Career & Counseling Services
806-651-2345
VHAC 210
Email Career & Counseling Services

Need a Résumé?

Let Career & Counseling Services help you develop a truly effective résumé to use in your job search. We offer in-person workshops as well as a comprehensive online workshop.

Workshops are held in our office EVERY Tuesday at 12:30, EVERY Wednesday at noon and the 1^st and 3^rd Monday evening of each month at 5:30 PM. These last approximately 1 hour. Our only requirement is that you arrive before the workshop begins - latecomers are not admitted!

Online visit: http://wtcareer.wtamu.edu/cs/student/workshop.htm

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HOW TO RESEARCH A COMPANY BEFORE AN INTERVIEW

You'll hear it time and again: Having a good handle on a company's business and background will make you shine in your interviews. Here are some things to consider when researching the company of your choice.

Visit the Library
There's a key person inside every library who can help you make sense of all the mystery and intrigue about a company, as well as understand their annual report: the business reference librarian. Introduce yourself. He or she may well end up being one of your best friends in the job search.

Ask for a tour of the resources available in the reference room. Researching companies and industries is a little different than researching your honors thesis, and the business reference librarian knows the tools better than you do.

Conduct Informational Interviews
Informational interviews should be set up at your initiative with people in your network (alums, people referred to you by the career center or your personal network, or other people you have identified in companies or industries you are eager to learn about). They should last about 30 minutes and held in a place convenient to the interviewee.

During the informational interview, ask about the person's daily responsibilities, career path, company and outlook on the industry. You might also ask for suggestions about how to find a position within the industry, what kind of preparation is needed for a successful career in the company, and whether the interviewee can recommend any other people to meet with.

However, although the interviewee understands implicitly your interest in finding a job, most people do not want to be solicited for a job during an informational interview.

Need some help with informational interviews? Check out our online Informational Interviewing Workshop- http://wtcareer.wtamu.edu/cs/student/information-interviewing.htm

Surf the Web
Start by visiting WTAMU website- http://wtcareer.wtamu.edu. We have all the campus-specific information you'll need to know, plus links to other helpful sites. For industry research, we recommend Careers in Business. For company research, visit the company's website. Think of this as an online brochure.

For a more objective view of what it's like to work for the firm check out WetFeet's Company Profiles. Finally, read the latest news on the company in The Wall Street Journal online.

Call the Company
As you begin to narrow your search and focus on a few companies, don't be afraid to call the companies directly and ask for information. Just be creative about it! Ask to talk to somebody in a department you're thinking of joining; if you're asked why, explain that you're conducting a job search and want to learn about the company.

Most people will be happy to talk to you, provided you ask them questions that show you're informed about the company and industry. If somebody doesn't have time to talk to you, ask if they could refer you to somebody at the company who might have more time.

Make the People Connection
Many candidates don't take advantage of one of the best resources they have available to learn about companies, industries and careers . . . their personal network! If you're a student, you're surrounded by people who can help you learn about companies and industries with which you may be unfamiliar. Talk to them and use your network. Even if the people you try first don't know the answers themselves, they can often point you in the right direction.

If you take the time to research the industries and companies you're exploring in your job search, the payoff can be tremendous. You'll certainly stand out from the crowd, and that will impress your interviewers. But most important, you'll learn more about whether this industry and this company are the right place for you. Ironically, that's something most people don't figure out until it's too late. Good luck with your research!

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Informational Interviewing

Have you been hitting a dead end with your job search using the Internet and the classified section of the newspaper?  Tired and frustrated with reading the classifieds and not finding your dream job posted there?  Are you overwhelmed by the search engines on the Internet and how to effectively use them?  What if I told you that the most valuable tool you have finding employment is right at your fingertips?  Have I sparked your interest?  Hurry, read on!

Perhaps the single most versatile tool you have available in any job search is the Informational Interview.  We define an Informational Interview as a conversation with an individual who can give you information about a field of work, an organization, or a particular job that interests you.  An informational interview is an interview that you initiate - you ask the questions.  The purpose is to obtain information, not to get a job.

An Informational Interview may serve any one or more of these purposes:

• To help you decide the field of work you want to enter
• To identify organizations and people where you might like to seek job interviews at a later time
• To discover employment opportunities that are not advertised
• To help you prepare for a job interview by becoming better informed about a specific job and its responsibilities
• To expand your professional network
• To build confidence for your job interviews

Benefits:

• You will gain much confidence after completing several informational interviews.  We promise you!  Confidence gains are the single most reliable result of informational interview, regardless of the student or desired field of work.
• The people you interview will sometimes refer you to others, thereby obtaining you additional informational interviews.
• You will gain valuable information and insights that you need to decide among career or job possibilities.
• You may even hear about some job openings while you are informational interviewing, because the word-of-mouth network is always strong, and some people will try to help you with tips about jobs vacancies.

If you want to learn how to be successful at informational interviewing, check out the in-depth information about the subject on our web site at http://wtcareer.wtamu.edu/cs/student/information-interviewing.htm

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Tips for Coping with the Stress of a Job Search

If further assistance is needed and you are currently a WTAMU student, the Career & Counseling Services offers a safe atmosphere where personal concerns can be openly explored and discussed with a professionally trained counselor. Counseling services are voluntary, confidential and you get 10 personal counseling sessions free of charge. Please make an appointment by calling 651-2345.

If you are not a student please call 651-2345 to get a referral to a community resource.

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College Success Timeline

Ever wonder what you could be doing NOW to insure your future success? Visit our website for this timeline, which gives ideas and suggestions for activities appropriate for each year to insure success both in school and in the future .. http://wtcareer.wtamu.edu/cs/student/successtimeline.htm

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Spring 2004 Career Event Calendar

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