Tag: senior

What Types of Skills Are Best for a Design Major?

Looking to major in design? Stellar art skills aren’t the only talents you’ll need to succeed in college. Here are five areas that are important for doing well as a design major and in your design career after college.

Creative skills

Obviously, having a keen eye and a feel for beautiful art is extremely important if you want to major in design. But going above your own creative skills, you’ll also have to learn about how others created their art and the thought processes that went into their pieces.

Part of creativity is knowing how and when to gain inspiration from others, and you’ll spend lots of time focusing on that as a design major.

Computer programming skills

Surprisingly enough, design majors need to be relatively tech-savvy nowadays, especially if they hope to pursue careers in design after college.

Knowing how to use programs like Adobe Creative Suite, HTML and CSS will propel you light-years ahead of everyone in the job market, and that begins with paying attention to honing these skills in college.

Organizational skills

Design majors are often juggling any number of projects at various stages of completion, so being able to keep yourself organized both in terms of logistics (for instance, knowing where all of your art supplies are) and creativity (like understanding what’s inspiring each particular piece) is extremely important.

Organization skills become more important if you begin getting paid for your work, even as a college student. Many design majors juggle freelance work on top of schoolwork, and it’s crucial for you to keep these different assignments straight and to also handle the business aspects of running your own side gig.

Ability to take criticism

Whether you’re working with peers, professors or clients, you’ll have to have a thick skin as a design major and know how to incorporate criticism and feedback from all sorts of people. Creative majors are definitely not for the weak-minded and often require a certain amount of resilience.

Interpersonal and communication skills

Being able to communicate effectively with people you’re working with as well as people who are critiquing your art is crucial if you want to succeed as a design major. Even more importantly, if you begin taking on clients as a design major, you’re going to have to flex your interpersonal skills to deal with client requests and handle them efficiently and effectively.

Next, learn more about this college major such as What is a Design Major and is it Right for Me? and get more career tips for internships and entry-level jobs such as What is an Internship?

Charlotte Internship City Guide

Congratulations on landing a royal internship in the beautiful city of Charlotte, NC, also known as the Queen City! With its mid-Atlantic location, Charlotte is known as the international gateway to the South and is home to a unique blend of both old-fashioned and modern attractions, dining and entertainment. Its emerald tree-lined boulevards, glistening downtown skyline and Southern charm will pull you in and make it your newfound city love.

This kind of appeal has made Charlotte a booming hub for banking industry big names Bank of America and Wells Fargo, placing it as the largest banking headquarters in the country second to New York City. Living in the largest city in North Carolina, Charlotteans continue to make their city grow by developing the latest trends in technology, finance and commerce among their neighboring Southern cities.

At Looksharp we want you to get the complete experience during your stay in Charlotte so we created this Internship City Guide to get you ahead of the curb when it comes to navigating your way through Charlotte neighborhoods, transportation and popular spots for foodies and outdoor explorers alike.

Exploring Charlotte

You’ll be pleasantly surprised with the fair amount of cool places to check out in Charlotte. As a widespread city that seems to have a new neighborhood pop up every month, there’s almost always a spot nearby to spend some time exploring!

Downtown

Aside from its sky-high banking buildings, Downtown Charlotte is lined with the most interesting museums in the state, from the Carolinas Aviation Museum featuring exhibits on the history of aircrafts and flying (North Carolina’s Wright brothers were first in flight!) to two amazing side-by-side art museums: The Min Museum and Bechtler Museum of Modern Art.

If you’re craving a little more hands-on action while downtown, definitely make your way to Discovery Place, an interactive science museum and Charlottean favorite for years (my #1 field trip destination until college!). If lying on a bed of nails, crushing a garbage can, or scoping out cute animals on the National Geographic Crittercams isn’t enticing enough, Discovery Place also hosts an IMAX theater next door where you can watch science documentaries and Batman movies alike on the largest screen in the Carolinas.

For Downtown nightlife, enjoy bar-hopping made easy at The EpiCentre, a multi-level complex of Charlotte’s most popular Downtown bars, clubs, and restaurants. A personal favorite of mine is Mez, holding lavish interior design, stunning views of Charlotte’s skyline and a menu of classy cocktails and tasty late-night bites. Did I mention there’s a movie theatre within the restaurant with full access to the menu? Not much pairs better with an action film than a fresh plate of linguine caponata.

