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Georgia College Career Center

“Words from your friendly neighborhood career center”

March 7, 2013 New GC Career Expo and Interview Day

Here at the GC Career Center, we have been up to a lot lately with our Instagram Your Experience Contest, which is still going on (check out the previous blog post), to the constant reviewing and bettering of student resumes! It gets better, on Monday, we are hosting our biggest event of the year and you do not want to miss it! The GC Career Expo and Interview Day, with over 50 employers attending to offer summer opportunities, internships, full-time and part-time jobs.

The Career Expo is a great opportunity to meet professionals from all over the southeast and to practice your much needed networking skills. Open networking will be held in Magnolia Ballroom on Monday, March 11 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and interviews will be conducted afterward from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Please note, students who wish to participate in the interview portion must visit Career Connection to pre-register and to upload their resume.

The Career Expo is open to all current GC students and alumni. Because we all know the saying,”you can’t make a second first impression,” dress in business professional attire. Your snazzy business clothes will be sure to impress!

Not exactly sure what business professional attire looks like? Check out these great ideas from Pinterest. Girls and guys alike, do not be afraid to show your inner style. Business attire does not have to mean boring, have fun with it! Also, bring copies of your resume and some business cards, you never know when you will have the opportunity to hand those out. We recommend that you bring about 20 copies of your resume.

Visit Career Connection to view all the employers and organizations that will be attending this event. As always, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to visit us in our offices, located in 132 Lanier Hall. Also, follow us on Facebook or give us a call at 478-445-5384.

See you on Monday!

February 14, 2013 Instagram your Experience and win a Kindle

Everyday Georgia College students work hard to gain outside the classroom experience. Whether that means completing an internship, practicum, clinical, student teaching experience, service learning project or any other hands-on activity, we know that students put in many hours of work each week for the betterment of their education. Well, we want to award students for their hard work. For this very reason, the Instagram your Experience competition was created.

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Instagram your Expeience is a competition that allows students to submit a picture of themselves from any of the hands-on experiences listed above, for the chance to win a Kindle.

There are two parts to this competition. First, a picture and short description of your experience must be emailed to michelle.berg@gcsu.edu anytime between now and March 5 at 5 p.m. to qualify for the competition. Second, all the pictures will be uploaded to the Instagram your Experience event page on the morning of March 6 and the voting process will begin. The winner will be the person who receives the most “Likes” on their picture before the voting window closes on March 13 at 4 p.m. The winner of this competition will be annouced on March 13 once the competition has ended.

If you wish you tweet or instagram your photo please use the #GCExperience along with your description. However, if you do not have an Instagram or Twitter account no need to panic, emailing the picture still counts!

As with any competition there are a few rules and regulations:

  • You must be a current Georgia College student to participate in Instagram your Experience.
  • There needs to be at least 15 entries for the contest to be official.
  • Once you have submitted your picture you must “Like” the GC Career Center page, in order to be tagged in your photo.
  • Include your name, email address and phone number in your email.
  • Include a brief description of what is happening in the picture and where and when it took place.
  • The picture does not have to be in Instagram format to be accepted.

For more information or to ask questions please visit our Facebook page.

Good luck to all who participate and thank you for all your hard work!

January 24, 2013 Dress up and get your resume reviewed!

Are you currently looking for an internship or job for this upcoming summer or year? Have you felt the weight of how important a clear, creative and concise resume is to a future employer? Writing a resume can be a very daunting task, one that can quickly overwhelm. However, it doesn’t have to be that way for you! Put some magic in your resume by attending Resume Con on Monday, Jan. 28 anytime from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., in 132 Lanier Hall.

We have created this costume event to facilitate a fun and relaxed environment that aids students in the professional development of their resumes. The theme of Resume Con is based off of the very famous Dragon*Con, held in Atlanta every fall.

