Major Decisions: Discovering Your Path at Michigan

July 16, 2012

“Is there a ‘test’ I can take to help prepare me for my future Michigan experience?”

a signpost pointing to various cities

The Career Center Presents:

Major Decisions: Discovering Your Path at Michigan 

Take the Strong Interest Inventory® Career Assessment TODAY and explore your future opportunities through learning about YOU!

The Strong Interest Inventory® (SII) is a widely respected career interest inventory designed to help people find a fit between their personalities and work. It compares your interests and preferences to the interests of people who have been happy and satisfied in their careers. The results from the SII identify careers that best fit a person’s interests.

The SII results will be used to guide meaningful conversation, providing a space for students to engage in intentional reflection and learn effective decision making strategies geared towards academic and career related choices. Within this 1.5 hour session, we will help you identify majors, student organizations, and activities at Michigan that will help in the exploration of your personal interests and career possibilities.

Session will include:

  • Career Assessment Test and Group Interpretation
  • Reflection Exercises With Fellow Prospective Students
  • Valuable Career and Concentration Resources
  • Ongoing Support Through a Career Coach and the Career Center

Session cost: $20.00

**This program is not part of orientation and should not be scheduled while students are attending mandatory orientation sessions**

Dates are from August 27 to August 31 2012.

Visit http://tinyurl.com/careercenter-major-decisions to register.

Photo Credit: will ockenden / CC BY 2.0

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Posted by Scott Tsuchiyama

Freshman Friday: Finding a summer job or internship

February 10, 2012

Every Friday, we’ll be highlighting some helpful information specifically for first-year students. Today we’re focusing on summer jobs and internships. You can view all the previous Freshman Friday posts here.

Many first year students who come into our office have one very clear goal: securing an internship. Having that goal is a great first step, but it’s also important to be clear about the why, what, where and how of the internship search. Without this clarity, finding a meaningful summer experience can be very challenging. Fortunately, if you’re struggling with these things, you’ve come to the right place! If you need help finding a summer job or internship, here’s a few things you can expect to find at The Career Center:

Developing your Story

Our career coaches begin by talking with students about their “story” — their likes, dislikes, values, interests, and passions. We might ask what classes you’re enjoying or what majors you’re considering. We might explore your involvement in campus organizations, roles you’ve taken on, personality traits you feel proud of, or skills you have developed in your first year at Michigan. Reflecting and building on your story helps you to make better choices about industries or organizations you might want to explore. This also aids in defining your goals and purpose for engaging in a summer job or internship.

Assessing fit

To learn about available opportunities, you can tap into our online posting system, Career Center Connector or the many other internship resources linked from our website. You may be faced with first time decisions about the experience you’re seeking, such as organization size, office culture, location preference, etc. We stress the importance of vetting options carefully before committing. One of our previous posts offers some tips and strategies when evaluating options to help you make informed choices about your summer break.

One summer… lots of ways to make it count!

At The Career Center we believe strongly in the value of experiential learning, and encourage students to understand that this experience can take many different forms. This is especially true for freshman since internships can be extremely competitive, with some open to upper class students only. So rather than emphasizing the prestige of an organization or the job title, you should focus on finding avenues that best help you explore. Some students may spend their whole summer with one organization, but others find ample learning opportunities through job shadowing, volunteering, informational interviewing, a part-time job, or a combination of these avenues. Ultimately, students who pursue opportunities with intention have the most meaningful summer experiences.

Putting the pieces together

One of the greatest benefits of a meaningful summer experience is not just the “doing” but the exposure it gives you to help in making more informed choices, in and out of the classroom, when you return to campus. As you experience your first summer as a college student, be sure to reflect (with family, friends, or us) about what you’re enjoying about your summer, and perhaps what you also find challenging. These conversations are a great foundation for a successful sophomore year!

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Posted by genih

Freshman Friday: Advice from Alumni

February 3, 2012

Every Friday, we’ll be highlighting some helpful information specifically for first-year students. Today we focus on getting advice from Michigan grads, in the form of alumni profiles. You can view all the previous Freshman Friday posts here.

I wish that I knew what I know now

When I was younger

- Ooh La La, Faces

It’s a common theme in music for a reason — we’re often left feeling as though our younger selves could’ve benefitted from the sage advice we could provide right now, if only it were possible. Since time travel isn’t an option, the next best thing is to seek out advice from those who have walked a similar path before you. Lucky for us, UofM has one of the largest living alumni bodies in the world.

