I am in an international business program at a college where one of the requirements is an internship abroad. What is the real value in this requirement — and what should I be looking for in an international internship, and how do I go about finding one?
The Career Doctor responds:
You might not appreciate it now, but the required international internship is a necessary aspect of your education because you will be immersed into the business culture of a country other than your own. While studying international business from textbooks and professors is important, living it is something even more important. You’ll experience firsthand the business climate, cultural traditions, and social and political trends.
An international internship also forces you into using the foreign-language and other skills you have learned.
International-business majors who want to work abroad or for a multinational company need to get the necessary international experience through at least one out-of-country experience.
You’ll want to look for one that is going to give you the best experience — the most exposure — and ideally in the industry/location where you want to work after graduation.
How do you find an international internship? Through your network of contacts — professors, alumni, international studies office, and the career center. You don’t necessarily need a connection for an international internship, but having such contacts will make it so much easier.
By the way, here’s a little tidbit for those considering an international-business major. Studies show that more and more CEOs and corporate top managers are first being groomed for these positions by managing one or more international divisions.
Learn more about the value of internships in general, by going to this section of Quintessential Careers: Internship Resources for College Students.
]]>I’m applying for an administrative-assistant position with the state. They are asking for a salary request. What am I to do? They already have the salary range listed on their website. Should I just copy that verbatim?
The Career Doctor responds:
There seems to be a rush in employers asking for salary requirements because I have received about five similar emails in the past month — from job-seekers applying to both government and private-sector jobs.
Hiring organizations ask for your salary requirement for a number of reasons, most often to see if your request fits into the salary range for the position.
Your strategy as the job-seeker is to not get pinned down with a specific number. In fact, unless you know the range, you should be fairly vague. In your case, I would simply list the range from their site — or just the higher end of the range (if that’s where you belong).
Remember that you want to delay salary discussion for as long as possible — until you are the last, or one of the last, job-seekers left. You’ll have more power to negotiate when the employer decides you are the perfect candidate for the job.
However, employers can get the upper hand in the process by asking for your salary requirements, often eliminating those folks who ask for too little or too much. So, if the salary range is not listed, your goal should be to see if you have a networking contact within the company who can supply that information, or use a service such as salary.com to get a ballpark of the salary range. If you do not have any firm information on the salary range, you should try and be as vague as possible, such as “a salary in the mid $30’s.”
Read much more about salary requests in my article, Responding to Requests for Salary Requirements or Salary Histories: Strategies and Suggestions, published on Quintessential Careers.
]]>I have been on two separate job interviews, and still have not landed a job. I dress for success, project a happy attitude, and show up for the interview on time. I research the company I am interviewing for, have a pleasing personality, and I am enthusiastic about joining their company. My question is this: What am I doing wrong? My resume is good enough; otherwise I would not be called in for an interview. I think the fact that I do not have as much experience as someone else is a factor. But how am I supposed to get ANY experience if no one will give me a chance? It seems like the companies like something about my resume that I submit, but when it comes to the hiring part, I get burned.
It’s important for job-seekers to do the kind of self-analysis you have done, because if something is not working, you need to fix it.
I agree with you that your cover letters and resumes must be pretty good — good enough to get you two interviews, but how many positions have you applied to? Even though they seem to be working for you, I would review them as part of the process. Make sure your resume clearly identifies your accomplishments, skills, and education/training.
And while you say you are doing all the right things in the interview, the results — though only a sample of two — say something different. It could be that in these two situations, you were just not the person they were looking for, but it could also be that you are doing something wrong in the interview.
So, here are your choices. If you felt as though you had good rapport with one of the recent interviews, I would contact that person and ask if they would mind giving you a critique of your performance in the interview. If that option is a bit too unnerving for you, then consider conducting a mock interview with a career professional — perhaps from your alma mater — and asking that person to critique your interviewing style.
If you are struggling with interviews, or getting interviews but not job offers, then you should review the many interviewing tools provided in this section of Quintessential Careers: Guide to Job Interviewing Resources.
]]>I had written a cover letter and wasn’t sure where to put my name and contact information. I had originally put it on the top of the page, in the middle so that it would match the heading on my resume. However, my mom told me that she has never heard of putting that information in the top middle of the page. She said that it had to be right or left aligned or that it could be at the bottom after I sign my name. I looked in the cover-letter resources on the website but I am still not sure. Could you let me know if all of those are acceptable?
The Career Doctor responds:
You know, I don’t really have anything against well-meaning parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc., but unless they work in the career-management field, they are probably not the best people to ask about these things — and I get these kinds of comments all the time.
