The Cougar Career Guide Spring 2015

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

INSIDE PG. 4

Social networking

You don't need LinkedIn to create lasting professional connections. UH's hundreds of student organizations can help you land a job after graduation — no username required.

| Career Guide

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About Cooglife Career Guide

Career Guide is part of a series of new special sections published every month by the Cougar. These sections are intented to give recognition and focus to certain aspects of student life that can often be overlooked.

EDITOR Trey Strange WRITERS Jacqueline Guerrero Ali Valach Remy Vogt Trey Strange PRODUCTION Jose Cruz Josue Diaz Alex Tomic

CLOSING EDITORS Christopher Shelton Cara Smith Jenae Sitzes ADVERTISING JP Montgomery Elizabeth Murphy Tiffany Willie Summer Davis Yissel Lerma Jose Salazar

ABOUT THE COVER Whatever type of job you are searching for, the Career Guide can be of service to you. The cover illustrates this principle. Graphic design

by Alex Tomic

Ruth Tadesse, a supply chain senior who has interned for and received job offers from both Air Liquide and Eli Lilly, emphasized the importance of the internships as she strolled past the ticker in Melcher Hall. | Karis Johnson/The Cougar

Internships serve as bridge to job REMY VOGT STAFF WRITER

Ruth Tadesse knows all too well the incidental value of real work experience while still in school. Tadesse has conquered two internships while completing her business degree and sales minor. She interned in supply chain management with Air Liquide and in sales with Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical company.

“Coursework only teaches so much. It is important to experience things firsthand,” she said, stressing that a classroom does not always provide the most accurate depiction of life in any given field of work.

But the 22-year-old supply chain senior also learned about her personal career goals through these experiences. Prior to her internships in the summers of her sophomore and junior years, Tadesse believed she would prefer a career in sales.

After ten weeks of experience in both fields, she discovered she was more suited to job in supply chain management.

Tadesse would encourage fellow students to use discretion when selecting an

internship. According to her, students will sometimes take the first offer they get and it not be at all related to what they want to do.

Still, Tadesse is perhaps even more concerned with the student population that isn’t interning at all until it is seemingly almost too late in their college careers.

“Most people aren’t getting internships until their last two years, if they get them at all,” she said. “The earlier, the better.”

There is a myth surrounding interns — that they are coffee makers or office “gofers.” However, this is usually not the case. A survey done by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that the rate of conversion from intern to employee rose 51.2 percent in 2014. Two hundred sixty-four companies representing more than 20 industries participated.

NACE found that many employers seek new hires from their interns.

Tadesse agrees that employers view interns as an investment and want them to be as prepared for the jobs they will be

INTERNSHIPS

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Contact The Cougar thedailycougar.com NEWSROOM 713-743-5360

Getting an internship

editor@thedailycougar.com facebook.com/thedailycougar twitter.com/thedailycougar

Tadesse gave five tips that helped her get internships over the years.

Cara Smith

Research Do a lot of research on the industry you're interested in to find out what their qualifications are. The earlier you do it, the better prepared you'll be when you meet the companies.

Networking Attend networking events, from career fairs to info sessions. You just never know who you'll meet, and everybody says it's all about knowing people.

Update your resume Make sure your resume is up-to-date and always available, whether it is a draft in your email or a hard copy in your bag so you can give it to recruiters when necessary.

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| Career Guide

Wednesday, March 25, 2015 | 3

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| Career Guide

4 | Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Get social... offline

Organizations provide networking to students Regardless of when and where it happened, we have all heard that one singular phrase, echoing like a collegiate mantra through most university halls: "It's not what you know — it's who you know." If this is true, what are we doing to prepare?

Here are some organizations around campus that can help.

HBSA supports Hispanic professionals Jazmin Mondragon just wanted to get involved on campus the Hispanic Business Student Association.

After she joined, Mondragon was networking with business leaders while growing as a person and public speaker.

“I strongly believe I would not have been the same person (if hadn’t joined the organization),” said Mondragon, a marketing senior.

