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Upcoming Events
Mar 4, Ace Your Interview Panel, 5:30 -7:00 pm, Abrams Lounge, C4C, 3rd Floor Mar 5, Linkin' It Up, How to Market Yourself Through Social Networking, 5:30 - 7:00pm, Norlin, E303 Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program Job Ready Series, 9 - 10am, ECAD 150 Mar 6, Job Searching for the International Student Mar 13, Technical USA Resume Mar 20, Talking About Myself Mar 6, Think Outside the Lab! Six Exciting Alternative Careers in Science Panel, 3:00 - 4:15 pm, CIRES Auditorium, 338. Mar 6, Alternative Careers for Graduate Students in the Humanities and Social Sciences Panel, 6:30 - 7:30 pm, S350, C4C, 3rd Floor Mar 6, Teaching English Abroad Panel, 5:30 - 7 pm, Abrams Lounge, C4C, 3rd Floor Mar 7, Creative Career Panel, 5:00 - 6:30 pm, Abrams Lounge, C4C, 3rd Floor Mar 13 Resumes for Speech, Language, Hearing Sciences Master's Students, 12noon - 1:00 pm, SLHS, C230 4-Week Job Search Teleseminar Series, 6- 7:30 pm., Mar 13. 30, Apr 3, 10. Registration Required through Career Buffs |
Featured Jobs through  More than 460 active job postings for graduate level students
Job ID, Title, Company
39196 / Research Scientist, Epitaxial Growth, Cree, Inc.
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Career Spot Videos
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Department
Career Talk
Department specific career workshops are planned with graduate students and faculty.
Formats may be presentations, panel discussions or networking forums.
Topics:
career assessments, non-academic career options for PhDs,
CV & resume writing, job searches, interviewing, networking,
skills employers want, salary negotiation and identifying your talents & strengths.
Contact
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Hello Graduate Students,
Despite the remnants of snow on the ground and more in our immediate forecast, it's not difficult to tell that spring is just around the corner. With the warmer weather and longer days also comes the countdown to graduation for many of you, and balancing your academic demands and the necessary preparations for life after graduate school can be a challenge. We hope the March issue of Future 411 will provide you with some out-of-the box thinking on how to approach your career planning in the months to come.
We are pleased to offer interviews this month with a colleague and an alum who have been proactive in forging their own paths on the job hunt. Master's student, Darrie Burrage has employed the tried-and-true tactic of the informational interview on his road to becoming a university administrator. Alumna Sarah Vollmann tells how finding mentors and networking within her department helped her land a job teaching English overseas. This month's articles from the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, and Science Careers focus on interview and resume "don'ts" while an article about starting a career in Student Affairs supplies good advice for all job seekers.
Of course, you don't need to forge your own path or do it alone when it comes to preparing for your life after graduation. The Career Services office in the Center for Community is at your disposal with a plethora of resources and support to help you on your journey to employment. Drop us a line or pay us a visit and learn more about what we have to offer you as a student and an alumnus. We are at your service!
Best of luck,
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Our Colleagues
Getting a Degree and Job at the University
Interview by Annie Sugar
Darrie Burrage received his B.A. in Communication studies from Colorado State and will complete his M.A. in Communication at CU-Boulder this summer.
What made you decide to do a master's in Communication, and why at CU-Boulder?
I wanted to continue my education in communication because as an undergrad, I recognized how powerful and meaningful communication is on our everyday interactions, understandings, and lives. As a graduate student, I know I would have the opportunity to teach communication courses. CU-Boulder's program afforded me the chance to teach an array of communication courses such as Group Interaction, Campaigns and Revolutions, and Organizational Communication among many other courses; whereas most other communication graduate programs allow its students to teach only Public Speaking. Thus, I chose to do my graduate work in communication at CU-Boulder because of the opportunity to teach different courses that align with my particular interests in communication.
What career options does your degree afford you, and what career paths are you considering?
Although I'm choosing to pursue a career in university administration, a degree in communication affords me the opportunity to enter the fields of consulting, public relations, community organizing, teaching, management and more. Since communication is one of the most fundamental aspects of what makes us human, a degree in communication gives me the opportunity to enter into almost any field of work (for profit, non-profit, governmental, etc.). Although the career scope of communication is seemingly quite broad, the trick for communication students is to be able to articulate what the area of study is and how it can be applied to the work field of interest. Following the articulation, students of communication must do well in evidencing the impacts and differences they have made by studying communication.
What are your long-term career goals, and what are you doing to prepare for your career after graduation?
I would like a program management position in the university setting here in Colorado - either in Student Affairs or Academic Affairs. My dream position would to either be a director of an university program that bridges learning with community impact, or a Vice President/Chancellor of an university division. Since I'm looking to acquire a university administrative position, students are my top priority, I prepare to take on such a role through my teaching, my position as the advisor for the communication department honors society, and through my work with CU-Boulder's Interactive Theater Project. In short, I've been preparing for a future career in working with students by working to connect with them now.