Freedom Park/Dilworth

After walking through Charlotte’s downtown skyline, you can relax in the prettiest Dilworth neighborhood spot, Freedom Park. Known as the Central Park of Charlotte, Freedom Park is a beautiful area full of rolling green hills (the largest known as “hippie hill”), walking trails and playgrounds — the perfect place to escape the daily grind. Bring a friend, a pup, a bike or a good book and enjoy the scenery for hours on end. And if you’re a picnic kinda person, you’re in luck as there are rows of popular restaurants along the East Boulevard entrance of the park where you can get your order to go and enjoy it at one of the many picnic tables in the Freedom Park. I recommend Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar to get your juicy, any-way-you-want-it burger and sweet potato fries fix.

Plaza-Midwood

Feeling a little more alternative? Head over to the Plaza-Midwood area, where leather biker vests, colorful wall art and vegan black bean falafels are the norm. The Plaza-Midwood area comes alive during both day and night. During the day, you can grab a bite to eat at one of the awesome variety of eateries all within the same block. For a hearty, mouth-watering Southern feast check out Dish, home to some of the best mac and cheese, BBQ sandwiches and biscuits in the city (Guy Fieri agrees). Not to mention, their menu features a section of awesome quesadillas and burritos too! After stuffing your face Southern style, take a walk down Central Avenue and pop into the cool shops and art galleries. Hong Kong is a favorite for vintage shoppers and thriftinistas.

Find yourself in Plaza-Midwood at night? Start your night off easy at %{link_to “Common Market”, “http://www.commonmarketisgood.com/”, :target=>”_blank”}, a charming, eclectic little spot for choice beers and wine from around the world. Pick up a round of pool or hang out on the back patio down the street at Elizabeth Billiards, a dive bar destination for all Plaza-Midwood locals. Before catching some zZz’s, make a late night stop at Diamond, an old-school diner brought back to life by a crave-worthy menu of late-night fried goodness (the hushpuppies are a must!).

NoDa

Located just a few blocks from Charlotte’s city center is North Davidson Street, celebrated as the city’s Historic Arts District, NoDa. Lined with historic art galleries, funky coffee shops and nightly entertainment in popular performance venues, NoDa is a gem that is not to be missed. Check out The Evening Muse, a listening room and art gallery where the best of Charlotte’s local music scene get their start. Across the street is the historic Neighborhood Theatre. Built in 1945 as a movie theater, this now-performance venue has hosted some of the most memorable concerts Charlotte’s seen and has also been the set for many music videos including North Carolina stars The Avett Brothers’ ““I and Love and You.””

Deciding where to grab a bite to eat in NoDa can be a challenge given the delicious range of options. Feeling baja fresh? Chow down on the city’s most popular fish taco at Cabo Fish Taco and enjoy the restaurant’s upbeat atmosphere. Feeling a little more French? Settle in at Crepe Cellar, a swanky kitchen and pub whose menu boasts European eats like steak frittes, French bread pizza and both savory and sweet crepes. Continue the French theme at NoDa’s star bakery, Amelie’s. With charming baby blue walls, gourmet salted caramel brownies and brie toasted baguettes, you’ll never want to leave Amelie’s side. In fact, its doors are open 24-hours, leaving many inner-city Charlotteans to call it their second home.

Southpark

Charlotte’s Southpark neighborhood is a favorite for residents and business owners alike. There’s no better place to shop ’til you drop than at Southpark Mall, the city’s largest shopping mall. It has all the essentials for retail therapy: Urban Outfitters, Aldo, Nordstrom, Gap and more. Connected to the mall are a variety of both chain and locally owned restaurants. Cowfish, which has recently exploded into the Charlotte foodie scene, offers a tongue-wagging half-sushi, half-burger menu that keeps its doors packed every night of the week. Down a mile from Southpark Mall is Phillips Place, a suburban oasis of clothing boutiques, wine bars and luxurious water fountains. All in all, the Southpark is a go-to destination for all of your shopping, entertainment, dining needs.

Transportation

Charlotte, with its horizontal patterns of growth and suburban sprawl, is not exactly the most ideal city for efficient public transportation. Having a car in Charlotte is your key to getting around town. Fortunately, there’s more than enough parking in most areas and lot prices are easily affordable.

