EWU

I signed up for LinkedIn: Here's my story

03/20/2018 by afuller Leave a Comment

In a recent blog post, I talked a little about LinkedIn. After about a day of serious writing and reflection, I decided to complete my own profile and see what I could do with LinkedIn. If you read the earlier post I wrote about LinkedIn, don’t worry! We’ll be talking about completely different things this time around.

We're all really familiar with technology, but I still loved the simple-to-use beginner steps for my account. I followed the steps easily enough and filled out most of my profile from there.

One of the first steps that tripped me up a little was getting a profile picture, and I realized I wasn't taking a great photo. Here's some good advice on taking more professional selfies.

Thanks to my previous post about blogging, I remembered to unpack each job into multiple tasks. For example, “blogging” turned into three tasks: conducting interviews, attending events, and researching topics.

After I added my education and job experiences, I created a summary that went over who I am and what I do. I wrote a couple paragraphs about my job, schooling, and hobbies that translate into skills. I added a section of “What I’m Really Good At” at the bottom to show off a few very specific skills that I believe I have.

I also added in a “I’m currently obsessing over” section because my adviser and pal in EWU’s Career Services had it in his profile. I didn’t use this space to talk video games or music, but I did get to talk about how much I love letterforms and the colors I’m seeing in autumn (the more I design, the more I notice subtle changes in color. I highly recommend looking around and noticing those kinds of things).

Then, I added connections to my profile. I wasn’t sure who to add so I only added people I knew and trusted professionally. This meant that I didn’t add any of my friends.

Wait, what?

Well for one, LinkedIn is a professional network, not a social network. My family and friends don’t have experience working with me. As LinkedIn connections, they aren’t helpful.

One thing I was afraid of was endorsement bias. That happens when someone endorses you for a skill they couldn’t possibly know I have. How could my friends know about my Photoshop skills if they’ve never seen my Photoshop work. where I’d be endorsed for a skill my friends don’t know if I have.

I’ve seen profiles where someone has every skill endorsed by someone they have never worked with, and it’s not impressive. What’s worse is the anxiety I felt about being endorsed and then having a friend expect me to endorse them in return.

I ended up adding a few professional contacts including my boss, a few of my instructors, and folks around the college. I tried to find instructors who knew my skills and might be able to speak for them.

Every time I added someone I sent along a message. This isn’t necessary for people I’ve known forever, but I found that adding a little message meant to me that I was thinking seriously about them as a business contact, not just someone I added for the heck of it.

Finally I worked on my headline. I originally wanted to use “Baron of Blogs”, but decided my skill level wasn’t quite up to that par. I ended up with “Admissions Blogger, Publishing Student, Guy with Photoshop” because I felt like that fit with who I currently am, though I might change to Baron of Blogs when I’ve done more. 😉

I’ll sign off with this interesting tip. You’ll see people across LinkedIn with connections ranging from 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 3^rd+. 1^st connections are your connections, 2^nd are the connections of one of your connections, and so on. This helps you gauge how connected you are to someone else.

Now get out there and make connections!

EWU Bazaar

03/12/2018 by afuller Leave a Comment

As a design major, I would meet new people every quarter in both design and art classes. When I heard that there was a bazaar for design and art students, I had to go check it out.

The bazaar had about thirteen installations with 9 current students and 4 EWU alumni. It feature all kinds of artworks, from the types of things you'd fine in a downtown gallery to the types of things you might fight at one of Spokane's summer street fairs. The alumni assisted the new students with picking out art for the show, pricing pieces, and even managing their own inventory. Students got firsthand experience and training with selling their art.

Show me the art already!

In no particular order, I’ll present some of the fantastic artwork done by students and alum. I really enjoyed the pottery, but I’ll be sure to show off some of the paintings and prints too!

These are all made by one student, Amanda Caldwell. Check out the variety of pottery she has, from small cups to canopic jars (let’s be real, I saw the canopic jars first).

Rebekah Curtis did all of this work.

Yes, all of it.

I keep getting drawn back to the two large paintings in the middle. I’m sure everyone who sees a painting like these sees something different but I keep thinking of them as the eye and minotaur paintings.

