Welcome UCSB students! My name is Chris Velez and I am one of the Career Services Peer Advisors this year. The Career Peers help students find the information they need about assessments, jobs, internships, and graduate schools in our Career Resource Room (CRR)! We have put together a list of the best resources the CRR has to offer for both new and returning students.  

10. Graduate School Binders- Thinking about graduate school after college? Our graduate school binders contain information about graduate programs, standardized examinations, grants and scholarships.

9. Major Brochures- Perfect for first year students who are not sure what field they want to major in. The handouts contain information about the major and career options.

8. Handouts- The CRR has a informative handouts on jobs, resumes, cover letters, internships and interviewing. These are very popular and helpful resources.

7. Career Assessments- Take an assessment test to determine your interests (Strong Interest Inventory) and personality type (Myers-Briggs). A Career Counselor interprets your results and can help you apply them to your major or career goals.

6. Career Binders- The Career Exploration wall is filled with Career Binders containing up to date information about each field. They also have information on graduate school and internship options.

5. Career Manual- This resource offers information on jobs search tools, internships, graduate/professional school options. This manual was designed by the Career Services staff and made very useful for UCSB students.

4. Workshops- Career Services offers a wide range of workshops every quarter. The workshops include resume writing, interviewing skills, and graduate school/career information sessions. Pick up the Schedule of Events calendar at the CRR so you don’t miss out!

3. Drop-in advising- Need your resume critiqued by a Career Counselor? Stop in Monday through Friday from 10a.m.- 4p.m. for drop-in for a 15 minute session with a counselor.

2. Gaucho-Link: Connect with local and national employers who have available job openings, internships and campus interviews. You can also create your resume and cover letter with Resume Book and submit it to employers through Gaucho-Link. Check it out!  

1. Career Staff- The peers can help you find the resources you need for jobs, internships, and graduate school. If you have any questions, ask us! You can also make an appointment with a Career Counselor for individual counseling.  

We encourage every student to use all of the resources in the Career Resource Room. Career Services is located in the pink building (building 599) located next to the Humanities & Social Sciences Building. Our office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30am- 4:30pm. For more information about Career Services, check out www.career.ucsb.edu. We look forward to helping you identify and fulfill your career goals!

This blog will inform you about the differences I have learned about cover letters, resumes and interviews in America versus Germany. There are many differences so it is hard to focus on just a few.

I have been told that a resume in U.S. is usually more important when applying for a job than it is in Germany. If Germans were to apply for a job, the employer takes their first look over the cover letter. If the cover letter sounds interesting to the potential employer than the second step is to read the resume. The creation of the cover letter is almost the same in Germany as it is in America with only one difference.  In Germany the first lines of the cover letter indicates the title of the application in bold underlined letters.  For instance, the first sentence of a German cover letter might be “My application is for your job offer as a career counselor at Career Services posted on 07/20/2009”.  We make it stand out so the employer knows what the application is for.

Students in Germany study at school how to write a cover letter and resume. It depends on your school at which grade you learn how to do this, but when you graduate you are familiar with writing a cover letter and resume. Maybe this is a reason why for German students find it is easier to write these documents because they learn it in an earlier age usually around 15 years old.

But what is really impressive is the information which you place on an American versus a German resume about the personality description.  German resumes are more similar to a biography. Usually you write down your gender and marital status in a German resume. You also give information about your parents’ occupations, name and age of your brothers and sisters. You also indicate your age to the employer as well as your religion, your disability and the place of birth. The greatest difference on a resume appears to be a picture of yourself. You place your photo on the first page of your application.

Interviews are conducted very similarly between the two countries. But what you can not find in Germany are phone interviews.  After an interview in Germany, we do not write a thank you note to the employer.  Many questions which are considered illegal for employers to ask in America are expected to be asked in Germany. In fact the employer already has this information since it appears on the resume.

