1)      First of all, make sure you know what job you are applying for and gear your résumé/cover letter toward that job. Have multiple people review your résumé. You can always improve it.

2)      Make sure you have all your skills and accomplishments listed on your résumé. Don't forget the soft skills: communication, leadership, research, analytical, and computer and teamwork.  These skills are just as important (and sometimes more) than your technical skills. 

3)      Make sure leadership roles stand out. Do you belong to any clubs/organizations? Have you been active in them? Have you held any office or chaired or co-chaired any events?  Employers like to see these leadership skills on your résumé.

4)      What about community service? Employers also like to see this on your résumé.

5)      Did you pay your way through school? Make sure that is listed on your résumé, too. 

6)      Networking is the best way to get a job. You have to keep at it. Find the networking events that apply to your major and go to those events. Network with everyone you know. 

Overall, employers want a well-rounded individual. Yes, you may have an excellent GPA, but what else have you done?  Employers look at a multitude of things when deciding who to interview.  So make yourself stand out. Visit the Career Planning Office (BS4090) and we can help you with your job search skills. 

Here is an article regarding companies hiring for the holidays: http://www.theworkbuzz.com/job-search/companies-holiday-hiring/.

Good luck to all of you this week as accounting recruiting begins, and to the rest of you as we negotiate the job market in these tough economic times.

I recently had a major medical scare in my life and had to have major surgery.  Everything ended up turning out great, but it made me reevaluate some areas in my life that needed to be changed.  I share this with you because it might help you in some way also reevaluate what is really important. 

We are always being pulled in so many directions.  I have 2 kids and a husband.  I have a career.  My husband and I have 17 siblings between the 2 of us, along with over 50 nieces and nephews.  There is always something to do and something going on with graduations, bridal/baby showers, new babies, weddings, etc.  The list goes on and on.  As you can see, there's not much time for myself. 

I started making some minor changes.  I made a list of things that I really enjoy and that are important to me.  I'm a list maker.  I put things on there such as reading and doing crossword puzzles.  (I know-I'm such an exciting person-believe it or not-I was the life of the party in my 20's).  I started walking 5 times a week for 30 minutes and listen to my iPod.  I actually really enjoy this time and put this on my list too.  I got my iPod over a year ago and just never took the time to use it.  With the help of my son and husband, I have over 800 songs on there now.  This walk with music is such a joy to me.  I get time to myself for 30 minutes and I am helping my health with stress reduction and hopefully-no weight gain.  Why didn't I do this before????

Another thing I do is cut out anything that really isn't important.  I get a lot of invites to in-home parties and used to try to make it to most of them if I could.  Why?  I don't know except to please others.  So I started saying no to those(unless I really want to go). 

I started enjoying the time on my deck and stopped stressing about the small stuff.  The laundry will get done-sometime.  The house will get cleaned-sometime. 

My point in all of this is for you to live life.  Don't put off anything that is enjoyable to you.  You can fit it in.  If you would have asked me a year ago if I had time to walk for 30 minutes a day, I would have said "No way."  But now that it's a priority, and a good one, I take the time.  Make a list of what you really enjoy and what is really important and start doing those things.  Cut the unimportant stuff out of your life!  And remember, if you do have a health scare, we have the best hospital right here on campus!  IU Medical Center is awesome! 

I recently spent the weekend with my husband, children, and grandchildren at a state park lodge. We had a wonderful time, and in the midst of the frivolity, I was struck by what a good example we all are of Perceivers. If you have done an MBTI evaluation, you should know that as Perceivers we are all spontaneous and open to change.

My son and grandson were tent camping, but the rest of us stayed in the lodge. Our original plan was to cook dinner at the campfire. We brought all the food with us in multiple coolers. When we got to the lodge and walked by the restaurant we changed our minds almost in unison. Of course, that meant that we had to eat dinner in shifts because the baby fell asleep for the night before we could eat. It's ok...we ate our camp food for dinner when we got home! I think my grandson is a budding planner. He slept most of the way home, poor little guy.

