2 [NEWS]
Spartan Daily
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Local recruiter helps students add experience to their resumes tered, the results of the experience and the context in which the experience occurred. He said anything from working a part-time job to being a club president could be used as experience to help an applicant stand out. Milliken said employers use the experiences of applicants to determine their potential worth as an employee. He said employees look for communication skills, initiative, adaptability, teamwork and problem solving skills. He said students should limit their resumes to one page, but should not shortchange any experience.
Milliken said two versions of a resume may be a good idea — one short version and one long version. He said employers use the S.T.A.R. (Situation, Task, Action, Result) system to determine worth of a potential employee. He said employers are trained to learn the situation, task, action and results of an applicant during their experiences, and the quicker applicants can hit those four points better. Milliken said another good thing for applicants to do is to be honest. “Illustrate what you are, who you are and what your (experiences) are,” he said.
SUKKOT From Page 1
HOUSING From Page 1
his first time celebrating Sukkot, and said building the sukkah at SJSU “really enhances the Jewish community here on campus.” Freshman kinesiology major Leonard Druker said the sukkah is a chance for a lot of Jewish teens to come together from SJSU and the nearby colleges to meet each other. “It represents our religion and our culture more,” Druker said. “People know who we are.” Building on campus also had the advantage of allowing the University Police Department to watch over the sukkah, she said, referring to the 2007 burning of the sukkah outside the Hillel house. Mutchnik said all people are welcome to come to the sukkah. During the day, Hillel staff and students from the Jewish Student Union will be in the sukkah to meet anyone who came, she said.
in dorm-style housing as a freshman and wouldn’t mind reliving the experience. “Since there is a problem with enrollment, I think that is fine,” Dwyer said. “I kind of like the freshman dorm thing.” Washburn Hall has been shut down for all but the orientation session of the Fall 2009 Semester, because there are fewer first-year students on the campus this year and the university needed to save
money, Brown said. Regardless of any alternative living options University Housing Services implements, Brown said the revenue generated by rent must outweigh the money that is currently being saved by not having to provide electricity, water and maintenance to any affected buildings. SJSU had previously offered the unused space to San Francisco State students, but little interest was garnered by the marketing campaign, Brown said. She said SJSU is still trying to determine how much interest there is from current freshmen who
would still like to live on campus next semester. “We are just trying to weigh everything right now.” Brown said. “We are not completely sure what that demand will be. We won’t know until those numbers shake out, and we see how many immediate students are interested in living on campus.” Sean Sampson, a freshman mechanical engineering major, said living on campus is a good alternative to living in an apartment. “I think they should open up the first-year housing to upperclassmen,” Sampson said.
Students should avoid putting their high school accomplishments on their resumes, said a campus recruiting representative from Lockheed Martin. Christopher Milliken spoke to 16 students about improving their resumes Monday in the Career Center as a way for the center to prepare students before the fall job fair, he said. “This being my last semester I’m looking for work afterwards, and I don’t have a strong resume,” said David Torres, a senior global studies major. Milliken said applicants ask
how they can get experience to put on their resumes. “Experience is a matter of perspective,” Milliken said. Milliken said nontraditional work experience, such as being a soccer captain or traveling to another country for volunteer work, gives students skills that can help them stand out. “When you have a sea of applicants that you’re swimming through, you have to figure out a way to jump out of the water and stand out,” he said. Tiffany Doria, a senior mechanical engineering major, said the resume building workshop was a good resource. “I’m planning on going to the
fall job fair, so I think I can use some of the techniques (taught) here,” she said. Milliken said practicing a “one-minute commercial” or “elevator speech” can help students network and get noticed at job fairs. A “one-minute commercial” is a way for applicants to introduce themselves to an employer and show their personality, while an “elevator speech” is used during an elevator ride with a potential employer, he said. Jovil Clemente, a senior creative arts major, said that he’s heard the information in the workshop before, but that it was good to hear it again.
[ Michelle Gachet / Spartan Daily ]
Joanthan Ben-David, a graduate student in computer science, holds the top of the SJSU sukkah Monday.
