UC Berkeley Career Center Peer Corner

Bearly Accurate - Common Career Conundrums: "Informational interviews don't really help"

Informational interviews are GREAT for networking and bridging you to specific people at a company or organization you’re possibly interested in working for. In order to land one, you’ll have to identify people who are doing what you want to do and asking them if you can conduct an informational interview with them to get more familiar with their line of work. It’s always good to start off the initial contact with some information about yourself: name, year, educational institution, major(s)/minor(s), and your reason for contacting them followed by a brief introduction to your interests/goals. Informational interviews can last anywhere between 30-60 minutes so make sure you are available for it.

Prepare for these interviews by brainstorming questions you want to ask and maybe writing them down to bring with you. You can also take notes during the informational interviews, just let them know first. These interviews are a great way to get your foot in the door without it actually being a formal interview. You both get to know each other in a slightly informal setting and sometimes, the interviewee may inform you of opportunities at the company/organization, point you to someone else they know that you can network with, or they may even keep you in mind when an opportunity opens up. That being said, be prepared by having copies of your resume on hand.

Not only do you get your foot in the door and expand your network, but you also gain knowledge and ideas for how to go about reaching your goals. It’s important to develop your networking skills because you never know who they know, who you can be connected with, and what opportunities can come from that. Nowadays, more and more people are landing internships, jobs, or other opportunities via networking. Give it a try, you won’t regret it!

Check out the Career Center's Online Workshop on Informational Interviews for some more great ideas!

Blog written by: Linda Thai, Sociology '12

Bearly Accurate – Common Career Conundrums: “Freshmen can’t find internship opportunities"

Oftentimes during my drop-in hours, dejected freshmen come in wondering why their resources are so limited—they’re so enthusiastic and ready to work, yet why can’t they schedule career counseling appointments, why are so many internship opportunities off-limits to them, etc.? I completely understand; when I was a freshman, I remember feeling ready to conquer the world. And I’m here today to tell you that, in fact, freshmen can find internships! Sure, there may be a discrepancy between the number of internships available to lower and upperclassmen, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find one! And I’m speaking from personal experience because I was fortunate enough to find an internship when I was a freshman.

First of all, if you’re already determined to find your dream internship, that’s a great start! Don’t let your energy go to waste—make sure to take advantage of that enthusiasm and take initiative. As a registered Cal student, you have thousands of job listings, employer and industry guides, career fair and employer info session information, and much more at your hands through Callisto! If you haven’t already, go to the Career Center website and register for an account as soon as you can. While you may not be able to score an internship at your dream company right off the bat, there are thousands of wonderful organizations out there looking for all the help they can get. Don’t disregard an internship based on name alone—any internship opportunity, regardless of how big or small the company is, can supply you with excellent transferable skills for your resume, stellar letters of rec, or opportunities for long-term employment!

Have you spotted an organization you’d love to work for but don’t think they currently have an internship program? Don’t be afraid to cold call them! There seems to be a myth that cold calling rarely works, but I’ve heard many success stories at employer and industry panels about determined students who not only launched and created their own internships, but also received offers for full-time employment after finishing. As mentioned before, many organizations welcome any help and recruiters are often impressed by students who take initiative and contact employers. Many student organizations also have internship programs which can be as exciting and informative as off-campus internships. Calapalooza and Cal’s online list of student organizations can help you locate these internships. There are a plethora of internship opportunities out there, even for freshmen, so don’t forget to be open-minded and bold. Best of luck with your internship search!

Blog written by: Catherine Choe, 3rd year History of Art major

 

Bearly Accurate – Common Career Conundrums: “Volunteering won’t contribute to my job search"

Many Cal students, as ambitious and capable as they are, focus so much on finding the perfect job after graduating and securing “brand-name” internships that they often forget how helpful and invaluable volunteering can be. Although you may not get paid for your efforts or receive a fancy name plate, there are plenty of other forms of compensation you can receive for your hard work in ways that can directly contribute to your job search! 

I hope you can excuse my self-plugging, but if you haven’t had a chance to check out my April 12^th blog post on writing a stellar resume without “work experience,” now would be an excellent time to check it out! While volunteering as an SAT tutor for high school students may not have quite the same pull as interning with a Fortune 500 company would, it can still reflect very positively on you to employers.

Here are just a few of the many benefits of volunteering: 

1)     It speaks loads about your work ethic and passion—long-term volunteering is an excellent testament to your dependability and ability to be devoted to a cause.

2)     You can gain a wide range of transferable skills which can be showcased on your resume and help qualify you for more positions. See my April 12^th blog post for more details!

