Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Demystifying Career Networking Dinners

If you have not been able to attend any of the Information Sessions on the Career Networking Dinner opportunities during this winter break, please let me provide you with a student’s take on these experiences:

As a sophomore, I attended a dinner with an alum located in Washington, D.C. It was nerve-wracking to think about what would be discussed during the evening. My best advice would be to just bite the bullet (pun intended). Think of the experience as a chance to personally grow while getting to know another Gettysburgian.

The real purpose of these dinners is to get to connect and learn about this alum, other guests and students that are in attendance. You already know that you have one aspect in common, Gettysburg. Since my dinner, I have remained in contact with the alum and his personal friend that was in attendance. I have remained in contact with him and feel that he has become almost a mentor to me.

If you are placed in a Job Shadowing or Networking Dinner that was not your first choice or are uncertain what you want to do in life. It does not matter. The point of these experiences is to connect and develop your skills as a careerist, student and mostly as an individual. Each and every student on this campus will be in a situation where networking will be necessary. Why not take advantage of the plethora of resources that our campus, specifically the Center for Career Development has to offer…

Taylor Larsen ’14
Political Science Major
Art History Minor

More information on 2014 Winter Break Opportunities
Gettysblog Help on Applications

Monday, November 11, 2013

Completing Applications the Right Way

Many of the Career Development and other campus offerings require an application. Here are some helpful tips.

Start With a Plan - Develop a plan to complete your application at least 2 days prior to the deadline. This gives you time for unexpected issues. Do not procrastinate. Get started early and include in your plan ample time to draft and edit your responses to the questions.  Do you need to gather additional information/research to answer the questions?  Do you need to send in a resume or other additional information to complete the application? If so, factor these into your plan and timeline. 

Answer the Questions Fully and Thoughtfully - Are there multiple parts to the questions?  Make sure you answer each part.  It is all too common for students to answer the first part of the question completely but leave out the important ending!  Often you are asked to reflect on prior experience related to this opportunity. Be thoughtful in your responses.  This is an opportunity to promote yourself as the best candidate.  Give thorough/thoughtful answers to each part of the question.  Every other applicant probably will.


Proofread your Work - Check for spelling and grammatical errors. If it is an online application copy and paste it into a word document for some easy help but make sure to re-read to catch anything your word processor might have missed.  Edit accordingly.

Get Help - Share your draft responses with others. Ask them if you answered all of the questions posed? They will likely find any typos you have not.  Edit based on your review and the feedback you receive.