Mike Haynes is an alumnus of the EWU art program. One thing I love about his work is the unity between pieces I see here. The pottery is styled with either the black and grey snakes or the multicolored line pottery in the front. I feel like I could get all of my bowls from Mike and they’d all match up with each other!

The bazaar had much, much more but I’ll just go over the pins, prints and zines. It’s exciting to see how much students at EWU made and were able to show off!

How to find and join a club

03/07/2018 by afuller Leave a Comment

I’ve been working a little on doing more things this year than in the past. I'm busy pretty much all the time, but I did find a couple hours a week I could spend on learning something fun.

I joined Archery Club because I figured I'd be able to meet people who actually knew what they were doing.

But why even join a club?

Once you pick out a major and stop taking general classes, you end up spending most of your time with people in your major. That's great because you'll meet people with the same interests and hobbies that you have. Sometimes, though, it's cool to meet different people and start building friendships outside the people you come into contact with daily.

Clubs can help you meet new people, make friends, and enjoy a hobby you might not have known about before!

How to get Started

Did you know that clubs usually have their own Facebook pages? It’s super easy to send them a message through Facebook to ask any questions you have. I’ve been interested in archery for a while but I never shot a bow because I’m left eye dominant (yes, that’s a thing) and would have to shoot left handed. I asked a few questions and found that they have left handed bows!

If you want to skip a step and just sign up, most clubs at EWU are listed in EagleSync, our club database. I was able to sign up, write a bit about why I wanted to join, and get into the club without having to call around or open an ancient puzzle box only available from the library on a full moon.

One thing that I noticed: not all clubs are listed. There are a few “secret” clubs out there, mostly clubs belonging to specific departments. Professors usually know about these clubs, so it’s usually a safe bet to ask them if there are any clubs related to your major or interests.

So what’s next?

Most clubs on EagleSync will send out notifications for club meetings and events. You can apply through the database and once you’re in the club, you’ll be free to RSVP for meetings and let the club president know what meetings you’ll be attending. We all have busy schedules, especially near the end of the quarter, so don’t feel forced to go to every meeting if you have too much homework.

I wouldn’t have expected to enjoy a club as much as I enjoy Archery Club. Clubs might not be your thing but like me, you won’t really know until you try it yourself.

How to write a really bad resume (and then how to write a good one)

11/07/2017 by afuller Leave a Comment

We talked about getting a good internship in a previous post … but wait, we don't have a resume yet!

I went to How to Write a Really Bad Resume, the sequel to our previous Internships in the STEM Field, to meet with Career Services and see how we can change our boring high school resumes into professional, clean, and beautiful resumes.

Bad: ugly resume

We’ve all had a little difficulty getting Word to do what we want. (Okay: a lot of difficulty.) Documents might have had uneven spacing, or bullet points were frustrating to find. Fonts switched up on us when we moved from heading to subpoint and sometimes we got uneven lines. Font sizes also messed up a little but hey, people won’t notice that, yeah? Yeah???

Hold up. Employers look at resumes for an average of seven seconds. The first thing they’ll notice is whether your information is in the right place, but the second thing they notice is the layout. If there are hanging bullets or you’re using three or more fonts, they’ll notice that. If you have a hundred different colors, they’ll notice that too.

EWU’s Career Services recommends you keep your resume basic and clean. Stick to one readable font for section heads and another readable font for the actual information. Make sure there are no extra spaces, periods, or symbols.

Bad: Including your high school (once in college)

I fell victim to this one too many times. As a college student, you can safely delete your high school information. If you received an award from high school, put that in another section and leave it out of the education.

Instead, let’s use that space to talk about specific qualifications or accomplishments. If the job posting requires a set of skills, put them right up top so your future employer can see that you meet those requirements.

Bad: Objectives, Summary, Profile, Attributes

Now that we’ve got our education sorted, maybe we should put in our objectives for the job right? And let’s throw in a summary so our employer can see what kind of a worker we are!