It's great to see theory in action. If you aren't familiar with MBTI, you must check it out. Take a look at www.typelogic.com.

BTW-Clifty Falls State Park has a new lodge and it is beautiful! It sits on the Ohio River just a little east of Madison, Indiana.

The best way to get a job is through networking and talking to people.  Let everyone you know that you are seeking a job.  This includes your neighbors, friends, friend's sisters, dentists, pastor, etc.  Let them know the type of job you are seeking.  Keep talking to people.  Even when you secure a job, keep working on your network.  You never know when your next big break will come from someone you met while networking.   I got the job I am in now due to someone I worked with years ago at my previous job.  She remembered that my dream job was to work in a Career Planning Office and she contacted me when there was an opening. 

Be smart about your job search and you will be okay.  If there's ever anything you're not sure of or if something just doesn't seem right, then it's best to move on to something else.  You can always contact our office if you have any questions regarding your job search.  Good luck out there and remember that we are here to help students get through the job search process. 

Companies Hiring: 

Midwest ISO, Carmel, IN
US Internet, Connersville, IN 

Alorica Inc., Lafayette, IN

Sonco Worldwide

Indianapolis enjoys some unique economic attributes that in certain times can be viewed as drawbacks and in other times, such as what is currently being experienced, can be advantageous to those searching for employment.  Indiana is not experiencing the same downturn as other metropolitan areas such as Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis, or other east coast urban areas.  The Indianapolis economy is largely made up of small to medium size firms who have managed to stay viable, despite the credit crunch, and even expand.  Consequently, there are jobs in Central Indiana.   Students, who are engaging in serious comprehensive job search strategies are finding success and in some cases dealing with multiple job offers from local firms.  I'm not just referring to accounting majors, but also management and marketing majors who are finding great success in Central Indiana by applying the most basic job search strategies.  Are they all dream jobs?  Not always.  But sometimes underemployment is a strategy to something better.

Let's take Suzie for instance (not her real name but a real recent graduate).  Suzie was "downsized " from a great internship with a Fortune 500 company and was able to leverage that experience with a local marketing firm for an excellent position with a better than average starting salary.  It can be done!  A job search like anything else requires persistence.  It also requires the ability to leverage the skill sets a candidate has gained in past experiences.  A sound tool box coupled with confidence in the candidates' academic credentials and hard and soft skills will make for a competitive interviewing process. 

Is it always that easy?  Of course not, but attitude, confidence, and optimism can go a long way to making a candidate the best fit for a position.  With the tool box set and the skill sets in place job seekers can leverage experiences, developed skills, and some optimism in order to secure a position.  It's what a candidate has to offer to the organization and people in it that will ultimately win the day.  Be confident in the idea of yourself.  Be optimistic!

You see, students have not bought in into the events that the Career Planning Office has planned in years past. We have held many "Meet the Recruiter" events and have had only 9 students show up.  It is quite a long event when you have more employers there than students.   Our office is looking to do many more events partnered with student groups.   I have seen how students can encourage other students to participate and attend their events.   This is also another experiential learning event.  Both students are marketing majors and they both got solid experience that they can list on their resumes.  They also got exposure to employers and both got interviews partly due to their planning of this event.  This is a win-win situation for students, employers and our office.  Students will get the experience of planning events along with the exposure to prospective employers.  We get the advantage of guaranteeing our employers that many students will be attending these events.  With Kelley student groups, we intend to plan many more events! 

Indiana companies hiring now:  ExactTarget, Fastenal, Dave & Buster's, FBI, Naval Surface Warfare Center-Crane, WestPoint Financial

Diversity is a term that we hear frequently. Mostly, we think of it as descriptive of the differences in people based on race or ethnicity, but there are many things that make us different. As a practitioner of the Myers-Briggs Assessment, I have come to realize that even the ways we perceive the world and make choices and judgments are diverse.