The Lynx light rail system exclusively serves the Downtown area with lightning speed, passing through neighborhoods and areas of entertainment in and around downtown Charlotte from South Boulevard to 7th Street. Park and Ride lots are located at the majority of Lynx stations. Cost to ride is $1.75 each way.

Friends & Family Coming to Visit?

The CLT Charlotte Douglas International Airport serves hundreds of carriers and destinations, both international and domestic. If your place seems to be a little cramped, they can always find a great place to stay in the city using Airbnb.

Staying Fit in Charlotte

Don’t let its leisurely Southern pace fool you — Charlotteans are huge on keeping fit and trying out the latest workout trends. To keep in shape during your stay in Charlotte, you can join one of the many YMCA branches in the city, all of which offer a great variety of machines, butt-kicking classes and an overall supportive atmosphere for getting the most out of your workout.

If you’re on a tighter budget, look into a plan at Planet Fitness, an affordable alternative that offers gym essentials at a lower price. Forget the indoors — if breaking a sweat outdoors is more your thing, you gotta check out Ultimate Crossfit, a fitness club that will whip you into shape like never before, all while enjoying the scenery of Charlotte neighborhood parks (Freedom Park 5:30 am workout, anyone?).

It’s an Emergency, Doctor!

Having an idea of where to get medical attention is valuable information in any new city. ZocDoc is an online tool used to find a doctor based on your location and insurance provider, not to mention its easy online appointment booking process. You can always find immediate help at any Charlotte metropolitan area hospitals such as Presbyterian Hospital, or Carolinas Medical Center.

Next, get more career tips for internships and entry-level jobs such as What is an Internship? and find answers to common interview questions such as What’s Your Dream Job?

Entry-Level Mechanical Engineering Job Guide

Many full-time mechanical engineers that are recent graduates are expert problem solvers. They enjoy creating physical devices or products that enable people to do the things that they want to do.

What is an Entry-Level Mechanical Engineer?

At larger companies, entry-level mechanical engineers are often specialized and working on a single critical component of a far larger machine. For example, an engineer at Ford might work solely on the crash beam for a car to ensure it holds up appropriately in a collision and meets the needs of the industrial designers. At a smaller company, a medical device startup for example, an entry-level engineer might be simultaneously working with everyone on the team to refine an entirely new device.

Common Responsibilities of Entry-Level Mechanical Engineers

Some primary tasks include things like:

  1. Researching problems to solve.
  2. Sketching out possible solutions to the problem.
  3. Using Solidworks and similar modeling software to flesh out possible solutions.
  4. Constructing physical prototypes of devices or mechanisms.
  5. Testing the quality and success of the prototyped contraptions.
  6. Presenting or sharing test results and ideas with other engineers, industrial designers, product, and business team members.
  7. Overseeing the actual construction of the products they’ve designed.
  8. Seeking out feedback and iteratively improving their solutions.

Types of Entry-Level Mechanical Engineering Jobs

As you can see, there are quite a few different tasks that beginning engineers can be asked to do. When you consider that larger companies will often require specialization into a single task, it’s obvious that there are quite a few different types of entry-level roles for mechanical engineers.

Salary Expectations

The median salary for entry-level mechanical engineers is $63,792.

The range is $49,430 – $81,029.

Location is one the largest factors in calculating salary, so it’s particularly helpful to consider the entire salary range.

The Bureau of Labor expects the number of mechanical engineering jobs to grow by 5% (about average) over the next 10 years.

Who Typically Gets These Jobs

Every year, we survey over 20,000 students and recent grads in an effort to understand the internship and entry-level job market. Based on the results of our State of Hiring report, the students or recent graduates that apply to these entry-level jobs have several things in common:

  • They are pursuing or have gotten at least a bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering or Product Design. Occasionally, Electrical Engineering majors will pursue and get hired into Mechanical Engineering jobs.
  • Most applicants to mechanical engineering positions are looking to work at mid-size companies.
  • San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, and San Diego are the most popular destination for engineering grads.
  • They tend to be very career oriented. Not many mechanical engineering majors are looking for jobs other than those found under the Mechanical Engineering umbrella.
  • 25% of graduating seniors majoring in engineering have no internship experience.
  • Over 45% of seniors majoring in engineering have taken an online course related to their major.

