Are you a graduate student interested in working with the Department of Student Affairs during the semester? Check out Graduate Assistant Preview Day on March 9th, from 4 PM to 6 PM in UC 310!
This is your opportunity to learn about graduate assistantships and graduate hourly employment positions in the Division of Student Affairs for the 2017- 2018 school year.
These opportunities give graduate students the chance to work closely with faculty members and undergraduate students while teaching or researching. This is your chance to apply what you’ve learned throughout your school years and teach it to students, or conduct further research. You can hone and enhance your research skills in an educational setting, or work on your teaching skills in college level classes.
Graduate assistantships also receive stipends, tuition remission, and other benefits. If you’re interested check out the Preview Day on March 9th! You can talk to representatives, faculty, and other graduate assistants about any questions you may have.
Whether it be learning how to convey your skills in an interview, or presenting a project to your classmates, effective communication skills are necessary for anything that we do. I know that in a mock trial, clearly communicating your arguments and ideas is extremely vital to your success. There are so many nuances within a single case theory, that blurring even one of them can be detrimental to your case.
Communicating effectively is much easier said than done, even for me. My job entails working with many students, and the extracurricular activities I participate in all require a significant amount of public speaking and persuasive rhetoric. I still get nervous, and if I let it get to my head, I find myself having a lot of trouble explaining what I mean.
One of the easiest ways to prevent feeling nervous for me is preparation. I have a lot more faith in myself, my talent, and my ability when I know for certain that I know what I’m talking about. Confidence is key, and the best way to be confident is to be prepared.
For interviews, I always spend a few days before practicing my answers to common interview questions. But it’s not as simple as just writing my answers down on a piece of paper. I think about how I want to present the answer. I ask myself questions like what do I want my body language to convey when I’m talking about this experience that I have?
The Career Center offers mock interviews and interview prep appointments for anyone who wants to practice their interviewing skills. These appointments are beneficial in that our staff gives you tips to make sure you’re communicating your talents and experience in the best way possible.
Listen, and then think, is my second tip. Don’t just run off generic answers to every question that’s asked of you. Listen to the question, and take a moment to think before you respond. When I respond to a question or an objection battle immediately, I always end up tripping over my words and talking in circles. When I take that moment to myself, I’m able to gather my thoughts and adapt my general knowledge to the question being asked. That way I can make sure I’m answering a person’s specific question to the best of my ability.
Sometimes I would worry that my pause would make me look unsure or uncertain, but I’ve come to realize that it’s better to pause and think than to ramble.
My last tip is to be open to criticism. Try having a friend or sibling ask you common interview questions, or come into the Career Center to have a Career Specialist ask you specific questions about the field or job you’re applying to. We may think we’re communicating effectively, but that doesn’t mean that it’s perceived in the same way.
If you have someone listen to you, they can provide you with feedback and tell you when something doesn’t make sense, or an idea wasn’t clear. Or maybe they can tell you that the example you provided for a scenario or question isn’t the best fit for that scenario or question. Practice makes perfect!
I realize that some of, if not all of these tips seem fairly elementary, but when we ignore the foundations or the basics, our communication gets muddled. It’s important to practice even the most basic skills to ensure your ten times better than the other person competing for the same job. Effective communication is what makes the difference and can push you over the top.
You know that weird feeling between excitement and dread that accompanies an invitation to interview? It’s especially strong when you know next to nothing about your potential workplace.
But, even if the first time you’ve ever heard of the company you’re interviewing with was the day you sent in your application, you can still walk in like you’ve known about the place for years. Here are several ways to tackle researching the company pre-interview.
The best way to convince your interviewer that you know the company well is to be able to articulate what makes it special compared to competitors. The good news? Companies will often tell you the answer to this question right on their websites.
One way companies share how they stand out is through their mission or values, which are typically prominently displayed in the “About Us” section. Read closely to learn what might be different about this organization than others. For instance, if you’re interviewing with a marketing agency, “commitment to client service” is probably something that its competitors boast, too, but if one of its other core values is sustainability, that’s good to know.
Review this along with any other “basics” you should be familiar with prior to the interview—like company size, location, and history. You don’t want to be that person who asks a question that can easily be answered by checking out the website.
While you’re on the website, click on the “Investor Relations” tab. For most large companies, you should be able to access and listen to a publicly available quarterly earnings conference call and read an annual report. These calls and reports cover a range of topics (that are often otherwise hard to find), including new products, company risks, and whether revenues are growing or stable. If you’re interviewing with a startup, check out its profile on Crunchbase. Here, you can get caught up on rounds of funding, acquisitions, recent hires, and relevant press coverage.
