Tag Archives: careers

It’s Advising Week

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Advising Week is offered every fall and spring at NOVA as a time for students to reflect upon their academic goals and career development in preparation for planning and evaluating their schedule for next semester. Advising week for spring 2018 will be held this week – November 6 – 10. Priority registration for continuing NOVA students begins on Monday, November 6.Get the most out of Advising Week by following the steps below:

  1. Attend the Advising Week Webinar Series: Getting Ready for Your Next Semester webinar designed specifically for you to select your next semester courses, verify your degree plan on your account and revisit your academic and career goals. Learn more about the webinar and register for the session.
  2. Use the Student Success Planner to build your academic plan and compare your plan to program requirements.
  3. Review your Advisement Report.  Access NOVAConnect to run an advisement report to view your progress and outstanding degree requirements.
  4. Take a moment to reflect upon your career planning. If you need more information about career options or would like to learn about a resource to help you build a career plan consider attending a webinar or two in the Career Development Webinar Series to Support National Career Development Month.  Learn more about the webinars and register for the session.
  5. Communicate with your advisor about your academic and career goals.  Be sure to take a moment to review your plans for the spring semester. Plan to have your academic plan,  advisement report, and/or career plan handy when communicating with your advisor.

If you have not declared a program of study or are not pursuing a specific program at NOVA connect with an academic counselor or advisor for assistance. Open spring registration for all students begins on Monday, November 13.  Priority registration for continuing NOVA students begins on Monday, November 6.

This Advising Week Series will focus on academic planning, connecting with your advisor, and preparing for your upcoming terms. Throughout Advising Week the NOVA Online Student Blog will provide you with tools to plan effectively, resources to help guide your decisions, and answers to frequently asked questions throughout the process. Take advantage of Advising Week events on campus or virtually as you plan your schedule and register for courses. Reach out to the Student Services offices or Virtual Advisors with any questions you have as you are planning your courses.

Social Media In Your Job Search

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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 tobuild 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

This week at NOVA Online!

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Priority registration for continuing students begins on Tuesday, November 8 and open registration for all students starts Monday, November 14.

To help you plan for your next semester, join a NOVA Online Counselor on Thursday, November 10 from 12:15 – 1:00 pm (EST) for the Getting Ready for your Next Semester Webinar! This 45 minute webinar that will focus on answering key questions students have about preparing for their next semester. This is a great opportunity for new and returning students!

Have any questions about your spring term courses? Need to change your degree plan? Schedule a virtual appointment with an NOVA Online Counselor! Visit NOVA Online’s Advising Week blog series for more information to help you plan your spring schedule.

November is National Career Development Month. Join NOVA Online Career Counselor on Wednesday, November 9, 12:15 pm – 1:00 pm for the Exploring Career Options Webinar. This 45 minute webinar will focus on using various online resources to research career options.

This week is National Distance Learning Week! Not sure if online courses are right for you? Take the SmarterMeasure assessment to gauge your readiness!

logoWe will celebrate throughout the week with trivia, facts/myths, and memories ! NOVA Online started as correspondence classes in 1975 and used video, audio, and postal mail for courses. Can you imagine? Join us on Facebook and Twitter throughout the week for more!

s NOVA Online-2Have a great week!

Free Career Planning Tool for NOVA Students

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Did you know all NOVA students, staff, and faculty have free access to FOCUS 2, an online, interactive, self-guided career and education planning system that can help you:

  • Select a program/major based on your interests and aspirations
  • Discover occupations matching your personal preferences and attributes
  • Map out your career plans, present and future
  • Make informed career decisions

View a Getting Started with FOCUS 2 handout.

Follow the steps below to begin using FOCUS 2.

  1. Visit NOVA’s Career Services website
  2. Select FOCUS 2
  3. Click FOCUS 2 button
  4. Click REGISTER button
  5. Enter “NOVA” for the access code
  6. Enter your NOVA student e-mail address in the e-mail box
  7. Provide requested information
  8. Check box to acknowledge terms and conditions of system
  9. Click CONTINUE button

Contact Christy Jensen (chjensen@nvcc.edu) if you have any problems accessing the system or to schedule a career advising appointment.

Webinar Series: Introduction to The Career Planning Process

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Join NOVA Online’s Career Counselor next week for the Introduction to the Career Planning Process Webinar Series. career_lightbulb

This lunchtime webinar series will take you through the basic steps of career planning with the goal of helping you make informed decisions about your academic and career goals.

Register for one session or register for all three. All three webinars will run from 12:15pm-1:00pm! All webinars can be found through the NOVA Online Webinar Page!

Tuesday, October 4 from 12:15 – 1:00 pm – Focus on Your Career Planning

This 45 minute webinar will introduce students to FOCUS 2 an online, interactive, self-guided career and education planning system. Register Today!

Wednesday, October 5 from 12:15 – 1:00 pm – Exploring Career Options

This 45 minute webinar will focus on using various online resources to research career options. Register Today!

Thursday, October 6 from 12:15 – 1:00 pm – Conducting a Job Search

This 45 minute webinar will focus on basic strategies for conducting a job search. Register Today!