Related Entry-Level Fields

Even though it’s unlikely that Mechanical Engineering majors seek jobs outside of their major, it does happen. When they do go outside, here are the areas they’re most likely to look at:

  1. Electrical Engineering
  2. Computer Science
  3. General Engineering

Additional Resources

  1. It never hurts to brush up on a few mechanical engineering topics. You can take a few online courses to get back in the swing of things.
  2. For more salary information, head over to Payscale.
  3. For more advice on starting your entry-level job search, check out our guide!
  4. And finally, to prepare for an entry-level job interview, prepare for the top 20 entry-level job interview questions.

Search for Entry-Level Mechanical Engineering Jobs Now

Next, get more career tips for internships and entry-level jobs such as What is an Entry-Level Job? and find answers to common interview questions such as Tell me about yourself.

Entry-Level Psychology Job Guide

While undergraduate psychology degrees don’t often directly translate into psychology jobs, the graduates of psychology programs have plenty of options when it comes to choosing a first job after college.

What Do You Do With a Psychology Degree?

One of the major tricks to leveraging your psychology degree is to emphasize your ability to empathize with individuals and understand human behavior. The ability to understand why humans behave the way that they do in combination with a scientific and analytical approach to problem solving can help you break into numerous industries (technology, medical, etc.) in many different roles (marketing, research, analyst, etc.).

What You’ve Gained From Your Psychology Program

It may not be obvious to you yet, but your psychology program prepared you for a job by doing the following:

  1. Instilling a passion in you to understand why humans do the things they do. This will not only help you develop empathy and compassion (critical skills for succeeding in the workplace), but it will also help you read your fellow coworkers better.
  2. Establishing a basic understanding of the importance of sound data and statistical analysis. You can often make data say whatever you want it to say and say it powerfully. Knowing how to use data to drive decision-making at a company will empower you for years to come.
  3. The ability to communicate your ideas effectively. No doubt you’ve had to write papers on your projects. You’ve communicated your ideas in writing and orally. That’s not going to change in your first job.
  4. A respected degree. Many great entry-level jobs simply require that you have a college degree. Congrats, you now qualify for some solid jobs.

A Few Career Options for Psychology Majors

Because the knowledge that you degree gave you is fairly broad, you have quite a few options for entry-level jobs. In fact, it’s often hardest to decide which of the following options is better suited to your interests. If you’re the analytical sort and enjoyed crunching the data from your experiments and projects, perhaps you should look at research or analyst positions. If you enjoyed understanding human behavior perhaps a marketing, sales, or user experience researcher suit you best. If you’re a great writer and enjoy sharing your ideas, there are some great journalist jobs out there. Once you’ve figured out what type of job you want, we have some fantastic, actionable tips for getting a job unrelated to your major.

Here are a few example searches that result in positions that are often filled by psychology majors:

Salary Expectations

The median salary for psychology graduates is $62,706.

The range is $39,798 – 91,382.

Outside of the core job function (which has the largest impact on salary), location is one the largest factors in calculating salary, so it’s particularly helpful to consider the entire salary range.

The Bureau of Labor expects the number of Psychology jobs to grow by 19% over the next 10 years. This is one of the fastest growing career areas out there.

How a Graduate Degree Changes Things

With a graduate degree in psychology, it’s far more likely that you’ll be able to find a job directly in the field of psychology. These are jobs where you’ll often be using your ability to understand human behavior and empathize to counsel other individuals.

Graduate psychology degree owners often find their first career jobs in:

Additional Resources

  1. It never hurts to brush up on a few Psychology topics. You can take a few online courses to get back in the swing of things.
  2. For more salary information, head over to Payscale.
  3. For more advice on starting your entry-level job search, check out our guide!
  4. And finally, to prepare for an entry-level job interview, prepare for the top 20 entry-level job interview questions.

Search for Entry-Level Psychology Jobs Now

How To Evaluate Entry-Level Job Fit in Your Interview

Interviews aren’t just for the employer to evaluate whether or not they should give you a job. They’re more of a 2-way conversation and an important opportunity for you to evaluate whether the company is a good fit. This evaluation is most important when considering where to start working after graduating from college. Your first job can set you on a path on to a successful career, or it can drastically confuse you and make it harder to figure out what to do next.