Once you have this information, it’s up to you to draw your own conclusions. While you don’t necessarily want to spout off stock prices or funding history, being able to speak insightfully about where you think the company will go in the future, backed up with facts, is hugely impressive in an interview.
Somewhere along the application process, someone you’re interviewing with has likely Googled you and scoured your social media accounts. You should return the favor by finding out what the company has been up to lately.
Aside from the news that comes up when you Google the company (which you should also read), corporate blogs are gold mines, especially for younger companies that are growing. Whether it’s a post welcoming new staffers to the sales team or detailing new features of a recent software update, this is the kind of stuff you should know about.
LinkedIn is also a good tool for learning about what kind of news the company communicates—and therefore wants you to know. Check the company page on LinkedIn and see what kind of updates are featured. Is there a promotion for Mother’s Day, or a statement on how the sales team exceeded earning expectations? Either way, this will show you what types of things to bring up in conversation. (Oh, and while you’re on LinkedIn, check out the profiles of the people you’ll be interviewing with. Make sure you have your profile set so that they can see that you’ve viewed their profiles. This might seem counterintuitive, but it actually shows that you care and are doing your due diligence before the interview.)
Lastly, check out the company’s Twitter and Facebook profiles. Is the tone professional or casual? Is it nonstop promotion with zero interaction? Is the team responsive to complaints? Tuck away positive news and examples you encounter during your research to use in the interview.
You may be able to glean a bit about corporate culture through a company’s blog and social media accounts, but to really build on that information, try looking for information from external sources.
For example, head over to the company profiles on The Muse, where you can watch interviews with current employees and hear what makes each workplace so different. Or, see what positive and negative things people have to say about the company you’re interviewing with on Glassdoor. (You can also sniff out sample interview questions—here’s how.) You won’t bring up all this information during the interview, but it will at least help you come up with reasons why the company is special and help you to know what topics to avoid during the interview. (For example, maybe work-life balance is a touchy subject and should be brought up after you get the offer.)
Better yet, try to find a past or current employee you can speak with, and try to build on what you already know. You can ask something like, “I understand the company is working on growing its presence in Asia—can you tell me more about how this initiative is impacting the team?” This will both impress and grow what you know about your potential employer. (For more on acing your informational interview, try these tips.)
Aside from knowing as much as possible about the place you’re interviewing with, it’s a good idea to be able to talk about the industry as a whole and even more impressive to be able to talk about competitors and how the company fits into the bigger picture.
Look up competitors by going to the LinkedIn company page and scrolling down to the “Other Companies People Viewed” section. There should be a few competitors there. Do the same thing with the competitors you find until you have a pretty good sense of who the big players in the field are. (Or, if the company has a Crunchbase page, you should be able to find a list of competitors on its profile.)
Follow the same research steps you did for the company you’re interviewing for, but focus only on those things that are relevant to your interview. Think big picture, not minute details on specific projects. Is a competitor actively acquiring startups that target a different market? Or maybe new collaborations indicate a possible shift in audience for a big competitor.
After all this research, you’ll probably be wondering, “So, what do I do with all this information?” Remember that your objective is to be convincing when you say, “I want to work at your company.” Back this up by being able to talk about what makes the company unique, and express your enthusiasm by showing off your knowledge. Work in examples of what you know in your interview answers, and watch your interviewers nod in approval. After all, few things are as effective in an interview as knowing exactly what you’re talking about.
Image Source: The Muse
]]>Recognize a UMBC Professor or Staff Member for Making an Impact on your Career Success!
Has professor or staff member made a positive impact on your career goals, employment, or graduate school preparation? If so, take a few minutes to recognize this individual as a UMBC Career Connector!
You can say thank you in a special way!
Thank a professor or staff member who has written a letter of recommendation, has helped you explore potential careers, or who has made a positive impact on your life. All those nominated will be recognized by the UMBC Career Center with a small gift, featured on the Center’s website as a Career Connector, and provided with a copy of your note of thanks.
Complete Your Recognition Today
To participate, please complete your brief recognition via our survey here.
Feel free to recognize more than one person. Your note of thanks will be shared directly with the person nominated and not on our website.
DEADLINE: Friday, March 17th, 5 PM EST
Nominated professors and staff will be recognized the week of March 27th.
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