We hope to “see” you there!

Career Planning Webinars – This Week!

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Join NOVA Online’s Career Counselor this week for two webinars this week

Video Call Facetime Chatting Communication ConceptTuesday (9/6) – 12:15 – 1:00 pm – Webinar: Focus on Your Career Planning:

This 45 minute webinar will introduce students to FOCUS 2 an online, interactive, self-guided career and education planning system. The system can help students select a program/major based on their interests and aspirations, discover occupations matching their personal preferences and attributes, map out their career plans – present and future, and make informed career decisions. Register Today!

Wednesday (9/7) – 12:15 – 1:00 pm – Webinar: Exploring Career Options:

This 45 minute webinar will focus on using various online resources to research career options. The relationship between programs of study at NOVA, college majors, and career options will be discussed.  Resources presented will provide information on nature of work, educational requirements, job outlook, and wages. Register Today!

#ToBeMe@NOVA Series: Employed Students Resources

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I want to thank everyone who took the time to share their experience of what it’s like to be an employed student at NOVA.  NOVA Online is dedicated to creating an educational environment that appreciates and acknowledges the individual experiences of its diverse population of students, faculty, and staff and below are some resources and helpful tips for students and faculty that could help foster such an environment for our employed students.

Tips for Students and Faculty

For Students:

Prioritize:  If school is most important, cut back on your hours at work (if possible). If work is most important, take fewer classes.

Make yourself take time for yourself: You have to carve out space between work and school for you to enjoy your life. Don’t forget that life is meant to be lived and it’s more than deadlines, paychecks, bills, and assignments.

Successful planning and time management: Contact NOVA Online Success Coaches at elisuccess@nvcc.edu or call 703-764-5076 for help with time management, planning, and a host of other resources and services.

Communicate with your instructor: Talk often and early about your work schedule, scheduling conflicts, etc. Your instructor may be willing to provide you with special accommodations.

For Faculty:

Open the door for communication: Invite students into the conversation about their concerns about work and school. Posting a statement on Blackboard is a good start.

Acknowledge the importance of the students’ other life responsibilities:  Create an environment of understanding and free of ultimatums.

Offer resources:  Empathize with your students and link them with assistance (i.e. tutoring resources, resources to help with work/school balance, etc.) that you would find useful if you were in their shoes. Your wealth of knowledge and life experience can be of great use to students.

Resources for Students

NOVA’s Career Services website – http://www.nvcc.edu/current-students/career-services/index.html – this website provides information about the career development process and connects individuals to resources pertaining to self-assessment, career exploration, decision making, and finding employment.

College Central Network – http://www.collegecentral.com/nova/ – this resource includes a database of current, full-time, part-time, and contractual jobs posted by employers interested in hiring NOVA students.  Individuals can create and post their resume online.  This resource also includes a national job board, career articles written by industry professionals, career videos, and career advice podcasts.

CareerOneStop – http://www.acinet.org/ – this website provides information about occupations and industries as well as state labor market information and resources.

Monster – http://www.monster.com/ – this resource includes an online job board as well as resources on a variety of areas to include resume advice, interviewing tips, and career advice by industry.    Individuals can create and post their resume online.  Individuals interested in articles about starting a new job, leaving a job, work-life balance, and workplace issues should take a look at the “In the Workplace” section.  Individuals interested in reading articles about getting promoted or changing careers should take a look at the “Career Development” section.  Both sections are located within the “Browse Career Advice” area of the “Career Resources” section.

If you would like more one-on-one career counseling, please contact NOVA Online Career Counselor, Christy Jensen at chjensen@nvcc.edu.

–Jennifer, NOVA Online Success Coach

Happy National Career Development Month!

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November is National Career Development Month. To kick-off NCDM NOVA Online will be offering an Exploring Career Options. This 45 minute webinar will focus on using various online resources to research career options. The relationship between programs of study at NOVA, college majors, and career options will be discussed.  Resources presented will provide information on nature of work, educational requirements, job outlook, and wages. The webinar is free, but registration is required.  Both live and recorded sessions are available.

In addition to this and other webinars that will be offered throughout the month, follow NOVA Online staff on Twitter to receive a daily inspirational quote. Join the conversation on Facebook.  Visit the Virtual Student Union to learn more about career development and related resources. Return to NOVA Onlineife regularly for tips, stories, and to stay connected.

Introducing College Central Network (CCN)

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NOVA students now have access to College Central Network (CCN). After registering with CCN, you will be able to:

  • Search for jobs posted exclusively to NOVA students as well as search for positions through Jobs Central® national job board and the Intern Central® national internship board
  • Build a resume with Résumé Builder and/or upload a résumé file to Resume Central®
  • Review your job search history within the system
  • Gain access to announcements, upcoming events, career advice documents, videos, podcasts, and career articles
  • Build an online portfolio in Career Portfolio Central®

Follow the steps below to get started using CCN:

  • Access CCN
  • Select “Students”
  • Select “Sign In”
  • Enter your Access ID and Password (Check your VCCS e-mail account for an e-mail with information about accessing CCN)
  • Click “Go”

What feature of College Central Network did you find most useful? Why?