Here are a few tips to help you use your time and questions in an interview to best understand whether or not you actually want the job you’re interviewing for.

Pause and Reflect

Before you even consider preparing for your interview a great exercise is to take some time to reflect on what you think you want from your career, your first job, and what success means to you. The better you know yourself the smoother the interview will go. You’ll be able to answer questions confidently, honestly, and second-guess yourself far less often.

Read Into the Interview Process

How have you been treated during the job application and interview process? Has the employer been communicative and friendly? Have they set expectations clearly? Put yourself in the shoes of the company you are interviewing with and ask yourself if you’d be happy with the treatment the applicants have gotten?

The application process can tell you quite a bit about how the company values hiring and the importance of hiring the right people. Attention to detail and thoughtfulness is often a great sign that you’ll be happy and nurtured in your first role. If you’re being left in the dark frequently, it might be time to consider whether or not you really want to work for someone who apparently doesn’t care too much about hiring you.

Observe Body Language

When you’re meeting with employees at the company and answering their questions, try and read their body language when they talk about their company. Are they upbeat and optimistic? Do they hint at there being confict or trouble? The manner in which they communicate can often lead you to get a feel for how satisfying the day-to-day work is. If you’re getting bad signs from the employees, don’t necessarily dig in and ask them directly why they appear to be frustrated. Be tactful and ask them to elaborate more. Ask about personal interests of the employees that interview you. See if their body language changes when they’re talking about something you know they truly enjoy.

Don’t Sell Out

You don’t have a job. Your friends have jobs. Your family is breathing down your neck about what you’re going to do after graduation. You have mountains of debt to start paying off. You’ve had little success with interviewing, but this job feels like you can actually land it.

This is a relatively common scenario that leads to early entry-level job frustration. You go into the interview overly desperate and wind up taking a dead-end job that leads to more frustration, poor performance and reviews, and an early quarter-life crisis.

Instead of caving to your desperation and eating up everything the employer says during the interview, remain skeptical and listen thoroughly to everything they’re saying.

Ask About Motivation

Ask your potential employer what motivates their employees. Why are people there? Is is their passion for the company’s mission? Is it financial motivation? Business motivation? Their answer should align with your interests and desires. If you’re driven to help a particular cause, working at just any company isn’t good enough. Find the one where the people are particularly motivated to help that same cause.

Answer Their Questions Honestly

There’s often a lot of temptation in a job interview to provide the answers that you think the employer wants to hear. The more honest and transparent you are about your desires and goals, the more the employer (who should know their own company culture better than anyone) can help you assess whether or not you’d be a great fit.

What’s Next

Now that you’ve got a few additional tips to help you assess whether or not a company is a good fit, feel free to prep fully for the interview with our top 20 entry-level job interview questions.

If you think you’re going to take the job, feel free to move on and check out our guide to starting your entry-level job off on the right foot.

Next, get more career tips for internships and entry-level jobs such as What is an Entry-Level Job? and find answers to common interview questions such as What’s Your Dream Job?

Getting an Entry-Level Job with No Experience

Unfortunately, many employers want to have their cake and eat it too. They would love to hire someone for an entry-level salary that has experience and isn’t actually entry-level. As a result, you’ll see plenty of positions in your search for your first job after college that require experience. Here’s how we suggest you handle them:

Apply Anyways

This doesn’t mean that you should apply willy-nilly to all of the positions you possibly can and hope that someone gives you an interview. That is a strategy that has been proven not to work and in the end can only damage your personal brand (you never know who you may wind up trying to work for in the future).

What this does mean is that if you find a great entry-level position that you think is the perfect fit for you, feel free to apply for it regardless of whether or not you meet the experience requirements. Employers will often post a position hoping to lure in the unicorn entry-level candidate with 3+ years of experience and no salary expectations only to discover that nobody is applying to their position. If you apply anyways, you can find yourself amongst a relatively small pool of applicants vying for the job.

If you do decide to apply to the position, don’t be patronizing or attempt to inform the employer that they’re delusional for wanting to hire someone with 3+ years of experience for an entry-level role. Instead, be mature and respectful. If it’s experience they want, show them that you’re wise beyond your years and between your ears.