3)     Volunteering opportunities are readily available and can be a great way for you to use your spare time efficiently! Hours are often very flexible and negotiable, which is another plus.

4)     It can lead to full-time employment—that’s right! I’ve heard about many graduates who were offered their current job after first volunteering for the organization. Think about it: if you can demonstrate your wide array of skills, reliability, and ability to commit long-term without being paid, what employer wouldn’t want to hire you?

5)     Finally, volunteering can be an invaluable way for you to network and gain impressive letters of recommendation! Even if you’re not planning to work for the organization you currently volunteer for, one of the employers there may know somebody who works at your dream company… you’ll be astounded at all the connections you can find if you just ask around, mingle, and network! 

Hopefully this article has helped you appreciate and realize the merit of volunteering. If not, I highly recommend you see for yourself the impact volunteering can have! The number of volunteer opportunities out there is, literally, endless—you can check out Callisto, student and on-campus organizations, and websites such as VolunteerMatch to help guide your search. Happy volunteering!

Blog written by: Catherine Choe, 3rd year History of Art major

 

Bearly Accurate - Common Career Conundrums: LinkedIn does not actually work for my career search

 

Just like everything else in career paths, you will need to put a bit of effort into LinkedIn before it will give you some results. If you just put up the bare basics, the chances that it will help you in finding a job are slim, but if you amp up your LinkedIn skills, chances are that you might find your dream job using the site!

LinkedIn has two core functions: direct connections to job openings, and networking opportunities. For the former, there is a job directory on the site, which can be a good resource at times. Also, employers do look through potential profiles to filter out those who they think would be a good fit, at times even approaching people to apply for jobs. However, the function that the site is most often used for is networking. You can look up your connections to people in almost any company in the world; once you look up that company, you should be able to see whether you are connected to that company in any way, whether it is through 4 distant connections, or just 2 proxies away. If you are particularly interested in a specific position, you can ask a friend to connect you with that one friend of theirs that works at that company; it’s that simple! Another thing you can try doing is updating your profile so that it shows that you are looking for a particular job. It is possible that your connections might have knowledge of an opening similar to what you are looking for.

Now again, the site won’t do this work for you – you’ll have to do the brunt of it. One of the most important things to do is to make sure to have a professional and sharp profile. You should have detailed descriptions of your skill sets from previous jobs, as well as an overview of your work experience. LinkedIn allows you to upload your resume, which is a feature everyone with a resume should take advantage of. This will permit employers to easily scout out potential employees. A well-designed profile means that you are a person who puts attention to detail and knows how to properly utilize resources – both qualities that almost all employers look for. A further quality to assess is professionalism: so make sure your profile picture is friendly while professional.

In the end, LinkedIn is what you make out of it. For most people, it should not be the primary portal for job searching, but it is a supplement that has worked for many people in the past, in terms of both direct job hunting, as well as networking. The earlier you get started with it, the more familiar you will be, so go create (or update) your account right now if you haven’t done so already!

Blog written by: Thomas Siu, 3rd year Environmental Science major

Bearly Accurate - Common Career Conundrums: "Callisto is Too Complicated!"

"What's a Callisto??"

Students often come into peer advising with questions about resources for internship and full-time job search. And they often look dissatisfied when my first response is, "Callisto." Granted it looks complex to navigate, the search engine is a little complex, and pushing the "back" button will mess with your results; however, Callisto has a plethora of resources for UC Berkeley students and alumni. So let's shed the attitude! Callisto is awesome. And here are a few tips to navigating it -- 

On the Callisto home page, take some time to look through the right-side shortcut navigation bar which has the most used resources. 

-CalJobs Search: This is perhaps the most visited area of Callisto. Once you click the link from the shortcut menu, you will see the amount of current job listings. Of course, we want to refine our search to be as precise as possible. But keep in mind that this is a search engine, so I recommend not typing in more than one or two keywords when searching through this site. You will likely get a couple hundred of results, but it's in your interest to take the time to look through them and for you to be the one to evaluate whether it is a good match or not. Remember, employers pay to have their listings viewed by you, meaning that they are specifically looking for UC Berkeley students.

-OCR interviews: If you have applied for full-time jobs through On-Campus Recruiting (OCR), Callisto will keep you updated on your interview schedule.

-Employer info sessions: Employers are streaming through campus throughout the year, so keep checking for new, visiting employers and RSVP through this tab. Info sessions are a fantastic way to meet and network recruiters in a more intimate setting.

-Career Fair Directories: Check out this tab to see who's coming to the career fairs. This will help you be prepared; ideally, you would have a different resume (different content, different objective) for each company you plan on speaking with at career fairs.