Not having the benefit of sight, even for just a little while, opened my eyes to how it must be to navigate with a disability.  The sudden inability to see presents difficulties which are obvious, but I was not expecting everything that happened. When people realized that I couldn't see, they began to treat me differently. They talked louder (nothing wrong with my hearing!) They discussed things about me without including me in the conversation (as though I wasn't there.) They spoke to me like I was a child instead of a well-educated adult. The effect of such treatment creates anger, resentment, and a feeling of defeat. I am ashamed to think that I may have been guilty of such insensitivity in the past.

What is American Humanics? To quote their website, "The American Humanics program is an innovative course of study that equips college and university students to become skilled professionals and leaders in America's nonprofit organizations." They have a program at IUPUI that enables interested students to prepare for a career in non-profits. This does not mean that you abandon your study of accounting or management. You take this program in conjunction with your major work to prepare you for non-profit work.

So why should you care about non-profits? Well, not only do non-profits employ about 10% of the American workforce (The Nonprofit Career Guide), by the time you are 25, you will have spent 1/3 or more of your time involved with non-profits. Think about it: hospitals, schools (including IUPUI) churches, clubs, sports organizations, symphonies, museums, and public TV or radio are all non-profits. If you want to make a difference, take a look at the non-profit sector.

If you are worried about money, consider that through donations, fees, and government grants, reporting non-profits in 2005 had total revenue of $1.6 trillion. Based on wages paid only, the sector surpasses the Netherlands as the 16th largest economy in the world (The Nonprofit Career Guide). Within the next 10 years (when boomers retire), there will be 640,000 senior level management positions available in non-profits (Bridgestar). These are well paid positions in every field of endeavor.

If you think you might be interested in the non-profit sector as you make your career plans, check out the that the CPO has provided on our website. The Nonprofit Career Guide is available in the CPO, BS 4090.

As a subscriber to the Indianapolis Business Journal, today I received my 2009 edition of the annual IBJ Book of Lists.  The book (more like a magazine, really) is exactly what the title indicates, page after page of lists of Indianapolis-area companies sortedby industry, size, growth rate, etc.  It's not exactly leisure reading, but it is, in my humble opinion, the most undervalued and underutilized job search resource for students and young professionals looking for local job and internship opportunities.

While it's easy to hop onto Monster.com or CareerBuilder.com and submit your resume to hundreds of jobs, it is a serious understatement to write that finding quality positions is a challenge.  Particularly in a slowing economy, you need to be a proactive job seeker - and this is where the Book of Lists comes into play.  Along with basic information about each company (industry, revenue, # of employees, primary services, major clients, and more), you'll find a link to each company's website, where many organizations, lacking the time and staff to sort through hundreds of Monster-generated resumes, will post open positions to which you can apply directly.  Even if there are no open positions listed, you can learn more about the company and find contact information for you to begin setting up informational interviews. 

Alongside lists such as the Top 25 Fastest-Growing Indianapolis-Area Private Companies and the Top 25 Largest Indianapolis-Area Firms by Industry (Logistics, Public Relations, Accounting, etc.), you'll find information on professional organizations you should consider joining, non-profits, and graduate programs.  I recommend getting your hands on a copy as soon as possible, which you can do one of 4 ways:

1. Subscribe to the IBJ and you'll receive a copy as part of your subscription (my #1 recommendation) as well as 24/7 access to the interactive online edition
2. Order a paper copy through the IBJ website
3. Buy a copy at Northside News, or Delaware News, or any local Borders or Barnes & Noble bookstore
4. Download digital versions of individual lists (which can add up fast)

If you'd like some tip and tricks on getting the most from your copy, come see me and I'll happily walk you through some strategies.

I'm tremendously excited about a new course I have designed and will be co-teaching this Spring along with Sherry Zike from the Career Placement Office - X300: Online Career Planning for Non-Business Majors.  While Kelley offers X320 for business majors, there are students across campus with limited options for exploring career planning and career management within a structured course.  X300 was designed to help fill this void.

