Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Sept. 20, 2005, edition 1 / Page 19
Part of Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
®l|P oa% aar Hppl Field-specific events typical for campuses Students, faculty, businesses profit BY ERIC JOHNSON ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR With many students shouldering a heavy debt load during college, officials at UNC-system campus es are working to make sure new graduates can put their degrees to quick use. Career services administrators have set up a variety of events to connect students with poten tial employers, arranging career fairs that focus on specific fields and encouraging students to take advantage of on-campus opportu nities for networking. Administrators said events orga nized around specific professions often provide greater benefit to both students and employers. “It seems to be a win-win situ ation,” said Karen Thompson, employer relations coordinator at UNC-Wilmington. “It allows (com panies) to focus in on their target audience.” Thompson said the move toward more specialized career events was partially driven by feedback from different companies. At Western Carolina University, officials are planning a number of fairs oriented to specific career paths. Michael Despeaux, career-ser vices coordinator at WCU, said the school is planning two events focused on public service, law enforcement and criminal jus tice. “There will be a variety of federal and state type of agen cies there,” he said. Most of the employers represented will probably be local and county law enforcement agencies from around the state, he said. Western also will be hosting a construction-management fair, complementing the new construe Specialized career help available Caters to business, journalism majors BY JENNY RUBY ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR The search for internships and jobs can be overwhelming. But students within the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Kenan- Flagler Business School can find specialized support within their respective programs. Jay Eubank, director of career ser vices in the journalism school, said having a resource focused on aiding students within the school is impor tant because of its large population. “I think with the number of stu dents that we have in the school, it’s important to have somebody that keeps up with the career field of journalism and mass communi cation who has a background in it professionally,” he said. And Shawn Graham, associate director of MBA career services, said he agrees. “The professional schools are primarily the ones that have spe cialized career services... because our students are so specialized in their focus,” he said. EARN UP TO $60,000 WHILE WORKING ON YOUR COLLEGE DEGREE Baccalaureate Degree Completion Program (BDCP) a Must be a US Citizen and a Junior or Senior pursuing a BA/BS degree. □ This is not NROTC: NO uniforms and NO training while in college. a Some Career Fields on Graduation as a Officer: Intelligence, Cryptology, Supply and Logistics, Nuclear Power, Engineering, Aviation and more. It’s Your Future. It’s Your Call. Make It Now. NAVY accelerate your life Call: 1-800-662-7568 or visit the US Navy at the DTH Career Fair tion-management major the school added a few years ago. East Carolina University also is planning a construction manage ment career day. Administrators at several insti tutions said career events orga nized around education profes sions were often some of their largest. “It’s a tremendous career day,” Despeaux said. “Just about every school district will be represented, and we also bring in folks from upstate South Carolina, eastern Tennessee and north Georgia.” Specialized career days are not just an opportunity for students. Thompson said faculty mem bers often use them as an oppor tunity to meet with business pro fessionals in their fields of inter est, discussing current trends and field priorities. “It allows key faculty members in those specific areas to connect with key employers that hire their majors,” she said. Most schools also hold a special event for students seeking intern ships or part-time jobs during their time at school. Thompson said the university works closely with local employers to seek out student friendly positions. Despeaux said one of Western’s most popular career fairs is orga nized around finding summer employment for students. Local golf courses, country clubs and summer camps all turn out in force to recruit WCU students, he said. “That will be hugely attended.” Officials say they work hard to publicize events, since higher student turnout means busi nesses are more likely to attend. Thompson said some career fairs at UNC-W attract up to 2,000 students. “Employers like it because they know when they come to UNC- Wilmington there’s guaranteed to be a huge student turnout.” The business school’s career ser vices focus on placement for full time MBA students, who often have five years of work experience. Every year, the office holds pan els, career fairs, on-campus inter views and resume workshops to help students prepare for interviews. “Our primary focus is to provide them with the tools necessary to find the right job,” Graham said. “It really is a career-development focus.” Eubank also holds workshops and meets with various groups, but said he prefers having one-on-one contact with students. “I’ve found that students gener ally get more out of the whole pro cess if someone can sit down and talk through the issues they may be facing,” he said. Eubank said one of the first things he works on with students is the resume providing hand outs and offering his input. He also looks at cover letters and essays. Both career services provide students with the opportunity to link up with a number of resources within their respective interests. Career Fair UNC provides range of services BY JIM WALSH ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR For students who are unsure about what they want to do for a living or a major, for that mat ter the University offers a wide variety of services to help them out. University Career Services, located on campus, offers many dif ferent options for students who are looking to take their professional careers by the reigns. “We provide students with career help and we can probably assist them with any need they have that’s related with their career goals,” said Marcia Harris, director ofUCS. Harris’ office can help students find internships, improve resumes and choose a major. The staff also can facilitate the planning stages of a career path. In addition to person-to-per son counseling, the office has an extensive Web site that includes templates for resumes and cover letters and outlines tips that stu dents can use to put such docu ments together. Harris said the office provides different services for students who are at different