My 10-week internship will end this week! I am very sad about this! It was one of the greatest experiences that I ever had. This has been a memorable one and I will always carry it with me. I learned much the last two and a half months, not only for my study in Germany but I also gained valuable experience for myself. The interactions with UCSB students and co-workers were very interesting for me and it was wonderful to have the opportunity to learn about all these new programs at Career Services.  Since I established new friends here and met such wonderful people, it is more difficult to leave – but I have to. The next two weeks I have to spend time writing papers and reports for my university in Germany. During the last two weeks in the U.S., I am excited to travel along the west coast to Mexico and then to the east coast to Miami before going back to my studies in Germany which starts on September 1. Thank you for reading my last blog here at Career Services!

Tschuess – macht’s gut!! (“Good bye – take care and have fun!”)

You have no idea about your career? You are not alone. Every person has thought about this issue. Choosing a career is, in my opinion, one of the hardest decisions in your life to make. And for just that reason you should take the time needed to reflect on it and not just choose a career direction so you can say you have one. Here the comparison between United States and Germany seems similar. The “right” career for you needs to meet more than one requirement. Thinking about your interests is key because you need to be able to spend a lot of time in your career. Another important part of your career decision is your personality. What I have observed is that many of us aren’t able to fully describe our personalities or understand how it might relate to a career. The third and fourth factors to consider are your values and your skills. To figure out who you are and which careers match with your interests and your personality, come to Career Services! Students can use the Career Assessment Program. I did the Strong Interest Inventory and the Myers Briggs Type Inventory assessments – I’ll tell you more about both today.

Let us start with the Strong Interest Inventory. The point of the test is to help you think about your interests and identify a career focus. The test is a powerful tool that can assist you in making satisfying decisions about your career and education. The Strong Interest Inventory is completed on-line, takes about 45 minutes of your time, and may be filled out either at Career Services or your own home. It is divided into six themes: Social, Artistic, Enterprising, Realistic, Conventional and Investigative. Each area represents different interests, work activities, potential skills and values. After you finish the assessment, you can attend a test interpretation session with a career counselor to learn the results. Please allow two workdays for processing before coming to one of the scheduled test interpretations.

What type of results will you get? You will be assigned one to three themes depending on how you answered. Additionally you receive nine pages of results that include, amongst others, your top ten occupations of interest and occupations of dissimilar interest. For my self the results were pretty interesting, because I have already decided on a course of study and my career at home in Germany. I wondered whether the outcome would show interests and occupations related to my career. But it seems that I chose the right study to prepare for a job that is ideally suited to my career interests.

My three letter code was SAE. My highest theme was “Social”. This means that I am concerned with the welfare of others, enjoy communication, and get along well with others. “Social” people often work in social service, government or educational environments. Another high theme of my Strong Interest Inventory was A meaning “Artistic”. It describes people that like it to deal with problems through self-expression in an artistic medium. “Artistic” people often prefer unstructured situations, are sensitive and have a great need for individual expression. The third theme was an E, which stands for “Enterprising”.  Folks  with high Enterprising interests have a great facility with words which can be put to effective use in selling and leading. They prefer business environments, particularly the people side of business.  Of course, these descriptions are only the main general ones. Your results will be explored in more depth and detail when reviewing the report in the test interpretation session.

The other assessment I did is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), one of the most popular assessments on the market. This one enables you to gain a quick understanding of your personality and the variables to consider as you research your career options. This also takes only 45 minutes and your results will be ready in two business days. The MBTI reports your personality type in letters. Your type description will be in four letters from 16 possible types. The personality types help you to answer how you handle following questions:

• Where you do you get energy from?
• How do you take in information?
• What factors are most important to you when make decisions?
• Do you tend to make decisions fast so you can plan or do you gather lots of information and make the decision at the last possible minute?

 The “Clarity of Reported Preferences” chart shows you how strong your preferences are in a given direction. And what I really appreciate about the MBTI is that you are able to learn more about your strengths and your weaknesses. You get written text that is directly regarding your personality. Furthermore you learn what you need in a career to be satisfied and the counselor shows you a list of some popular careers that are matched with your personality type. Finally you get an “additional career choices” which also matched with your 4-letter type description according to career industry. At the end of this chapter I would like to point out that while the results from the assessments should help you to consider what your career could be, it isn’t the decision maker. You are. So if you are interested in figuring out what your career could be or even if you just want to learn more about yourself, come to the Career Center and take advantage of the Career Assessment Program!

