Career Services Update

Career Services Update - week of November 24, 2003!

* Congratulations - Ryan Plante will be working for Enterprise Rent-A-Car in their Management Trainee program when he graduates in December!! Ryan will be located in one of the Brunswick area offices. Congratulations, Ryan! Also joining the workforce recently is Jackie Rocha. Jackie was recently hired as a Youth Activities Specialist at the Alfond Youth Center here in Waterville. Ryan O'Connor has landed his summer internship for 2004. Ryan will be working in the marketing department of Kennebec Savings Bank in their Augusta office.

* Career Services News - We are still going strong here in the Career Services office as the semester winds down and the good news is... the pineapple bubble gum supply has been exhausted! The office is still reviewing resumes and helping all students to find jobs and internships. Office hours are still 8:00 - 4:30, but occasionally we have to close for lunch or meetings. When this happens, please find your way to the CED/Grad office downstairs across from the library to meet with CSO staff, or e-mail me and I'll schedule a time to meet with you.

* Job Hunting tips - As a service to our students, we offer the Sunday classified section of the local newspaper for your job hunt every Monday morning. If any faculty or staff receives another paper (Bangor and/or Portland) we would be grateful if you could drop off that classified section on Mondays to add to our collection. Thank you!

* Career Fair – January 29, 2004, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm, Alfond Arena - University of Maine

This is the biggest and best Career Fair of the year and we'll be there! Students, mark your calendars now to join the Career Services staff as we make our way to Orono for the day. Well over a hundred employers will be looking to hire May 2004 grads AND interns. Rides will be provided for those of you who have no transportation. Also, March 17, 2004 will find our own Mahaney Gymnasium filled to capacity with employers looking for Thomas grads and interns. Do you have an employer you would like to meet? Let me know and we'll make sure to add them to our list of companies to be invited.

* Interview tips - "The Articulation Factor"

The ability to articulate your background is a combination of good preparation (which you have full control over) and vocabulary/enunciation (which you have little control over). Your "smartness," "sharpness," "quickness," "aggressiveness," and "brightness" are all attributes that are evaluated based upon your articulation. If you have "lazy lips" you may want to practice enunciating and forming your words more clearly. And whatever you do, don't continually reach for elusive words to perfectly portray your thoughts and feelings. Any practiced interviewer prefers an individual who is comfortable within their vocabulary level than one who is always searching at the level above.

In practicing your articulation, take careful note of the "quickie" words which we tend to develop in our everyday speech pattern. Words like "gonna" and "yeah" and "y'know" and "kinda" are all killers. They can make you sound uneducated and coarse. And they have a habit of repeating. We have all probably had a parent (or sibling) point out the use of "y'know" in our speaking. In addition, you may have particular words or phrases which you use for emphasis which can become particularly pronounced in the interview. These would include "to tell you the truth" and "truthfully" and "basically" and "OK, well" and "Like, . . ." As a side note, I once counted the number of times a candidate said, "to tell you the truth" after it became particularly repetitive. She said it over fifteen times. And I began to question her truthfulness.

Make sure you are fully prepared for the interview, on your own background (nothing will kill an interview quicker than someone who cannot recall personal events) and background on our company. Proper research will help you formulate your answers in a clear and succinct manner.

- Job Search Tip of the Week, by Brian Krueger, author of "College Grad Job Hunter".

* Weekly humor - We had such great feedback from our 'Ways to Confuse Your Roommate' humor last week, that we've gone one step further to offer... Fun things to do in an elevator!

Grimace painfully while smacking your forehead and muttering, 'Shut up, all of you just shut UP!'
Whistle the first seven notes of 'It's a Small World' incessantly.
Sell Girl Scout cookies.
On a long ride, sway side to side at the natural frequency of the elevator.
Shave.
Crack open your briefcase or purse, and while peering inside ask: 'Got enough air in there?'
Offer name tags to everyone getting on the elevator. Wear yours upside-down.
Stand silent and motionless in the corner, facing the wall, without getting off.
When arriving at your floor, grunt and strain to yank the doors open, then act embarrassed when they open by themselves.
Greet everyone getting on the elevator with a warm handshake and ask them to call you Admiral.
On the highest floor, hold the door open and demand that it stay open until you hear the penny you dropped down the shaft go 'plink' at the bottom.
Do Tai Chi exercises.
Stare, grinning, at another passenger for a while, and then announce: 'I've got new socks on!'
Meow.
Frown and mutter 'gotta go, gotta go' then sigh and say 'oops!'
Show other passengers a wound and ask if it looks infected.
Sing 'Mary had a little lamb' while continually pushing buttons.
Holler 'Chutes away!' whenever the elevator descends.
Leave a box between the doors.
Ask each passenger getting on if you can push the button for them.
Wear a puppet on your hand and talk to other passengers 'through' it.
Start a sing-along.
Play the harmonica.
Say 'Ding!' at each floor.
Lean against the button panel.
Say 'I wonder what all these do' and push the red buttons.
Listen to the elevator walls with a stethoscope.
Draw a little square on the floor with chalk and announce to the other passengers that this is your 'personal space.'
Bring a chair along.

Have a great holiday!

Career Services

Thomas College

Waterville, ME

(207) 859-1106 - phone

(207) 859-1114 - fax