We’re always looking for recent graduates to provide advice to current students, and we catalog that advice in our alumni profiles. The profiles cut across a ton of different industries and majors, and provide great advice on how to make the most of your time here at Michigan. Did you know that a couple other departments here at the university also have some great alumni profiles?

Communication Studies
Take a look at the Communication Studies blog, particularly their ongoing ‘Alumni Guest Blogger‘ series. The past few weeks have featured UM alumni working at CNN, Radio Disney, and Google!

English
The English Department has an entire section of their website, entitled “What can I do with a degree in English?” Quite a lot, it turns out! The nearly 40 profiles represent industries like writing/publishing, teaching, medicine, law, communications, and consulting.

Psychology
The Psychology Department has its own page of alumni profiles, featuring Michigan Psychology grads involved in health, education, research, marketing, and more!

We’re probably missing some, so please let us know in the comments if there are any other great collections of Michigan alumni advice!

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Posted by Scott Tsuchiyama

Freshman Friday: What Employers Want

January 27, 2012

Every Friday, we’ll be highlighting some helpful information specifically for first-year students. Today we consider the valuable transferable skills you’re learning in the classroom. You can view all the previous Freshman Friday posts here.

Yesterday’s University Record featured a video of students in LSA’s “Art in Public Spaces/Big Paintings” course talking about their experience. I was struck by the way that the students in the video were able to easily articulate the valuable lessons and skills that they learned in the course, regardless of whether they planned to pursue a degree or eventual career in art.

Whether you’ve selected your major or are still exploring your options, be sure to consider the different ways that your current and future courses contribute toward your eventual career. In some cases, you might be learning skills that are obviously transferable into a work setting, such as ENGLISH 229 – Professional Writing. But in other cases, like the Art in Public Spaces course listed above, the transferable skills may not be as obvious at first glance (but can be just as valuable!). As you’re thinking about your courses this semester, and eventually make up your schedule for the fall and beyond, consider courses with the following components (based on important skills that employers want to see in students/recent grads):

Group Projects
“Ability to work in a team structure,” and “ability to verbally communicate with persons inside and outside the organization” are two skills employers love to see. Working with other students on a group project in class will help you better develop those skills, and provide some concrete examples of when you’ve been required to work with others toward a common goal.

Persuasive/Argumentative Writing
Being able to craft a strong and well-reasoned argument is important in many fields, and employers list “ability to create and/or edit written reports” and “ability to sell or influence others” as two more key skills. You can do yourself a favor by learning and improving that skill through your coursework, so that you’ll be ready the first time you’re required to write a convincing proposal at your internship or job.

Data Analysis/Problem Solving
Particularly in leadership roles, being able to sift through lots of information to pick out the most important pieces is an invaluable skill. Decision-making in the real world is rarely black-and-white, so you’ll often be forced to analyze a problem for which there is incomplete data, more information than is necessary, or for which there’s no perfect solution. The “ability to analyze quantitative data” and “ability to make decisions and solve problems” are high on employers’ wish lists for a reason. Any courses that involve problem solving, quantitative reasoning, and data analysis will help you feel more comfortable with this.

If you need some help thinking about the career-related skills you’re developing through your coursework, take a look at our Career Guides for many of the LS&A majors. It’s also a great conversation to have with one of our career coaches, or with your academic advisor.

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Posted by Scott Tsuchiyama

Freshman Friday: The Value of Liberal Arts

January 20, 2012

Every Friday, we’ll be highlighting some helpful information specifically for first-year students. Today we focus on the power of combining liberal arts with your passion. You can view all the previous Freshman Friday posts here.

The intersection of liberal arts and technology

Yesterday, Apple announced a couple education initiatives aimed at increasing the use of ebooks in the classroom through iBooks 2 for iPad. I’m reminded of the announcement of the first iPad, back in 2010, where Steve Jobs said of Apple: “We’ve always tried to be at the intersection of technology and liberal arts, to be able to get the best of both…it’s the combination of these two things that I think has let us make the kind of creative products like the iPad.”

This post isn’t about Apple, or their iBooks 2 announcement. But it is about that idea of combining liberal arts with something else, and how powerful that combination can be. We’ve seen some talk recently that seems to devalue the liberal arts — notably, Florida Gov. Rick Scott slamming anthropology as an inefficient use of higher education budgets. What’s lost in that argument is the fact that the goal of a liberal arts curriculum isn’t to be a training program for a specific job. There may not be an overabundance of anthropologist (or historian, or philosopher, etc.) job postings out on the market, but most liberal arts grads aren’t looking for those jobs anyway. They set themselves apart from the pack by taking the skills and knowledge they’ve gained through their academic background and applying it to jobs in hundreds of different fields.