So, I am glad you have asked me. In the ideal situation, all of your job correspondence should look exactly the same — a matched set. The “header” of your resume — where you have your name and contact information — should be the same on your cover letter, as well as on your references page, salary history page, and any other supplemental pages.
It doesn’t matter if the type is centered, left-justified, or right-justified. What matters is that you are consistent and use a readable font.
And just a reminder about what should go in the header: name, address, phone number (home and/or mobile), email address. Provide as much contact information as possible, but if you use an email address, be sure it’s a professional one, not like one I received recently from “sexyprincess84.”
]]>I have applied several times to a particular company and just discovered, much to my horror, that I had been spelling the city’s name wrong (at least three applications so far). It’s a two-word name and I made it one word. Worse, it’s a company I do business with regularly, and that’s one of my “ins” into the company, my “knowledge” of them, and yet I didn’t know such a small thing. How embarrassing, but worse, how damaging to my credibility.
I just applied for THE position I had been waiting for and it was after I mailed that letter that I realized the mistake I had been making. I was hoping so much to finally get an interview with this company and now this. Is there any way to recover from this error? Should I follow up with an “at least I’m consistent” light-hearted, letter or hope they didn’t notice as it was going to a different department?
The Career Doctor responds:
If the job you are applying for is that of an editor or proofreader, then perhaps it’s a major blunder, but otherwise I think you can just let this error be. In the great scheme of cover letters, it is MUCH more important to get the name of the hiring manager and name of the company spelled correctly — and I am assuming you did that.
I once lived in a city named DeLand. Most of the mailed correspondence I got spelled it as Deland, and don’t even get me started about how people pronounced it. Regardless, while I would of course recommend all job-seekers have perfect spelling and grammar in your cover letters, I would not make a big deal of your oversight.
I might be concerned, however, about someone who has applied for three different positions within the company. Are the positions similar? Do you have any sense why you were not interviewed for the previous positions? If you do have a few contacts within the company, I would ask them whether there is any “word” on your reputation from the people within the departments you are applying to.
And speaking of cover letters, wanted to share this comment from a job-seeker who had asked me how to make a bigger impact with his cover letter for an internship — and I told him to deliver it to the manager personally, but when doing so to be prepared for an on-the-spot interview, which is just what happened: “Just writing to thank you again for your advice with my cover letter for an internship and how to deliver it. I found the manager’s name, and went to deliver my letter to her today. She was so impressed with my initiative of actually delivering the letter by hand, that she interviewed me on the spot, and wants to set up a more formal interview in the near future. Thanks so much, your edits and advice about actually hand-delivering the letter were invaluable, and I really appreciate your time.”
]]>I’ve been emailing my contacts and people in my little network and I’m wondering what is best to put in the subject line. I’m just concerned that some people will just delete them right away if they don’t know who its from or if something vague appears in the subject line. Some of these people I’ve just met at various networking socials and some I’ve only met once. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks so much for all your help!
The Career Doctor responds:
First, let me congratulate you on focusing on one of the most overlooked aspects of job-hunting — building and maintaining a relationship with a group of people who might help you identify job opportunities in the future — your career network.
So, how do you email folks, some of whom you have met only once at a networking event where you exchanged email addresses?
Well, you don’t want to leave the message line blank… and you don’t want to say something that sounds like spam…
So, I would go with either just your name in the subject line or your name and a qualifier…. like University of Florida Marketing Grad Jackie Olson … or something along those lines.
Or… if you know of them from some specific affiliation with a you can put something like: Daytona Beach Advertising Federation — Jackie Olson….
I think as long as you have a couple of identifiers in the subject, you should be fine.
And just as important: Use the first paragraph of the email to remind the person you are emailing of the connection the two of you share before you launch into the rest of your email.
Looking for more advice about the power of networking — and why you should be doing it all the time and not just when you are job-hunting? Go to this section of Quintessential Careers: The Art of Networking.
]]>My husband is retiring from the service. He has made his way up the ladder, from an enlisted personnel to an officer. He is in the engineering field. The problem is most of the minimum requirements for positions he is applying for require a bachelor’s degree. He is approximately 20 credit hours away from this, and still actively in school. What are some suggestions on verbiage for the cover letter and resume to address this?
The Career Doctor responds:
First, kudos to your husband, both for the service to our country, but also for working on furthering his education in preparation for work in the civilian sector.
Your husband has three things working for him right now. First, many employers are actively seek transitioning military veterans because of the extensive experience and training they receive while in the service. Second, engineering is an occupation back in demand. Third, he is close to completing his degree.
Here’s how you address his situation on these key documents.