Before I finish my third blog I would like to tell you something about the handling of assessments in Germany like the Strong Interest Inventory and the MBTI. There are tests like these, but normally in Germany a teenager makes their career decisions in high school. It depends on which school you are enrolled if you do assessments like SII or MBTI to help you decide. 

Another way that teenagers take career assessments in Germany is for a class to come to the agency where I currently work on a field trip. The students receive a lot of information about different careers and take the assessments together at the same time in a classroom at the agency. The teenagers then get their results in written form. If they have any questions about the results, the students can make an appointment with a counselor who is specializes in young people and their decisions about careers. Additionally some counselors do outreach to different schools and speak to the students about career issues in their classes. But what happens most often is that the teenagers come in with their parents to the agency for a one-on-one-interview. These appointments take one hour, are free and the students can take advantage of this service whenever they feel the need.

I recently had the humbling privilege to experience what job rejection feels like. The word “humbling” is the key word in this entry because it truly allowed me to feel what thousands of Americans are feeling in the current economic situation we are experiencing. I never had a hard time getting a job before, but that might be due to the fact that I have been employed prior to the financial meltdown.

I was applying to get a summer research position with the CNS on campus where I would get the opportunity to study the societal effects of nanotechnology—something new for a change. I went through the usual freak-out mode most people go through after they have their interview and wonder, “did I talk too much? did I talk too little? Maybe they didn’t like me?” These were the questions that were racing through my head for a week after the interview.

I was so set on getting this internship that I did not even think twice about the fact that I might not even get it. I had this mindset that I would automatically get the internship. Little did I know that times have changed. I always hear people say no one is hiring in this job market, but now that it has hit close to home for me I see that it takes a lot more than just landing an interview to guarantee a job or internship.

I feel as if the interview itself actually went well, but from this experience I have learned that you win some and you lose some. I learned that I need to keep a level headed mindset every time I apply to a job. Aside from these points I have also realized that it is important to use multiple resources when on the job hunt.

By multiple resources I mean being creative in what types of jobs and internships you apply for so that you can get the highest amount of offers. In my experience I applied to only a select few internships because I was neglecting the internships I felt were too easy to get. Now I realize that by applying to out of reach, medium range, and easily attainable internships or jobs. This way I could have more options when it comes to choosing what internship to take and having back up internships.

Now that the initial rejection has come and gone I have realized that not getting jobs and call backs is all a part of the career process. Determination is key and not giving up is essential in succeeding in any career. I learned that this persistence will ultimately pay off in the future and even though I might have learned this the hard way, at least I learned it. You have to face adversity to know the worth of what you do have. With that being said, I have now gained knowledge here and there about what it takes to make it in the job market.

Last week, I wrote about the importance of getting involved on campus and at work.  Getting first-hand experience in a certain field does not only enhance your resume, but also your skill set, interview material, and mindset. Employers are increasingly making leadership skills a higher and higher priority in their potential future employees. And for that reason student organizations dedicated to providing their students with leadership training are appearing all over college campuses.

During my freshman year, I joined the National Society of Leadership and Success- UCSB chapter. In order to gain the benefits offered by the Society, there was a set ofrequirements that I, along with all other hopeful members, had to complete before becoming a full member. They include attending three video broadcasts during which professionals, entrepreneurs, and motivational speakers give advice to college students and future leaders; partaking in three success networking team meetings, in which small groups of students discuss their goals and achievements; and one leadership training day, which includes a variety of lessons and activities. Once these requirements are fulfilled, members have access to the website’s resources, letters of recommendation, and an exclusive job bank. Most importantly, we have been provided with professional leadership training that will be a great asset in any future endeavor.

In order to enhance this training, I took on leadership roles within the organization. During my sophomore year, I became the co-promotions coordinator with one of my friends. We were responsible for creating advertisements for our events and distributing/posting them around campus. Having only a light load of responsibilities was a great way to ease myself into a position of leadership. However, it proved to be a great introduction into what running an organization means and how to pull off successful events.

