Quick Guide to Career Success Tools

Career Success at LIU • As an LIU student, you have access to powerful resources that help you prepare for internships and careers.

• This presentation will introduce the two most important tools: Big Interview and Handshake • When used together, these resources enable you to find exciting internship and job opportunities, prepare an outstanding application, and succeed on interviews.

Resource Overview • Big Interview: “Learn and Prepare” • This is LIU’s career readiness tool. Use it to develop your job seeking skills and build a professional resume.

• Handshake: “Search and Apply” • This is LIU’s internship and career portal. Use it to search for internships and jobs, and apply directly to employers.

“Learn and Prepare”

Big Interview

What is Big Interview?

• Big Interview is an online platform that teaches you how to prepare for job applications and interviews.

• It includes: • Video lessons about resume creation, interview skills, and succeeding at a new internship or job.

• A resume builder that automatically formats your resume.

• A mock-interview tool that allows you to conduct virtual practice interviews, with specific questions for hundreds of job industries.

When do I use Big Interview?

• Use Big Interview when it’s time to: • Learn how to make a great resume, prepare for an interview, or succeed at a new position.

• Create a new resume that looks neat and professional.

• Practice your interview skills and rehearse your answers to common questions.

How do I log in? liu.biginterview.com • You must use your full email address @my.liu.edu to log in.

• The first time that you log in, the website will prompt you for “two-factor authentication.” This is just an extra security step.

• You will download an app on your phone called Duo Mobile and scan a QR code to proceed. Follow the instructions!

• When you log in, you will see your “Dashboard”. At the top, there is a menu to navigate to other areas.

• In the “Learn” section, you’ll find video lessons on various career readiness skills. When you complete a video curriculum, you get a certificate.

The Fast Track series teaches you how to prepare for an interview.

The Resume Curriculum teaches you how to write and format a great resume

The First 90 Days Curriculum teaches you skills for success when starting a new internship or job.

• In the “Practice” section, you can conduct mock interviews. You can practice with generic questions or common interview questions from your industry.

• Mock interviews look and feel similar to real virtual interviews. You can record your response and watch it (or share it with your success coach). If you’re unsure how to answer a question, Big Interview offers tips and advice.

• In the “My Resume” section, you can build and format a professional resume.

Formatting a resume can be very challenging and Big Interview does some of the hard work for you.

• The resume builder will ask you for information about yourself, your education, and your work experience.

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The resume builder helps format your resume in a neat and organized way. But you still need to write the content!

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That’s why it is so important to watch the resume curriculum videos before you try to make a resume.

Learn about effective ways to describe yourself and your experience.

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Then write out the details of your education and work experience in a blank document (using Word or Google).

Don’t worry about formatting, spacing, or fonts.

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You can then copy and paste that information into the resume builder. It will format all of your content into a resume.

• The resume builder will generate a formatted resume, using the information that you provided.

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You can choose from several styles, re-organize the order, and adjust line spacing.

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Spend time with the tool, make adjustments, and revise the text, if necessary.

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Resume formatting is challenging, and even Big Interview can make mistakes (like cutting off a line or pushing on to a second page).

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Proofread very carefully! Big Interview will not always catch your spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes.

Making a great resume •

Making a resume takes time and effort, even with the help of a tool like Big Interview.

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Your resume will evolve over time, as you gain new experience, and improve your job-seeking skills.

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It should include your college education, your major, your anticipated graduation year, any prior work experience, any skills or training that you may have (like Microsoft Office, Google Docs, social media proficiency, and languages spoken).

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If you already have a draft resume, consider reworking it and revising it in Big Interview.

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If you don’t have a resume (which is very normal for a college student!), or if you don’t feel confident about it, use Big Interview to make a new one.

Search and Apply

Handshake

What is Handshake?

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Handshake is a powerful internship and career website that is used by many colleges and universities around the country.

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Why Handshake is better than other job websites:

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Every employer on our site wants to meet LIU students and alumni. They contacted us to request permission to recruit at LIU.

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You will find thousands of internship and job opportunities in every field. On average, we approve 250 new employers every month and over 700 new internships and jobs each week. In an average month, there are over 20,000 active opportunities on the LIU portal. We are connected to some of the largest and most successful companies in the world.

Employers on Handshake are only looking for college students and recent graduates. You won’t see tons of jobs that require 5-8 years of experience.

When do I use Handshake?

• Use Handshake when it’s time to: • Find an internship, part-time job, or full-time job after graduation.

• Research about internship and job opportunities in a particular field.

How do I log in? liu.edu/handshake • Enter your MyLIU username and password (include @my.liu.edu in your username).

• You already have an account, you don’t need to create one.

• You have free access to this tool as an LIU student, and you will continue to have access after you graduate.

How to use Handshake • There are 3 major aspects to using Handshake: • 1) Uploading your application documents (like resumes and cover letters) Handshake will store your resume and other application documents, so you can submit them to employers.

• 2) Creating your profile. Handshake allows you to create a “profile” which is similar to a LinkedIn page. You can copy and paste your resume content into the profile. Having a profile allows employers to search for YOU and invite you to apply for positions.

• 3) Searching for internships and jobs. Handshake allows you to

search for internships and jobs, and apply directly from the site.

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This is the Profile screen. You can upload documents here and create a “virtual resume” for employers to see.

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This is the Jobs screen. You can search for jobs using keywords and filters. Once you find a job that interests you, you can apply or bookmark it for later.

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In addition to keywords like “nursing” or “television” you should also use filters to conduct effective searches.

The location filter is very important and should always be set.

The All Filters tab unlocks even more options, including the ability to search for positions by industry and major

How to use Handshake • There’s a lot to learn about Handshake. It is one of the most valuable tools that you have as an LIU student.

• The website is very easy to use, and you can dive in and get started at any time.

• Check out this detailed guide for step-by-step instructions about Handshake: LIU Student Handshake Guide

LIU Career Success Tools

Recap

Quiz • To search for a summer internship, I would go to: (A) Big Interview or (B) Handshake • To watch video lessons on career success skills, like how to create a resume, I would go to: (A) Big Interview or (B) Handshake • To create a new resume using the resume builder tool, I would go to: (A) Big Interview or (B) Handshake