Let’s take that anthropology major as an example. In her coursework, she’s studying things like the organization of social groups, the human significance of language, and the origins of genetic diversity. Take that background and a marketing internship or two, and you’d have a pretty fantastic market research analyst. Add in some programming knowledge instead, and you have someone who could design the next great social networking tool. Or, add in an undergraduate career of volunteering at museums, and you have someone well-suited to help develop strong and meaningful museum education efforts. Any of those three paths offers an attractive background to employers, and the broad skills and abilities that are developed in a liberal arts curriculum are what set them apart. You’re preparing yourself for your entire career — not just your first job — and the ability to problem solve, think critically, and the ability to “learn how to learn” can serve you well in just about anything.

As you consider your academic options, think a bit more like Steve Jobs. Start to develop your passions, interests, and career goals, and consider the ways that your liberal arts education will intersect with and support them. And for some great examples of UM grads who have done exactly that, take a look at our recent graduate Alumni Profiles!

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Posted by Scott Tsuchiyama

Freshman Friday: Starting Winter Semester the Right Way

January 6, 2012

starting blocks on a track

Every Friday, we’ll be highlighting some helpful information specifically for first-year students. Today we cover a few tips to get started on the right foot this semester. You can view all the previous Freshman Friday posts here.

Your first Winter Break is over, and as the new semester begins you’ve hopefully had enough time to re-charge before we jump right back into the thick of things. Once classes really get going, it’s easy to get bogged down with coursework, behind on email, and neglect participating in the sort of co-curricular involvement that helped you get here in the first place. Whether your first semester went well or poorly, this semester offers a fresh start — so take a few minutes to consider these ways to stay (or get back) on track:

Keeping Track of Accomplishments and Work

I touched on this a little bit in a previous Freshman Friday post, but it’s extremely helpful to keep track of your experiences and accomplishments here on campus. One low-maintenance way of doing this is to use a service like iDoneThis, which emails you every day to ask you “What’d you get done today?” You just reply to the email, and it takes care of the rest. You can head back to the site or elect to receive ‘memories’ emails to remind you what you’ve done a week, month, or year ago. This way accomplishments both large and small are less apt to get lost in the shuffle.

Also, if your coursework results in a physical or digital product (papers, presentations, software/websites, art, etc.), be sure to file away a copy somewhere. Whether you’re interested in an internship, full-time work after graduation, or graduate school, being able to show real examples of your work is always extremely helpful to convey your skill and ability. You don’t want to put in lots of work, only to find out that it’s lost when you really need it.

Staying On Top of Email

You probably receive quite a few emails every day, and the number will only increase as you spend more time on campus and become more engaged. Two tips that I use today, and wish I had used in my early undergraduate career:

  • If you receive course emails from CTools or are part of multiple listservs/mailing lists, try using mail filters. You can make sure certain emails are automatically sent to a specific folder for easy scanning, or to be read at a later time if they’re not urgent. And when it comes to mailing lists, consider whether you even need to receive those emails at all — unsubscribing from newsletters that you never read anyway can cut down on the clutter
  • Try not to use your inbox as a to-do list. For each email you receive, either reply to it, archive/delete it, or make a note about the task it requires in your favorite to-do list application/paper planner (then archive the email). This will keep your inbox less cluttered, and help you avoid missing or forgetting about important tasks. For a much better and more thorough description of how to do this, see Merlin Mann’s Inbox Zero articles.

Getting Involved

Make sure to put WinterFest on your calendar! There are over 1,300 student organizations on campus, and WinterFest is a great way to explore the options that are available. Student organization involvement can help you meet new people, explore an area of professional/personal interest, and develop invaluable communication, organizational and leadership skills. (It can also help this big campus feel a lot smaller.) WinterFest takes place on January 10th in the Michigan Union, from 4-8pm.

Photo credit: tableatny / CC BY 2.0

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Posted by Scott Tsuchiyama

Freshman Friday: Winter Break Checklist

December 16, 2011

Every Friday, we’ll be highlighting some helpful information specifically for first-year students. Today we’re giving you something to do over Winter Break — don’t worry, it won’t take too much time! You can view all the previous Freshman Friday posts here.

Your Winter Break checklist should also include catching up on sleep

Winter Break is a time for relaxation, and you certainly deserve it after completing your first semester here at Michigan. Because of that, we’re giving you a Winter Break checklist that contains only one item: talk to people!