Dragon*Con is the largest popular culture convention in the world. This convention attracts science fiction, fantasy, gaming, comic and film lovers from all over the world. Hundreds of people flood in every year wearing some of the most intricate and creative costumes you may ever see! Here are some examples:

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photo cred: http://www.tor.com

^^Fiona, from Shrek^^

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photo cred: http://www.tor.com

^^DC Universe box costumes^^

That being said, we cordially invite you to dust off that old superhero costume (or any other film/comic costumes that we know you have) in your closet, grab your resume and head over to the University Career Center. We will all be dressed up as well and offering resume reviews all day. There will be free food, cocoa and BUTTERBEER. I repeat, we will be serving J.K Rowlings famous Butterbeer. Also, you will receive your very own Resume Con badge for attending!

It seems that it couldn’t get any better but we also have a prize pack awarded to the person with the best costume (that’s appropriate, of course).

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^^PRIZE PACK^^

So come on out on Monday anytime from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Career Center is located at 132 Lanier Hall.

See you there!

If you have any questions, please e-mail us at career.center@gcsu.edu or call us at 478-445-5384.

January 9, 2013 Wild Day at Wild Adventures

Read more to learn about great internship opportunities at Wild Adventures in Valdosta,GA

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to attend Wild Adventures’ 2013 Career Services Day. Some members of the Georgia College Career Center attended as well and we all had a great time.

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A little information about the theme park and the Valdosta, Ga area:
- Herschend Family Entertainment has now owned Wild Adventures for about five years. They own 26 theme parks, you might recognize some of these such as: Dollywood, Stone Mountain Park and Silver Dollar City.

- Wild Adventures has more than 40 thrill rides, which includes a water park.

- The park is also home to hundreds of animals including: giraffes, exotic birds, peacocks, and many more.

- Wild Adventures is located in Valdosta, Ga. Valdosta is centered around four other large cities and they include: Atlanta, GA, Orlando, FL, Jacksonville, FL and Tallahassee, FL. Being in this location makes Valdosta, Ga a great place to live and work.

OUR DAY

When we first arrived at Wild Adventures we were met by very inviting park team members. We went on a tour of the park and after walking by some of the rides, food and entertainment we all knew this was a great place. We also noticed that the atmosphere was very different, the people working there were all very friendly and seemed to genuinely be friends with one another.

The next part of our day we got to meet with the HR director, a HR recruiter and three managers of various departments at the park. We were treated to delicious pizza and a book that was written by the CEO of Herschend Family Entertainment, Joel Manby. Joel Manby was featured in season one of the hit tv show “Undercover Boss” and has written a book entitled “Love Works”. It is very evident that this company lives and breathes the core values and missions and strives to uphold the traditions of the Herschend Family legacy.

The managers of the food/beverage, games/entertainment and attractions spoke with us next. These three managers were very knowledgeable about their departments and the people that they wanted to recruit to help exceed their goals. After hearing everything that they had to say, we were all impressed with the kindness and professionalism that these individuals had shown us. Next, we were free to roam the park.

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Clearly, we all had a blast! The rides were second to none. All levels of thrill seekers needs were satisfied.

Thrill Seekers!

boomerang

Thrill Feeders?

maggie and mary

What Wild Adventures has to offer

Wild Adventures has many great entry level job opportunities and internships. All internships are paid and Wild Adventures does reimburse for travel costs when you come down to train in March. They will also help you when finding a place to live.

These internships can be found on Career Connection. If you would like help in the application process please contact the University Career Center.

Wild Adventures College Internship program

-Seasonal Jobs: Food & Beverage Area Supervisor
Food & Beverage Team Lead
Attractions Operator In Charge
IT Systems Support Intern
Human Resources Internship
Senior Finance Manager (salaried position)

Please feel free to visit their website to find out more about this organization:http://www.wildadventures.com/

FINAL THOUGHTS

Wild Adventures is a great company to work for and is a great starting point for any career. They will provide you room for growth as well as training and mentoring opportunities. We were all very impressed with this organization and highly recommend that you take a look at what they have to offer. If you have any questions, please come visit us in 132 Lanier Hall, e-mail us at career.center@gcsu.edu or call us at 478-445-5384.