Student wins $20,000 scholarship By Ryan Fernandez Staff Writer
Jake Panian, a senior animation/illustration student, said he felt complimented this summer when he won the $20,000 Zankel Scholarship from the New York City-based Society of Illustrators. Panian’s work also earned him the praise of Jeff Sangalli, an art director at LucasArts and an SJSU alumnus. He said Panian’s work had a sense of direction and storytelling that really comes across. “It’s something employers will recognize,” he said. Panian said he wasn’t expecting to win, and instead wanted to focus on getting to know the other three finalists. “It was fun to meet other students that were just as passionate,” he said. “I told myself, ‘It’s fine if you don’t win. You’re in New York. Have a good time.’” Panian said the society brought him and the three other finalists to New York City for interviews and to examine portfolios of their artwork. “I felt the interview went really well,” he said. “I felt my confidence growing as I explained my work.” He said he credits his ability to keep his composure to his experience in the animation/illustration program’s ACME Network. The network that John Clapp, assistant professor of art and design, said is named for a fictional company in Warner Brothers’ Looney Tunes cartoon series links students to industry professionals and allows students to get professional-level feedback on their work. The Society of Illustrators’ Web site states that the Zankel Scholarship, awarded in memory of donor Arthur Zankel, is given to a junior-level student whom the society considers the most promising illustrator in the United States. According to the society’s Web site, the society was founded in 1901, and its mission is “to pro-
Jake Panian
mote the art and appreciation of illustration.” Alice Carter, an arts and design professor, said the society was the number one organization for illustrators nationwide, and said she felt the Society of Illustrators was doing something cutting edge by awarding the scholarship to Panian. “It’s daring of the society to give it to Jake,” she said. “The society was founded on print illustration, while Jake is looking for a career working with electronic media.” Paul Nguyen, a senior animation/illustration student, said one of Panian’s distinguishing characteristics is his apparent fearlessness in the face of critiques. “Critiques can be pretty blunt,” he said. “You put a lot of yourself into the work, and it leaves you vulnerable, but he’s always willing to do that.”
Aidan Sugano, a senior animation/illustration major, said, “He’s able to convey a lot of personality in his work, both his and his subject.” Panian said that while growing up, his friends always seemed to have movies or shows or games that inspired them to excel at something, and said that he wanted to be a part of something that would create those feelings in others. To that end, Panian said he would like to work for animation studios such as Pixar, DreamWorks and Industrial Light & Magic and that he has been sending his portfolio to different animation studios. “I’ve been getting some attention from Blue Sky Studios,” he said, referring to the company that worked on the films “Ice Age” and “Horton Hears A Who.” Sheldon Borenstein, lecturer for the school of art and design, said Panian was on the verge of being the best the animation industry could ask for. “The industry has a certain standard for excellence, and he’s just about there,” he said. Panian said he was using the scholarship money to fund his final year at SJSU. He said he had already spent some money to upgrade his computer, and would use the rest to finance his living expenses.
Sparta Guide
“I think that anybody that wants to be proactive and successful in getting a career and going where they want to go they should attend these,” he said. Milliken said applicants should avoid putting high school accomplishments on their resumes. Employers may see high school accomplishments on a resume and think, “That was four years ago, get over it,” Milliken said. He said creating a grid for each experience a student has is helpful in creating a one-minute commercial. He said a student could write down the role he or she played, the skills that were developed, talents used, challenges encoun-
By Husain Sumra Staff Writer
Today Ecological Footprint Challenge from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Student Union. Help reduce the ecological footprint of the SJSU community by 10 percent. For more information, contact Jennifer Gorospe at jennifer.gorospe@students.sjsu.edu. Kiyoe sings Jazz and Bossa from 12:30 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. Doors open at 12:15 p.m. at the Music Building Concert Hall. Listen to Songs of Monk, Jobim and more Kiyoe Wakabayashi and friends. For more information, contact Joan Stübbe at (408) 924-4649. FREE.
Tomorrow The A-B-C of Self-Esteem at 1:30 p.m. at Clark Hall, Room 118. For more information, contact Veronica Mendoza at veronica.mendoza@sjsu.edu. Peer Counseling from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in Hugh Gillis Hall Room 236 or by appointment. For a list of our services visit: http://sites.google.com/site/cpstsjsu or contact a trained peer counselor at (408) 376-1233 or cpst.sjsu@gmail.com.