CAREER PLANS • RESUMES • COVER LETTERS • JOB SEARCH STRATEGIES • PORTFOLIOS • TIPS
The 2010-2011
Career Guide
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© 2010 Altria Client Services Inc.
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CH035328B 1 7/8/10 1:05:54 PM
The Career Center at the University of Washington
CAREER GUIDE
2010 - 2011
Entire contents Copy right 2010 by The Career Center at the Uni ver sity of Wash ing ton and College Recruitment Media. All rights re served. Re pro duction in whole or part of this pub li cation with out written per mission of
the publishers is pro hib ited.
SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS
To request disability accommodations, please contact The Career Center at 206-543-0535 (voice); or you may contact the Office of the ADA Co or di nator at 206-543-6450 (voice); 206-543-6452 (TDD);
206-685-3885 (FAX); or access@u.washington.edu (e-mail) at least ten days in ad vance of the event.
The University of Wash ing ton ensures equal opportunity in edu cation re gardless of race, color, creed, re li gion, national origin, sex, sexual ori en tation, age, mari tal sta tus, disabil ity, disabled vet eran, or Viet nam era
veteran status in accor dance with Uni ver sity policy and appli cable fed eral and state statutes and regu lations. The Career Center op erates under the policies and regulations of the Uni ver sity of Wash ing ton and the laws
and regu lations of the State of Wash ing ton and the Fed eral Gov ernment. The Career Center up holds and ex pects students, alumni, and em ployers to adhere to the prin ciples of college re cruiting of the Na tional Asso-
ciation of Colleges and Em ployers, which states that they will present them selves fairly and hon estly.
Career Services ..........................................................2
• Mission ..............................................................2
• Key Services & Events ............................................2
• Job Listings & Campus Recruiting .............................2
• Letter of Evaluation Service ....................................2
Steps in Career Planning ...............................................3
• Humanities, Arts, Social Science Majors ......................3
Decision-Making .........................................................4
• The Career & Major Decision Matrix ...........................5
Information About Self .................................................6
• Explore Your Strengths ...........................................6
• Strengths Reality Test ............................................9
Information About Options .......................................... 10
• Printed Resources in UWCC Library .......................... 10
• Informational Interview/Meeting ............................ 11
• Internships, Co-ops, Summer Jobs ........................... 12
• Researching Grad Schools ..................................... 12
Taking Action .......................................................... 16
• Job Search Strategies .......................................... 16
• Resume Preparation ............................................ 17
• Sample Resumes ................................................ 18
• Cover Letters .................................................... 24
• Curriculum Vitae Preparation ................................. 26
• Sample Curriculum Vitae ...................................... 27
• Preparing for the All-Important Interview .................. 28
• Career Portfolios ................................................ 31
Advertiser Index ....................................................... 31
Table of Contents:
134 Mary Gates Hall, Box 352810
Seattle, WA 98195-2810
206-543-0535
http://careers.washington.edu
Education & Graduate School
Letter of Evaluation Service
206-543-0535
ccsfiles@u.washington.edu
For Information Call:
206-543-0535
Publishing and
Advertising Information
630-457-1412
The Career Center 2 http://careers.washington.edu
Our Mission
The Career Center provides career and job search services to University of Washington students and alumni. Our mission is to
help students in the development of career plans and job search skills. Through a host of services and events, we facilitate
connections between employers and students for jobs, internships and volunteer opportunities. Together, we help students and
employers explore their options and make connections that create successful futures.
Why Use The Career Center?
Our Motto
Explore, Connect, Succeed!
Our Services
At The Career Center you will find a wide range of career services and events designed to help you explore career directions, make
connections with employers and help you build the skills needed to achieve your professional goals. Please visit our website at
http://careers.washington.edu for all the details and for up-to-date events calendars.
Career Planning & Counseling
Professional counselors, workshops
and resources provide career planning
support, including help with choosing
a major; resume guidance; career and
graduate school advice; and more.
Resume Resources
A winning resume can make the
difference in getting that all-important
first interview. Looking for direction to
get started or need a professional eye
to review the one you have? Build your
resume in HuskyJobs on our website,
stop by for a walk-in appointment or
attend our workshop, “Resumes and Cover
Letters”. Whatever your need, we have
the resources to help you write a great
resume!
Grad Students: learn more about resumes
at: http://careers.washington.edu/
GradStudents/beyond-academia
Interview Preparation
Be on top of your game by polishing your
interviewing skills. We offer workshops
on how to interview, invite employers to
speak on the topic and offer one-on-one
practice mock interviews to help you ace
your next interview.
Jobs & Internships
The Career Center is a great resource
for finding jobs and internships.