The Hispanic Business Student Association promotes leadership skills, entrepreneurism and academic excellence among Hispanic students. HBSA makes students aware of successful Hispanic professionals within the local business community and aims increase their enrollment in institutions of higher education.

“HBSA’s mission is to provide the skills necessary for college students who succeed in their college experience and actually help them in the process it takes for

them to become a student to become a professional,” said Cynthia Cortez, the corresponding secretary.

HBSA provides interview skills workshops, resume building workshops and exposure to professionals from top companies like BP to help prepare its members for the professional world.

Mondragon joined the Hispanic Business Student Association in spring of 2013.

“I definitely believe HBSA has helped me grow, not just professionally but personally, as well allowing me the opportunity to work with various individuals like my peers and professionals who come in and speak to us on a weekly basis.” Mondragon said. “It has also helped me develop my skills, like public speaking and enhance my networking skills. So being able to get out of my comfort zone has been a great benefit out of joining the organization.”

—Jacqueline Guerrero

HBSA helps Hispanic students like Jazmin Mondragon to learn professional skills and network. | Courtesy of Jazmin Mondragon

PRSSA prepares potential PR students for job market

PRSSA gave Christina Nemry the skills to land an internship at Houston Methodist. | Courtesy of Christina Nemry

The Public Relations Student Society of America is devoted to raising strong leaders in the communication field.

“The goal of PRSSA is to help students learn professional development skills, knowledge about public relations (and) communications outside of a classroom and learn how to network,” said Gemrick Curtom, a public relations senior and president of PRSSA. Curtom believes that the organization is a definite benefit to public relations students at UH. He said that through biweekly meetings, members gain exclusive access to guest speakers, tours of local firms and events sponsored by the Houston Public Relations Society of America.

Additionally, students in the organization can apply to a slew of internship opportunities, professional

development events and career-building workshops to prepare them for the corporate world.

“Members learn how to build their resumes tailored for communication and PR jobs, how to use LinkedIn, personal branding and networking skills,” Curtom said.

This is exactly what Christina Nemry, public relations senior and vice president of PRSSA, did. So far, it has worked out well.

“Right now, I am interning at Houston Methodist,” Nemry said.

“Prior to this internship, I had two other internships. PRSSA definitely prepared me for not only my first internship, but all of the ones I was fortunate enough to experience.”

As both a member and vice president, Nemry has actively participated in all that the program offers.

"In PRSSA, we have hosted resume workshops and multiple panels that give our members a chance to enhance their skill sets and learn more," Nemry said. "Through these experiences, I have learned so much and have been able to apply them in my internships.

Through it all, Nemry feels that she has grown into an employable communications worker because of the PRSSA network with which she got to connect.

“I gave it a try, not thinking that it would be one of the best decisions I made in my college career,” Nemry said.

“I’ve made so many friends and networked with so many professionals; I wouldn’t trade this position for the world.”

—Trey Strange

| Career Guide

SWE provides space for women engineers

The Society of Women Engineers helps both women and men to succeed in the field. | Courtesy of Mah-rukh Muhammed

Contradictory to what the name suggests, the Society of Women Engineers is actually composed of a mixture of men and women.

This society aims to help prepare students for careers in the real world through a variety of methods.

“Our mission statement has to do with promoting engineering as a positive force and improving the quality of life,” said SWE President Analicia Caylor, a petroleum engineering senior. “It has to do with diversity and inclusion.”

Caylor said that she uses the mission statement of SWE to guide her decisions when governing. SWE recognizes that women are a minority in the engineering field; however, they are seen as equals by the male members of the organization.

“SWE helps promote the personal and professional growth of women in engineering,” said SWE Social Chair Mah-rukh Muhammad, a civil engineering junior.

“By joining, one is able to be a part of that

learning experience and meet great people along the way.”

SWE meets once every month to help students prepare for careers by exposing them to industry professionals. Caylor and the other leaders of the society organize resume critique sessions where company representatives come to help students edit these documents for the professional world.

“SWE has helped me prepare for a career in my field in many ways,” said Muhammad. “Through the network that one builds in SWE, they are part of a community with which one can share concerns, advice and opportunities in engineering.

