The document provides tips for jumpstarting your career and outlines 5 key areas to focus on: researching and inquiry, embracing a global context, preparing for the new workplace, making the most of opportunities, and jumpstarting your career. It emphasizes the importance of developing your personal brand, building professional relationships through networking and using social media, focusing your resume on measurable accomplishments, and getting inspiration from mentors, trends, and passions.

1. Coastal Carolina University, Wall Connections Presentation October 2009 http://www.coastal.edu/business/connections/ Jumpstarting Your Career: Leverage What You Do Best

2. ..will be a long continuous journey of success, failure, renewal, change and learning

3. Researching and Inquiry Embracing a Global Context Preparing for the New Workplace Making the Most of Your Opportunities Jumpstarting Your Career Today: 5 Roads You Must Travel

4. You have immediate access to so much information about people, industries, trends, companies, and cultures. Yet how much time do you research and inquire? Researching and Inquiry

5. Are you globally aware? The dynamic changes in our economic, political, social, technological and environmental landscape will have an enormous effect on your career and how you think about “career”. Embracing a Global Context

6. Learning Skills for the 21 st Century Partnership for 21 st Century Skills: http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/ Core Subjects 21st Century Themes Life and Career Skills Learning and Innovation Skills Info, Media and Technology Skills Language Arts English/Reading World Languages Arts Math Economics Science Geography History Gov’t./Civics Global Awareness Financial Literacy Economic Literacy Business Literacy Entrepreneurship Civic Literacy Health Literacy Flexibility Adaptability Initiative Self Direction Social Skills Cross-cultural Skills Productivity Accountability Leadership Responsibility Creativity Innovation Critical Thinking Problem Solving Communications Collaboration Information Literacy Media Literacy Info & Communication Tools Literacy

7. Four generations occupy the current workplace. Each with unique needs and expectations. The workplace will never be the same… Preparing for the New Workplace

8. Companies are reinventing themselves not only to stay competitive, but to rethink how to attract, develop, engage and retain staff with an eye towards the future. They are starting with Gen Y @ work… Making the Most of Your Opportunities

9. Successful careers start with aspiration, passion, discovery and the understanding that this is really hard work. You will gain a real advantage if you have a plan… Jumpstarting Your Career

10. Be Reflective Jumpstarting Your Career: 4 Keys to Success Get Inspired Develop Brand YOU! Build Relationships

11. -Where do you want to be 6-12 months from now? -Where do you want to be after 2 years of working? -What gaps do you need to fill on your resume? Set Goals -Choose a city before choosing a career -Consider the importance of proximity to family and friends -Consider the cost of living and compromises you’ll have to make Think Location First -What are you most passionate about? Let your passions and values guide your career search. -Take a Myers-Briggs test to identify your personality type: www.personalitypathways.com -Know the kinds of work you love and hate. Don’t include work you didn’t like on your resume or you may be asked to repeat it. -Your first job may not be your dream job, but it’s a stepping stone. Think strategically about your longer term goals and what skills you need to develop to achieve these goals. Be Clear About Your Passions -Brainstorm your most important characteristics about both life and career -Prioritize this list -Don’t compromise your values Know Your Values Be Reflective

12. -Develop an inspirational & motivational playlist. You may want several to fit your mood while researching companies, writing cover letters, or traveling to the interview -Create a short list of favorite quotations -Visit the self-help or career section at your local book store -Read lots of career blogs (Brazen Careerist, SixFigureStart, Marci Alboher) Motivate Yourself -Learn about the company you desire inside out including its vision statement and business strategy -Read industry-specific blogs & columnists -Research industry-specific association groups -Know your interviewer -Conduct a competitive analysis…who’s the competition and what are their strengths/weaknesses? Research Mode -Where do you go to learn about what’s new and hot? Magazines/Periodicals? Websites? Exhibits? -Be aware of national and global trends by traveling, reading international newspapers, and talking to your friends & family -Spend time people watching Trend Spotting Get Inspired!

13. -Choose carefully, someone in the industry you seek is best -Communicate your goal(s) clearly -Consider what you have to offer, mentorships should have reciprocal benefits -Ask your mentor to critique your resume Find a Mentor -Don’t be afraid to reach out via email, but try to move quickly to an in-person meeting or phone call (it’s not so different from online dating) -Research your contact…start with a Google search -Always follow up with an email thank you note regardless of how the meeting went. 6 degrees of separation holds true Take Initiative -Develop a professional profile on LinkedIn (best way to showcase accomplishments) and Brazen Careerist (best way to showcase ideas) -Be sure to create a professional email address ( [email_address] isn’t a good choice) -Think strategically about using Facebook. If using FB, make sure your profile is career-friendly. Leverage Social Media Build Relationships

14. -Do your research before contacting or meeting with a recruiter and make it obvious that you’ve done your homework -The easiest way to prove your curiosity is to actually be curious. Your ideas will help to demonstrate your curiosity. -Come to the interview prepared with questions. Prove your curiosity -Every bullet should be quantifiable -Choose accomplishments that highlight work you ENJOY -Be prepared to tell the story of each accomplishment Focus your resume on measureable accomplishments -Know the business you’re seeking to enter and brainstorm 2-3 ideas that you can speak to during an interview -If necessary, offer free consulting or free part-time work as a way to break into an industry. -Develop a reputation as an “ideas person” -Be ready to prove that you can ideate AND execute Be known for your ideas -How can you differentiate yourself from other students with the same major and minor? -Are you an “expert” in a particular area? -Craft your resume so that you are perceived as a specialist. Choose buzzwords carefully. What’s your niche or specialization? Develop Brand YOU!

15. “ There are costs and risks to a program of action, but they are far less than the long range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.” - John F. Kennedy “ The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them.” - George Bernard Shaw