The Career Corner   

Volume 5, Issue 4

May 18, 2005

THE LATEST NEWS, TIPS AND TOOLS FOR YOUR CAREER

An e-Newsletter for those career-minded students of Bergen Community College published by The Cooperative Education & Career Development Center.

In This Issue

*  Upcoming Events

*  Steps Towards Choosing a Program of Study

*  Pattern Your Resume on Leaders in Your Field (web article)

*  Interesting Jobs – Greeting Card Designers and Writers; Event Planner

*  Cooperative Education – What is it?

*  Service Learning – What is it?

UPCOMING EVENTS

Graduation, May 20

STEPS TOWARDS CHOOSING A PROGRAM OF STUDY

Last issue we spoke of researching areas/careers you are interested in. Some of the methods mentioned were:

- Reading journals, books, magazines and web sites related to your interests

- Working or volunteering in an area

- Asking questions of your professors, classmates, and counselors

- Joining an association in the field

- Engaging in informational interviewing where you seek out professionals in your fields of interest to question them about their work responsibilities and background.

Reading to gather information about careers

To start, visit the Cooperative Education & Career Development Center where we have our own library for you to research careers (or go to the College Library or your local library).  These books discuss careers in various fields where you can learn about the nature of the job, the training and schooling that you would need, the salary earned, the working conditions and employment projections. 

Also, in the hallway outside of the Center, you will find a handout entitled, “What Can I do With a Major in…” which provides general information about a particular career field and web sites you can visit to learn more information about that field.

A web site/program that you can access on campus computers is http://www.fofweb.com/Subscription, where, if you click on the ‘Career’ link, you can access information regarding a specific job.  On the World Wide Web, you can link to the Occupational Outlook and search its career database at http://www.bls.gov/oco.

Lastly, national associations in each field generally will provide members with a publication regarding the field.  For example, the American Psychological Association prints a large newspaper called the Monitor highlighting the field of psychology.  You may join an association as a student member which will entitle you to their publication.

PATTERN YOUR RESUME ON LEADERS IN YOUR FIELD

By MARSHALL LOEB
From Marketwatch, College Journal, http://www.collegejournal.com/jobhunting/resumeadvice/20050413-loeb.html

If you're writing a résumé, there are tons of good resources available. In fact, having so many can be downright confusing -- every person you ask for advice may tell you something completely different.

Here are some tips to help you prepare a winning résumé:

1.         Talk to professionals in your field. Look for successful people in your chosen career field and human resources managers in that area. They'll be able to tell you what employers want to see.

2.         Limit advice from those closest to you. Sure, your family and friends may be more than willing to look over your résumé, but that doesn't mean they know what's correct or what will be most appealing to an employer. Reserve their criticism for getting a general impression (unless they happen to be experts in your field.)

3.         Search for résumés in your field. Teachers', tech workers', journalists' and stockbrokers' résumés will vary widely -- what's included and in what order, how many pages, references included or not, and so on. Look for a "best résumés" book for your field. You might check out "2500 Keywords to Get You Hired," by Jay. A Block and Michael Betrus. It offers keywords to bolster your résumé, no matter what field you'd like to enter.

INTERESTING JOBS

(The information below came from Facts on File, www.fofweb.com/Subscription, which can only be accessed while on campus.)

Greeting Card Designers and Writers

Greeting card designers and writers either work as freelancers or as staff members of greeting card and gift manufacturers.  Designers use artistic skills to create illustrated or photographic images for cards, posters, mugs, and other items generally sold in card shops; writers compose the expressions, poems, and jokes that accompany the images.  The Greeting Card Association estimates that there are more than 2,000 large and small greeting card publishers in America.

Event Planner

The event planner's duties are varied, and may include establishing a site for an event; making travel, hotel, and food arrangements; and planning the program and overseeing the registration.  The planner may be responsible for all of the negotiating, planning, and coordinating for a major worldwide convention, or the planner may be involved with a small, in-house meeting involving only a few people.  Some event planners' services are also used on a personal level to plan class or family reunions, birthday parties, weddings, or anniversaries.  There are approximately 34,000 meeting planners employed in the United States.

SERVICE LEARNING  (SERVING TO LEARN = LEARNING TO SERVE)

Service Learning is a program offered in colleges nationwide.  At BCC, Service Learning is offered by many professors in a variety of academic courses.  Students are assisted in finding a way to contribute to the community that is related to their course work.  The Service Project is often offered as an option to a paper, project, test or for extra credit. Choosing the Service Learning option usually involves a 10 to 15 hour commitment for the semester. Ask your professor for details!  For general information, check out our website http://www.bergen.edu/coop/svclearn.asp.

COOPERATIVE EDUCATION

Cooperative Education is an academic course in which eligible students apply what they have learned in the classroom to positions related to their program of study and career goals.  By working in pre-professional positions in business, government and non-profit organizations students gain hands-on experience as they earn academic credit. Cooperative Education is offered in over 20 areas of study with specialized work experiences in each discipline.  BCC criminal justice students have worked for the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department, Bergen County Police, NJ Superior Court, and a variety of other law enforcement agencies. Students in our broadcasting program have been interns at MTV, Univision, The People’s Court, Z-100 Radio and more. Social science students have worked for DYFS and the NJ Division of Family Guidance. Over 200 businesses including hotels, restaurants, accounting firms, law firms and financial institutions have employed BCC co-op students. The goal of the program is to provide students with the opportunity to test drive their career while they gain some “real life” work experience.

For more information and assistance in finding the right Co-op experience contact the Cooperative Education & Career Development Center.  For general information, check out our website http://www.bergen.edu/coop/coop.asp.

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The Cooperative Education & Career Development Center staff looks forward to your visit:

Sharon Goldstein, Director

Margaret McLaughlin, Career Counselor

Christine Matthews, Placement Specialist

Doug Short, Career Counselor

Luisa Francois, Secretary

      Janet Pagan, Secretary

Location: Room C-100

Phone number: (201) 447-7171

E-mail: cecd@bergen.edu

Web site:  www.bergen.edu/coop

Hours: M, W, Th, F 9-5; T 9-7

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If you would like to remove yourself from this e-mail list, please send an e-mail to cecd@bergen.edu. Do not reply to this e-mail.