The following year, I became president of the Society. In this role, I learned more about successful communication, event planning, leadership skills, and organizational skills than I had in any other position I had previously occupied. Throughout the year, I maintained contact with our campus’ members, other officers, our faculty advisors, and representatives of the national office. I helped envision and execute fundraisers, weekly meetings, and the end-of-the-year induction ceremony. I scheduled a sufficient number of broadcasts, success networking team meetings, and leadership training days to ensure that pending members would have enough opportunities to complete their requirements during a ten-week quarter. All in all, I feel that I gained a great deal of experience from which I will benefit in the future.

I really believe that the best way to learn about anything is to actually experience it. Engaging in an activity, whatever it may be, will always be the most efficient and effective way of understanding it. While it can be quite easy to forget something that you heard or read, it is usually far more unlikely to do so with a skill or talent you learned through first-hand experience with it. So, keep in mind that simply joining a group will never be as beneficial as actually attending all of the events or taking on a position of leadership. Next time you join a campus organization remember to get truly involved in its vision, meetings, and activities.

As college students, I’m sure you have all been told several times how important it is to get involved in the various opportunities your campus has to offer. Joining ateam, becoming an active member of a campus organization, or simply attending social events are all ways of doing so. With so many choices, though, how should you decide which opportunities to take advantage of and which are just not worth your time?

First and foremost, consider which options sound the most appealing to you. If joining the human rights group or working for the school newspaper does not interest you, it doesn’t matter how good either will look on your resume—you won’t gain much from the experience at all. In order to truly take useful and valuable knowledge away from a position you hold, whether it be as a teammate, a co-worker, or a leader, you must enjoy what you are doing and feel passionate about what you are working for.

While engaging in activities or jobs that help boost your resume is definitely of great importance, it should not be the only thing causing you to take on such a responsibility. However, if you yearn to be a lawyer and the District Attorney’s office hires you as an intern, you have every reason to devote your time and energy to excelling in the position. In other words, take advantage of the opportunities that bring you closer to achieving a goal about which you are passionate or landing a job in the industry of your dreams upon graduation, but don’t waste your time on those that don’t matter to you.

Another thing you should consider is how much of your time you are willing to spend on an opportunity to be involved in campus life. As a student, your first priority must be to do well in your classes. If you’re getting straight Cs, don’t expect the top medical schools to accept you just because you are working at Student Health, interning at the local hospital, and volunteering at a women’s clinic. While those are indisputably all great things to be doing if being a doctor is your calling, your grades must be up to par as well. In other words, don’t let your extracurricular activities hinder your ability to excel academically. If your internship or job is soaking up too much of your time, find an opportunity more conducive to your schedule and workload.

Lastly, keep in mind that any experience is only as good as you make it. You should be devoted to excelling and actively learning in any position you hold or job you undertake. Simply slapping a name or company on your resume won’t get you very far if you have nothing to show for it. Future employers will want to know what skills you acquired from interning for a company. So, if all you did while you were there was get your supervisor coffee and make photocopies, putting that internship on your resume probably will not mean much. 

In conclusion, get involved with the opportunities that interest you, don’t let them affect your schoolwork, and be proactive and driven in any task you undertake. Not only will you have something to add to your resume, but you will have learned some important lessons and enhanced your college experience along the way!

Since my last blog, a lot has changed and a lot has remained the same in my journey towards graduation and entering the realm of life after college. While I am still unsure about my post-June 14 plans, my state-of-mind has continued on in a positive direction. While making the transition out of college and into the real world seems intimidating right now, it only constitutes one small step in the grand scheme of things.

Let me take a little step back? I've wasted hours upon hours of my time since the beginning of my senior year stressing out about what the next chapter of my life will include. I've searched the web, attended meetings, and talked to countless individuals about possible internships, job ideas, or grad school options.  I've contemplated my options, stressed about which is the best of the bunch, and worried that I'm going to end up unemployed and living at home once the last of my days as a Gaucho have passed.

Here is where the big change has been made? I've told myself to stop panicking! For the most part, I've been able to do so as long as I constantly remind myself that anything I do will be an experience, an important part of the journey, and only the very first step in the direction towards my future career. Whether I choose to go teach English in a foreign country, acquire an unpaid internship, or find a less-than-ideal job to hire me, chances are it will not be what I end up doing in the long run, but will have a positive impact on my knowledge or skill base, outlook about my future, and, ultimately, on what career path I choose to follow.

