailers and publishers,
representing a wide range of fields.
With such opportunities for seniors
to interview on campus and line up
jobs before graduation, a student who
takes time off has the extra burden of
having to conduct his job search on
his own, Wiatt said. Unfortunately,
such individuality can be negative in
an employer's eyes.
"Employers like people who are
not different," Carson said.
The reason for taking time off can
make a difference, however. Time
spent in the Peace Corps or the armed
forces can certainly add to a resume.
Or students may want to take the
time to travel or to do something they
have always wanted to do.. According
to Brinkley, the person who can give
a good, convincing reason for
deviating from the normal route can
make a good impression.
"The question is why they wanted
time off," Brinkley said.
" T was burned out' is not a
satisfactory answer," he said. "But if
you show , that you did something
career-building or character-building,
it could be turned around to be a very
positive response."
Carson also said a good reason for
the time off could be "a big plus."
He gave the example of a business
major wanting to study music for a
while before starting a career in
business.
Wiatt, however, warned against
overestimating the value of travel
experience to an employer. On a
UNC Career Planning and Placement
Service survey where employers were '
asked to rank 14 items according to
importance on a resume, travel ranked
last. -
"I find that students think travel is
personally meaningful, but even that
can turn off employers," she said.
When it comes to post-graduation
planning, careful consideration should
be taken, Wiatt said. A person can
make starting a career very difficult
for himself by taking time off. But
with a good reason and a convincing
argument, a person may be able to
step off the beaten path without
damaging his chances for finding" a
job. ,
:or 25 years,
our pple navo
endured long hours
and tough
working conditions
for virtually
no pay.
And 9 out of would
do if again.
Peace Corps offers you the opportunity to complete
ly immerse yourself in a totally different culture while help
ing to make an important difference in other people's
lives. ' - - :
And . . . educational institutions, international firms
and government agencies value Peace Corps experience.
Recruiters will be on campus ,
October 18, 19, and 20 at "The Pit!"
There will be a FILM and
Informational Meeting from
7-9 p.m. October 18th and 19th
in Room 209 of Hanes Hall
Peace Corps.
Still the Roughest job you'll ever love.