At the meetings and events, I have been able to meet company representatives and other students in the same career path as mine.”

Members of SWE also get the opportunity to participate in an etiquette dinner and workshops about finances for life after graduation. All of these help to better prepare students for joining the workforce.

“I have been exposed to opportunities and career paths that I otherwise wouldn't have known about,” Muhammad said. “In addition, at the SWE conferences, one is able to even further expand their network through meeting women in engineering from across the state and country. SWE also has workshops in which one can learn about how to be successful in the workplace and deal with various situations in their career.”

SWE plays a large role in the career fairs hosted each semester by the Engineering Career Center. The society is one of three major organizations that help plan career fairs with the career center.

Caylor also gave some advice for students, especially those graduating this spring.

“Attend all of the workshops that you can because they are free, and you have time right now,” Caylor said. “After graduation, you have to pay for everything.”

—Ali Valach

Organizations that help Give back to the community while adding another great organization to your resume.

The Collegiate 100 A group of men and women who aim to bring growth and development to African-American youth in Houston through mentorship programs.

MVP The Metropolitan Volunteer Program connects student with community partners to generate betterment projects on a massive scale.

The H.O.P.E. Collaborative This team teaches high school students to market themselves in college applications and on scholarship essays.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015 | 5

SPONSORED CONTENT

Post to impress, employers are #lurking

Many potential employers monitor social media before offering a job. | BigStock

UNIVERSITY CAREER SERVICES It is no secret that most people have gotten into the habit of checking social media to dig up more information about another individual before forming an opinion of them. As embarrassing as it might be, many of us can admit to lurking. The practice of researching a person based on what they’ve posted online has become so widespread that many company recruiters have also taken to this method to screen job candidates. According to a 2014 Jobvite survey, 73% of recruiters reported their plan to increase their use of social media to find skilled workers and 55% have reconsidered a candidate based on their social profile – a 13% increase from 2013.

Since there are currently no laws to regulate what information employers can use in hiring decisions, anything posted on the web is a fair-game. This means that the responsibility of making strategic online posts is left up to you – the jobseeker. The top three sites that employers are using to collect more information about their applicants are LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Read on to find out the simplest ways to use social media’s “Big Three” to ensure that employers find the best version of you when they do their lurking.

LinkedIn: As the leading social media site for industry connections, LinkedIn should be your leading source for online professional engagement.

Join Groups- Once you’ve gotten your

content up to all-star status, direct traffic to your profile by engaging in group discussions. LinkedIn groups are safe-spaces for current and aspiring professionals to share information, job leads, and ask any pertinent questions that you may have.

Connect with Alumni- Utilize LinkedIn’s Alumni search tool to find UH Alumni currently working in the industry you’re looking to enter. With there being over 136,000 people affiliated with the University of Houston on LinkedIn, there is no doubt that there is someone out there working in your dream job and living in your dream city. This tool helps your narrow down these thousands of UH Alumni with just a few clicks, making it easier for you to make life-changing social media connections.

Facebook: Protect or Promote- Set your privacy standards based on the information that could be found on your profile. If you’ve had the same account for quite some time, it might be useful to hide your tagged photos, clean up your wall posts, or make the profile private altogether. On the other hand, if you have a profile chock-full of impressive career information, consider leaving your profile public so that employers can easily scope out your polished image.

SOCIAL

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| Career Guide

Advice from alums

How going off campus helped two recent grads find their way

Professional experiences brought him back to UH TREY STRANGE

CAREER GUIDE EDITOR @TREYNORMAL

Natalie Harms, an associate editor at Houston Business Journal, started seeking internships early in her undergraduate career. | Izmail Glossen

HBJ associate editor stresses creativity TREY STRANGE

CAREER GUIDE EDITOR @TREYNORMAL

Just one year ago, Natalie Harms donned her cap and gown to receive her Bachelor’s in journalism from UH. Now, she is associate print editor of the Houston Business Journal. Harms, who was freelancing and interning for months after of college before getting a job, said experiencing a little bit of everything is essential to journalism.

