Mock Interviews: No Laughing Matter

While a crackerjack resume can get you in the door, the interview is what makes an employer decide to hire you or not. Presenting your talents and abilities effectively is one of the most important skills you can develop. It is essential for landing a job as well as making progress in your career at a company once you are hired. Like any skill, everyone needs practice to do it well. A mock interview is one of the best ways to practice and perfect your interviewing skills.

A mock interview is a practice interview. At Bucks, we are fortunate enough to have recruiters from local companies volunteer their time to help our students practice interviewing. At other colleges and institutions, counselors will frequently conduct mock interviews. To get the most out of the experience, it is a good idea to prepare as you would for a real interview.

• Dress professionally
• Prepare responses to frequently asked interview questions
• Bring extra copies of your resume and a list of references as well as any other supporting materials that might be helpful (e.g. a portfolio if you are in arts or design)

For more information on opportunities for mock interviews at Bucks, please view the Workshops page on the Career Services website. You can sign-up by emailing our office with your preferred date, time, and location.

Your Toughest Management Challenge: Your Own Career

In 1995, two former editors for The Harvard Business Review launched Fast Company with a cover story that reflected a permanent change in the employee-employer relationship:  Free Agent.  Like it or not, the days of graduating from college, working in one job from graduation on, getting regular promotions and raises, and retiring with a gold watch and a house on the lake are gone.

On average, the typical American worker will change jobs at least four times over the course of his or her working life and that number appears to be on the rise.  In addition to negotiating a higher number of job searches than most of us have in the past, workers today are also expected to manage their own careers to a greater extent than ever before.  Very few companies still adhere to a strict career ladder.  The good news is your career can be whatever you choose to make of it.  The bad news is it's on you to make it happen and some phases of your career may be more fun than others.

Some career counselors claim that career development isn't really a linear process and it is becoming less so as time goes on.  While I believe that may be true of how our lifestyles develop and how our personalities in general evolve, building a professional identity in any field involves certain steps.

1. Education/training:  going to college, getting an apprenticeship, etc.
2. Internships, volunteer activities, part-time positions:  if you choose to go to college, take advantage of any volunteer opportunities or summer internships that will help you gain experience in your field.  The most selective paid internships are usually for junior level college students, but it never hurts to start looking for something as soon as you have some idea of what you're interested in.
3. Initial work experience/Entry level:  roughly the first two years of professionally responsible work.  I've been told that the way I characterize the entry level experience is a bit petty, but I think it is the corporate version of hazing without the alcohol.  Entry level employees typically get saddled with the tasks that nobody else wants to do and there isn't much of a way around it.  The good news is, you're only the new kid on the block once.  What gets tricky is finding a way to keep your head up, and not get totally disgusted with a field or industry you love just because a lot of the tasks you are doing today are tedious.  Every time you totally change careers, you start at Step 1 which means you're trading in this entry level experience for another one.
4. Midlevel Career:  This can be anywhere from 2 to 8 years of professional experience and may be one of the most frustrating phases of your career because depending on the company you start with, you may or may not be able to advance from where you are.  You are usually looking at changing jobs either within the department, moving to a different department, or moving to a totally different company.  Look for opportunities to prove your strongest skills and develop your leadership style.  Also, if you receive a promotion within your organization, make sure that you take any new responsibilities into account when you discuss salary.
5. Everything after:  you might decide to take a shot at being one of the big wigs, you might also decide to go out on your own as a consultant.  Some people opt to stick around midlevel positions until retirement.  Ultimately, it's up to you to figure out what's best for your situation.

Job Hunting is a Full Time Job

When I began my first job search about three months before graduation from college, I had no idea what I was doing.  I got so desperate, I made an appointment with a career counselor at our Career Services office.  My parents insisted.  I don't remember exactly what they said, but I know, "We're paying through the nose for that anyway!" was part of the discussion.  I dutifully waited two weeks for my appointment with Julie.  When I met her, we went into her newly renovated office where she preceded to tell all of her friends that she had to stop chatting with them because of a minor inconvenience.

Her advice to me:  look on Monster and try Googling for jobs in the area.  She also gave me access to Monstertrak so I could search for jobs and sign-up for on-campus interviews.  My first one which was with Enterprise Rent-a-Car didn't go so well.  I later realized that mentioning that my ultimate goal in life was to become a therapist or some sort of counselor probably wasn't the best thing to say in a sales interview.

After I got the rejection letter from Enterprise, I cried on my roommate's shoulder and she gave me some advice from her mother:  looking for a job is a full time job.  You're probably thinking, "How can looking at the classifieds and browsing Monster take up 8 hours a day, 5 days a week?"  It can't, but if you try a combination of things, you can, and should try to search full time until your first day of work.

Here are some tactics to try:

1. Open the yellow pages and call every company that seems like they might be able to use someone like you.  Prepare a script that quickly summarizes what you are looking for and what skills you bring to the table.  "I'll do anything.  I'm very flexible." doesn't work.  How would you feel about a date who said that to you?
2. Mail or email your resume directly to as many people as you can think of who could possibly help you get a job.
3. Contact the alumni office and ask if they know of any helpful alumns in your field that you could reach out to.
4. Set-up informational interviews with people who are working at companies where you would like to work.
5. Follow-up with all of the places you've submitted resumes.
6. Streamline your online job search with search agents and job board aggregators like Indeed.com or SimplyHired.com

If you run out of ideas and you're a student or alumnus of Bucks County Community College, you can make an appointment by calling (215) 968-8189 and we'll help you out.

It's not Just Volunteering

Do you ever collapse on the couch on Sunday night and wonder where all your time and energy goes? You're probably a lot busier than you think, or maybe you are just as busy as you think. Anyway, the point is, when you apply for a job or write a resume, make sure that you take everything you do into consideration---not just the paid stuff.

Volunteer experience counts not only as a skill-building opportunity that you may not have had otherwise, but also as a way to show a prospective employer that you are passionate about a cause and that you care about being an active member in your community. When I was job hunting in Santa Barbara for the first time, I included my volunteer experience at the local animal shelter. "All" I did for that organization was walk dogs after class for a few months, but a lot of employers commented on how happy they were to see that. It didn't hurt that the animal shelter in question happened to be beloved by the community, but the point is, you should never underestimate the value of your volunteer experience.