HuskyJobs, our online job bank,
features listings for full- and part-
time jobs as well as internships.
Hundreds of employers participate in
our On-Campus Recruiting program,
coming to campus to interview for
positions. Plus, we can direct you
to valuable web resources, salary
information and much more.
Career Workshops
We offer an ongoing series of drop-in
workshops each month. You will find
an up-to-date calendar on our website.
Topics include:
Career Fairs & Events
Finding a job or an internship means
making connections. Our Center
schedules numerous events throughout
the year that bring employers from
companies, non-profit organizations,
government agencies and more to
campus. Popular events include the
Spring Career Fair, Diversity Career
Fair, Etiquette Dinners, Resume Cafés
and Employer Conversations. Check our
website for current schedules.
Letter of Evaluation Service (LEO)
The Career Center offers a Letter of
Evaluation online (LEO) file service
to UW students and alumni who
are applying for employment in an
academic institution or to a graduate
or professional school program,
including medical, dental and law.
Files serve as a depository for
confidential or non-confidential
letters of recommendation from
academic sources. For information,
call 206-543-0535 or email
ccsfiles@u.washington.edu.
• Applying to Graduate School
• How to Find a Job
• Finding Federal Government Jobs
• Internships and Student Jobs
• Job Search Strategies for
International Students
• Career Fair Success
• Networking for Shy People
• Resumes and Cover Letters
• Successful Interviews
• Job Offer and Salary Negotiations
CAREER SERVICES
• Hundreds of employers attend our career fairs every year.
• We list hundreds of jobs and internships on our HuskyJobs website each year.
• Over 200 companies and organizations visit us annually through the Campus Recruitment Program.
• Learn how to articulate your strengths, find out what you really want, and seek employment suited to your skills,
strengths and values.
• We help thousands of students and alumni with successful job searches each year.
http://careers.washington.edu 3 The Career Center
STEPS IN CAREER PLANNING
Students in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences are often referred to as “liberal arts” majors. The Liberal Arts (the term has
nothing to do with contemporary political perspectives) academic majors are intended to turn out well-educated citizens who have
both depth and breadth of knowledge and skills. These majors strive to develop students’ abilities to think critically, to view issues
in context and from multiple perspectives, to ask and address questions about ethical and societal implications, to engage their
creativity, and to communicate complex issues clearly.
MANY POSSIBILITIES
Because the liberal arts disciplines are not narrowly focused on
specific career paths like some other majors such as engineering
or accounting, students in liberal arts majors usually have a wider
array of professional options. While this kind of career flexibility
is good news, it does require students to be more proactive in
exploring and pursuing their career goals. It requires the ability
to identify one’s skills, strengths, and values and to be able to
articulate these clearly to potential employers.
READY FOR THE REAL WORLD
Many students in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Arts (and
often their parents) are under the misconception that they are
unprepared for jobs in the so-called “real world.” Nothing could
be further from the truth. In fact, the top three skills identified by
many employers as most critical are communication skills; reasoning
and analytical skills; and interpersonal/teamwork skills. Clearly,
liberal arts majors have honed these skill sets!
The keys to a successful job search for liberal arts majors (and
all majors, really) include (1) identifying your skills, strengths, and
values; (2) exploring careers and identifying the skills, strengths,
and values required; and (3) clearly communicating to potential
employers that you are a good match for them. The Career Center is
here to help you do just that, and the sooner, the better (though it’s
never too late)!
Select Options
Investigate Matches Prepare for Action
Interests
Personality
Characteristics
Skills & Strengths
Values
Information
about Self
Research
Jobs
Occupations
Career Fields
Education Required
Making Connections
Information
about Options
Weigh Pros/Cons
Evaluate Match
Choose
Review
Decision
Making
Taking
Action
Resources
Apply (Jobs,
Internships, Grad
Schools)
Interview
Follow-up
Here are some suggestions:
• Attend our workshops: Resumes and Cover Letters;
Successful Interviewing; How to Find a Job;
Networking for Shy People (and Everyone); Career
Fair Success, and more
• Stop by during our walk-in hours
• Attend career events (career fairs, Employer
Conversations, Etiquette Events, etc.)
• Start doing informational interviews with people
who are already in the work world
• Consider internships and projects that will enhance
your skill set (and your resume!)
• Make an individual career counseling appointment
• Use your Career Center, starting now!
Adapted from UW Professional Organizational Development, Susan Templeton.