“I know everyone says that you have to do a little bit of everything,” Harms said. “(But it’s important to be) getting some experience in everything, and sometimes that’s a class, but other times, it’s not.”

Harms found that her courses taught her technical skills. Other than that, her degree plan lacked creativity.

“News and Social Media was a solid class. When you get to more theoretical practices like that, it was kind of about stepping out of my comfort zone to be more conceptual,” Harms said. “A lot of schools have journalism as a bachelor of science because it’s not supposed to be a creative outlet. I wish it was more creative.”

But what writing prowess Harms lost

in the classroom, she picked up at her internships.

“In journalism especially, pretty much every internship requires previous internship experience. So, it’s really challenging to start junior year and find places that all of your friends are interning at,” Harms said. “With journalism, you have to spread yourself wide and create a network, especially if this is what you want to do, because a lot of people don’t get jobs when they graduate. I think it’s important to create a presence in the community with interning.”

So a diligent sophomore-year Harms committed to the demanding workload of becoming a journalist by beginning her first internship at Houston magazine. She later interned at the Houston Chronicle, Houstonia and Texas Monthly and served as managing editor of The Cougar.

“You can do more than school, that’s what’s great about college,” Harms said.

“There is a way to balance it and still have a healthy mix; it just takes a lot of time management. You can’t just be doing one thing, because you’re wasting precious semesters. ”

From 2007 to 2011, Daniel Stidham soared through his finance degree. A member of many organizations, including the Terry Scholars Student Organization, the Filipino Student Association and the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Stidham, like most business majors, made sure that his network was strong.

In addition to networking Stidham found that some of his organizations challenged him intellectually.

“I would say that IVCF helped me understand how to work with large groups who are defending ideologies that are significantly embedded in their familial ties,” Stidham said. “This isn't foreign to working with people of varying ideas, political beliefs or solutions to issues at work.”

Stidham credited this as much of his growth during his undergraduate career.

“As a result, I learned that I really enjoyed problem solving and working with people who, and should, disagree and challenge ideas,” Stidham said.

He didn’t find a great amount of this in the business field, although he did intern twice.

“I worked at Pros Pricing (while in school) and ConocoPhillips and Barclays Capital for summer internships. All of these were extremely humbling experiences that reminded me that I have much to learn (I failed to get an offer from either),” Stidham said. “The challenge to be a good corporate employee, which was much harder than I expected, became a challenge that defeated me time and again.”

Still, after graduation, he found himself in a job with JPMorgan as a credit analyst.

To his surprise, he succeeded and was promoted after just a year to the position of finance underwriter.

“I would say that it was that humility (of failing before) that helped me prosper in my full-time job,” Stidham said.

Stidham also praised his student organizations, for helping him realize a calling away from business.

“I also found that in working at IVCF,

UH graduate Daniel Stidham believes his humility and faith have helped him succeed. | Courtesy of Daniel Stidham

my greatest joy was helping people with understanding their lives and their eternal ideologies of faith, and ultimately the immensely loving God who revealed Himself to me in relationship with the story of Jesus,” Stidham said. “But I also realized that I lacked the courage and money to do that full-time out of college, so it took me a few years to arrive at where I am today. “ That place Stidham is talking about is actually on campus, almost every day.

In September of 2014, Stidham left his finance career to become the college ministry director at First Presbyterian Church of Houston, and now he spends his days at Starbucks and other locations in the Student Center, mentoring students in their faith.

“In my undergraduate career I think I learned just how fool-hardy I was but would have never admitted. I failed time and time again, but I had the benefit of grades and friends to help me ignore the real issues of my heart,” Stidham said.

"But when working with people, I could not avoid my glaring flaws and how they affected people, and it was this humbling experience, both personally and professionally that has reminded me of my deep need for help in my faith from God and in my relationship with people.”

| Career Guide SPONSORED CONTENT

UCS helps UH students prepare for interviews Balancing athletics and academics is something that Ashley Lee has managed successfully during her time here at the University of Houston. In the summer of 2014, Ashley participated in the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP) at UT Health in Houston. This opportunity provided relevant academic enrichment while exposing her to the real world of medicine through a clinical medicine lecture series. As a result of this opportunity, Ashley decided that she would prepare herself for the competitive application process ASHLEY LEE for the Joint Admission BIOLOGY Medical Program and SOPHOMORE reached out to University Career Services for assistance with preparing for her interview.

