True Life: I'm Graduating

Seniors! Don't miss: True Life - I'm Graduating for post-graduation advice!

Wednesday, March 23

Showker 105; 6:30pm



Are you worried about apartment leases, moving and insurance? Don't know what to expect after you graduate? Alums that have lived your experience will be here to share their thoughts on the issues that you care about! Join your classmates and the alumni panelists at 6:30pm for free pizza and beverages. At 7:00pm, you have the floor and can ask the panelists whatever burning questions you may have about life after graduation.



Sponsored by: The JMU Alumni Association, Student Government Association, Student Ambassadors and the JMU Mortar Board

Looking for Jobs in the Local Area? Attend the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Job Fair

Don’t Miss the Harrisonburg – Rockingham Regional Job Fair

www.hrchamber.org

THURSDAY MARCH 17, 2011 NOON-6PM @ Harrisonburg First Church of the Nazarene1871 Boyers Rd. (at Port Republic Rd.), Harrisonburg, VA

Access to information, assistance and opportunity all in one place! The Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce is partnering with the Daily News-Record to host the Regional Job Fair.

This event is a great way to meet potential employers and make contacts that can help you get the job you want. Career opportunities are available in all areas from retail and construction to healthcare.

New this year: Stop by the “Coaching Corner” for a free coaching session that will help you step up your game prior to visiting with potential employers! Career coaches will be available to provide guidance that will help attendees make a great personal impression and job connection.

Check out with employers are participating at: http://hrchamber.org/v.php?pg=129

A free shuttle service, sponsored by Shenandoah Valley Human Resource Management and National College, will be available to and from the Job Fair. Stops will include National College, 1515 Country Club Rd., and the Virginia Employment Commission, behind the Valley Mall.

Free Admission. Open to the Public.

Sponsored by the Shenandoah Valley Energy Partnership and Shenandoah Valley Workforce Investment Board

Link In and Develop Your Online Presence

Is LinkedIn an appropriate tool for YOU, as a college student?  YES!

Develop your Professional Presence Online, Not Just Your Resume on Job Sites!

Did You Know? LinkedIn Ranks High in Search Engine Results and is Publicly Viewable, So Employers Can Find You!

What You Can Do To Brand Yourself Using LinkedIn:

1.     Google Your Name.  How High Do You Rank? – LinkedIn provides a place where you can list three clickable Web sites.  Use these three opportunities to link to other social media sites that help you put your best face forward.

2.     Blog Your Career-Related Experience and link it to LinkedIn. Blog about class assignments, what you are learning, industry, trends, etc.

3.     Create a profile on Digg.com and Digg articles that you feel are relevant to your profession and link your and Digg and LinkedIn profiles.

4.     Shelve your books at LibraryThing.com; create a profile there and list the books that you have read that you feel are important to your profession. Link your LibraryThing and LinkedIn profiles.

5.     Star in your own professional YouTube video. Have a friend videotape you as you demo a task you know and do well—demonstrate your knowledge and speaking skills.

6.     A picture is worth a 1,000 (resume) words, LinkedIn allows you to post a professional, work-related photo. Feel free to use Flickr for other photo management opportunities and link to your LinkedIn profile.

7.     Making your portfolio portable...online. Some industries require a portfolio of work, i.e. art, design, education—create an online portfolio and link it to your LinkedIn profile. Let your work be your calling card.

8.     Be a newsmaker. Let your local university newspaper know what you or your fellow classmates are working on academically and in the community. Use LinkedIn to promote yourself and your mission.

9.     Become a published author. Write an article for your school paper, Journal of Student Research, hometown newspaper, industry trade journal, etc. If you get a byline, link to it on LinkedIn. If it’s not online, you can publish it on your Blog or Online Portfolio.

10.  Become a JMU Expert– join the alumni group, ask questions to the JMU network and promote your blog and online portfolio with other JMU contacts. They could be more willing to help you in your networking and the building of your brand.

11.  Answer Questions From Your Network- on LinkedIn, people can ask their network questions and by answering these questions, you can develop a reputation for sharing your knowledge and opinions about popular work-related trends and issues.

For More Information: Visit LinkedIn For College Students Online

Gain Access to Awards & Scholarships with Student Competitions!

What is Student Competitions.com?

StudentCompetitions.com was founded in 2009 by students who wanted to save time searching the globe for student challenges.  The website is a gathering point for events and challenges targeting students and young professionals. It is the only platform where students, regardless of field and level of studies, can find major competitions all in one place.  These competitions are broken down into five main categories:  Business, Arts & Design, Social Sciences, Tech & Engineering and Natural Sciences & Math.

Competitions are ways to get involved in your field of interest and to compete with other students to gain awards, scholarships and exposure to employers. Competitions can be used to drive change, spur innovation, identify excellence or promote a cause – globally and locally.

Participating in competitions gives you the edge:

·      Provides recruitment opportunities by getting your name and skills in front of employers

·      Challenge yourself to apply your education to real-world problems

·      And, prizes, of course!

