Assessments Help with Career Decisions

If you are uncertain about your academic and career plans, you need only look to the nearest Career Services office for assistance and guidance. Several assessments are available to help you understand your career interests, academic abilities and work-related values. Understanding your interests, skills and values will help you choose a college major and related career plans. Some of the assessments available at Career Services are:

Campbell Interest and Skills Survey: This interest inventory assesses self reported interests and skills. It is designed to help you understand how your interests and skills relate to the world of work.

Myers Briggs Type Indicator: This assessment is based on psychological types and temperaments. It provides information about your preferences and the way you interact with the world. This information helps you understand the relationship between your personality and careers.

Self-Directed Search: This is a self scored inventory that can be used to explore and identify majors and careers based upon your interests.

Strong Interest Inventory: This inventory provides information on overall patterns of interests. It is designed to expand your thinking in the areas of choosing a major and choosing or changing a career.

Stop by or call any Career Services office to inquire if any of these resources are right for you.

It's Never Too Soon to Develop Career Plans

While the first and second years of college are certainly a time to adjust to life at Rutgers and explore college majors, they are also a time to prepare for the future. If you have not chosen your college major and feel uncertain about your future career plans, start now to learn more about the academic and career options available to you.

Here are some "action steps" to take:

Visit Career Services and use the career library to learn about college majors and career options related to different fields of study.
Meet with a Career Services counselor to explore your interests, skills, and work values so you can develop your career plans.
Visit the Career Services website at http://careerservices.rutgers.edu and learn about college majors and related careers, upcoming career seminars, the career paths of alumni, internships, and more.
Explore internship opportunities related to your field. Contrary to popular belief, many organizations do hire first and second-year students for internships.
Read and learn about career options that interest you. Identify the skills and qualifications you need to acquire over the next few years to obtain a job in your field. Come up with a plan on how you can develop those skills so you are ready to find a job after graduation.
Attend Career Services workshops to help you develop your career plans.
Become involved in academic and extracurricular activities, which will further help you learn about career options and develop career skills.
Speak with upperclass students, advisors, faculty, family, and friends about the career options available to you.
Find summer jobs and volunteer experiences which will enhance your resume and help you break into your chosen field.

Career Tip: Real World Experience

A recurring theme in the entry-level job search is the "lack of experience factor." "Where do I get experience if no one is willing to hire me?" Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines? Possibly for some, but there are other alternatives.

Many students focus exclusively on seeking paid work experience as their only alternative. Be careful not to box yourself into this limited focus. As a hiring manager, I look at any and all experience you may have accumulated to date, whether full-time or part-time, paid or unpaid.

Work experience makes you more marketable as a job candidate; it also gives you the opportunity to gain greater understanding about your chosen field. You will be able to find out in advance what many of the positives and negatives are, then truly enter your field with your eyes wide open. Or step back early from what could have been a major career mistake.

So as you approach the task of gaining real world experience, do it from a "sponge" perspective--be ready to soak up every bit of information that comes your way. Full-time or part-time. Paid or unpaid. Worker or observer.

Internship Success
An internship is often considered to be nirvana for the college student seeking work experience. The original "co-op" idea--combining classroom study with practical work experience--has evolved into a universally accepted program for gaining work experience. The experience gained in an internship/co-op has become the key differentiator for many new college grads. Make no mistake--a successful internship can be your ticket to locking down a job offer (or several job offers) early in your final year.

Another adaptation of the "internship" term is to refer to summer employment as an "internship." This experience in the field also plays well in your job search, although you should not be concerned with finding work that is specifically listed as an internship. If you ask an employer if they offer summer internships, the answer may be "No." However, if you ask the employer if they offer summer jobs in your field, the answer may be "Yes." Why the difference? Because most employers consider internships to be formal training programs in preparation for real work, while summer jobs are simply doing the real work. Which would you rather do? The real work is always the best experience.

Content written by Brian Krueger, President, CollegeGrad.com, Inc.
Used by permission of the author and publisher.

Best Places to Work in the Federal Government

The federal government is by far America's largest employer with 1.8 million employees. What do federal employees have to say about their workplace? What agencies have the most effective leadership, teamwork, training and development and work/life balance? Over 100,000 federal workers rated nearly every federal agency and sub-agency in the executive branch. Based on their feedback, the following federal agencies are the top ten overall places to work:

1. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
2. National Science Foundation (NSF)
3. Office of Management and Budget (OPM)
4. General Services Administration (GSA)
5. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
6. Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
7. U.S. Air Force
8. Department of Commerce
9. Department of the Interior (tied for 8th place)
10. Department of the Army

Go to www.bestplacestowork.org for more information.