“Their student services really helped me with my interviewing skills. (UCS Career Counselor, Tiffany) Bitting was really supportive and patient with me. By working with me one on one, we were able to perfect my interviewing skills and help me develop a standard of professionalism. If you ever need help with personal statements or interviewing, this is the place to go.”

The sophomore biology major was recently accepted into the competitive Joint Admission Medical Program (JAMP) which guarantees admission into one of the Texas nine medical schools. With the academic support and additional resources JAMP aims to provide, Ashley will continue to broaden her experience and is that much closer to accomplishing her dream of becoming a physician.

Nhon Le has an incomparable passion and drive for serving others. As a senior majoring in biology at the University of NHON Houston, he has been LE actively involved with UH AED Alpha Epsilon Delta PRESIDENT UH (AED) since 2011.

Nhon’s dedication to the health profession shows within his strong sense of

INTERVIEWS

Continues on page 11

INTERNSHIPS

Continued from page 2 taking as possible. In fact, she views internships as no different from an actual job.

“You go to the office. You have your own cubicle. You have your own files and paper-

Wednesday, March 25, 2015 | 7

work you are responsible for and you have a superior that you are required to answer to," Tadesse said. "It is real work.".

Tadesse was offered a full time position at Mondelez International will begin in July.

“Coursework only teaches so much. It is important to experience things firsthand” Ruth Tadesse, supply chain senior

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| Career Guide

8 | Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Director hopes UCS creates a 'recipe for success' Thompson adds new career fairs, trainings for ambitious students JACQUELINE GUERRERO

STAFF WRITER

@LOVEJACKIEEE

Since she was selected as executive director of University Career Services just before the start of the academic year, Monica Thompson has added more resources for UH students to use in career preparation.

“There are a lot of untapped areas being that there are 40,000 students at the powerhouse,” Thompson said.

“I feel it is my mission to tackle that and prepare the students.”

MONICA Thompson took THOMPSON EXECUTIVE position in July 2014 and DIRECTOR she already has plans for changes to the way UCS interacts with students — even inside the classroom.

“My ultimate goal and vision is to have a career course for every student and college,” Thompson said. “Having that career course is the recipe for success. They will sit through that class and understand what their major should be and take an assessment and explore careers and be provided the toolkit for success.”

Without that course, Thompson said students will procrastinate from looking for a job until their junior or senior year, which is problematic since employers want to hire people that have job and internship experience. Thompson isn’t an advocate to adding

Graduates can utilize University Career Services up to a semester after graduation. | Justin Tijerina/The Cougar

an extra class on students’ course load but wishes to integrate the class with internship courses.

Even though students don’t have that option yet, Thompson’s diligence was quickly realized in Professional Discovery Week last September.

“One of the things I brought to campus was Professional Discovery Week,” Thompson said. “During that week, students

get all the training they’ll need so they’ll be successful throughout the recruiting process. Within that week, it’s dress-for-success, mock interviews and (learning how to) brand yourself.”

Professional Discovery Week is the third week of the semester. It is early on, but Thompson said this helps students prepare for the upcoming career events.

Thompson has also added more career

fairs. Instead of having just one main career fair, there will now be more smaller fairs that are focused on other colleges and industries.

April 3 will mark the first ever career fair for jobs in the Natural Science and Mathematics department. In addition, a Non-profit and Governmental Job fair and Graduating Seniors and Alumni career fair are set to happen April 16 and April 30, respectively.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Cougar Pathway provides link to campus jobs UNIVERSITY CAREER SERVICES Jobs on campus can be a challenge to find at UH or any other university.