On the resume. The goal of a resume is to secure a job interview. I would start with a summary of qualifications section, outlining his three or four key qualities that make him the perfect candidate for the job he is seeking. One of those bullets should be his college education, the others should focus on his experience. Since he is actively working on his education, I would list education next, and when you list the degree he is receiving, put the date he expects to be done with it. Then list his experience. I would also have a section on his advancement from enlisted personnel to officer.
On the cover letter. Remember the key task of the cover letter is to sell the hiring manager just enough so that he or she will review the resume. You want to start of strongly identifying the key strengths — and ideally tie those directly to what the employer is looking for in a job candidate. In the second paragraph, I would highlight some of the specific accomplishments of the work experience, along with the number of years in the field. In the third paragraph, I would mention the near-completed degree, and the specific date when it’s expected to be completed.
Note: some employers will substitute years of experience for an incomplete education. For example, college grad and five years experience, or some college and eight years of experience.
Learn more both in the resume resources and the military transition sections of Quintessential Careers.
]]>I have been asked to create a brief resume for a friend who has an extensive career history.
He has a professional background that is varied, and I feel that everything he has done is very relative to the situation he is applying for.
I feel the resume needs to combine both functional and chronological aspects of his career and expertise; however, the same problem arises — it ALL seems relevant.
How should I target/focus this resume? What could be deemed unnecessary, if anything? How can I condense a 20-year-work history and list of achievements into 1-2 pages?
The Career Doctor responds:
The No. 1 rule of resume writing is focus. You must have a focus when you write a resume. A resume is not a work summary; it is, however, a marketing document that clearly shows why a job-seeker is the perfect candidate for the job.
If your friend truly has a varied work experience, you could categorize those experiences within the resume — but why not just do a standard chronological resume? (A side note for inexperienced job-seekers: everything goes in reverse chronological order, with the most recent information first.)
Also, the rule-of-thumb is that you do not want to spotlight work experience that is more than 15 years old, partly because you do not want to emphasize information about age, and partly because technologies in most fields have changed greatly in the last 20 years.
As for page length, you can certainly go to two pages for someone who has that much experience.
As you are writing the resume, remember to focus on quantifiable accomplishments.
Other key resume rules: make it perfect/avoid all errors; use traditional fonts/sizes; avoid graphics and excess colors; provide detailed contact information; do not include salary information, names of supervisors, or references.
One other tip for someone who has a lot of experience. If you have done a number of projects or consulting work, you might consider an addendum to your resume that focuses on them specifically.
Bottom line? This resume sounds like it may be too much for an amateur to tackle. I would probably recommend that your friend invest in a professional resume writer.
]]>I feel that I am stuck. I am 26 years old, and have already had four jobs since graduating college with a degree in political science. I keep thinking that the new job is the one, but it never is. I feel like I want to go back and get a master’s degree — that might help me discover what I want to do. I feel pressure from my family to act my act together, but I just don’t know what to do. Can you help?
The Career Doctor responds:
I want to prepare some of my readers for what I am about to say, because even I don’t know where I totally stand on the subject, but here goes…
You appear to have some of the classic symptoms of what experts are now referring to as the Quarterlife Crisis, an affliction that hits folks in their twenties. The Quarterlife Crisis is marked by high anxiety about your career — and finding your “true” career, multiple job and/or career changes, fears and self-doubt about achieving career and personal goals, depression, and feeling lost or adrift.
Experts say that the crisis hits folks in their twenties, because after years of learning the system of how to succeed in school, college grads are thrown into the world of work with no real understanding of how to succeed in it. Others blame how pop culture has portrayed work, giving younger workers unrealistic expectations.
For you older readers, it’s a play on the midlife crisis, where people in their 50s start to question their career and life choices, sometimes making radical changes.
I think there are two things you need to start doing immediately.
First, stop worrying about what society and others think about who you are, where you are in your career, and what you should be doing. It’s your life; take control of it.
Second, take a weekend or part of a vacation and spend some alone time conducting some serious self-assessment. What are your passions? What are the types of activities you love accomplishing? What do you dislike? What first inspired you about political science? Where do you want to see yourself in five years? Spending this time should allow you to begin getting clarity about your next steps in terms of career and education.
For more help and advice, read my article published on Quintessential Careers: Navigating the Quarterlife Crisis to Career and Personal Success: Five Strategies for Fulfilling Your Dreams.
]]>I’ve read many articles that networking is the most effective job-search tool.
I really want to change careers, but I don’t know how to go about networking.
I’ve been stuck in low-end, low-paying jobs because I don’t know how to network.
I want to get out of the dead-end rut badly. Currently I’m a temporary
clerical worker.