For the past few months I have been scheduling informational interviews with university professionals that work in offices where I could envision myself working. The informational interviews are helpful in exposing me to what it would be like to work in that office, work in that university environment, and how the duties of the position in question will impact my "work-life balance." In addition to this, I have found that the people I interview in these meetings tend to refer me to others whom they believe would be good for me to talk to as well.
Please tell me a little bit about your job hunt process thus far and what CU resources you are using to prepare yourself.
I once was told that it could be a full-time job to finding a full-time job. Job hunting can take a lot of work and a lot of time, so, I had scheduled one day each week that I dedicate to my job search - writing cover letters, applying for positions, searching online, scheduling informational interviews, etc. I have applied to 15 university positions in Colorado in the past 2-3 weeks. Prior to my application submissions, I reached out to Valentine Roche of CU-Boulder's Career Center to help me structure an effective cover letter and to get some feedback on my resume. I wasn't about to start applying for jobs until I got Val's "green light" approval saying that my materials were in good shape for me to start applying. Since she works for the University, she was able to give me a in-depth insight to what university employers would be looking for, which I feel gives me the advantage with my application materials.
What unique career advice has been helpful to you as a graduate student and soon-to-be professional?
Dr. Martin Carcasson at Colorado State told me, "Sometimes there's more than one way to do what you want to do." Dr. Sue Pendell, also at CSU, shared this piece of wisdom with me: "Every place you work has it's problems. However, you want to work at a place where you believe you could handle it's problems, and possibly respond to them in productive and novel ways."
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Our Alumni
Study Locally, Work Globally
Interview by Annie Sugar
Sarah Vollmann credits her undergraduate program in English Literature at Wesleyan University for teaching her to write and think critically, but her interest in linguistics led her to CU-Boulder to study the subject and receive her master's degree in the field. She currently teaches oral English at Xi'an Jiaotong University City College in Xi'an, China.
Tell us about your work in China. How and why did you decide to work overseas?
In China, students learn how to write English before they can speak it, so I work to encourage them to talk and help them with pronunciation. I had spent time in Asia before coming to graduate school, and was interested in China because it's so influential throughout Asian culture.
When I was growing up, I traveled a lot with my family. We lived in diverse suburbs of Washington, D.C., and I had friends from many different backgrounds. So my idea to become an ESL teacher grew naturally out of that. I wanted to get a master's in this field because this career would be a way for me to work with and learn from people from other cultures. But many people in my family have degrees in education, and I wanted to do something more academic, so I looked at M.A. programs in linguistics for TESOL. CU Boulder turned out to be the perfect fit!
How did you prepare for your job search as a graduate student?
Maria Thomas-Ruzic or "Mia", my advisor in graduate school, was extremely helpful. I had about two years of experience teaching ESL before graduate school, and decided to pursue a master's degree so I could work at a university. Before attending CU-Boulder, I read on the program's website that a thesis is required in order to get a job at a university abroad, so I mentioned that to Mia at the Linguistics Department orientation. She suggested that I look for a thesis advisor that semester. At the same time, I heard that a Ph.D. student in my department, Finn Thye, was recruiting M.A. students to document indigenous languages of Latin America. She helped me arrange to work with her advisor, Dr. Andy Cowell, and the work I did with them became my thesis.
During graduate school, I made some helpful contacts by observing classes at the International English Center (IEC) and conducting my practicum there. I attended the CoTESOL conference, which is held annually for all ESL teachers in the state of Colorado (there is a chapter for every state in the US, as well as Washington, D.C.). I had a classmate who was a Chinese English teacher, so I studied a little Chinese with her. Once, when I observed a class at the IEC, a teacher asked me to tutor a student who was having trouble. The student happened to be Chinese, so I got some experience that way.
At first, when I looked for a job at the end of my second year, I went through the company that had certified me to teach ESL before I came to graduate school. But one day, I received an email from Mia, saying her colleague, Anne Bliss, was looking for a teacher at my current school. Mia had already checked my resume and suggested that I make a list of references. She gave me some suggestions on the cover letter, and before long, I had been hired. It really helped that she knew what my professional goal had been all along, and knew that I was working with the visiting Chinese teacher.
What are the benefits and drawbacks to working abroad?
There are many benefits to working abroad. Learning a foreign culture is exhilarating. For me, it's good experience for expanding my future knowledge of other cultures of education as a critical job skill in my field. I've had lots of new opportunities here, like helping start an English drama club and judging English speech contests for Chinese students.
There are always going to be unexpected differences, so you have to keep an open mind overseas. A slight drawback of sorts for me here is that food here is different than the food in Chinese restaurants in the United States. I was actually raised a pescatarian, which is a vegetarian who also eats seafood. I've started eating meat during my time abroad, and I've learned to like quail eggs as well as a tofu dish that also contains meat. You definitely can't keep all your old habits when you're in a different country. It's a process to adjust. The time difference also presents a challenge. Colorado is 15 hours behind China, so I have to get up early or stay up late whenever I call or Skype with people there.