A Few Tips for Applying to a Position You’re Not Qualified For

  1. Know yourself.
    Poll your family, friends, teachers, and do some serious introspection to understand what your strengths are. Then highlight them.
  2. Be confident, yet humble.
    This gets easier the more comfortable you are with yourself. Be comfortable with not knowing things. You can’t be expected to know everything. Instead, be curious and listen.
  3. Emphasize your motivation and desire.
    You wouldn’t be applying to the job if you didn’t want it. Like, really want it, right? Make sure that’s obvious. Don’t seem desperate, but do seem passionate. Do your background research and have a prepared, honest, thoughtful response for the “Why do you want to work here?” question.
  4. Get experience and highlight it.
    Spin up a side project, volunteer for a local business, or get an internship.

Want to know more? Read more advice on getting a job unrelated to your major.

Network

Getting your resume submitted via someone at the company you’re applying to will massively increase your chances of getting an interview. The hard part is meeting someone at the company and getting them to vouch for you. Fortunately, we’ve got some great guides to help you network offline and meet the right people
or start the networking process online via social media.

Both of these tactics can help you get in front of the right people at the company. Have a cup of coffee with an employee and use the opportunity to learn more about the company, the role, you potential future career options, and get to know what it’s like to work there. Impress them with your thoroughness, thoughtfulness, and curiosity and they may vouch for you.

Get an Internship First

Internships aren’t just for current students and they most certainly count towards any job’s experience requirements. If you’re having trouble getting interviews, it may be that your resume simply doesn’t have enough real world experience on it. Getting a paid internship isn’t an easy thing to do, but fortunately, there are destination like WayUp that can help you launch your career.

Next, get more career tips for internships and entry-level jobs such as What is an Entry-Level Job? and find answers to common interview questions such as Tell me about yourself.

How to Take an Exit Interview

When exiting an internship, closing the door with a smile and fond sayonara may feel like all that is necessary. However, there are things you can do to create good-will, help you learn from your experience, and position yourself better for the future. Some companies have what they call exit interviews in which they hope to get a sense of how they might improve their program for future interns. However, you can take charge of your own exit interview to serve both you and your company well.

  1. Organize all your work from the internship into a clearly labeled folder so it can be found by your boss and whoever your future replacement happens to be.
    Let your boss know about the status of any just completed or outstanding projects. Even if you are in the middle of a long term project, make sure your supervisor has the necessary material to take off where you left. You will want the transition to be a seamless as possible. Self promote and tell them what materials you have organized for their benefit. Your professionalism and consideration will be both noticed and appreciated.
  2. Review any written goals and expectations and compare them with your actual experience.
    You will want to see if a realistic job description should be amended for the next intern. You will want to note if any opportunities described in company documents slipped through forgotten by both you and your supervisor. You will also want to be able to illustrate your proficiency in performing your tasks, and the different ways that you exceeded expectations.
  3. Make a list of your accomplishments.It will make you feel good, and also give you an idea of what you can talk and write about during your next job search. Email yourself the work projects you are proud of to begin building your professional portfolio. Don’t rely on your memory. You may surprise yourself when you make a list of all that you have learned and been able to do. If you have learned a new skill you won’t want to forget it when it comes time to update your resume. Such a list will also assist those reviewing your work with their evaluation. Don’t diminish the importance of even small benefits you might bring to your next job.You can even legitimately say things like, “performed all tasks in less time than required”, if that is actually true.
  4. Take a meeting.Ask your supervisor for a few moments of their time to review the documents you have prepared, and go over your accomplishments as they relate to the original job expectations. This is not a good time to explain your disappointments, but rather to provide an unbiased look at the job description and the job reality. It is also a good time for you to quietly promote your accomplishments, thank them for the opportunity to work there, and ask for references. If you can get references in writing, preferably on LinkedIn, then you won’t have to worry about what happens if they should leave their job and become hard to reach.
  5. Generating good will can go a long way toward establishing your professional referral base.
    Don’t forget that it isn’t just your employers who can help you in the future, but also your colleagues. You might want to leave a treat in the break room for everyone to enjoy or send flowers with a note where everyone can see and appreciate them.
  6. Update your resume, Facebook page, and LinkedIn, and tweet about your internship in a positive way.
    You might also want to enter our intern contest and write an essay about your experience. It could be humorous or serious or exciting or whatever. We would love to see it and it would be a great way to get noticed by businesses on our site.