University Career Services hosts the “Campus Jobs for Coogs” which is a job fair for all on-campus job opportunities that is held in early August. This is a good opportunity for students and on-campus departments to meet to talk about any available positions. Although the job fair is held before the semester begins, students can continue job

searching throughout the year in Cougar Pathway.

Student may access jobs through Cougar Pathway, UCS’ career management site. Jobs from internships to entry-level positions are open to all UH students of all majors. UCS’ social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn) are also good resources when job searching. For jobs on campus, students need to remember these helpful tips: Cougar Pathway is a primary source.

UH students can find on-campus jobs

from College Work-Study or On-Campus Student Employment (non-College Work-Study). Students must complete their profiles and upload a resume for approval prior to applying for a job.

There is a high demand for an on-campus jobs. It is competitive and there are more job seekers than there are available positions. Use other resources by talking to friends or speaking to other colleges/ departments to find out if they have any openings. You may find a job through word of mouth.

Follow-up with your contacts: After you interview, follow-up after a week.

Following up lets the department know that you are interested in that position.

Don’t forget to send a thank you note to also address why you think you would be the best fit. Keep in contact, you never know when a position would be available.

Here are some important tips on what the office expects of a student worker: • Be committed.

• Be dependable.

• Have confidence.

| Career Guide

Wednesday, March 25, 2015 | 9

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And we’re committed to operating with excellence and safety. Protecting our people, our environment and our communities guides everything we do. It always will.

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Š 2015 Phillips 66 Company. All rights reserved.

| Career Guide

10 | Wednesday, March 25, 2015 SPONSORED CONTENT

Employers grade candidate attributes UNIVERSITY CAREER SERVICES

Teamwork dropped from an A- awarded to the 2013-14 respondents down to a B this year, making it the second lowest graded attribute.

Written communication skills, the third key skill employers look for, also had a decline in ratings from a B+ awarded last year to a B- for this year’s candidates.

In the 2015 NACE job outlook survey, employers graded average new graduate recruits on their skills and attributes and found that new grads have remained steady or lost ground in several key skills.

The grade for leadership among members of the Class of 2015 was a B+, the same as last year, but the grade illustrates that new grads still have room for improvement in this area.

Employers grade their average new graduate recruits on skills/attributes Skill/Attributes

Class of 2015

Class of 2014

Problem-solving ability

A-

B+

Initiative

A-

B+

Analytic/quantitive skills

B+

A-

Verbal communication skills

B+

B+

Leadership

B+

B+

Work ethic

B

B+

Teamwork

B

A-

Written communication skills

B-

B+

Editor's note: In-person networking key for success A few weeks ago, I found myself in a room with long tables packed tightly with business students and professionals from companies all around Houston. I sat as far back as I could.

I was assigned to be reporting on the event but, honestly, I was just trying not to nod off.

When the lecturer TREY finished, the host STRANGE turned the numerous CAREER GUIDE EDITOR CEOs and corporate presidents over to the students for “networking time.”

It was like releasing a swarm of hungry Bauer students. Abruptly, chairs were scooted back and suits were re-buttoned.

Ties were smoothed over in midstride. In one suspended second, there were, literally, hundreds of handshakes.

The frenzy puzzled me. What made students so maddeningly eager to latch

themselves on to a professional’s palm?

Studying the spectacle from afar, I watched as a small group of students gathered around one particular man, kind of like those pictures of children sitting around Jesus. And, even though one lecture had just ended, this man began his own for them.

That’s when I realized how important humans are to us. We want to see faces, grasp hands, and look into the eyes of people who have braved the corporate storm and made it out alive.

That’s why this edition of CoogLife focuses on human achievement. It is the goal of my team to spotlight the ones to follow, because they’re doing it right.

They’ve got something figured out. Through their stories, I hope you can find some of your own narrative. Let them show you the way. Let them inspire you. And, if you see one of them in the Student Center or at the Satellite, say hello. Extend your hand. Ask them how you can be successful, too.

Source: Job Outlook 2015, National Association of Colleges and Employers

Infographic by Josue Diaz

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Use social media to your advantage in order to find a job. | BigStock

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SOCIAL

Continued from page 5 Create Your Own- Start a Facebook group and invite others in your industry to join. The most remarkable job candidates are the ones that aren’t just good at networking, but also help others connect with each other.

