Career Center Blog

As the new school year prepares to begin, a lot of students, incoming and returning, continue to wonder what it is they really want to do. If you are interested in the fashion industry, then you might believe that you either have the option of being a fashion designer, or maybe a buyer. These are two great careers in the industry but did you know that there were other types of fashion careers? There are some types that have nothing to do with sketching or textiles. Here at Bowling Green, the Apparel Merchandising & Product Development program gives you a good start to the fashion industry. From this major, you can look into a wide array of fashion jobs. If you are unsure about the different types, try reading a couple articles from Jasmine Watts, Shopping and Fashion writer for Associated Content. Here are two great articles that will give you a look into alternative fashion careers:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5574624/writing_jobs_within_the_fashion_industry.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5573114/the_business_side_of_fashion_business.html

Fall semester is approaching and this can be a very exciting time for incoming students. In addition to moving in, making friends, and starting classes, it is a great time to look for a job. The beginning of the year is a great time to job search. Here are a few tips for new students when searching for jobs in BG.

1. Apply Early- Don’t wait until the last minute to apply for jobs because there is a great chance that the position will be filled. There is a lot of job competition on and off campus so the earlier you put in an application, the better your chances will be.
2. Visit Career Center- Be sure to visit the Career Center early and often. The Career Center staff is equipped with many resources to get you started in the right direction. You might get a job lead that you would never have known about if you hadn’t made the visit.
3. Check WorkNet Daily- WorkNet is a wonderful resource for all students because it provides you with a list of jobs on and off campus, as well as internship and co-op opportunities. Whether you are looking for your first part-time job on campus, or an entry-level position after graduation, WorkNet will continue to be a great source for job searching.
4. Attend Job Fairs- Every year, BGSU has job fairs for students to interact with employers from various businesses and corporations. This may or may not solve your immediate part-time job needs, but this will open you up to many opportunities. Plus, it is good to get into the habit of going to job fairs and meeting with employers.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, there are many things that employers dislike when it comes to emailing in the workplace. Here are a few things that you should not do when emailing.

1. ALL CAPS: When you are sending a message to a coworker or employer, do not type in all caps. Even if what you are trying to say is urgent, typing in all caps will not make the message more important.

2. all lower case: Writing without any capital letters is just as bad as all caps. It makes the message seem informal and lazy.

3. Wrong! punctuation?: Check over your email to make sure that you have included the proper punctuation. Your message may be confusing if there are exclamation points where periods should be.

4. Txt Tlk: Do not write in ‘text talk’. Firstly, it is informal and not appropriate for the workplace. Secondly, not everyone will know what you are trying to say. This will make messages hard to understand.

5. Sending extremely long emails that could have been summed up in just a few sentences: Although it is good to write in complete sentences without the use of abbreviated text lingo, it is not good to write an email that is extremely long. If you have a message that is one long continuous paragraph, then it may be necessary to shorten it down to just the important points.

Behavior-based interviewing is a method that revolves around the idea that an applicants past behavior will be an indicator to how he or she will react in similar situations. This method is now growing in popularity among interviewers. The type of questions that are asked are ones that will determine how you have handled yourself in past situations. You will need to remember details of past events that demonstrate your decision making skills as well as your thought process. BBI will put you under pressure to think on the spot and come up with detailed descriptions of scenarios. The best way to prepare for this type of interview is to get familiar with the type of questions that may be asked. Some examples of BBI questions are:

1. Provide an example of how you acquired a technical skill and converted it into a practical application.

2. Tell me about a suggestion you made to improve the way job processes/operations worked. What was the result?

3. Think of a situation where you distrusted a co-worker/supervisor, resulting in tension between you. What steps did you take to improve the relationship?

When you are going in for an interview, they will not tell you that it is behavior-based. This method will just be naturally incorporated into the process. These questions are a good start when trying to familiarize yourself with this interview process.

Looking to find a job working for the government? A great way to discover federal jobs is by visiting www.usajobs.gov. Here, you will find over 35,000 job postings. There are a wide variety of jobs that are updated on a daily basis and can easily be searched by location, job category and agency. UsaJobs also has a wonderful feature that gives you the opportunity to create online resumes that are directly targeted to finding a federal position. You can use this resume when you apply to different positions and it can be searched by recruiters as well. If you take the time to search the site, you will discover the many resources available to you.