Check out some of the exciting competitions currently on StudentCompetitions.com:

·      Global Design Competition of Seattle: The Global Design Competition of Seattle calls for entries of integrated function, high efficiency, low carbon restaurant designs.  Help grow a new sustainability resource in Seattle, WA and compete for a $10,000 prize!

·      Google Data Viz Challenge: Visualize how your individual federal income taxes are spent.  Google challenges you to create a data visualization that will make it easier for U.S. citizens to understand how the government spends our tax money.  The jury will be awarding $10,000, including $5,000 for the top submission. 

·      Microsoft Imagine Cup 2011: The Software Design competition is all about you (yes you!) creating real-world applications and solutions that can help people and communities around the globe. 

Get a Head Start, Read the Wall Street Journal

Take Advantage of the Wall Street Journal-in-Education Program!

Did you know that the Wall Street Journal offers students a 75% discount?

As a college student, you have access to the Wall Street Journal (print, online and mobile editions) for just $29.95 for 15 weeks (a whole semester!) or $99.95 for one year (52 weeks).  Some of the benefits of this subscription include:

·      Get the latest national and international news, career information, life and style updates, personal finance tools and much more.

·      Special time saving features allow you to choose the news you need with personalization tools, keyword alerts, apps for your Blackberry or Iphone, podcasts, etc.

Why should you subscribe? Staying up-to-date on what is going on in the world can help you be better prepared for interviews and impress interviewers with your knowledge of current events and company information. It can also help you in the classroom by increasing your comprehension of coursework and giving you more confidence.

For more information and to subscribe, check out http://wsjstudent.com/

Practice With Our Mock Interview Program

Are you nervous about the job interview process?  Then take advantage of Career & Academic Planning’s Mock Interview Program!   This gives you a chance to practice interviewing without the “pressure” of getting the job! 

Mock Interviews are offered on campus and help to maximize your skills by offering you the opportunity  to practice interviewing with an employer.  The interviews last 30 minutes total, with 20 minutes allotted for the interview and 10 minutes for the interviewer to provide feedback.  All Mock Interviews are held in the Sonner Hall Interview Center (Lower Level).

Mock Interviews include behavioral interview questions, which are open-ended asking you about past work or life experiences. Learn more about behavioral interviewing, to know what to expect.  Check out the Interviewing portion of the Career & Academic Planning website for more information.

To participate in a Mock Interview you must first view the online Recruit-A-Duke Tutorial, if you haven’t already done so.  After viewing the tutorial, you will be able to sign up for a Mock Interview on Recruit-A-Duke!  Each student is allowed one Mock Interview per semester, due to high demand.
 

To sign up, log into Recruit-A-Duke and click on the “Job Opportunities” tab at the top of the page, then click on “On-Campus Recruiting – Job Opportunities for JMU Students.” Next, type in “Mock” in the Keyword Search field and proceed to “Apply” for the interview you would like to participate in.  You do not need have a desire to work for the particular company you sign up for, as the interview is more focused on your benefit, not about the company or industry. 

Spring 2011 Mock Interview Schedule:

·       February 24^th – Dr. Elizabeth Swallow, MD

·       February 28^th – Fairfield Inn & Suites

·       March 1^st – BDO USA, LLP

·       March 21^st – The Rockingham Group

·       March 22^nd & 23^rd – Genesis Healthcare

·       March 24^th – Wintergreen Resort and Revolution Cycles, Inc.

·       March 28^th – Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

·       March 29^th – Primerica Financial Services

·       March 30^th – Vocus

·       April 1^st – Belmont, Inc.

·       April 4^th – United States Secret Service

·       April 5^th – United Bank

Up Next: Spring Career Fair 2011

Don’t Miss the Spring Career, Internship & Service Fair 2011!

Date:               Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Time:              12:00 – 4:00pm
Location:       Festival Ballroom

The Spring Career, Internship & Service Fair is less than a week away!  Are you ready? This Career Fair will provide full-time, service and internship opportunities to a variety of majors. The Spring Fair is now combined with the Service Fair!  This event is co-sponsored by Career & Academic Planning and Community Service Learning. Students attending the Career Fair who are returning to JMU for the Fall 2011 semester, will be eligible for a $1,000 scholarship drawing. Your response to the survey after the Fair will enter your name into a drawing to win the scholarship! Make sure you are prepared for the fair!  Remember to dress professionally, research employers of interest, and bring copies of your resume. While the event is open until 4:00pm, be sure to allow ample time to meet the employers attending!  Read more on How to Prepare for a Career Fair . A list of employers attending the fair is available on Recruit-A-Duke.  Some companies will use major categories to describe students of interest.  To view companies attending a Career Fair, log into Recruit-A-Duke and click on the “Fairs, Info Sessions, Workshops” tab at the top of the page. From there click on the Career Fair you are interested in to view a list of the employers, their positions and the majors they are recruiting. You can also access a list of Employers Attending by Major (as of 2/7/11) Parking will be available in Convo lots A, E, B, or F. Shuttles will be running from Convo Lot A (look for a tent in Lot A for the event) to Festival throughout the day.

JMU hosts several career fairs during the year. See our JMU Career Fairs page for more information.