Twitter: Follow the Leader(s)- Do some research, collect the names, then follow all of the thought-leaders in your field. These are the professionals that will share the most relevant and up-to-date information and will make it easy for you to stay knowl-

edgeable about your field. Need help finding certain professionals? Check out Twellow.com!

Participate in Twitter chats- Professionals in nearly every industry have established an online meeting time where they convene to discuss common issues in their field. With the use of a common hashtag you can be inserted into a conversation where you can learn from others and voice your perspective.

Find out when your industry’s next chat is happening on Twubs.com!

Knowing that employers are watching your every online move shouldn’t be a scary thing; it should excite you knowing that social networks provide a fun and easy avenue for you to make a good impression.

| Career Guide

INTERVIEWS

Continued from page 7 scholarship, academics and community service.

Currently, as the President of AED UH he provides leadership and guidance to students interested in the pre-health professions. During his time being involved at the University of Houston, Nhon successfully utilized University Career Services to better prepare himself for his career path.

"Ms. Bitting at University Career Services helped me immensely by reviewing my resume and my personal statement.

The advice and critique I received were crucial to my success since I did not have much experience writing personal statements. With her guidance, I was able to confidently submit my resume and personal statement to all of the medical schools which I applied to. I am very grateful that I have access these resources which supported me during my journey through my undergraduate career."

University Career Services recognizes Nhon for his academic excellence, and extensive extracurricular involvements.

Nhon recently accepted admission into the Baylor College of Medicine for fall 2015 and we are looking forward to him excelling in the next phase of his academic and professional career.

Junghwa Park is in her last year at the University of Houston and plans to begin medical school at the New York College of Podiatric Medicine in New York City in the fall. Junghwa’s extensive surgical job shadowing, community health service and academic excellence throughout her time at UH motivated her to continue pursuing her passion for podiatric surgery. Over the past year, Junghwa made the most of her JUNGHWA PARK resources on campus by connecting with University Career Services for assistance with her personal statement and preparing for medical school.

“As a foreign student, I really think I could not have made it this far without Tiffany’s help. Through her extensive work & revisions, my writing became much more professional, and suitable

for the medical school application," Park said. "Also, as a non-traditional student, I had such a variety of experiences that I had a trouble connecting them together. Tiffany helped me to be concise and taught me how to accentuate my strengths while developing my life story for the medical school application.”

University Career Services commends Junghwa for receiving the highest recommendation on her Health Professions Admissions Committee (HPAC) application and receiving a $24,000 scholarship to the New York College of Podiatric Medicine beginning fall 2015.

Daron Moreno is a military veteran and top graduate of West Point. His combined experience within the military and at West Point equipped him with the skills to care for others and the discipline to lead a team during high pressure situations. These abilities, in addition to his commitment to his academics, are what prepared Daron for the highly competitive process of Physician Assistant School.

Most recently, he successfully completed pre-health coursework as a post-bac student at the University of Houston and was referred to University

Wednesday, March 25, 2015 | 11 Career Services for interview preparation resources.

"Going through the two mock interviews with Ms. Bitting at career services gave me the confidence I needed to feel relaxed and prepared on the day of my interviews at Baylor College of Medicine.

I had written and typed out pages and pages of responses to possible interview questions, but there was no substitute to having someone pose questions and me respond. Ms. Bitting's feedback on my mock interviews was fantastic, and it better prepared me for the real thing."

DARON Daron’s dedication to MORENO accomplishing his goals and his strong desire to serve have contributed significantly to his recent acceptance into the Baylor College of Medicine for fall 2015. University Career Services is delighted to share this news with the University of Houston community and are excited to know that more students can learn from each other’s experience and benefit from UCS as well.

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The value of a liberal arts degree Have you ever heard that liberal arts students can’t get jobs? Do you worry about what your options are as a psychology major? Are you tired of your parents asking you what you can do with an English degree? Do you secretly (or not so secretly) wish you had chosen business as your major? Do you fear you are doomed to work in retail for the rest of your life? Well fret no more liberal arts students, and have hope. Your degrees DO have worth and can be valued by a variety of employers!