The class is taught entirely online over the first 8 weeks and is a 2 credit hour course.  It's going to be interesting (the class is all about you, after all), very informative with copious amounts of feedback, and the assignments are engaging and fun (really!). 

Please check out the short (4 min) online presentation below by clicking on the image and spread the word to all of your non-business major friends and classmates across campus! 

Of course there are.  In fact, as I write this blog, we have just wrapped up a day where three of our interview rooms were full and all of the employers intend to extend offers to Kelley students, which is clearly encouraging news - even if it meant that we kept running out of coffee the day after a late Colts game.  

This is not to say the immediate job forecast isn't without its stormy patches.   The economic turmoil has hit fields such as investment banking particularly hard (see Credit Suisse announcement) and the threat of a prolonged slowdown has many employers pulling back on new hires across the board - recent college grads included (see For '09 Grads or PDF).  

If this sounds like it means more work for you as a job seeker, it does.  There are jobs, but gone are the days when a job search consisted of a visit to KelleyCareers and broadcasting your resume on Monster andCareerBuilder (two of the most frustrating online job boards for recent college grads).  The relatively strong job market for recent grads over the past few years has given some students the impression that companies and jobs will always seek them out, instead of the other way around.  Now that we are likely entering an economic slowdown, job seekers need to be more proactive than ever and the knowledge and application of effective job search skills and strategies is essential.

And that's the ultimate silver lining: If you are looking for a job in a bad economy, you have to learn how to tap into the hidden job market, identify new / interesting / growing companies, explore alternative career fields, and learn to sell yourself.  Once you develop an effective job search repertoire, you'll have a set of skills you can rely on for the rest of your career.  If you do it now, you are set for life.

Now that I'm back to blogging on a regular basis, I'll be sure to share some tips and tricks, but please do yourself a favor and visit the Career Placement Office if you have any questions or concerns.  Don't panic and don't let the barrage of negative news stop you from going after the job or career you want.  What works for one student won't necessarily work for another and we can help you set up a plan that caters to your strengths and your interests. 

In the meantime, I encourage you to listen to this Wall Street Journal podcast featuring an interview with Trudy Steinfeld, Director of Career Services for NYU.  She gives a candid assessment of the job market and passes on some timely advice.

I wonder how I can get on the Wall Street Journal's speed dial?

Guest post courtesy of Angie Meyer - Associate Director, CPO and our resident Accounting Recruiting Guru

Accounting and Accounting/Finance students need to be ready earlier than most other students, as the vast majority of recruiting activity for accounting positions takes place during the first part of the Fall semester.  The Accounting Fall Recruiting season officially starts on Sept. 10th with the Accounting "Meet the Recruiter" event, which will be held in the new Campus Center from 4-6pm.   All Accounting students who graduate in December 2008, May 2009 or August 2009 should plan on attending this event and participating in the Fall recruiting season.  Any student seeking an accounting internship during the Spring and/or Summer 2009 semesters should be ready to participate. 

Accounting "Meet the Recruiter" is a mini job fair.  Approximately 25-30 employers (accounting firms and corporations) attend this event in order pre-identify students to interview for their positions.  The employers come on campus to begin interviewing students starting September 22.  Many times, an employer will decide whether to interview a candidate based on whether they met them at the "Meet the Recruiter" event. 

Most accounting firms require a 3.0 minimum GPA to apply to their companies - if you are below that GPA, you should definitely attend this event because you will have the opportunity to sell yourself to employers face-to-face instead of on paper, where you may be overlooked if your GPA is not listed or falls below the minimum).    Employers have contacted us and asked us to add students with GPAs less than 3.0 to their schedules because they met with and were impressed with them at the "Meet the Recruiter" event and the student made an impression.  While there is no guarantee that you will be selected for an interview, your odds will be increased if you attend and make a favorable - and professional - impression.  What do you have to lose?  Visit our office for job fair tips on how to best begin conversations with employers at this event and other job fairs. 