No and no. What does an objective section say other than “I want to make money” or “I want to donate my time”? Your employer will have figured that out already because you’re applying for the job. One thing about summaries: They say nothing. Your interviewer is going to make their own judgement of you based on how they perceive your work ethic and communication skills. Telling them that you’re polite or punctual won’t be nearly as good as showing them.

Instead let’s use that space to break down your job experience into bite sized tasks. Let’s say your big task is “train some baristas”. Use the actual number (12) and then break it down into “train 12 new baristas; engage with customers, craft drinks, take customer orders, operate POC system, open and close cafe, organize and clean workspace”.

Now you turned one big task into a few smaller tasks that show off your skills. When you break down all your big tasks into smaller ones, you have more opportunities to showcase your skills. Skills should end up being two lines tops, so make sure you have a good cutoff point.

Bad: Assisted, helped

Okay so you built cart wheels with a team. You did your share but you didn’t do all the work. Wouldn’t it be great to write “assisted with building cart wheels”?

No it wouldn’t.

If you did your share of the work, don’t diminish that experience with an “assisted”. The person who screwed in one nail or brought you juice one time “assisted” so write it as “built cart wheels with a team of five”. If it’s a team project then list it as one, but don’t weaken your resume by saying you assisted.

Bad: What you can do for me

Look, you need this job for experience or money so tell your employer that yea?

No. When you focus on what your employer will do for you, you’re telling the employer “this job is all about me. I don’t care what the company stands for or whether I’m busy doing work… I just want to take my money and get another job as soon as possible.”

Instead focus on what you can do for the company. If the employer wants to know why you want to join, they’ll ask. If not, tell them what you like about their company and why you chose to apply to them. Keep in mind that employers are paying for your time. They want to hear how you can best spend it.

Putting it all together

1: Keep your resume black and white, and stick to one font for section heads and one for body. Keep them simple and readable.

2: Be specific about how you qualify. If you managed 7 people, write that down.

3: Build a section that reviews how you meet the qualifications of the specific job.

4: Break down your job into bite sized tasks.

5: Don’t use weak words like “assisted”. Be bold.

6: Think “what can I do for my job” not “what can my job do for me”.

When to think about internships? Let's do it now.

11/03/2017 by afuller Leave a Comment

Selfie containing three presenters and thirteen visible students.

We’ve all heard about how difficult it is to get a job after college. And you may have heard jokes about the “entry level job” that requires “three years prior work experience”. Sometimes it feels like employers are looking for an 18-22 year old college graduate with 30+ years of experience! That’s where internships come in. Internships allow students to gain experience in their field before graduating.

That’s insane. “How the heck do I do this?” you might ask. That’s what I asked too, so I went to an Internships in the STEM Field workshop to find out (STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).

Prior Work Experience

Let’s take care of the scary stuff first: employers will want prior work experience even for internships. By the time you apply to internships, you should have a few projects listed on your resume. So what counts as a project? Here’s a short list of things you might not have considered:

Volunteer projects—Environmental Science and Biology students: head on over to Turnbull (Don’t know what Turnbull is? EWU is the only college in the nation with campus on a wildlife preserve) and volunteer. VCD students: make some flyers or advertisements for a local business or nonprofit. You can use both of those opportunities in your resume, especially if they’ve been for six months or more.

Team projects—Had a cool team project you contributed to for class? Put that in as a major project. What was your role? That’s important too, especially if you lead the team or had a specialized role.

Clubs and Organizations—Clubs at EWU are super cool in that they often have projects members can help out with. I’ve seen or heard of students who built trebuchets and rocket engines.

Imagine having that on your resume.

Fieldwork—Most majors will have a thesis/capstone class where you work on a project for real employers. Many science students have outdoor projects or experiments too. One of my friends in Anthropology told me about times she’s been out on archaeology digs for her classes.

Not in a class that offers fieldwork? Don’t fear. There are plenty of volunteer opportunities out there, and most of them will look fantastic in your resume. If all else fails, contact your department head and ask if there are any opportunities nearby.

Stockpile Skills

There are always ways to get ahead of the crowd and stand out. You can get ahead by stockpiling your skills. How many Computer Science students have experience with Photoshop or web design? Probably not too many. How many designers know Python? I sure don’t. This is where stockpiling comes in. Here’s a neat way to stockpile skills courtesy of the workshop.

