Category Archives: EIA Blogroll

TYPEFOCUS Unplugged: Workshop for you this FRIDAY!

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So you took the TypeFocus assessments and got some results. Maybe your results totally jive with the way you already viewed your tendencies, strengths, and values or maybe you’re completely confused about what they mean and you’re freaking out. Maybe you’re feeling curious/cranky/weird/excited. Okay, great — now let’s talk it out and embark, as Susan Walker, EIA Career Adviser says, “on the fascinating project of making this information work for you.”

This Friday, we’re holding the first in a series of informal workshops where you can get some guidance from EIA staff on how to interpret your results AND use some of the other features that TypeFocus offers.

Make sure to bring your results and/or your laptop and your questions/feelings. Can’t make it on Friday? No worries — we’re scheduling more of these workshops at different times throughout the fall.

See you there:

TYPEFOCUS Unplugged: Workshop
Friday, September 28
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Hillcrest 103

From EIA to CIA

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Like policy? Or international studies? Ever wonder what it’s like to work on the covert side of US and international government affairs? Well here’s your shot. The EIA will be hosting an info session on the Central Intelligence Agency this Tuesday from 6:00 – 7:00 pm in Hillcrest 103. Come hear about the types of job opportunities offered by the CIA and how to apply for them! With a graduate degree from a liberal arts college, your skills are likely to apply: science, engineering, technology, analysis, foreign languages and administration are all relevant fields at the CIA. Check it out – you may just go from EIA to CIA!

For more info on the CIA, see the CIA website

For more next week, see the EIA calendar of events

Revising your resume? The Editorial Style Guide makes things so much easier!

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The hardest part about drafting or revising my resume or cover letter always seems to come down to the small details. Do I have an academic advisor or an academic adviser? Am I interested in the nonprofit field or the non-profit field? Did I intern with the US Department of Education or the U.S. Department of Education? (Actually, neither, but I would like to! Call me?) I inevitably end up Googling my query and settling for faceless internet advice from someone on Yahoo! Answers named Bart who claims to have done “research” on the subject.

Boy, I sure do wish I had known that there was an Editorial Style Guide available on the Middlebury website that breaks down all that stuff I’ve Googled! (Wait — googled?) Have a question about capitalization, abbreviation, foreign expressions or split infinitives? Wondering if it’s sacrilegious to hyphenate “Middlebury?” (It’s not — provided it “improves the spacing of the printed document.”) Good to know, right?

More on LinkedIn…

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Twenty-three of you showed up for our LinkedIn workshop this afternoon. Yay!

In case you didn’t make it to the workshop, check out these top three tips from Tim and Tracy on how to build a great student LinkedIn profile:

1. Craft an informative profile headline

Your profile headline gives people a short, memorable way to understand who you are in a professional context. Think of the headline as the slogan for your professional brand, such as “Student, National University” or “Recent honors grad seeking marketing position.” Check out the profiles of students and recent alums you admire for ideas and inspiration.

2. Pick an appropriate photo

LinkedIn is not Facebook. If you choose to post a photograph — and we recommend that you do — select a professional, high-quality headshot of you alone. That means no party photos, cartoon avatars, or cute pics of your puppy.

3. Show off your education

Include information about all institutions you’ve attended. Include your major and minor if you have one, as well as highlights of your activities. It’s also appropriate to include study abroad programs and summer institutes. Don’t be shy — your LinkedIn profile is an appropriate place to show off your strong GPA and any honors or awards you’ve won.

Download the rest of the tips here (How to Build a Great Student LinkedIn Profile) and learn more about LinkedIn here.

Still want to learn more? Mark your calendars for the next LinkedIn workshop on Nov. 5th.

LinkedIn Workshop today at 12:30 in Hillcrest 103

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Have you heard of LinkedIn? Maybe you already have a profile, or are just wondering what the big deal is? Come to this session and we’ll talk about doing company research, how to network on LinkedIn, and how to tap into the growing alumni community. It’s pretty exciting stuff, my colleague Tracy and I are looking forward to helping you learn more.

TODAY, Monday the 17th
12:30 in Hillcrest 103

If you can’t make it, definitely check out: http://learn.linkedin.com

What not to do?

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A clever student at the Senior Meeting yesterday asked this good question during the new Q&A portion at the end. We emphasized so heavily many of the good things to keep in mind, by turning around the question it really made me and my colleagues think.

I commented that closing doors and not being curious was something to stay away from. In lots of my advising with students, I hear that opportunities like jobs on MOJO don’t get many applicants because the name of the company or title of the job is not attractive or name brand. I’m encouraging you to keep an open mind and go through this process of post grad planning with a mindset of exploration. If an employer is coming to campus, and it’s 6 pm on a Tuesday night and you have nothing else going on, stop by the info session and listen in. You might learn something, even if you never apply. If you find yourself walking by ADK next week or month and thinking, “Hey, I remember that presentation they gave”, then walk up the few steps, open the door and walk in. See what it’s like inside, you might be surprised, we’re happy to see you!

For anyone who missed the meeting, stay tuned for a link to a video online next week you can watch. If you did make one of the sessions, we’d love your feedback on this survey: http://middlebury.keysurvey2.com/f/456105/5333/

Thanks!

What is your purpose in life?

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A pretty heavy question to consider this early in the academic year, but it’s on my mind because I was at a career conversation with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson last night and she brought it up. With a small group of about 10 students, she was discussing her career in print journalism and how she got from one place to another. She started with a story from one of her first internships where she had to write an article about the last day of school in an elementary school. Although not initially enthused by the idea, she grew to enjoy it and only later in her career did she realize the impact this first assignment had on her.

Her basic message: opportunities do not always present themselves to you. Keep your eyes open to different experiences.

Here in EIA we are all about helping put some focus and direction to your life path. It starts with you walking in the door and engaging with us. I encourage you to start, anywhere, even if you know us folks in ADK well, or never imagined even what happens inside that old white building with the tall skinny tree in that roundabout where the buses leave from for breaks.

First things first, Senior Meeting is Wednesday at 1, 4 or 6 in Dana so pick the time best for you, and come get an introduction to how we can help you this senior year.

And by the way, Isabel’s answer to her own question was “leave the world a little better place than when you got here”. What’s yours?

Senior Meeting – Save the date

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Updated 9/14:

Welcome to your senior year! Hope you had a great summer. I’m the new guy in EIA thinking hard about how to help you transition to the world of ‘whatever is next’ after graduation. I want to make sure you first of all know this very important date coming up soon:

Wednesday, September 19

Choose one of these three times: 1 pm, 4 pm or 6 pm. Then show up in Dana Auditorium and be ready to learn all about your options for next year, and what you can do now to get started. You’ll see me, or my other career counseling partners, up on the stage, going through a brief but informative 45 minute presentation.

In the meantime, you can start browsing our new EIA website here: go.middlebury.edu/eia

The parts on career exploration, job search, fellowships and graduate school are all excellent, but poke around and get familiar with your resources. And lastly, don’t forget to tune up your resume, and bring it into RESUMANIA. More tips on that on the website too.

Thanks, and look forward to seeing you soon.
-Tim

Associate Director, Career Services
Center for Education in Action
tmose@middlebury.edu
443-5105