November is National Career Development Month.  NCDM was designed to highlight the importance of life-long career development and the personal empowerment of all people.  During the month everyone is encouraged to take a moment to reflect upon their career development.   A good starting point is taking time to review the basic steps in the career development process. The following is an overview of the steps:

Step 1: Understanding Self

During this step individuals focus on identifying their interests, personality, skills, and values.

Step 2: Exploring Careers

During this step individuals focus on learning more about careers.

Step 3: Making Decisions

During this step individuals evaluate their options to develop a personalized plan.

Step 4: Finding Employment (and Gaining Practical Experience)

During this step individuals focus on getting a job, obtaining an internship, or exploring options for gaining practical experience.

Learn more about each step by visiting NOVA’s Career Services website.

Further your personal development by participating in a career focused webinar. Learn more about webinars being offered and register here.  Follow NOVA Online on Twitter to receive a daily inspirational quote and use #NCDM to share your favorite quotes. Join us on Facebook to participate in a weekly activity. Visit the NOVA Online Virtual Student Union to learn more about career development and related resources. Read the Career Counselor posts on the NOVA Onlineife Student Blog for tips, stories, and to stay connected.

Did you know that November is National Career Development Month?  NCDM was designed to highlight the importance of life-long career development and the personal empowerment of all people.  Help celebrate National Career Development Month by participating in the 50th annual poetry and poster contest. This year’s theme is “Fostering Well-Being through Meaningful Work”. There are various division areas for the contest including adult student – 18 and older enrolled in school as well as open adult – 18 and older not enrolled in school.  Learn more about the contest here.

Want to tell a potential employer that you’re creative? A problem solver? Flexible?

Instead of describing yourself as a “self-starter,” tell a story about how you took action when you saw an issue that needed to be fixed.

Don’t say you are “flexible”—tell the hiring manager about a change in your job (or schoolwork demands) and what you did to deal with the change.

Well-worn phrases won’t help you get the job, but concrete examples will!

Courtesy of the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Social media is a great way to stay in touch with friends and relatives, but it also can be a useful tool in your job search. Employers are using social media sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to both promote their organizations and connect with potential job candidates.

While social media can help you research employers (critical to your job-search success), be sure to use it more actively—as a way to connect with potential employers. By following a few basic tips, you can use social media to get in front of hiring managers.

Get Noticed

There are a few key points to keep in mind when using social media as a job-search tool.

Create a Profile That Gives a Positive Impression of You Think of it as your online resume: What do you want it to say about you? Hiring managers can get a stronger sense of who you are, and if you’re a potentially good fit for their company, through your profile.

Be Aware of the Keywords You Include in Your Profile This is particularly true for sites focused on professional networking, such as LinkedIn. Many employers do keyword searches to find profiles that contain the skill sets they’re seeking in potential hires.

Don’t Include Photos, Comments, or Information You Wouldn’t Want a Potential Employer to See

Don’t Mix Personal With Professional The social media you use in your job search has to present you as a potential employee—not as a friend. Follow the rules for writing a resume.

Make Sure Your Profile Is Error-Free You wouldn’t offer up a resume rife with misspellings, would you?

Choose Appropriate Contact Information Your e-mail address or Twitter handle should be professional—a simple variation on your name, perhaps—rather than suggestive or offensive.

Connect Many organizations have embraced social media as an extension of their hiring practices, and provide information that you can use to research the organization and connect with hiring managers and recruiters.

• Check your college/university’s social media groups: Many times, employers join such groups.
• Check social media groups that are focused around your field of interest or career.
• Search for the social media pages, profiles, and videos of organizations that interest you. Many organizations post job descriptions, information about salaries, and more.
• Ask questions. Even something as broad as “Is anyone hiring in [industry]?” may bring responses, and asking questions about a specific organization—“What’s it like to work at Company X?” can give you insight into the organization and its culture.

Stay Connected Keep in touch with recruiters or other decision makers you may interact with in cyberspace.

There may not be an available opportunity at their organization right now, but that could change, and you want to be considered when it does.

Finally, in addition to maintaining your network, use social media to build your network. Don’t just establish a social media presence—work it. Reach out. Interact. You will get out of social media what you put into it.