Sounds easy, right? Let me clarify. We’re not looking for you to just talk to people, but to learn a few things that will help you down the road as you further explore your career interests. Over break, try connecting with 1-3 people (friends, family, neighbors, etc.) and ask them some questions:

  • How did you discover your career path?
  • What do you enjoy most about your work? Why?
  • What are some things you did in order to prepare for that career?

If you share similar interests, the answers to these questions will be directly useful. But even if you’re not interested in that path, this exercise accomplishes two things. First, hearing about others’ career development can give you ideas about your own process, even if you’re talking about two different types of industries or jobs. And second, asking these sorts of questions is great practice for future informational interviews with people who do work in your anticipated career.

All of us at The Career Center hope you have a great Winter Break, and we look forward to seeing you in-person and right here on this blog at the start of next semester!

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Posted by Scott Tsuchiyama

Freshman Friday: Looking Back at the Fall Semester

December 9, 2011

Every Friday, we’ll be highlighting some helpful information specifically for first-year students. Today we’re taking a look back at your first semester here on campus. You can view all the previous Freshman Friday posts here.

looking into a side mirror

At least there's not a T-Rex back there

We’re closing in on the last couple weeks of the semester, and you’re probably starting to prepare for finals right about now. It’s easy to get tunnel vision and focus entirely on your end-of-term coursework until Winter Break. However, try not to lose sight of all you’ve accomplished over the past few months.

While you’re looking back on a semester’s worth of material for your finals, take a few minutes to jot down a list of the things you’ve learned this term such as major concepts in your courses, time management and study skills, collaboration techniques from group work or co-curricular activities, or knowledge about your personal/academic/professional interests. The list doesn’t need to be long or extremely detailed, but it should include enough information to mean something to you a couple years down the road. It should be something you can keep, update, and easily refer to later on.

Without this sort of list, it will be easy for you to dismiss some of these accomplishments in the future, or forget how important they were. Keeping a list (and updating it periodically) serves as a reminder of those important moments, and helps you notice your progression both inside and outside the classroom, as you work toward whatever you decide to do after graduation. And in a more practical sense, it can help you when you begin to put together a resume, write a personal statement, or prepare for an interview. That list is like an outline of your undergraduate story, and resumes, personal statements, and interviews are all about how you present your story to a potential employer or admissions representative.

Good luck as you finish your first semester as a Wolverine!

Remember that The Career Center is open through Friday, December 23rd, so if you’d like to make an appointment before heading home for break, we’d love to chat with you about your experiences this semester, and what that means for your future semesters at Michigan and beyond!

Photo credit: stp243 / CC BY 2.0

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Posted by Scott Tsuchiyama

Freshman Friday: Selecting Classes

December 2, 2011

Every Friday, we’ll be highlighting some helpful information specifically for first-year students. Today we’re looking at course selection, so pull up your backpack on Wolverine Access! You can take a look at all the Freshman Friday posts here.

Undergraduate registration for Winter semester is officially underway, and you’re probably busy thinking about what classes you should add to your schedule before your registration date. Hopefully you’ve met with your academic advisor, but we thought it would also be helpful to ask some of our student employees here at The Career Center what courses they found helpful in exploring career options, defining their career path, or providing an experience that helped prepare them for internships and jobs. Here’s what they had to say:

Amara Lopez – Information Desk Assistant
Senior, Cultural Anthropology and Latin@ Studies

American Culture 213: Intro to Latino Studies – I found my concentration, and found ideas for internships through taking this class. It covers a lot of information, has a lot of guest speakers, and introduces a broad spectrum of academic disciplines (History, Political Science, Sociology, Womens Studies, many more…).

American Culture 311: Ethnic Studies Race and Mixed Race (note: this course was offered during Fall semester, but there is another version on a different topic for Winter 2012) – Actually the most valuable course I have ever taken. I strongly feel that every undergraduate student needs to take THIS VERY CLASS. Amazing professor (Alsultany) who ran the best lecture I have ever been in. Interactive, informative, allowed everyone to develop their own opinions, more than just talking at the students, constantly challenged students…just the most amazing course. It helped me by providing a new perspective on race, ethnicity, and identity in general as it affects and interacts with different societies and cultures. It would aid anyone wanting to study Sociology/Ethnic/American Culture/History. You will look at the U.S. in a different light after this course, and I mean that in the best way.

Cassie Hazelip – Student Coordinator, Public Service Intern Program
Senior, Political Science and International Studies

Psych 211: Project Outreach – Students can really take any of the Project Outreach courses. They’re an awesome way to get involved in the community and meet people with similar interests. Led by Peer Facilitators, the class discussions are rewarding and relaxed.