I want to network badly, but it’s hard for me because I’m not a very outgoing person. Where do I start? What’s the best way for a person who’s not very outgoing to start a network?
The Career Doctor responds:
My partner, Katharine Hansen, is an introvert — which some people find strange when they discover she’s written a book on networking. Anyone can do networking. Is it easier for extraverts? Of course it is, but it’s not their exclusive domain.
(By the way, her book, A Foot in the Door: Networking Your Way into the Hidden Job Market, has an entire chapter on networking for the shy.)
Before I begin, let’s start with refocusing networking. Networking is simply about building relationships with other people. It’s about establishing rapport and building a mutually beneficial relationship.
So, let me offer you some tips — tips for all the shy job-seekers out there — on becoming better at networking.
First, start off networking in a comfortable setting with people you know. Perhaps a community or religious group. A professional group is another option, but since you say you’re stuck in a low-end job, I am guessing you may not currently be a member of a professional group.
Second, consider doing some networking via the written word. Email and postal notes to former colleagues, professors, and alumni are a great way to re-establish connections and build a network.
Third, when you know you are attending a networking event, prepare ahead of time. Use your strengths. Many introverts are great listeners, so stop worrying about dominating the conversation with witty stories and instead prepare a couple of questions. All an extravert needs is one question to keep the conversation going for a while! Ask questions such as, “what kind of work do you do?” or “what are some of the favorite parts of your job,” or “tell me more about your company.”
Fourth, work on your body language. Often introverts avoid eye contact and appear disinterested - so you should make sure you are sending the right non-verbal messages.
Fifth, set goals for yourself — small networking steps first — and then celebrate each goal you achieve.
Learn more in about networking techniques in the networking section of Quintessential Careers.
]]>I had an interview yesterday, and during the interview I was told they would be calling some applicants back for a second interview next week… When I was told the pay range of my position, I did not speak up that I felt it was too low for my skills and ask if it was negotiable. If I am called back for the second interview, or they just call to offer the position to me, how do I handle salary discussion? The pay range was between $8 and $10. I believe I’m worth at least $12 an hour starting out. What should I do?
The Career Doctor responds:
The general rule-of-thumb with salary negotiation is to put off any salary discussions until as late in the process as possible — to the point where you become the chosen candidate and thus have more bargaining power than earlier in the process.
That said, you also need to have realistic expectations about what the employer is willing or able to pay. It’s been my experience that employers do not pay workers in a given job classification more than the top of the range — that’s why they have pay ranges and job levels.
So, here’s what you need to do. You need to do a little research and find out — if possible — the exact pay range for this job. If they usually start at $8 to $10, but the real range is $8 to $14, then you certainly have room within the range to make your case. If, however, the range for the job is that small, from $8 to $10, then it is extremely unlikely you are going to get anything above the top limit.
You may also need to factor in other non-salary issues. For example, if the company offers a generous benefits package to employees, that may well make up for the lost $2 an hour, especially given the high cost of health benefits. You could also look into other options, such as a shorter raise review window, the possibility of bonuses, or other additional perks.
Learn more in the Salary Negotiation and Job Offer Tutorial published on Quintessential Careers.
]]>I am a 21 year-old African-American and I am in my senior year of college. This year, I will start interviewing for jobs in the field of electrical engineering. My hair is in a braided fashion, and I am wondering if it would be to my benefit to cut my hair off or leave it as it is? Please respond when you get the chance.
The Career Doctor responds:
First let me tell you this funny anecdote. A clean-cut student walked into my office last month at the beginning of the semester and asked to speak with me. Not recognizing him, I gave him my yes-we-can-talk-but-only-for-a-moment look because I was in the middle of a project. He chuckled and told me his name — one of my advisees since he was a first-year student. But he was one of these guys who had long shaggy surfer hair and often wore a ball cap. I had to do about a triple take before I recognized him. And to his credit, he said he cleaned up because he knew appearance mattered in job-hunting. First impressions are critical.
So, that’s the moral of the story. If your braids are tight and the rest of your appearance is sharp, I would think keeping your hair as is would work. I think braids often look sharp. Of course, I am also a firm believer in erring on the side of conservatism, so not being able to see your hair, I would probably recommend cutting it. You can always grow it back if the company culture allows it.
Better, check with your professors and the career services office and solicit their advice. If you have a mentor or former boss, get those opinions.
Bottom line, never give a reason for an employer to reject you.
Get more “dress for success” resources in this article published on Quintessential Careers: When Job-Hunting: Dress for Success.
]]>I’m attending a career fair next week and really want to know the best way to prepare as this is my first one and I want to be successful at it.