points in their career paths. “For the student that’s more or less deciding on some career Preparation key before attending fair Resume, appropriate dress important BY LINDSAY MICHEL ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR About 100 employers eager to find young minds to add to their staffs will flock to UNC this Thursday. For any student, the crowd of veteran interviewers can be quite intimidating. Marcia Harris, director of University Career Services, said there are a few things students can do before career fairs, so they can keep calm and go for the gold. First, Harris suggests that stu dents visit the UCS Web site, careers.unc.edu, and browse the list of organizations that will be in attendance. Eubank said he connects stu dents with alumni and others who can give advice and additional support for students during their career and internship search. And during the academic year, more than 100 organizations come to the business school to make pre sentations about career opportuni ties and to answer any questions from students. Graham also said MBA students organize trips to different compa nies across the country. Last year, students traveled to New York and Atlanta among other places speaking with professionals and learning about different businesses. Eubank encourages students to actively participate in all the ser vices available. “I believe that the best internship search is one that a student is very active in,” he said. Eubank said he begins meet ing with students as early as their freshman year, noting that it’s never too early to begin working toward a specific career. “I think it’s important to start early in what you want to do,” he said. “Those that start early give themselves a chance to gain much more experience.” choice, we can help them prepare to be in the best position when they apply,” she said. Upperclassmen often have dif ferent objectives when they come to the center. “For the student who’s going to be graduating soon and think ing about full-time employment, we can work with them on those employment goals,” Harris said. Students who visit UCS will find out about the common mis takes young professionals make when applying for a job, such as forgetting to include contact information on a resume or fail ing to proofread a cover letter for spelling errors. Harris, who has been the direc tor of UCS for 23 years, said stu dents often have misconceptions about the job-search and applica tion process. A common mistake, she said, is to bury information about educa tion at the bottom of the resume, where potential employers are less likely to see it. “(Students’) primary asset to offer their employer is their UNC degree,” she said. In addition to helping with drafting documents for job inter views and helping students iden tify career goals, UCS also offers an environment to practice inter- “It’s going to be almost impos sible for a student to talk to all of them,” she said. Narrowing the list helps stu dents use their time at the fair most effectively. “Along those same lines, stu dents shouldn’t guess in terms of what they think the company is looking for just by the name,” Harris said. For example, she said, this year NBC needs more technologically competent students instead of those interested in broadcast jour nalism. Second, students should bring their resumes along. A helpful resume-creating tool Paul | Weiss NEW YORK 50...y0u think you want to be a lawyer. Launch your career in the legal profession as a paralegal at Paul, Weiss before taking the plunge. Resume deadline is January 9th with on-campus interviews on Friday, February 3rd. Based in New York, the Paralegal Program is a great opportunity to get exposure and experience in the legal environment in preparation for a legal career. Please stop by our table at the Career Fair. To learn more, visit us on-line at www.paulweiss.com PAUL, WEISS, RIFKIND, WHARTON & GARRISON LLP NSW YOflK WASHINGTON Bf-UING MONO KONG LONDON TOKYO TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2005 Undergraduate enrollment by major The list includes students seeking both a first or second major in the subject area. RANKING MAJOR TOTAL ENROLLED 1 Undecided 3,240 2 Biology 1,710 3 Business Administration 1,290 4 Psychology 1,266 5 Journalism and Mass Communication 1,181 6 Political Science 1,019 7 Communication Studies 800 8 History 594 9 English 592 10 Economics 568 SOURCE: HTTPY/REGWEB.UNC.EDU DTH/FEILDING CAGE views. With these “mock interviews,” students sit down with a coun selor and go through the process of an interview from start to fin ish. After the interview, they can watch a recording of the process and discuss with a counselor what they did and did not do well, and how they can improve. Harris said watching a record ing of an interview can help students pick out distracting mannerisms and poor body lan guage. “That’s a very helpful service,” she said. UCS offers something for just about every student, whether is available at the career services Web site. When someone approaches a potential employer, Harris said she recommends students have a prepared introduction about them selves. “We also recommend that each student prepare a five-minute introductory pitch, so that they’re not stammering at the last min ute about how they approach an employer,” she said. Dressing appropriately also is important before heading out the door, Harris said. Freshmen and sophomores who want to browse and explore need not worry about their clothing. But for students looking to score a job or an internship, she provides the following tips: they are starting their path toward a career or are looking to improve an already impressive resume. Harris said students should take advantage of the ser vices offered. At any given time, she said, the office has listings for more than 2,000 jobs and 1,000 intern ships. Plus, Harris said, the office extends a welcoming environ ment. “We have a very warm, friend ly, inviting staff that is not in the slightest bit intimidating. And we get rave reviews from students who have met with our counselors.” Students looking for an intern ship should wear business casual. Seniors and graduate students in search of a job should wear pro fessional business attire. Men should wear gray or navy suits with dark socks. And don’t forget to iron. It’s best for a suit to look pressed and straightened, Harris said. Women should stick to a suit and skirt or a pantsuit, with a small design or a solid color. Stay away from bright colors and big designs, and make sure long hair is held back neatly and away from the face. Aside from the standard inter viewing tips, Harris said, students who are most successful at career fairs never forget to let their per sonality and enthusiasm shine. 3
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 20, 2005, edition 1
19
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75