(Source: http://www.ourpublicservice.org/)

Online Career Information for Diversity Students

As an added service to ALANA (African American, Latino, Asian and Native American) students, Career Services provides a web section which specifically addresses relevant career issues for ALANA students. Topics covered include:

A customized action plan to assist with choosing a major and/or career path.
Information on programs, scholarships and websites sponsored by a variety of corporate and non-profit organizations.
An internship spotlight on a Rutgers student's experience during an internship.
A professional spotlight focusing on a Rutgers graduate's career development.

Visit http://careerservices.rutgers.edu. Click on "Students" and "ALANA Students" for more information.

What can I do with a major in that?

Students often wonder what career options are available to them with different majors. Some believe there are no jobs open to graduates with certain majors and that opportunities only exist for business and engineering majors. This is not true. Job opportunities are available to graduates from all the majors at Rutgers. Some majors seem like they have no related career options. A closer look at the career paths of Rutgers graduates show there are job options out there. Below are samples of jobs obtained by Rutgers graduates from various college majors. Maybe you have an interest in one of these fields but thought there were no jobs for graduates.

For more information, visit any Career Services office and speak with a counselor. Or, visit the “Alumni Career Network” to explore the career paths of over 1,300 RU graduates.

Africana Studies	Associate Director, EOF, Rider University
American Studies	VP, Info. Technology, Morgan Stanley Trust
Anthropology	Dir., Community Health, Manchester Mem. Hospital
Art History	Marketing Copy Writer, Asbury Park Press
Comparative Literature	Humanities Ref. Librarian, Bates College Library
East Asian Studies	Marketing Associate, Lazard
Environ. & Business Econ.	Marketing Research Mgr., Hospital Research Associates
French	Financial Reviewer, Prudential Insurance Company
German	Vice President, JP Morgan and Company
Hebraic Studies	Associate, Goldman Sachs
Latin American Studies	Associate, AG Cowen Securities Corp.
Linguistics	Senior Technical Writer, McDonnell Douglass Corp.
Philosophy	Member of Technical Staff, Cycorp., Inc.
Public Health	Management Consultant, Medical & Health Res. Assoc.
Puerto Rican Studies	401K Project Specialist, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
Women’s Studies	Admissions Counselor, Rutgers University

College Majors & Career Opportunities.com

Do you want to learn more about Rutgers University majors? Would you like to know about the nature of a college major, related employers, career opportunities, and actual jobs obtained by Rutgers graduates from specific majors?

Over 60 Rutgers University majors are profiled online in the “College Majors and Career Information” section of this website. Reviewing these profiles can help you acquire the information necessary to choose a college major.

After learning more about college majors of interest, schedule an appointment with a counselor at any Career Services office to review any additional career questions you have.

Rutgers Online Career Planning Site

"I am totally clueless over my major."

"Everyone knows what they want to do but me."

"My parents want me to choose a career in business, but I'm not sure."

If these statements sound familiar, you need to use the Rutgers Online Career Planning Site! This is an online service for undecided students. Three interactive assessments are offered to help you learn more about yourself and further develop your career plans. You will explore specific Rutgers University majors and career options that relate to your unique interests, skills, and values. Extensive academic and career information is also provided so you can learn more about the college majors and careers you are considering. There are no fees for these assessments.

Top 10 Companies for Diversity Recruitment and Retention

DiversityInc.com published this list of top diversity companies. The author of the article, Barbara Frankel, a professor of communication at Rutgers, asks a key question and provides a meaningful answer: "What makes a company a diversity leader? One of the key indicators is the ability to recruit diverse people, particularly people of color and gays/lesbians. Even more important is a corporate culture that enables those people to feel comfortable and creative, and to reach their potential." The article not only lists the "top 10," but backs up each selection with concrete facts on their diversity hiring.

The top 10 are:

JPMorgan

ChaseSempra

Procter & Gamble

American Airlines

Pitney Bowes

Eastman Kodak

Verizon

Deloitte & Touche

FleetBoston

Wells Fargo

For more information visit http://www.diversityinc.com

Call 932-7997 to register