Recent graduates should create a profile on LinkedIn if they do not already have one. LinkedIn is a terrific website that connects people to employers and colleagues. There are many recruiters who surf through qualified profiles and resumes looking for the next great addition to their company. It is also possible to search for many companies and look for open positions in different locations. It is wonderful source for staying in touch with people from your industry. If you are looking to network, then this is the place for you. Just by creating a profile, you can raise your chances of an employer recruiting you for a position. Sign up on LinkedIn today!

Welcome to all of the incoming freshman here at BGSU. You are in for an exciting and memorable experience. While living here in Bowling Green, finding a job might be of interest to you. Whether you need a little more money in your pocket or you have other expenses to take care of, it is important to start looking for a job early. Jobs, whether on-campus or off, can be rather competitive during certain times of the year. Starting early can give you an edge over the competition. Most places off-campus do not start hiring until the end of summer. They usually like to be prepared before the school year starts. If you can, plan a summer visit to BG and try and schedule an interview for a position downtown or anywhere surrounding the school.

As far as on-campus employment, log on to your MyBgsu student account and frequently check WorkNet. WorkNet is a great place to find on-campus as well as off-campus jobs. It is also a great resource to use when looking for an internship. One of the best resources available is the Career Center. Here, you will be able to find staff members whose main goal is to perfect your resume, teach you interviewing skills, and get you a job. There is also an amazing library available for students to use when researching career related topics. You might find some tips that are useful in your current job search as well as future ones. Also, the university has a few jobs fairs a year that you can attend. It is good to stay active in the job world because you never know what opportunities are out there for you.

After all of the applications turned in, there has been no call backs yet for any of the jobs she applied to. Many of the managers told her that business will be slower during the summer, but as far as the fall semester, they might be hiring a few more employees. It is very hard to land a summer job in BG unless you already have one going into the summer. Getting a summer job at a restaurant or bar here would mean that you were extremely lucky and in the right place at the right time. You also have to know the right people. This is why networking is so important. There are tons of people out there who got their job through someone they knew.

In the case for our applicant, she has given up her search for a job here, and decided to continue writing online for a living while also continuing with her big career search.  As far as writing goes, there are many websites out there that hire writers to create articles for their sites. This is a paid gig and the more sites you write for, the more money you can potentially make. Not too many go down this road because it does take time and dedication. If you do decide to write, it can be very rewarding.

As college students near the end of their final school term, some enter into a world of the uninsured. This could be due to the fact that the insurance that once covered them no longer will. Some lucky students get a few years after they are finished with school only because of the variety of insurance plans available at different employers. It has become increasingly important to now search for a job that has benefits. Without benefits, you can barely survive in this world. Most employers offer some kind of benefit plan for their employees. The important part is just becoming a full time worker and staying at the job for the minimum amount of time necessary for eligibility. Also, students can surf the web for any type of information regarding discounted insurance rates. Although these are a little more difficult to discover, there are some that do exist out there. Health care is extremely important. It just seems like you never know how important it really is until it’s gone.

For more information about coverage for young adults, click on the following link http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=14497

Final Applications 5-19-2010

So our jobseeker has now decided to put in her final applications to places downtown. On this day, she went in to a few places to check on her application status as well as turned in new applications. She applied to: Mr. Spots, The Cookie Jar and Copy Shop all located on East Court Street off of Main Street.

Out of those three, Mr. Spots was actually hiring and she got to speak to a manager. He was very nice and gave her a lot of information about potential employment. As far as Cookie Jar and Copy Shop, there was no manager available and it was unclear if there were any positions available.

In addition to appyling on E.Court Street, she also applied online to a few banks that were hiring. These banks included PNC, Huntington, and Fifth Third. She applied for the teller position. She also applied for several salaried positions online that were located in New York. A couple of these positions included: Buyer for Rainbow Fashion, and Traveling Fashion Advisor.

These are the very last jobs she will be applying for in hopes that she will be contacted soon. Now that time has passed, she needs to focus on getting a salaried job in her field.