How did your graduate degree prepare you for your career? What benefits have you found to being a CU-Boulder alum?
One big benefit of my M.A. program at CU-Boulder was that it trained my ear really well. The students appreciate help with pronunciation. I'm glad that I learned the International Phonetic Alphabet, which is a way to write down the sounds of a language so anyone who knows that alphabet can understand. Chinese students and teachers of English tend to know and use this alphabet, so I can use it to teach when I work with them.
I think the structure of my program in graduate school really helped me become marketable. During the second year, I got real-world experience when I took a class on teaching ESL pronunciation with Ruth Moore, a teacher at the International English Center,IEC. I use some of the techniques I learned in that class with my students in China. I was also required to tutor one ESL student and observe several classes; I chose the IEC for all of them because I wanted to teach at a university.
What advice do you have for other students and alumni looking to work abroad?
One way to start teaching ESL abroad is by volunteering, which is how I began. I went to the Dominican Republic for 2 ½ months with a non-governmental organization (NGO). Students can also Google TESOL certification courses. There are some right in the U.S. that will help you find a job afterward. Of course, there are other jobs for expatriates overseas, but teaching ESL seems to have the best job market, especially in Asia.
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Professional Advice
Chronicle of Higher Education
12 Bloopers to Avoid in Job Interviews
By Robert J. Sternberg
In the course of my academic career, I've been interviewed for junior and senior faculty positions as well as for administrative posts like the provostship I now hold. I have also been on more search committees than I care to count. Over time, I've observed (at least) a dozen bloopers to avoid at all costs in job interviews.
1. Good question, but now let me answer the question I wish you had asked. When you receive media training, you learn a technique called "bridging." The idea is that, in an interview with a reporter, you briefly (perhaps super-briefly) answer the question that was asked and then bridge to the point you really want to make. In that way, you appear to have heard and paid attention to the journalist's question but get the opportunity to say what you really want to say.
However useful that technique is in media interviews, it is a dud in job interviews. Chances are the interviewers are asking the same question of every candidate: If you do not answer it properly, the questioner will assume that you either can't answer it or, just as bad, don't want to. The interviewer no doubt thought the question was a good one, and he or she is unlikely to think more of you for not answering it. Read more
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| Inside Higher Ed
Starting Out in Student Affairs
By Josh Milstein
You've finally put down your notebooks, finished your research papers, and left the library with an ebullient feeling. You're unsure if you've really finished your graduate program in student affairs or if it's just your fourth cup of coffee making you shake with excitement. You say goodbye to your professors, advisers, bosses, colleagues, and friends. The cap and gown are removed, the degree is framed, the transcripts processed. You loosen your tie, perhaps pour yourself a drink. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, it hits you like a ton of bricks -- or perhaps the scaffolding falling off your alma mater's student center. Because just like that building, you must be renovated. Suddenly, you are a work in progress.
If you're anything like me, you may spend your time wandering aimlessly around your construction site with a shovel in one hand and gripping your blueprint in the other hand.
But before you place your shovel in the mud alone, consider the value of communicating with the other builders. They are all trying to reach the same goal, that first job in student affairs, and may know some construction managers you haven't met. Read more
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Science Careers
Regrettable Resumes, Part 2
By Adam Ruben
In last month's column, we explored the craggy, often arbitrarily boldface landscape of the scientific resume. Then we stopped because we hit our word limit. Remember? You read it a month ago while eating Chipotle at your laptop. Don't you remember everything you read on the computer a month ago?
Anyway, it's time to continue dispensing sage advice for the remaining sections of your resume.
Conferences attended
It's great to list conferences at which you presented. It's good to list conferences at which you displayed a poster. It's neutral to list conferences that you only attended. It's bad to list conferences that you intended to attend. It's very bad to list conferences that you staged in your bedroom for your more scientifically literate stuffed animals.
Publications
In a rush to fill your resume with publications, avoid listing things like:
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"Snowflakes in Provence."
Hamilton County Microcollege Literary Journal, Fall 1986.
- "The Cat and the Froggies." By me, age 7. Self-published.
- "Good chicken sandwiches, but avoid the coleslaw." Yelp review, 2/20/11.
- "Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica Play Kingdom Hearts." www.fanfiction.net.
- "Test Page." HP PhotoSmart 7520 e-All-in-One Inkjet Printer.
If you have no publications to speak of, you should honestly write, "I have chosen instead to perish." Read More
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Contact Us
Annie Sugar, Editor, PhD Student, Media Studies, Journalism and Mass Communication
Valentine Roché, Career Counselor, Graduate Student Career Programs
Center for Community, N352
Appointments: 303-492-6541
Office Hours:
Summer: Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Fall & Spring: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
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