Most of all, enjoy your new school year, good luck and good exit.

Next, get more career tips for internships and entry-level jobs such as What is an Internship? and find answers to common interview questions such as What’s Your Dream Job?

How to Write An Exceptional Entry-Level Job Description

Like internship postings, entry-level job descriptions should be exciting and concise, a way to sell your company and the position while standing out from the myriad of likeminded employers.

It’s important to remember that students are new to the professional world, and even the most polished may not yet know what your company does or all the corporate jargon that is commonplace in your field. Create a role the is easy to read, fun and gives the student a good feel for your company culture as well as what they will be doing.

The sample below does a great job of this. It uses bullet points for a couple of paragraphs to explain the company and role and then bullets to define job responsibilities as well as requirements. Having both minimum and preferred qualifications help students self-assess their odds of landing the role; meanwhile, having a section on team culture, while optional does a great job of helping students understand whether or not their personality will be a good fit.

Enjoy reading the position below and feel free to download our rock star entry-level job template to begin making your own position.


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Human Resources Supervisor

A company’s most crucial element is its human element. With employee talent, passion, and commitment driving the success of a business, it’s no wonder why human resources are essential to Meriot International, industry leader in hospitality and lodging.

Come work with an expansive brand that includes 3,700 diverse properties in 74 countries and territories worldwide. As an HR intern, you’ll facilitate the recruitment and acquisition of new hires, and help maintain the excellent work environment at Meriot for current employees.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Communicating and executing key administrative tasks including processing new hires, salary increases, status changes and terminations, office transitions, and more.
  • Act as primary point of contact for HR department for hourly employees.
  • Assist in planning and executing reductions in force as necessary.
  • Provide counseling and resource assistance in the areas of policy, benefits, salary administration, training/development, performance issues.
  • Monitor and coordinate all local/state governmental and regulatory compliance activities.
  • Maintain accurate and complete employee files and other HR related information for hourly employees.
  • Represents Company in Unemployment Compensation Hearings as needed.
  • Manages the transfer of employees between departments in conjunction with the Job posting procedure.
  • Plan and coordinate department’s activities to support SQDC targets, and meet and/or exceed client and/or customers expectations.
  • Actively participate on assigned teams and/or projects.

Our ideal qualifications in an HR Supervisor are:

  • A degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related field.
  • Excellent interpersonal, research, and time management skills.
  • Grace under pressure and good judgment in sensitive situations.
  • Mastery of Microsoft Office.

Cultural Requirements

Organized:
You come in on time and deliver projects before the deadline. You are able to prioritize and manage a myriad of tasks at once.

Team-Oriented:
You’re willing to help out on projects that drive the company forward regardless of whether they are your responsibility or not.

Entrepreneurial:
You are able to wear many hats and thrive in scenarios where you are given big goals and lots of independence.

Passionate:
You are dedicated to the hospitality industry. You read industry blogs and follow industry Twitter accounts. You want to make a difference.

Job Details:

Work Location: San Francisco
                Salary: Highly Competitive
                Work Schedule: Full-Time
                Date Posted: March 12, 2013

*Note that although this posting is similar to the Sample Internship Posting, we have expanded the “responsibilities” section to include more detailed information on the job description, as well as a modified “qualifications” section to reflect a higher-level position as well as the more in-depth cultural requirements section. The cultural requirements piece is not mandatory for all positions, but can reflect the importance your company places on fit for full-time roles.


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Top 3 Tips for Getting Into an MBA Program

Getting into an MBA program might seem challenging at first. After all, how can you ensure that you have a strong application and that you’re setting yourself up for success? Fortunately, there are some concrete steps you can take to make yourself stand out as an applicant and to get into the MBA program of your choice.

Here are the top 3 tips for getting into an MBA program.

1. Research all types of MBA programs

When it comes to finding a great MBA program, the importance of doing your research can’t be overstated. From knowing what kind of program you want to pursue (for example a general program vs. a specialized one) to deciding whether you’d rather take on a part-time or full-time course-load, doing your research will help you clarify your options and narrow down your decision.