A SPECIAL NOTE TO MAJORS IN THE HUMANITIES, ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
The Career Center 4 http://careers.washington.edu
A PLANFUL PROCESS
Making decisions about your major and your career take time. Are you wondering where to begin? Following a
planful process makes it easier to decide. Following these seven steps will help you make good decisions:
1. What am I trying to decide? Identify the decision to be made.
Are you trying to make too many decisions all at the same time? Trying to figure out which major to take and which
career direction you’ll pursue after graduation? Thinking about attending graduate or professional school? Lumping
two or three decisions into one makes it much more difficult to decide, so try to focus on just one decision at a
time. Put into words what the decision is that needs to be made now. Keep it simple.
2. What do I need to know? Gather Information.
Read, search the internet, talk to people, get hands-on experience. Compare and contrast what you know about
yourself (your skills, interests, and values) with what you know about your options. Talk to academic advisers,
faculty, other students majoring in your fields of interest, alumni and professionals working in jobs and careers you
are considering. The Career Center can help you with this.
3. Generate alternatives.
Consider all the possibilities. Use your imagination. Brainstorm. List options. Do not leave out an attractive
possibility just because you do not, at the moment, see how it can be done.
4. What are the pros and cons? Weigh the evidence.
Carefully consider each option using your head and your heart. What are the advantages/disadvantages? What are
the costs? What steps do you need to take to get there? What might happen if you choose that option? What are
the consequences? Are there barriers that might get in the way (e.g., low GPA, no related experience, etc.)? How
will your choice affect you and others? How much do you care about the things that might be gained or lost by each
possible alternative?
5. This choice seems best! Choose among alternatives.
Prioritize your options. Once you’ve narrowed down your options to two or three that might work for you, choose
the one that seems to work best. Identify a “Plan B” and a “Plan C” in case your first choice doesn’t work out.
6. Take action.
Do it! Taking action could involve enrolling in courses, pursuing internships, volunteering or taking a job that will
provide you with knowledge and experience in your chosen field. These experiences can confirm or cause you to
question whether your choice was the best option for you. What will your next step be? Write it down! Then put it
in your calendar or set a deadline to ensure that you will get it done.
7. Did I make a good decision? Review your decision and its consequences.
Evaluate your decision. Based on further exposure or experience with the option you chose, does this still seem
like the best one for you? If “yes,” you’ve done it! Congratulations! You’ve made a sound decision. If “no” or “not
sure,” review and revisit steps 2 through 6 above. Have back-up plans, in case your top choice turns out not to be
the best option for you. Not every decision works out, but sometimes you have to make a choice and try it to find
out that it’s not the best decision for you. If this happens, then you’ve gathered more information by trying it.
Review again which alternatives might work better for you.
DECISION MAKING
http://careers.washington.edu 5 The Career Center
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The Career Center 6 http://careers.washington.edu
Explore Your Strengths
Recognizing your strengths is the first step
to discovering a career fit that maxi mizes
your oppor tu nities for success and
sat isfaction. Significant strengths are
mo tivated skills that are used re peatedly
in ex pe riences you have done well and
en joyed doing. The more you know about
your strengths, the more you will un der stand
how to adapt to the changing demands of the
workforce. By using your strengths you will be
able to im prove in terper sonal re la tionships,
build your career, increase your job
sat is faction, and re duce stress on the job.
Four Basic Steps to Exploring Your
Strengths…
1. Accept yourself as having a unique kind of
excellence that is always growing within
you.
2. Recognize that the elements of your
ex cellence have been demonstrated from
time to time throughout your life. These
el ements have most likely been demon-
strated in experiences you identify as
achievements: good experiences in which
you did things well, you enjoyed doing
them, and you are proud of what you did.
3. Believe that by carefully iden ti fying and
studying your good ex pe riences, you will
find the pattern of skills and tal ents you
have re peatedly used to make those
ex pe riences happen.
4. Focus on using this pattern of skills and
talents or strengths. They are the re liable
elements of your spe cial ex cellence. This
pattern of strengths provides clues to the
kinds of career activities that are likely to
be part of your future achievements
regardless of your job titles or job
descriptions.
1. What is the "good experience" that first comes to your
mind? De scribe it briefly in the following space and list
your age at the time it took place.
3. In your latest assignment, project, activity, or work,
which parts of it did you do best and enjoy most? Give
two or more examples.
Four Ways to Identify Ten Top Good Experiences…
2. What activities give you the most enjoyment when
you are not at work? These could include hobbies,
volunteer work, ven tures, projects with the family, or
anything else. Give two or more ex amples.
4. In your formal schooling, which two or three sub jects
did/will you continue to study and enjoy most?
INFORMATION ABOUT SELF
http://careers.washington.edu 7 The Career Center
List 10-15 or more of your good experiences, de voting a few
words to each. It doesn't