Another important fact that I've come to terms with is the current state of the economy. Because most businesses are being forced to cut costs and consequently lay off many employees, now is not the best time to rely on being hired by the company of my dreams. On the other hand, now is the time to do something that interests me and provides me with some sort of practical experience. I've realized that as long as I continue to be an active learner in whatever field I next enter, I will walk away with something I didn't have before. So, when it comes down to it, no journey I embark on next year will be a waste of time or a setback.

I'd like to end with a quote that I came across one day while reading the back of my Starbucks coffee cup. It read, "The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating- in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life." It is indeed ironic that making a commitment (setting a decision in stone) can have a liberating rather than a constricting effect. In applying this concept to my current situation, I've realized that it's time to start narrowing down my options and begin taking the steps toward committing to just one. Once I've made a decision about what exactly it is I'm going to do, my concerns will naturally dissipate.  I'll then have the ability to really start enjoying this new and exciting chapter of my life!

The LSAT is like any other standardized test, meant to assess your ability to succeed at school. The LSAT in particular is a standard measure of acquired reading and verbal reasoning skills. So, if the LSAT is like any other test then why did I want to pull out my hair studying for it?

Well the LSAT tests reasoning in three sections: reading comprehension, logical reasoning, and logic games with a time constraint of only 35 minutes for each section. I decided that there was no way I would be able to conquer the LSAT without help, so I enrolled in a prep class over the summer in August. I quickly learned my way around the LSAT taking a full length test for the first time and finding myself disappointed at my initial score. I knew I had a long way ahead of me to achieve my desired score, but I was ready to work hard to get there. I was studying constantly and it helped that my friends were all studying for the GREs as well. It was difficult to stay constantly focused because it was summer and the nice weather outside was more appealing than staying indoors studying.

I had signed up to take the October exam, but as the date rapidly approached and school began, I found myself feeling less and less prepared, stressed, and overwhelmed. The week that I was scheduled to take the exam, I decided it was not the right time and I postponed till December. It was relieving to know I had more time to study, but also disappointing knowing that I would have to continue my study and preparation for an exam I really didn’t want to take, but needed in order to apply to any law school. Fortunately, the prep course I had signed up for had what they called a “higher score guarantee,” which allowed me to retake the course if I was not satisfied with my score or if I didn’t feel prepared after the course ended, which was applicable in my situation 

I was quick to jump on the opportunity and reregistered in another prep course that I would take concurrently with my regular fall classes. I knew it would be a challenge to balance school, work, and my prep course. To make matters even more complicated I landed an internship at a local law firm and decided it would be unwise for me to pass up the opportunity. Midway through fall quarter I found myself overworked and exhausted. I needed a break, but I wasn’t going to get one any time soon.

I continued to study and prepare for the test, but as the December date approached I found myself nervous and feeling unprepared once again. I took one final practice test the week prior to the exam and was incredibly disappointed to find that my score was still several points away from my desired score. My instructor for the prep course recommended that I postpone, but I was reluctant to do so because I had already done so in October. I put a lot of thought into deciding whether or not I should postpone once again and I found that the pros outweighed the cons. Postponing again would allow me to study more over winter break, hopefully helping me to achieve the score I wanted and needed to apply to my desired schools.

It was a difficult decision to make, but I changed my test date to February. I was disappointed, but even more determined to stay focused and study harder. I came back after winter break only to discover that I had two midterms the week I was scheduled to take the LSAT. I knew it was another hurdle to overcome, but I felt that I would be able to prepare myself for it. As the date in February approached I felt anxious and worried about whether or not I would be able to do well on the test. The week of the test I contemplated changing my test date again to June, but after thinking about it and talking it over with a friend we decided that there was always going to be some obstacle I needed to tackle. I was reluctant to take the test because I had heard that if you take the test several times law schools average your scores and I really just wanted to take the test once and never have to think about it again! I decided that it wasn’t worth waiting several more months to take it and if I needed to I would take the test again. When February 7 came around I woke up early, walked to the test site on campus, and took the test. It was finally over!