-Programs and Workshops: Our professional counselors frequently host on-campus workshops on various topics (not only the basic resume/cover letter writing workshops, but also more field-specific workshops) throughout the semester, so this is a great opportunity to gain some knowledge in an interactive presentation.

-Resume Books: We have many types of resume books which employers from different fields will browse. If you choose to submit your resume on one of our resume books, employers within these fields can take a look at them. Who knows, you may receive an interview this way. You can also opt to store up to 10 documents under the “My Documents” tab.

-Pre-med/Pre-health advising: There are Career Center professional counselors who hold drop-in advising in VLSB during the week! Besides that, you are always able to specifically contact those counselors to make appointments related to the pre-med field.

-Resume builder: Callisto helps you create your best resume; but please remember that Callisto is a machine! Always come in to the Career Center to have your resume reviewed by a peer advisor or professional counselor before submitting it to employers.

-Career Explorer: This tab has some information on general fields of study, so take the time to read through it!

 

Now let's look at the middle of the homepage. Under "Callisto Resources" there are a couple of links worth pointing out. Callisto has a vault of how-to videos -- these include how to interview, how to prepare for a career fair, and much more. So if you're short on time and cannot make it to the Career Center for tips, these videos are there to provide you with the same general advice. Take the time to watch!

Below that is the Focus-2 assessment test. This is a brief evaluation test to analyze what fields of work you fit best. Of course, these results need to be taken with a grain of salt. The Career Center also provides another similar but more intricate assessment for which you need to make a 45-minute appointment.

Overall, Callisto is probably one of the most useful resources for Cal students, especially those looking for internships or jobs. Taking 5 min. to explore the site can be beneficial in the long run.  If you are still having trouble, make an appointment and come visit one of our counselors or drop-in to talk to a peer advisor!

 Blog written by: Angela Haddad, 3rd year Political Economy major 

Bearly Accurate - Common Career Conundrums: I can't write a good resume because I don't have work experience!

During drop-in hours, one of the most common concerns I hear is from students who don’t know how to write a resume without “work experience.” This is also one of my favorite questions – and why is that? Because students don’t realize how much experience they have that can be showcased on their resume! A resume is a succinct summary of your experiences and skills, used to predict how you will benefit and fit into the organization. 

That’s right! The “Work Experience” section of your resume doesn’t have to be as daunting as you think it is. There are no rigid limitations to what you can include, as long as your experiences highlight your transferable skills! What are these transferable skills I speak of? They are the skills you have which are also needed for a particular position. These skills are almost always listed in job descriptions; however, if they aren’t, handy websites like O*NET OnLine basically do the work for you! All you need to do is type the title of the job you’re applying for and O*NET will list the top 20 most relevant occupations. Once you find the best fit and click on it – voila! On the middle of the page, the “Skills” section lists various skills commonly associated with the job. And not only that, you can also find a bunch of other useful information through O*NET! You should also be aware that there are more than 1 type of resume. Instead of listing jobs as is done on a chronological resume, you can construct a skills resume, which has YOUR skills as the focus. More info can be found on our online JIG guide. 

If you look at the skills list for your chosen job, you should notice a trend – most of the listed skills can be gained in a variety of positions and experiences! For example, though you can certainly gain superb speaking skills as a marketing manager, you can hone these same skills through an unpaid internship with a local start-up, by volunteering as an elementary school tutor, through a leadership role for a student organization, etc. Do you see where I’m going? As long as you highlight your transferable skills on your resume and show how your experiences have helped you gain them, any and all experiences are relevant! Isn’t that exciting? Hopefully you can’t wait to write your resume now and showcase all of your transferable skills, but in case you have questions or would like feedback on your resume, feel free to stop by our peer advising drop-in hours from Mondays to Fridays, 11 am to 5 pm!

 

Blog written by: Catherine Choe, 3rd year History of Art major

Bearly Accurate: Common Career Conundrums: "Employer Info Sessions Don't Help Me"

It is not just what you know, but who you know that counts—an age-old saying by a wise man or woman who probably knows a thing or two about networking.

Networking is incredibly important to the job and internship search process. After all, most jobs are achieved through networking. However, this does not mean that networking isn’t a little scary! For example, one of the most common avenues for networking on campus is a career fair. These are incredibly valuable opportunities for you to meet a variety of different companies and organizations, collect business cards, and make personal connections! But what if this seems intimidating to some people? What if the masses of people may be too much to go through to get to your dream company?