Still not convinced?  Below is an email I just received from a student who just got a job with a large public accounting firm in Indianapolis despite a less than stellar GPA.  When I get stories like these, I am reminded why I gave up a high paying job in recruiting (a university is rarely the place to go if you want the big bucks) to come here and help students. 

Angie,

I recently graduated (May 2008) with a double major in accounting and finance.  I did not participate in the fall recruiting season because I had some things already in the works but they ended up not working out, so after graduation I needed to find a job.  It was hit and miss because many firms were not hiring at the time.  There were a few interviews here and there, but it was very frustrating because it seemed like I was the only person in a hurry.  I'd submit a resume, then 2 weeks later get a call or email showing interest, then maybe 2 more weeks before an actual interview would take place.  It was then that I set up a meeting with the KSB Career Placement Office (CPO), just to talk about my situation.  Up to this point, I had focused on using contacts I'd obtained through networking, but I was almost to the point where I was going to start submitting my resume in bulk to various job postings.  During my meeting with Angie Meyer, she stressed that I continue to be persistent with the firms where I had something in the works because networking usually provides the best opportunities.

I didn't graduate with the best GPA in the world, it was under 3.0, and for most large accounting firms you are disqualified right away.  Sure, these firms want the best of the best, which is a big reason for this requirement, yet you have to remember that they receive hundreds of resumes and they have to have some criteria in place to bring that number down to a workable level.  To make my long story short, I was granted an interview with a large accounting firm here in Indianapolis through the use of contacts from networking.  I enjoy interviews and don't feel much pressure because I don't try and candy-coat anything and am always open and honest.  However, I felt that I could have performed better in this particular interview.  Afterwards, I was pretty hard on myself, thinking that this was the biggest interview of my life and I didn't put forth my best effort.  I felt like Scott Sharp, who once qualified on the pole for the Indy 500 and crashed in Turn 1 on the first lap.  Well, after a few more talks with the firm and submitting some requested writing samples, I was offered the job.  I was stunned, couldn't believe it.  This was a job at a firm where I didn't even think getting an interview would be possible!

So, bottom line, I hope others can take three things from this:

1) In most cases, the interview probably didn't go as bad as you thought, firms understand the pressure you are under.  Do not be too hard on yourself.

2) All of the things our CPO stresses throughout your education --- believe them.  They stress almost at nausea to use the contacts you have - family, friends, previous employers, etc .- as networking can provide opportunities that normally might not be possible. 

3) Don't discount yourself just because you might not be at the top of your class. GPA is important, no doubt - if mine was higher the struggles to find a job might not have been there.  But realize it is just a number and you graduated (or will graduate) from a top business school, and that is something in itself that will open a number of doors.

The most rewarding part of my job is hearing success stories, especially when they are hard-earned.  Early this week I received an email from a former student detailing his own job search - which involved a career change - and offered some practical advice to current Kelley students.  I asked him if I could share it with you. I think you'll be as impressed as I was. Here it is:

Dear JR,

About two years ago I came and made an appointment with you to discuss career options for my extremely unusual situation.  I don't expect you to remember this meeting, as it was only about 45 minutes and we only met on one occasion.  However, I wanted to update you and let you know my personal experience so you may share with anyone who has "unusual" circumstances such as mine.

I was a returning adult student (I am 33) in the Kelley School of Business.
I had just returned to college full-time after working in retail management for 13 years.  The odd thing about my situation was that I was not returning to study management - I was doing a complete 180 degree turn in my career and studying Computer Information Systems (with absolutely no real-world experience in the field).  The reason I had come to you was to discuss what you thought I could do to get myself ready for the job search process (I came to you about a year before my expected graduation of December 2007).  In a nutshell, from that 45 minute talk, I deduced I would need to do a LOT of legwork on my end to get a job - the implication was the field I was looking to enter was not very "cookie cutter" and I would need to develop some specific skills to market in order to succeed . . .   You prepared me for the cold fact that my career path was going to require a lot of legwork on my part.