November 9, 2012 Life of a Senior

Guest Writer: Julia Richardson, Career Peer Advisor, Career Assistant, and Mass Communication Major, Class of 2013

Being a senior in college is not easy. There are so many opportunities thrown at you and questions asked. It is enough to make you decide to do a victory lap!

What to do after graduation? That is the question on every senior’s mind as we end the near of fall semester. What do we DO? Do we apply to graduate school? Get an internship? Start working? Take a year off?  The questions keep coming and they are not getting answered. If you are one of those lucky people who know what they are doing in May 2013, I might despise you. But really I envy you.

I have my immediate future planned out for me being a mass communication major. I need to have an internship set up for the summer in order to graduate. After the summer ends who knows where I will be, and that is what scares me the most.

I am on the search for internships and starting to research is tiring. I attended the internship fair with the Career Center in October, and spoke with some great people. I learned a lot about many different internships, but how do you decide which one to pick?

I am applying to internships over Christmas break, and I plan on attending Intern 101 on November 16 in 102 Chappell Hall at 2 p.m. This will be a great opportunity for me to get advice on how to begin my search and how to begin the application process.

I had some great advice given to me by a former GC student who now works for the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce. She told me to apply for an internship at your dream job. Why not? Even if it is outlandish to think they would hire you, why not try for it? Now is the time to do what you want. We only have one month and one semester left, and whether or not you are ready, graduation is coming.

November 2, 2012 Dress for Success for the Career Opportunities Fair

Guest Writer:  Anna Lopez-Ratouis, Career Peer Advisor and Mass Communication/PR Major at Georgia College

The Career Opportunities Fair will take place November 14 in Atlanta at the Cobb Galleria Centre.  For students still wondering about attire, here is some advice on how to dress for success and make a positive impression on employers.
People say “You never get a second chance to make a first impression”, so to get it right the first time follow a few recommendations from the Career Center before you attend the Career Opportunities Fair.

For ladies:
Choose appropriate fitting pants with a matching with jacket/blazer.  The colors should be conventional. If you want to wear a skirt make sure that the length is appropriate. For skirts, just above the knees is a good length. A blouse is necessary underneath the blazer.  Make sure your blouse is not see through or too revealing.  As for shoes, heels should be medium height but if you feel more comfortable with flats, wear flats !  Closed-toe shoes are preferred but can sometimes be hard to find.  If you must wear peep-toe pumps, make sure you have a fresh pedicure and that the rest of the shoe is very conservative.

Don’t wear too much jewelry or carry a bag that is too ostentatious.  Understated is best.
Here is an example of a classic but seasonal and trendy look that you could put together for the career fair.

Professional attire and accessories appropriate for a career fair.

For gentleman:
You can never go wrong with two-piece suit and a matching pair of shoes.  In most professional settings, you want to go for a traditional colors such as black, navy blue or grey. For the shirt, white and light blue will match almost any suit color.  Ties allows you to show your personality and individuality, however avoid ties with comic characters.  The fabric quality is important as well.  Silk ties with a slight pop of color is the way to go.  Your socks should be dark.

The picture below shows a great look for men attending a career fair.

Try to find clothes that are both professional and comfortable so you feel confident in them. Avoid touching your face and hair while you talk to people.  You also want to focus on the person and not everything around you so maintain good  eye contact and avoid checking the time or your cell phone.  Your appearance and personal hygiene is important to recruiters because it shows that you pay attention to your image and that you respect the people the people around you.

Follow these steps and you will all set for success!

The Career Center will be taking a bus to the career fair.  Sign-up for your seat on the bus by November 5.  Drop by 132 Lanier Hall to sign-up and pay your $10 deposit to save your seat on the bus.  We’ll be leaving from campus at 9:30 a.m. and returning around 5:00 p.m.  Students can also carpool together for the event.

