Career Center offers job hunting tips

Not taking advantage of the MHCC Career Center is noted as the most common mistake students make in their job search, according to Career Center staff.

A student can drop by or call the Career Planning and Counseling Center (CPCC) and make an appointment to take advantage of its services: resume building and review, interview preparation, review of the benefits that social media networking can provide and assistance with a student’s job search in general.

Many students taking advantage of the CPCC, attended the job fair last Thursday.

If a student missed the job fair yesterday, they need not worry. “The fair yesterday was mainly for summer jobs and is the smaller of the two that the CPCC puts on every year,” said Christy Weigel, career and academic group advising coordinator, last week.

According to Weigel, the upcoming job fair on April 10 will host more employers, and unlike the fair on Thursday, will cater to companies with more permanent positions, the majority of the jobs offered on last Thursday were temporary summer jobs.

Weigel recommends students interested in attending the April fair should come prepared: “students should have a 30-second commercial about themselves,” said Weigel, and went on to explain that students should be prepared to introduce themselves, explain what they are studying, their career goals, and be able to talk a little bit about the company itself.

“A common mistake students make is not doing their research,” said Weigel. She encourages students to prepare for an interview by researching the company. The list of businesses that will be at April’s job fair is not final, but will be up, at the very least, two weeks before the fair said Weigel.

In researching companies, Weigel said, a mistake students make is that they rule out a job because they do not think they have the skills or that it is not in their career path. Again, students are encouraged to schedule an appointment with the CPCC if they have any questions rather than ruling out a possible job opportunity.

“Also, this is a professional social event; therefore, dress nicely and try to eat your lunch beforehand,” said Weigel.

If, however, one can not wait until April for job search, Weigel recommends students do a few things before applying and interviewing for a job: research the company, have a resume focused on the company (not one resume, copied and sent all over town), write a strong cover letter and prepare for interview questions by thinking of their top three strengths and weaknesses.

“A cover letter gets an employer to read your resume, your resume will get you your interview and the interview is your chance to sell yourself to the company,” said Weigel.

According to Weigel, students should arrive 10 minutes early to an interview, dress a notch above everyone at the job (if you get the job you can dress like everyone else), bring a pad and a pen, relax and make sure you research the company.

For more information or assistance with job hunting stop by room AC1152 or call 503-491-7432 to make an appointment at the CPCC.

Weigel encourages students to look into HD209 RES, a 1-credit resume building class, or HD209 SC a 3-credit complete job search class.