With your advice in tow, I talked to professors and business professionals to try to determine what sort of IT positions my management experience would benefit.  One specific example, during a project with Pratt Corporation, I took an opportunity to pull the Vice President of IT aside and get his opinion on my skills and the sort of position he thought I would be suited for.  I also scoured the internet to try to find common denominators among IT jobs on skills that I could attempt to hone.  This information led me to begin self-studying for a project management certification (which I received in November 2007).  In addition, I began to do a lot of work on my own developing small/useful programs in Visual Basic.net that I could put into a portfolio to show potential employers (as an example, I created an eBay sales invoicing program I used to track my sales in an Access database and generate invoices).

I graduated "with distinction" from Kelley in December 2007 and began the job-hunt full force.  My personal goal was to have a job by the middle/end of February.  I had numerous phone interviews but the thing that was getting in the way was I had zero experience in the IT field.  I worked with two separate placement firms - both of which were telling me I was only suited for a level I technical support position (answering phones).

While working with the placement firms . . . both were telling me to kind of sit back and let them do the searching - not a good idea.  Frustration was mounting because I knew that if I could just get into a company for a face-to-face interview I could convince them I was the person for ANY job.  I soon abandoned the placement firms and resumed the search on my own.  I re-worked my resume (because obviously something wasn't drawing interest) and plastered it everywhere.

I also sent off copies to all major companies in the area.  Then it happened....

One day I received a call to interview as a Technical Assistant for Frank DeLisle and Associates (a contractor at Eli Lilly who found my resume on Kelley Careers).  When the job was described to me I was interested, but not to the point I was overly excited.  I met with the owner, Frank, and he was impressed with me.  I showed him my portfolio of programs and explained in depth my computing knowledge and project management abilities.  After that long interview (at Starbucks near IUPUI) I was called back a few days later.  He told me he wanted to bring me into Eli Lilly for half a day of interviews - but not as a technical assistant - as a Data Systems Analyst!

I cannot begin to explain how excited I was - this is job I went back to school for.  Shortly after, I went through a series of four interviews at Lilly with various levels of management and was hired on as a Data Systems Analyst making [a very competitive salary].

My story is one that many good things can be learned from:

1)  Drastic career changes are possible and can have excellent outcomes.  I was making $38,000 after 13 years in retail - after getting my degree I just started my new job in March making [significantly more].

2)  I probably studied harder on learning the job market and what I needed to do to bolster my resume than I did in any college course.  I recommend spending a LOT of time looking at job postings for your projected career well before you start looking for a job.  This way you can see what skills are commonly requested in your field and do your best to gain those skills or learn as much as you can about them.  A lot of IT jobs want project management skills - so I got a certification in project management.
      
3)  You don't have to know a specific skill they need - but show you can learn it!  My job requires SAS programming experience.  I have ZERO experience but did a lot of research on it.  In the interviews I explained that I knew what it was, had viewed sample code, and would have no problem applying standard programming concepts to the language.  I also explained that I realized how easy it is to learn a language - what is harder is learning how to properly program...which is what I was taught at IUPUI.

4)  Know who is interviewing you!  I was being interviewed by the head of the Epidemiology department.  I had NO IDEA what this was so I researched it.  Sure enough, one of the first questions he asked me was what I knew about Epidemiology.  I was able to blow him away with my knowledge of epidemiology because I prepared ahead of time.

5)  Interview yourself over and over!  I used to interview myself all the time in the car - asking myself questions I thought could be asked.  I was amazed at how many times I caught myself saying things that would definitely not help in an interview.  By hearing it out loud it gave me that opportunity to learn how to answer commonly asked questions without shooting myself in the foot.  "What are your weaknesses?"  I definitely learned how to answer this question in a very positive way that helped my interview.

I am sure you hear stories like this all the time.  However, I am extremely proud of how my situation turned out and wanted to share with someone at the school that helped make it all possible.  Thank you for reading this...and I hope knowing of my experience may be able to help you with someone else in the future in a similar situation.