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October 23, 2012 GC Alumni Spotlight: Amanda Hendry

The Career Center is proud to spotlight Amanda Hendry, a 2003 graduate of Georgia College. Amanda currently works for Sherwin-Williams and she truly loves what she does. We asked Amanda if she would like to discuss her experience at Sherwin-Williams and offer helpful career advice for our current students.  Amanda was excited to share her story with us!

What is your job title and what do you do at Sherwin-Williams?

Area Human Resources Manager – responsible for the Central Area of the Southeastern Division of Paint Stores Group, which includes approximately 250 stores and around 1,400 employees. I work directly with the Vice President of Sales for the Central Area along with seven District Management teams supporting all Human Resource functions and business strategy initiatives. I contribute to area performance by providing personnel support to my Vice Presidents of Sales, District Managers and Sales Managers; particularly in the areas of recruiting, selection, training/development, evaluation, appraisal, compensation and employee relations.

What attracted you to Sherwin-Williams and your interest in human resources?

Sherwin-Williams is a great company that has been established for almost 150 years.  SW promotes over 95% of their employees from within and this was important to me as I look for opportunities to advance my career.  I started out in an entry-level position in Human Resources and soon after realized that I enjoyed working with people and very much enjoyed employee relations.  Working in Human Resources is always interesting as no day is ever the same.

What do you like best about your job?

I love everything about my job including working with people and seeing them grow.  I enjoy the Employee relations piece of my job the most as it consistently challenges my abilities.  I love being able to travel and be in the field working with the employees that I serve.  

What are you most excited about for your career in the future?

I love my current role and it challenges me on a daily basis.  I look forward to progressing in my career and having the opportunity to move into other areas of Human Resources with Sherwin-Williams.  

What was your major at Georgia College? Any additional education or training after GC?

I received a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from GCSU.  I went on to complete a Legal Studies course at the University of Georgia and I received my certification in Labor Relations and Contract Administration from Cornell University.  Afterwards, I completed my Masters of Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources.  

Did you do an internship or some other type of out-of-classroom experience?

I did not participate in an internship during college, but would recommend doing so to students.  An internship is a great way to explore a new company and will help students realize whether or not a career with that company is right for them.  

If a student wanted to do what you do, what skills should they develop?

In HR, you will always be in front of others; so, it is important to constantly work on your “people skills” and practice presenting in front of groups.  It is also beneficial to be confident in yourself and the decisions that you are making as you must gain the trust and respect of others.  Time management and organization is essential if you want to work into HR.  You must be adaptable to change and manage your time wisely.

Can you share any additional words of wisdom for our students?

It is important to understand that in order to begin a career in Human Resources, people must often start out in an entry level position where you will gain experiences that will help you advance your career.  It is imperative that you understand the business in order to understand human resources.  Additionally, any career that allows you to manage people will ultimately serve you in a Human Resources career.  Focus on building relationships with your team members, as that is critical in whatever career you may choose.  

Sherwin-Williams is currently recruiting for their Management Training Program. They will conduct campus interviews on Thursday, November 8. In addition, several other companies will be conducting campus interviews at Georgia College this semester. If you would like to participate in a campus interview, please follow these steps:

• Register in Career Connection at www.myinterfase.com/gcsu/student or use the Student Career Connection links on our website, www.gcsu.edu/career. 

• Upload your resume to your account.  We recommend getting your resume reviewed by our staff or using our resume samples so that your resume is employer ready! 

• Use the Campus Interview tab to pull up the active interview schedules and submit your resume to those that interest you. 

Current Schedule for Late October/November (Check for updates for other companies) 

Waffle House Operations Leadership Program – Deadline 10/29, Interviews 11/31

GEICO Leadership & Supervisor Development Programs – Deadline 10/29, Interviews on 11/6

Sherwin Williams Management Training Program – Deadline 11/1; Interviews on 11/8 

Internal Data Resources IT Recruiter – Deadline 11/2; Interviews on 11/13 

Enterprise Management Training Program – Deadline, 11/5; Interviews on 11/15

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