This document provides information and guidance about career services, resume writing, interviewing, and job searching. It outlines the staff and services available at the career center, important parts of a resume, tips for interviewing, appropriate dress, and follow-up after an interview. Key points covered include developing experience through activities and internships, using action verbs and quantifying skills on a resume, researching employers before an interview, and following up with thank you letters.

1. “ Lighting the Path to Career Success” Keathley University Center, Room 328 TELEPHONE: 898-2500 www.mtsu.edu/~career

2. Our Staff College of Liberal Arts: Lucy Billings-Jones KUC 328, 898-2500 College of Business: Katy Francisco Riddle BAS S123, 494-8911 College of Education and Behavioral Sciences: Lewis Gray KUC 328, 898-2500 College of Basic and Applied Sciences: Nicole Green JH 309, 494-8797 College of Mass Communication: Nancy Stubblefield Bragg 130, 904-8154

3. Our Services Career Direction Resume Development Special Events/Career Fairs Online Employment Searching

4. Career Planning – Junior/Senior Attend Career Fairs Obtain a part-time or summer job to gain work experience, develop skills and explore careers Participate in extracurricular activities and organizations Develop your resume by keeping good records of activities/projects

5. Resumes One page preferable Use good quality paper Stay conservative – even on internet DO NOT use templates in Word Your resume will look like everyone else Difficult to upload on web or to email

6. Parts of a Resume Name & Contact Information Objective Education Qualifications/Skills Experience Honors Activities References

7. Name and Contact Information Include name, complete address, phone number and email address Keep it large Put local and permanent address if you will be moving elsewhere after graduation Appropriate email address Get a free account from Yahoo or Hotmail Put your name on all pages

8. Facebook/MySpace Don’t let this be you… Or at the very least, don’t take a picture and put it online for your future employers to see!

9. Objective One or two sentences about the kind of job you want and what you can contribute to the company in return Get the reader’s attention quickly BAD OBJECTIVE : “ Desire a position where skills are utilized.” How could this objective be improved?

10. Objectives Be specific! GOOD OBJECTIVES: Recording Industry candidate with Spanish minor and customer service experience seeks career in record promotions. Accounting candidate with experience in bookkeeping, budget analysis and sales seeks internship in finance. Electronic Media degreed candidate with experience in television writing, editing and production seeks career in news industry.

11. Education Near the top Omit high school if you have your degree Know your degree, and write it out B.S. = Bachelor of Science Even if you haven’t graduated yet, put expected graduation date (i.e. May 2010) Include G.P.A. if it is over 3.0 Add relevant classes if you lack experience in a particular area

12. Subjective Skills/Hard Skills Friendly and Helpful Team Player Hard Worker Dependable People Person Do these belong on a resume?

13. Qualifications or Skills Computer skills – list programs Communication Writing news releases? Writing sports articles? AP Style Writing? Telephone presence? Public speaking? Performing? Foreign Language Quantify skills Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, QuarkXPress; familiar with Microsoft Access and Adobe Illustrator

14. Key Word Searches Think about job position and what skills are needed List skills which are relevant to the job or field you are applying for Coursework/Professional Training Accreditations and Licenses

15. Work Experience List experience with either most recent first or most relevant first (functional vs. chronological) Put all your experience, even if you think it is trivial (ex: Fast food, customer service) It’s all in the words! Which sounds better? “ secretary” or “administrative assistant”? “ put together report” or “complied a report”?

16. Work Experience Begin each bullet with an action word Start each bullet with a different action word to show creativity Go the distance……think of situations which show an action and result Example: Developed a promotional fund raising campaign which resulted in pledges of over 30K

17. Honors and Activities Activities Clubs or extracurricular activities Include dates Leadership positions Honors Dean’s list Scholarships Be specific with what accomplishments you made If you don’t have any honors and/or activities, leave out the section

18. References Include three to five references on a separate page Ask your references before committing them to your contact list Include the person’s name, title, company, address and phone number

19. Leave Gracefully Give notice – 2 weeks or more Leave on good terms Offer to assist with transition period Build your last employer up.

20. Cover Letter a.k.a. application letter, prospecting letter, networking letter, letter of inquiry Copy your resume header to compliment Use proper business letter formatting Like an objective, the cover letter should be specific to the position - if known Traditional format letter - job openings where you know the contact and are familiar with the company Blind job lead format – newspaper ads which give little detail

21. Resume Referral Service Complete Lightning JobSource Authorization Form Online Fill out your profile Upload and publish your resume We receive about 200 jobs per month We send out about 1800 resumes per month to employers! IS YOUR RESUME BEING REFERRED?

22. Marketing Yourself – Get Involved Over 300 MTSU Student Organizations Types of Organizations: Honor Societies Fraternities/Sororities Professional Organizations (Ad Club,, PRSSA, ARMS, Journalism Club, etc.) Sports Clubs/Teams KUC 326, [email_address] 898-5812 Benefits of involvement include: Development of leadership skills Meeting new people with similar interests Eases the transition into college Employers look for extracurricular activities Strengthens professional, personal, and interpersonal skills

23. Interviewing – Before You Go Research the employer Discretely find out about the job if you have an inside track Find out who the key players in the company are and what they do Finalize items to bring in portfolio

24. Portfolio Tips Quality not Quantity Variety of different work Pages should be neat and in order Show creativity (especially graphic design) Create a web site if you have electronic items to profile

25. Dress for Success WOMEN Professional blouse Business suit Dress slacks Skirt, approx. knee length, with hose Dress, approx. knee length, with hose Close-toed dress shoes Conservative jewelry Subtle perfume or none at all No body piercings (except ear lobes) and no tattoos in open view Trimmed, tidy fingernails Conservative hairstyle

26. Dress for Success MEN Professional business suit White button down dress shirt (or other muted colors) Conservative tie Dark slacks Black dress shoes/dark shoes No facial/ear piercings No tattoos in open view Trimmed, tidy fingernails Conservative hairstyle

27. Types of Interviews Traditional Do you have the skills, enthusiasm and work-ethic? Will you be a team player and fit into the company? Behavioral Past performance indicates future performance “ Tell me a specific example about a time you had to handle multiple projects at once” Situational Gives specific situations you may encounter on the job “ Consider a situation where you and a co-worker are jointly working on a project. You divided up work in a manner you both agreed to. However, your co-worker fails to do his or her share of the work. What would you do?” Telephone, Group and Panel

28. Interview Questions Tell me about yourself What are your greatest strengths? What do you feel are your weaknesses? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Behavior Based: Describe a situation where you had difficulty relating to another person in a group. What was the result?

29. Handling Illegal Questions What is legal and illegal? How old are you? Are you over the age of 18? Have you ever been convicted of a crime? Have you ever been arrested? Are you willing to travel occasionally or relocate if necessary? Do you plan to have a family? How much do you weigh? Are you able to lift 50 lbs. and carry 100 yards? List any professional organizations or trade groups which you consider relevant in your ability to perform this job. What clubs/social organizations do you belong to?

30. Closing the Interview You are selling yourself and with any sales call, you must close. Let the employer know that you are the perfect candidate for the job Tell them that you hope you conveyed to them that you are the person for the job. Remember names or ask for business cards for thank you letters later

31. Salary Negotiation Don’t give out a number unless they ask you to on an application Speak in terms of salary ranges Know the process. What is your value? Research the data before the interview NACE Chamber of Commerce Internet

32. Your Next Step Contact your Coordinator College of Mass Communication Nancy Stubblefield Bragg Room 130 904-8154