As a liberal arts student, you have developed strong critical thinking skills and possess the ability to research, write, analyze, and synthesize information. A liberal arts education teaches students to view problems from multiple perspectives and to think independently. Put simply, you have been learning to learn, which makes it easy for employers to train you. Even though you might not have the specific technical skills that an engineering degree has, you do have widely applicable skills that will transfer from the classroom to the workplace.

Think about it: How many group projects have you worked on during your academic career (teamwork and leadership abilities)? How many papers have you written (research and writing skills)? Furthermore, you’ve taken a wide variety of classes across multiple disciplines, including foreign languages, which have increased your language skills and multicultural sensitivity: two highly marketable skills in today’s workplace. Employers want to hire you because they see you as creative, open-minded, well-rounded candidates with excellent communication skills and the ability to relate to people easily and effectively.

“More than any other curriculum, the liberal arts train people to think critically about concepts and society, look at the big picture, and analyze cause and effect relationships, break an idea or situation into component parts and put it back together again,” - Robert Goodward, Director of Publications for Liberty Mutual Insurance.

Due to its versatility and depth, your liberal arts degree affords you flexibility in career choices. You have a vast array of options and can work in almost any field.

While this freedom can feel liberating, it can also seem overwhelming at times. If you don’t know what you want to do or what you’re looking for, it can be incredibly difficult to actually find it! To ease this frustration, you should turn your focus and attention inward, on you. Once you identify and clarify your personality preferences, interests, skills, motivations, and values, you can more easily pinpoint a career that will be a good fit for you.

A Liberal arts education represents infinite opportunity and capability, which may either lie dormant or be nurtured to fruition. The challenge lies in bringing it to fruition.

Meeting with a UCS career counselor can help you with the self-assessment and job search processes. As you begin looking for and applying for jobs, keep these tips and techniques in mind to best market yourself to employers: • Be proud of your liberal arts education. Do not apologize for it! Fully understanding the worth of your degree will help you convince someone else that your liberal arts degree is valuable!

• Identify all your transferable skills.

Be able to effectively explain how

Students can choose to study a number of majors in CLASS, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences | Bigstock

•

•

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you can be an asset to that organization/company.

Know what you want to do (or at least communicate that you do).

Employers want to hire graduates with clearly defined goals.

Take advantage of the resume and cover letter. These application materials give you the opportunity to strut your writing skills. Be sure to integrate your transferable skills into your bullet points to prove how you utilized those skills in the past. Demonstrate the significance and worth of your education and experience in your cover letter. As a bonus, it also serves as a writing sample, which might set you apart from other candidates, if you create a well-crafted, compelling letter.

Gain experience. Intern, volunteer, join student organizations, and take classes outside of the College of Lib-

•

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eral Arts and Social Sciences, etc.

Have realistic expectations. You have to work hard to find a satisfying job that aligns with your interests and values. Many companies don’t even actively recruit liberal arts majors. It’s your responsibility to be proactive, take initiative, and be persistent in your job search. It’s also up to you to persuade employers that you have a lot to offer!

Get to know your selling points.

Companies want to hire individuals with more than a single dimension or focus of their education; pure technical talent is no longer competitive enough in today’s job landscape. Be able to market your educational experience to employers, and help them better understand how you could be a fit for in their organization.

The best in the business Whether your priority is location, price or prestige, these top-ranked liberal arts college are sure to satisfy your post-graduate needs.

Williams College is ranked first in the nation by many reviewers as the top liberal arts school in the U.S. | Courtesy of Williams College

Soka University of America is home to 412 undergraduates and an even smaller graduate class. | Courtesy of Soka University of America

Swarthmore College's arts-driven campus doubles as an arboretum just a few miles from Philidelphia. | Courtesy of Swarthmore College

In Claremont, Calif., Pomona College ranks highly in liberal arts and financial aid. | Courtesy of Pomona College