Another great step to networking, and a great warm up for career fairs, would be to attend an employer information session! An employer information session is an event on campus, or near campus, where an employer comes out to present more information about a company and the recruiting process.

*Why is it important to check out employer information sessions? What should you do when you go to one?*

1. These information sessions tend to be conducted in smaller groups – definitely smaller than career fairs. You have more of an opportunity to make a good impression in a comfortable, small setting.
2. Employers love students who take initiative to come out to these sessions and to learn more about the specific company they work for! 
3. Mini-Checklist: Bring your resume, dress in business-casual or professional attire, and bring any personal business cards if you already have them. Take this time to ask questions about the company, and to stick around for a bit to introduce yourself personally after the session. Ask for their business cards and information! They will really appreciate it!

*You can check employer information sessions and RSVP by taking the following steps: *

1. First, log onto your Callisto (if you haven’t checked Callisto out already, go to career.berkeley.edu, click on Callisto login, and you can log in with your Calnet ID), and click on EVENTS.
2. From there, the first tab you will see will be Career Fairs, but the tabs next to Career Fairs will be Information Sessions and Workshops. CLICK ON THOSE!
3. You will find a schedule and RSVP tab for all of the different employer information sessions and workshops that you can attend.

I cannot emphasize enough how valuable networking is in finding a job! If you make a good impression on an employer or recruiter, they will be more likely to take notice of your resume or application. Establishing that personal connection can take you a long way in your job and internship search. Think of your resume/cover letter as a piece of chicken and networking as the spices, vegetables, and other ingredients which can turn that bland chicken into a delicious meal. You resume/cover letter can stand by itself, but networking can give it that extra momentum.

 

 

 "Your resume/cover letter WITHOUT networking"

                                   

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Your resume/cover letter WITH a dash of networking"

 

 

 

 

 

Blog written by: Lily Clelo, 3rd year Political Science major, Education minor

Bearly Accurate - Common Career Conundrums: I shouldn't apply if I don't meet all the qualifications

Like a lion creeps up on its prey, graduation is slowly sneaking its way onto many seniors, including myself. Some are making plans to attend grad school, others are simply taking a well-deserved year off, and then there are those who are preparing to face the beast known as the job market. This is especially difficult for the students who have become frustrated because they only meet few or lack one of the qualifications and end up not applying for a position. Sometimes, this is an advisable course of action; however, there are situations where an individual believes he/she isn’t able to complete the duties and fail to apply where a little introspection can prove otherwise.

Personally, I believe part of the problem is that students aren’t really doing enough reflection on their time at Berkeley while another part can be attributed to overthinking what’s requested on the job posting. Let’s say a job calls for “research experience”. Unless noted otherwise (e.g., “researching current economic trends”), they are most likely seeking an individual who is able to effectively use search engines. Since you’ve most likely written your fair share of essays, which no doubt required you to use academic databases and select only the best resources, you are well on your way. Sometimes we may think, “Research experience? They must want someone who has written 10 scholarly articles” when really, all they want is someone who can use Google.

Be wary though. If you see a posting which calls for a skill which you have little to no expertise, it’s best to move forward. I’m not telling you to apply to every job you THINK you can learn as you go, but one which your current skills will be sufficient to complete the task. Additionally, if one part of the description seems completely foreign to you, chances are the rest isn’t something you are going to be familiar with.

Utilizing the above, you can create a list of what the employer is looking for and how your skills compare (i.e., list the “desired qualifications” on one side and YOUR qualifications on another). Think critically and ask yourself if you aren’t overreaching when matching up skills. You can over exaggerate the truth all you’d like, but you should be prepared to back it up on your resume and especially during an interview.

In sum, you shouldn’t be so hasty to dismiss a job opportunity. Looking over the posting for 30 seconds and telling yourself you can’t do it without really taking time to savor the posting is unwise. While you shouldn’t over exaggerate your abilities, you shouldn’t underestimate them either. Always ask yourself, “Am I sure I don’t meet these qualifications?” 

 Blog written by: Oscar Mestizo, 4th year psychology major

Bearly Accurate - Common Career Conundrums: The Weakness Question

“I work too hard”

In a list of clichéd interview answers, this one, and its variations, is among the most abused phrases, specifically when employers ask the weakness question. Indeed, promoting your ability to overwork yourself may seem like a no-brainer, but these canned answers are like a bad pick-up line. Just how women would get turned off at the “..feel from heaven” line, employers will be quickly bored with an interviewee who replies with answers they think employers want to hear.  This week, we’re going to tackle the weakness question.

So, what to do with the weakness question?

You just turned in that application to your dream summer internship and now you eagerly await for the email that says they want to give you an interview! Congratulations!