1: Find intelligence—Start off by asking questions and keeping your eyes peeled for companies looking for specific needs. Skills can range from very specific like “Adobe Dreamweaver” to something general such as “organizing folders”.

2: Call and ask—This step might be a little overwhelming for some people. If it’s a little scary (or hey, even if it isn’t), contact EWU’s Career Services and let them know you want practice with calling employers. Good questions to ask might be “what skills are you looking for in an employee?” or even “do you have any internship opportunities available?”

3: Research areas to contribute—What skill does your internship need that you don’t have? Find a club with a project that uses that skill and practice! If one doesn’t exist, find some people and make a project.

4: Cover letter writing—When writing a cover letter, focus on what services you can provide the company, not what the company can provide you.

5: Post-Grad work—Build your resume even more with the skills you built up in your internship. I had to learn InDesign for an internship I had a couple of years ago. I was terrified of InDesign projects until that internship, but now it’s my go-to Adobe product.

Wait! How do I find an internship?

Internships can be pretty tricky to find, so EWU has options available to anyone looking for an internship. First of all EWU students have access to Handshake, a website designed for students trying to find jobs and internships. Internship advisors work in each college and they can find fantastic internships for you to apply to.

EWU’s Career Fair is another event you can attend. Dress up, bring resumes, and meet professionals who are looking for new employees.

What the heck is work study? The skinny on working in college

10/30/2017 by afuller Leave a Comment

Applying for work study can be a tricky process. Many incoming students don’t fully understand the difference between work study and on-campus work. Let’s clear up some common myths and dive right into the differences in work experiences for college.

Work Study

Work study is a federal program where the government pays your college for you to work. You can apply for work study when you fill out your FAFSA. Once approved for work study, you’ll get an award that represents the maximum you can make for the quarter. After that it’s up to you to find a work study position. At EWU your employer is usually more willing to work with you and may help you create a flexible schedule to help ensure you use your full award. If you’re a work study student, you may have an advantage over non-work study students because the government incentivizes universities to hire work study students.

Work study jobs can range from teaching assistantships to jobs in campus dining locations. Once you’ve been approved for work study through FAFSA, you need to submit paperwork to EWU. After that you can find a great guide on how to apply to EWU jobs here. While working with any university you will be limited to 19 hours a week as a student and 40 hours a week while on break.

A note: I spoke with Student Employment and they explained that work study is a job and not an award. You’ll get paid for your hours as you go through them, not at the beginning of the quarter.

Work Study Myths

The myth: works study jobs let you study and get paid for it. That would be nice if it was true, but it’s not. While some jobs might have lag times where you can work on homework you still have a job with real responsibilities.

The myth: work study is guaranteed money. Nope. Work study does not guarantee you a position, and there are more students approved for work study than there are positions. Keep your resume strong and prepare for your interview like you would for any job.

On-Campus Work

On-campus (non-work study) work includes work study jobs and many more. On-campus work is limited to 19 hours a week as a student and 40 hours a week on breaks. As with work study, EWU employers are often more willing to work around test dates or busy class days than an off-campus employer is.

Off-Campus Work

Off-campus work can include any work off-campus! I have known students who worked in pizza delivery, grocery outlets, and fast food restaurants. Anyone in and out of the college can apply, which can make jobs more competitive than on-campus work. EWU officially recommends that students work no more than 20 hours a week when enrolled as a full time student (but you can work over 20 hours off-campus). While employers are often willing to work around a schedule, your hours will likely not be as flexible off campus as they would be on campus. You might have a test or project day that your boss isn’t willing to let you take off.

Okay, what should I choose?

When looking at college work, apply to positions that will help your resume later. Experience as a Geology TA would be fantastic for geology students, and web design work would be excellent for design students. If those aren’t available or if your resume needs a little work, finding work with dining services is always a good option. If you can afford to work fewer than 20 hours a week, do so. While you might not have as much money in the short term, your grades, social life, and college experience will pay off in many ways.