Courtesy of the National Association of Colleges and Employers

Hiring managers get flooded with resumes for job openings. How can you ensure your resume will be looked at? Take some advice from hiring managers:

• Do the basics.
• Proofread for spelling, grammar, and tone. (Ask friends to proofread, too.)
• Use a simple, easy-to-read typeface.
• Follow instructions in the job posting. If the employer asks for information—such as references or writing samples—provide it.
• If you’re applying by e-mail, your cover letter should be contained in the e-mail. If you’re applying online and there’s no space indicated for a cover letter, put your cover letter in the comments section.
• Don’t let the informality of e-mail and text correspondence seep into your communications—whether e-mailed, online, or written—with potential employers.
• Organize your resume for the employer—Organize your resume information in a logical fashion. Keep descriptions clear and to the point. As possible, tailor your resume to the job and employer, emphasizing skills, experiences, abilities, and qualifications that match the job description.
• Customize your response—Address the hiring manager directly, if possible, and include the name of the company and the position for which it is hiring in your cover letter/e-mail response.
• Make it easy for the hiring manager—Use your name and the word “resume” in the e-mail subject line so it’s easy to identify.
• Focus on the skills and abilities you can bring to the employer, not what you want from the job—In your cover letter, answer the questions: What can you do to make the hiring manager’s life easier? What can you do to help the company? This is your opportunity to market yourself and stand out from the other candidates. Your resume should support that.
• Be professional—Use a professional-sounding e-mail address or voice mail/answering machine message.

Courtesy of the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Looking for a job?  Trying to find an internship?  Whether you are near a computer or on the go, a great place to begin your search is by accessing College Central Network (CCN) – NOVA’s online job board system.

The following are some benefits of using the system.

• Search for jobs and other opportunities posted exclusively to NOVA.  Take a look at many local positions available now.
• Search for jobs on CCN’s Jobs Central® national job board.  The job board contains over 500,000 opportunities from unique sources.
• Check out CCN’s Intern Central® national internship board to search for internships.
• Build a new resume with the Resume Builder feature.
• Upload your resume and make it searchable to employers.
• Check out over 1,000 career articles written by industry professionals.
• View career videos and listen to over 25 career advice podcasts on topics including resume basics,  interviewing, and personal branding.
• Browse and sign-up for upcoming workshops, programs, and events at NOVA and in the surrounding area.

Get started today.  Check your VCCS student e-mail account with instructions for accessing your free account.  Contact Career and Experiential Learning Services if you cannot access your account.  A brief introduction to CCN will be provided in today’s Conducting a Job Search webinar being held from 12:15 pm – 1:00 pm.  Learn more and register at http://eli.nvcc.edu/webinars.

Original article by Amy Marie Charland and Mary Ann Lawson. Modified by Christy Jensen. Courtesy of the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

An internship allows you to test your career objectives, helps you identify your talents, and directs you toward an appropriate career, while helping you acquire essential practical and professional skills you need in the business world. It also lets you see how well you fit into a specific company’s culture. But finding an internship takes some preparation. Before setting out to find an internship, ask yourself these questions:

• Where do I want to do an internship? My hometown? Out-of-state?
• What type of work would I like to do? In what field?
• What type of organization would I like to do an internship for?
• What do I want to gain from an internship? What specific skills or experiences do I want to acquire?

Locating opportunities

After you’ve answered these questions, you’re ready to start searching for internships. Here are some suggestions for locating internship opportunities:

• Check out College Central Network (CCN) – NOVA’s online internship and job database for students.   Through the database you can learn about internship opportunities with local companies as well as connect to a national internship board.  Did you know it may be possible to earn college credit for an internship?   Visit this website to learn more.
• Attend job fairs. Employers often use fairs to identify students for internships as well as for full-time employment.  View the “Upcoming Events and Programs” and the “Announcements” sections of CCN to learn about upcoming, local job fairs.
• Network. Talk with friends, family, co-workers, supervisors, instructors, administrators, and professionals in your field of study, and let them know you are searching for an internship.

Applying for an internship

Each employer has its own application process. Does the company want you to apply online? What is the deadline? What will the employer need from you to make your application complete? Start the process early. Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Create your resume.
• Write a cover letter, if required.
• Utilize the resume builder and Job Search Kit in CCN to create your resume and cover letter.
• Work with a NOVA career counselor to discuss internship opportunities, have your resume and cover letter critiqued, and discuss tips and strategies for getting the most out of an internship.

Choosing an internship

Your final task is to select the internship opportunity that is the best match for you. Review your goals for doing an internship and choose the opportunity that best meets those goals. An internship offers many benefits, including:

• Valuable experience. Many employers want to hire people who have experience and can step into the job and be productive right from the start.
• Information. An internship will help you make contacts, get ideas, and learn about the field.
• Practical application. You will have the chance to apply theories learned in the classroom to a real-world setting. When you return to the classroom after your internship, you will better understand the many nuances of business operations that relate to the theories you study.
• In many cases, an internship can lead to a job offer.