So it has been a while since I’ve written a blog and that is partly because of the time I spent back home during break reflecting on the past quarter. Before I left for break I was informed that I did not get the REU research internship in Delaware. I was literally crushed when I found out because I was looking forward to researching AIDS during the summer but I learned that things do not always work out the way you want them to and I am okay with that—I realize rejection is just a part of life.

After hearing the news I started to think about how other students must feel when they do not get jobs or internships. Learning to cope with the rejection is a touchy subject and I never realized how sensitive I was to it. I am glad that it happened though. If it were not for this experience I would not have been able to see a different side to the world of internships. I also realized that it was not the end of the world.

My tactic to deal with the rejection was to move on and look for a new internship—that is just the way to deal with these kinds of things sometimes. Almost by stroke of luck, I received an email from my Sociology advisor informing me that there was a research internship available through the same program funded by the National Science Foundation.

This is my second chance at landing an awesome summer internship. The program I am applying to is actually on the UCSB campus and pays the same rate as the REU program in Delaware. The subject for this internship is researching the different societal methods which affect and are affected by nanotechnology. I know—nanotechnology? What am I thinking applying to a program in nanotechnology?

Actually, I am glad that the subject is not one that I am totally familiar with because I enjoy learning about new subjects and tying them into what I already know. Nanotechnology seems like an up-in-coming and wide reaching field of study and I am actually excited to see if I can learn more about its affects on society—especially in this globalizing society we live in.

My goal for the next few weeks is to develop a comprehensive and innovative statement of interest for this program and brush up my resume to make it seem more professional. I know it will be hard work and I have already started doing some research on the field to get a better background on what I am getting myself into. I’ve set up an appointment with an advisor at Career Services to look over my resume and critique my application to make sure that I did not mess up anywhere—it’s always a good idea to get a second opinion.

If I can land this internship I will be more than satisfied with myself because it has been a seven-month long process so far trying to secure a summer internship, so at this point I sort of feel it is about time I actually get one that I am interested in. This should be interesting!

Hi!  My name is Jessica Serber and I’m a fourth-year Global and International Studies major and Professional Writing minor at UCSB.  I will be graduating this June and couldn’t be more nervous about what next year has in store for me.  But, after months of stressing about what my future will look like, I realized that I need to stop worrying and be excited about my post-graduation life.  While the transition may not be easy, there are so many new adventures I have to look forward to!

When I first began thinking about what I wanted to do after graduation, I didn’t even know where to begin.  How was I supposed to choose between all the opportunities and experiences the world has to offer?!  I started by paying closer attention to e-mails I was receiving from the Global Studies department and Career Services.  Many times, they include information about career-related workshops or fairs and links to websites about post-university programs ranging from graduate school to volunteering abroad.  As I read more and more of these e-mails, I realized that there were many things I found interesting and could see myself doing.

In addition, I began thinking about how I could use the knowledge, awareness, and compassion I’ve gained from being a Global Studies major to take that step out of college and into the professional world.  I truly feel that my major opened my eyes to new possibilities that I never imagined existed.  From learning about the United States as well as many other countries and their cultures, I’ve become thoroughly interested in humanitarian issues and working with the worlds less fortunate citizens.

Thanks to all those e-mails I’ve been reading, I now know that there are tons of ways in which I can turn my passions into a job for next year.  My options are endless and include everything from volunteering abroad, to becoming a corps member for Teach for America, to acquiring an internship or job. Over the past few months, I’ve devoted a great deal of time to applying for Teach for America. 

Teach for America is dedicated to eliminating the educational inequality that exists within the United States.  The program places mostly recent college graduates in low-income schools with the hopes of helping students achieve at higher levels.  The great thing for many applicants is that no teaching credentials or education degree is required, only the willingness to participate in a summer institute where you will be professionally trained to become a successful teacher.

Teach for America has already had a huge impact in the lives of thousands of students and continues to thrive each year!  Because of my desire to engage in work that helps the world become a better place, I have spent many hours researching about and preparing for Teach for America’s demanding interview process in hopes of becoming a corps member.

Teach for America is just one of many amazing opportunities out there for recent college graduates.  For now, all I can do now is to continue exploring and researching all of my options until I come across something that’s really right for me.  Although graduating college and moving into the “real world” is undoubtedly an intimidating feat, it is also extremely exciting.