Weekly Update – April 14, 2003

 

*  Etiquette Dinner!  Seniors!  We’re giving you one last opportunity to sign up for this event.  Our annual Etiquette Dinner will be held in the Student Center on Tuesday, April 15.  You may arrive at 5:30 for a social gathering; dinner will be served at 6:00.  You MUST RSVP no later than 2:00 this afternoon to be able to attend.  There is no cost to you!  Dinner choices include Adobo Chicken (mild Mexican type), Marinated Steak, or Angel Hair Pasta with sun-dried tomatoes.  

 

*  Congratulations!  Deserae Levesque has accepted a position with UNUM Provident in S. Portland.  She will begin working after graduation.  Congratulations, Dez!  (If you have accepted a job or internship, let us know!  Fill out a congratulations form located on our Career Services site – www.thomas.edu/career)

 

* Recruiters!  You may still sign up to interview with one of the companies that are conducting on-campus recruiting this spring.  Companies coming to campus include Met-Life, Clear Channel Radio, and the Alfond Youth Center.  If you are interested, please stop into the Career Services office to learn more!

 

* Brown Bag Lunch – April 17, 12:15 – 1:15.  Stop into the Stickney Room to participate in this month’s discussion, “On Your Own”.  This month’s speaker is Sarah Robinson.

Wondering about making the transition from dorm life to an apartment? Buying car insurance on your own?  Managing a monthly budget? Moving across country for a new job? Get answers to your questions from a recent grad who has “been there, done that!”

 

* Weekly Humor -                                       

From laughnet.com, here are some interesting resume writing tips – which we include for laughs only!

Below are the typical areas of a resume and my priceless secrets for dealing with them.  These tips will help crush the competition, get you in the door and put you behind a desk making 50 big ones, plus

bonus.

 

THE NAME:  Use the name to your advantage.  Spice it up a little bit.

 Steve Smith goes nowhere fast.  But Sir Stephen Smith -- now that

might turn a few heads.  Nicknames also help.  Mark "Keyboards"

O'Malley is good.  Mark "Kegmaster" O'Malley is bad.

 

THE ADDRESS:  Forget your real address.  Make a statement instead! 

Saying you're from the Bronx suggests you're tough as nails. 

Anyplace in Japan implies you believe in an 18-hour-a-day work ethic!

 

THE PHONE NUMBER:  Skip it.  What are the odds they'll call -- 1,000

to 1.  If they do, they'll probably just catch your roommate

somewhere in the middle of his second six-pack.

 

THE AMBITION STATEMENT:  Forget the ambition statement.  You know

what I mean:  "Seeking a challenging IS position using state-of-the-art

technology in a high-growth, future-oriented corporation that is

doing neat things for the environment."  A better idea is to tell

them what you're NOT seeking.  "Not seeking a job where I'm paying my

dues for eight years, maintaining ancient Cobol code that crashes

every other night, slaving for some horrible boss and groveling in

the smallest cubicle in the world until I finally claw my way

into a lower management position, only to have the company lay off

40% of its work force so that I wind up in some non-critical, low-

paying, dead-end, back-office position."

 

EDUCATION:  Don't be afraid of Yalies and PhD's.  Be proud of where

you go to school and play it straight.  But just to be on the safe

side, send an application to some prestigious high-tech program at a

prestigious school.  Until they respond, you're not lying if you list

under your education credits: "BA in Watersports Administration,

Massatucky State, 2003... and current doctoral candidate, Nuclear

Computer Simulation Modeling Fellowship Program, MIT."

 

EXPERIENCE:  Even fresh out of school, you've got to have experience.

 But don't mention that you've invested in your own relational

database or coded an object-oriented commodity trading system...

Everybody's done that stuff.  I'm talking about hands-on experience: 

high-level management, microchip design, hostile takeovers, etc.  So

if you're a little light in the experience area, don't tell lies. 

Instead, simply try a bit-more-concise explanation of the experience

you do have.  For example, if you worked as a cashier at Food

Giant, make it, "Monitored and troubleshot retail point-of-sale bar-

code inventory scanning system."  "Conducted usability testing for

graphical user interface" sounds a lot better than "played too much

Nintendo."  But don't try "Evaluated remote-accessed continuous-

availability multimedia environment."  Most employers can pick that

one off as watching too much MTV.

 

THE CLOSE:  "References furnished upon request?"  What kind of power-

close is that?  Let me leave you instead with this recommendation: 

Close with impact.  Close with passion.  Close with a line they'll

remember, like "Please, please give me a job.” 

 

Have a great week!

 

Career Services

Thomas College

(207) 859-1106