AAPTIS 200: World Religions (note: this course was offered during Fall semester) – Focusing on Islam, Christianity and Judaism, this course gives students a great foundation for understanding the three major religions of the world. The readings are super interesting, and the lectures bring three professors together to share their backgrounds.

Katherine Man – Information Desk Assistant
Sophomore, College of LS&A

UC 122: Intergroup Dialogues – I really enjoyed this class and would highly recommend it to a freshman. It’s a 2 credit course that teaches you a lot about self-control and keeping an open-mind. Taken from their website, “The Program on Intergroup Relations (IGR) is a social justice education program on the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus. As a joint venture of the College of Literature, Science, and Arts and the Division of Student Affairs, IGR works proactively to promote understanding of intergroup relations inside and outside of the classroom.” Small groups of students are placed in a dialogue run by peer facilitators with a specific topic and are engaged in discussions about race, gender, socioeconomic status, etc.

LaShaunique Plummer – Information Desk Assistant
Senior, Ross School of Business

SM 101: Public and Small Group Communication – This course is helpful because in a lot of internships you will have to present — plus, communication is just a good life skill. The course covers a lot of different areas of public speaking including interviewing, presenting on random topics, and presenting in a group. Although people tend to be afraid of this class because it is public speaking, the environment is very nurturing and gives you a sense of self-confidence and skills to use during presentations. I have used skills that I learned from this class throughout my college career. I have also chosen business communications as one of my majors because I think it is very important.

Nell Gable – Communications Intern
Senior, History (minor in Program in the Environment)

Environ 201: Ecological Issues – This is like a beginner’s guide to understanding the natural environment, our place in it and the issues surrounding it in today’s changing world. This class is highly objective and relevant to students interested in any field, as chances are, the state of the environment will affect everyone in the future. It counts as a natural science course and has no prerequisites. I took it first semester freshman year and it gave me the framework for understanding environmental issues and inspired me to take other Environ courses. Overall, a very important class.

Paul Kitti – Peer Advisor
Junior, Sport Management

English 223: Creative Writing – I enrolled in this class during the second semester of my freshman year. It was a creative writing section focused on short fiction and poetry. While it didn’t directly lead to a dream internship or a career epiphany, it did get me thinking about writing in a different way. It provided an outlet that allowed me to balance the constant wave of academic writing assignments with something more natural and innovative, and it changed the way I looked at other writing assignments, even cover letters and job application essays.

If you’d like help considering ways that your courses might translate to different career paths, make an appointment with one of our Career Coaches or Peer Advisors before or after Winter Break!

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Posted by Scott Tsuchiyama

Freshman Friday: Thanksgiving Break Questions

November 18, 2011

table at thanksgiving dinnerEvery Friday, we’ll be highlighting some helpful information specifically for first-year students. Today we have some tips for the Thanksgiving break. You can take a look at all the Freshman Friday posts here.

Thanksgiving break starts next week, and for some students that means a trip home to spend time with friends and family. Hopefully you’ll get in plenty of food and relaxation, but it’s likely that you’ll also be faced with answering a lot of questions from inquisitive people that you haven’t seen since the summer. If you’re at all stressed about that, here’s some suggestions on how to handle a couple different types of questions:

General questions about college

e.g. “How’s Michigan/your first semester?”

These questions aren’t too bad, but you might start to hear them over and over again. Try to keep it interesting for yourself by varying your answers, discussing things you’re passionate about. Mention your favorite class so far, and what you’re considering as a major. Or talk about the time you’ve spent exploring some student organizations. This is a great opportunity to fill people in on what you’re interested in and why — a skill that will come in handy later as you start looking for internships and jobs.

Questions about your future

e.g. “Have you decided on a major/career yet?”

Sometimes these questions are warranted, but they can be frustrating if they involve answers you haven’t had time to come up with yet. As a first-semester freshman, you’re not expected to have your major yet, or know exactly what you want to do after graduation — but that might not stop people from asking! Try to focus the conversation on what you are doing, rather than what you haven’t done yet. Talk about how you’ve narrowed down your academic or career interests, or began exploring new options since you got to campus. You might have taken a class that helped you decide not to pursue a particular major, which is also valuable knowledge.

If you’re feeling too peppered with questions, turn things around and ask some questions of your own. Chances are, they’re asking those questions out of care and concern (even if it doesn’t seem that way). By asking for advice, you’re acknowledging that concern and providing an opportunity for them to actually help you.

Photo credit: Zeetz Jones / CC BY 2.0

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Posted by Scott Tsuchiyama

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