Pro Tip: Once you’ve identified the programs that are a good match for you, it’s time to go a bit more in-depth with your research by attending open house sessions on campus and speaking to current students and alumni. The best way to go about this is by contacting the program directors and asking to be put in touch with a current student who can answer your questions. Then, use your campus visit to learn more about the faculty and the program structure.

2. Consider taking both the GMAT and the GRE exams

With many business schools increasingly accepting GRE scores along with the more traditional GMAT ones, a good way to broaden your options is by taking both exams. Although this will mean additional exam prep and added costs, the time and money investment will pay off when it comes to finding the right program.

Pro Tip: Before taking your exams, find out the specific requirements for each program you’re applying to and, whenever possible, submit your highest score. This is a great way to strengthen your application and make yourself stand out from the crowd.

3. Choose references who can speak your personality and experience

Picking the right references might seem like a no-brainer — after all, you want someone who knows your work and can speak to your best qualities — but the truth is that many MBA candidates don’t pick the right right people when asking for references. Instead of focusing on finding a person with an impressive resume or job title who might not know you very well, it’s important to pick someone who knows you well and can give the admissions board a clear sense of who you are and what you can bring to the table.

Pro Tip: When picking your references, make a list of 3-5 people who have impacted your academic and professional careers. Write down a few notes about your relationship with each one and figure out what parts of your work and personality they can speak to. This is a great way to ensure that your references will create an accurate and balanced view of who you are while positioning you in the best light.

Although getting accepted into an MBA program might seem a bit intimidating at first, by following these tips and knowing what to expect you’ll be sure to get accepted into a program that’s right for you.

Next, learn more about grad school such as How to Pick an MBA Program and get more career tips for internships and entry-level jobs such as The Art of Networking Offline.

How to Land a Job in Tech

One of the most exciting industries around, the tech industry has built its reputation on growth and innovation. This is great news for recent grads who are passionate about technology and interested in contributing to its development.

Here are the steps you need to take if you want to land a job in tech.

1. Develop your knowledge of the tech industry

When it comes to starting your career, few things are as important as knowing the industry inside and out. Although this may sound a bit overwhelming at first, it’s actually good news because your knowledge doesn’t have to be academic. While computer science and business classes can be a good way to learn about the tech industry, there’s also a lot you can do to develop that knowledge on your own. Tech-focused websites like Forbes Tech offer a lot of insight into industry trends and emerging technologies. Beyond that, it’s about learning about specific companies and the kind of work they do.

2. Determine what aspects of tech you’re interested in

Once you have a strong grasp of what’s happening in the industry, it’s time to narrow your focus and pick a career path the matches your skills and interests. For example, if you’ve been coding since high school and want to take a hands-on approach to creating new technologies, you might want to focus your attention on engineering. On the other hand, if you’re more interested in sales or marketing, focusing on those aspects of the industry might make more sense for you.

3. Intern with a tech-focused company

With industry knowledge under your belt and a strong focus in mind, it’s time to get some hands-on experience by interning with a tech company. This is a great way to deepen your knowledge of the tech field while also figuring out what type of role is best for you. Depending on the type of company you work for (and the internship you choose) you may be involved in different aspects of a company’s operations from engineering to marketing or even human resources. While smaller companies can provide a more cross-functional internship experience, larger companies can give you a chance to truly specialize in your field and gain the kind of experience that might take you a year or two to develop at another company. This is an important thing to keep in mind as you apply for internships since you’ll want the internship you choose to reflect your career goals moving forward. If you’re a recent grad without a tech internship under your belt, don’t worry. You can still stand out from the crowd by developing your industry knowledge and studying the companies you want to work with.

4. Know what tech companies look for

While tech companies definitely have their share of differences, they also have a lot of similarities. One of these is the desire to hire bright, motivated people to join their teams and give them the chance to create solutions that are truly game changing. Since tech companies place so much emphasis on talent and passion, being able to demonstrate these qualities is extremely important to landing a job.

By following these tips and developing your skills and knowledge, you’ll have no problem finding a tech job that’s right for you.

Next, get more career tips for internships and entry-level jobs such as the Top 10 Skills Employers Want in an Intern and find answers to common interview questions such as Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?