Supplementing Academics: Learning outside the classroom

First off, Academics are VERY important and should take a great deal of your focus and time at Gettysburg. However, you may also want to explore opportunities outside the classroom, as those experiences can be extremely valuable in helping to shape you as a person and prepare you for your future.  Through those opportunities you can learn about your interests, abilities, and skills as they relate to the professional world. They can be influential in how you’d like to use your studies and how you want to make a difference in this world.

Don’t wait!  Make the most of each year at Gettysburg.  You don’t have to be involved in a million activities - find your ideal balance and find something you really enjoy.  Explore, have fun, find out who you are, what you’re good at (or not), and what you like (or don’t).  There are ample opportunities on Gettysburg’s campus, so start exploring!

Experiential Learning:  Learning through experience is incredibly valuable - learn something completely new or use/enhance what you’ve learned in the classroom. Investigate your career interests, gain accurate knowledge of the workplace, and learn relevant skills by participating in job shadowing, externships, internships, immersion trips, student employment, and more through the Center for Career Development.  Additionally, check out the amazing programs and trips offered through the Office of Experiential Education, Center for Public Service, and Eisenhower Institute.

Leadership:  Did you know that there are more than 1,000 leadership opportunities every year at Gettysburg?  Starting a new student organization, serving on the executive board of a club/organization, coordinating volunteers, planning campus programs, and serving on a campus committee are a few examples.  A leader doesn’t have to be someone in a formal leadership position, though. Check out the Garthwait Leadership Center, which is an excellent resource to help you start building and enhancing your leadership skills.

Athletics:  NCAA includes 11 men’s and 11 women’s sports – whether you are team member or a fan, show your Gettysburg pride!  Campus Recreation also offers 8 club sports, or you can get a group of your friends together to form a team or simply join one in existence for any of the intramural sports, tournaments, or special events.

Clubs & Organizations:  Over 120 – that’s right! Chances are, no matter your interest, you can find an organization in which to get involved and meet other students.  If you don’t, talk to the Office of Student Activities about how to start one.
Research with faculty, community service/volunteering, student employment, and so much more!

FUN FACT:  Did you know that you can print your Participation & Recognition Report in the Student Center, which includes your involvement in many of the above activities, as well as honors you’ve received during college.  It is a great resource to have as you move beyond Gettysburg – you may not always remember everything you were involved in!

Reinvigorating a job search that’s gone cold

Hello?
Is anybody out there?
Does anyone know that I exist?

Feels sort of cold and barren out there, doesn’t it? This is exactly the kind of feeling that many job seekers experience when waiting for something to happen in their search process. But this describes a more passive way of looking for jobs, and as alluded to, is also a fairly ineffective way of landing a job. Better to take a much more active approach, one that will yield faster and more positive results.

Many job seekers get started by perusing multiple job search websites, creating their online profiles, and applying to those online opportunities they see. They may get a lot of applications out there at first, but there is rarely any way they can follow up on those applications. They start to feel like all their effort has gone down a black hole, and they lose momentum and eventually their job search activities slow down to a trickle. Think of the psychology experiments with rats who occasionally get rewarded for their activity with a bit of food. They keep going and going because they learn that they get some kind of reward. But a job seeker who never gets any kind of feedback or reward will stop that seeking activity without some kind of reward or interaction with the outside world. So there is your key to reinvigorating a slow or non-existent job search – find some new ways of looking and reward yourself with some fun activities to re-energize yourself. You will be a much happier person, as well as learning about some new opportunities that may come to fruition as a result. Try these techniques:

• Informational interviewing – one way to learn more about various career opportunities is to talk with people who are doing work that you think you might enjoy. This helps you clarify your interests, and also helps you to develop a network of people who can send you job leads and ideas. It’s also a good way help you practice talking about yourself – a key skill in interviewing. There is no down side to this activity if you do it right and respectfully. And it’s a lot more fun than the typical job search activity that gets most people down!
• Talk to everyone – along with informational interviewing, just get in the habit of talking to everyone you meet about your job search and the ideas you have. Surprising connections can be made in this way. Try it – you’ll see.
• “Plan” for serendipity – some job seekers can be so rigid in their job search activities that they miss out on some fun, and potentially productive, “detours.” Try volunteering with something that is new to you. Help with a local campaign. Go to a rally for some kind of cause that you are interested in. Join a cycling club. Go to a local meeting of a professional association in the field that you are pursuing. These seemingly unproductive activities can help you meet more people. And people help people get jobs.

See a theme in the above mentioned activities? Connect with others to get yourself away from your computer and those “black-hole” job applications. It’s a much better use of your time and effort. And it’s a proven job search strategy that works.

Dr. Kathy Williams
Director

Making the most out or your Internship

When I started working in a US senator’s office personal office in DC, it was my responsibility to supervise the summer college interns. This was not hard work. The interns’ responsibilities were generally to sort mail, collate articles about the Senator, answer constituent phone calls when the receptionists were out of the office and attend and summarize hearings. The second floor of the office was full of interns coming and going and I was often surprised that many were not as present as I would have expected. There certainly were a number of students who were so excited to be there that their energy became contagious, but just as many simply came in, did what was asked and put the experience on their resume or asked if the Senator would write them a letter of recommendation. I often wondered what an interview with that student would be like later in life – “so tell me what you did on the Hill.” “Well…I opened mail and this one time got yelled at by a constituent about an amendment…” I didn’t understand why when they had access to such interesting topics and career histories many did not take advantage of the opportunity. Even when duties are dull there’s something to be learned.

So here are some things I learned over those years that could make your summer career related experience more relevant to your career development:

1. When you finish your tasks, look for other projects. If you can’t find them on your own, ask someone.

2. Be open to getting to know your co-workers and supervisors. Learn about their career paths and their connections. You’re developing your network.

3. Think about what you have to offer in this setting – are you a good writer, communicator, networker, or researcher? This will help you further develop your skill set, make you an asset to the office, and help you decide if this is something you might want to do for a job.

4. Go above and beyond – before you finish or even start a task, think about what else you could do…How can you turn in a better product?

5. Take advantage of every opportunity. If someone asks if you’re interested in attending a meeting, taking a stab at a bigger project, or meeting someone new, always try to participate. It will show your interest and you’ll probably learn something.

When I began working on the Hill, I was the office’s first graduate fellow. My supervisor wasn’t completely sure what to do with me. So when I had my weekly meeting, I created an agenda to guide the discussion. I was once given a research project to determine a senator’s voting record, but many of the votes were held in secret. Rather than say the information didn’t exist, I found a librarian at the Library of Congress and interviewed him for an hour. I included the details he game me in my report to the Senator.

On my last day of my fellowship, I had a small amount of time to speak with the Senator and get my picture taken. He was a member of the Foreign Relations Committee so I spent time talking to him about a project I was working on at the UN agencies in town. After our conversation the Senator asked the Legislative Director about me and suggested she offer me a job. So as you can see, every minute – even the last minute of your experience can count. It’s up to you to make it add up.

By Katy Mattson