The Career Doctor responds:
Career fairs are pretty cool events because both employers and job-seekers are there for a very clear purpose. Employers are trying to gather and screen a large pool of applicants and job-seekers are there to seek new opportunities (either directly or through networking).
There are activities you should be doing before, during, and after the fair.
Before the event, get information on the organizations attending the career fair, choose the ones that most interest you, and conduct research so that you know a little something about all of them. Polish your resume; I even suggest making a specific version for each targeted organization. Work on your interviewing skills by reviewing common interviewing questions and/or conducting mock interviews. Whenever possible, get one nice suit for interviewing — in a conservative style and color. Oh, and if you are prone to sweaty palms, be sure to pack a handkerchief or something else (other than your suit) to wipe your hand. Finally, work on your elevator speech — a 15 to 30 second mini-bio that explains who you are, what makes you unique, and the benefits you will provide. Finally, whenever possible, try and get a good night’s sleep the night before.
At the event, first survey the layout of the fair and then head to your top organizations. As you approach the recruiter, remember to smile, make direct eye contact, and offer a dry and firm (but not crushing) handshake. Your goal in the short time you have is to build rapport with the recruiter — so that you will be positively remembered out of the hundreds of candidates — but remember that you also need to gather more information to judge whether the organization is right for you. Do not overstay your welcome; if you see the recruiter looking over your shoulder at the line behind you, it’s probably time to move on. Make sure you get a business card — or at least key contact information (including the proper spelling of the recruiter’s name). And if you really want to stand out, ask the recruiter if there is anything you can do for him or her, such as getting a beverage from the refreshment area; thoughtfulness is a powerful thing.
After the event, sort through your business cards and other contact information and write thank-you notes or emails. And don’t forget to follow-up with each recruiter about two weeks later to see where things stand. Because you may have a number of contacts, you might want to consider developing a system — such as a job-lead log — so that you have everything right in front of you.
Get more details of all these activities in my Career Fair Checklist, published on Quintessential Careers.
Find lots of career fair articles and tools in this section of Quintessential Careers: Job Expo and Career Fair Resources.
]]>I am about 14 and a half years old, and I live in a big city. I am trying to find a summer job, like waitressing, but I am not finding any luck for a job that I am eligible for at my age. I feel that I would be a very good waitress because I am very good with people. Please help me find something, and if you have any information at all, please email me back.
In some ways, you may be lucky not to be old enough to work as a waitress because so many summer jobs that in the past have been filled by teenagers are being filled by all the displaced workers from this so-far jobless economic recovery. Rarely have experts seen an economy that appears to be picking up steam while jobs remain steady — or even decrease.
So, what can younger teens who want to earn some money over the summer do if they can’t work because of state labor laws? Well, you could fall back on something like babysitting, but especially because you live in a city, I suggest that perhaps you form a club or group with some of your friends from school and start your own business.
There are lots of business ideas for teens wanting to make money this summer. You can start a:
And for those teens outside the city, a lawn-care or house-painting business are other options.
Remember to consult with an adult before you start any business — and be prepared for some people who will try and take advantage of your age.
Read lots more advice in my article published on Quintessential Careers, Job Ideas for Teems 15 and Younger: Beyond Babysitting.
]]>Hi there. I am a current undergrad student upon the threshold of graduation and am in the search of a job. I have compiled a resume and sent it to one employer that posted a job I was very much interested in. My question is focused on a matter of etiquette. It’s been perhaps 2 to 3 weeks since I submitted my resume and was wondering if it would be proper, and conducive to the exhibition of etiquette, to call the employer and ask if they received my resume and if so were interested? I would more so than appreciate any advice you could give.
The Career Doctor responds:
You have great timing in sending your question because I just received an email from Gina, a hiring manager, who complained about the prospective candidate who showed up in the office unannounced a few days after his interview to check on his status, and while they met with him to not appear rude, he just lost that job opportunity — very bad job-seeking etiquette.
Your situation is quite different, though, and it gives me the opportunity to again stress the importance of follow-up to all job-seekers. Please remember these words if you want to succeed in finding a new job: follow up, follow up, follow up. Following up job leads shows prospective employers your interest in the company and position — and gives you another chance to sell your qualifications. Some job-seekers fear sounding desperate or annoying when making follow-up inquiries, but as long as you do it right, you will come across as interested, not desperate.
You need to track down every job lead and keep on top of the status of each of those leads. I recommend waiting no more than two weeks to follow-up with a prospective employer… calling or emailing to make sure your resume was received and get your name remembered.
Here are some other tips:
For much more advice and tips, read my article, Follow Up All Job Leads: Don’t Wait by the Phone (or Computer), published on Quintessential Careers.
]]>