But wait, how should you prepare yourself? Especially with weird questions like: What is your biggest weakness? Or what are your strengths and weaknesses? 

 

1.)   Relax; this question is really a piece of cake!

2.)   Reflect back on your experiences and your working style and other things involved in your projects, work, etc and think about something you may have struggled with. (Perhaps it was that you had a hard time keeping up with deadlines, or had moments of panic while preparing for a presentation, or you just never got along with anyone on your team, etc)

3.)   Now that you have identified a moment of weakness or something that could have used improvement on, think about how you are working to progress from that moment.  Are you managing your time better with a planner, are you socializing more to work on interpersonal connections, are you connecting and forming better relations with team members to delegate tasks better, etc.)?

4.)   The most important thing to remember about this question is your ability to self recognize where you can use improvement, and then more importantly identify how you can improve from there and continue to make progress with your work habits.         

Remember to practice your answers and to be prepared. Think of interviews like a test: you need to know yourself as well as the job. These days, interviewers are becoming more keen to common tricks and recycling  answers is indicative of an unoriginal individual. If you need more help, come talk to a peer advisor or career counselor!

Blog written by: Chika Kondo, 3rd year double majoring in Political Science and Society and Environment

 

Bearly Accurate - Common Career Conundrums: "My Major is Useless"

I’m sure by now many of you have heard of reddit (for those who haven’t, I don’t recommend looking it up; it succeeds as a procrastination tool). I was browsing the site in another effort to test my potential for working under pressure when I came across a post regarding career fairs. To sum it up, the creator of the original post and some of the responders believed that career fairs weren’t very useful, while others despaired over the “uselessness” of their majors. Until I became a peer advisor, I shared the same beliefs. I thought my degree in psychology would be a one way ticket to a career as a WalMart supervisor, but I now know this is not the case.

Unfortunately, some have made the error of believing that tech-related or business degrees are the only tickets to success. This toxic thought impedes them from being proactive without looking into different options. Here are a few suggestions on how to take hold of your career, regardless of your major. 

Suggestion One: Gain Relevant Experience

I won’t sugar coat things. Some majors are more helpful and have more advantages than other majors. Realistically speaking, an English major would have difficulty acquiring a job as a software engineer without having the experience. But herein rests a solution: if you want to be a software engineer, all you need are the skills. A degree in computer science (CS) isn’t always required. For example, some job postings might say something like “BA/BS required, Proficiency in C++”. What this means is they want someone who has graduated and has knowledge with C++. Obviously a degree in CS would be helpful, but meeting the requirements and demonstrating you possess the skills is enough to make you a tough competitor. Additionally, your background as an English major will definitely bring some diversity to the team.

Now, there are any number of ways to getting experience. If you wanted to learn C++, you can pick up a book or even take a class in the CS department. You don’t need to feel restricted to one area of study; when it comes to your skills and abilities it’s always good to diversify. This idea can be applied to any field. You simply have to ask yourself two questions, “What do I want to do and how can I get the experience necessary to do it?”. The first question is one only YOU can answer, but if you are having difficulty answering the latter, you can start by looking on ONET and researching the knowledge and skills necessary for the position.

Suggestion Two: Get to know people

“About 49% of jobs are found through networking”

This is what a recruiter told us during the Diversity Recruiter Panel two weeks ago. Our peer, Jiwon, wrote a terrific blog on networking last week so I won’t go into too much detail, but networking in this job market is extremely helpful. The more people you come into contact with, the more your network expands, and the more the chance arises of someone keeping you in mind when a position within their company becomes available. Performing informational interviews with people in your desired career or speaking with recruiters from your interested company are two ways to spread your network. Who knows if that art curator you had an informational interview with is interested in having an intern? Do you think they will want to go through the application/interview process or just ask you, who they know has a genuine interest, if you’d be interested?

Final Suggestion: Be proactive and have a positive mindset.

“The most successful people in life recognize, that in life they create their own love, they manufacture their own meaning, they generate their own motivation”

-      Neil deGrasse Tyson

None of what’s been written here will make any difference if YOU don’t actively do your part in establishing your life post-Cal. You can sit around and mope that your degree in philosophy is “useless”, but it won’t change a darn thing. If you don’t know where to start, write down a list of your skills and match them up with the job you want. If you’re completely lost, you can also take our Focus-2 online assessment found on Callisto or make a 45-min appointment with a career counselor to visit your options. Either way, you should not get discouraged; you have many resources at your disposal, all aimed to make launching your career a bit easier.

 

Blog written by: Oscar Mestizo, 4th year Psychology major