emily hankinson

20 hour work days: my recipe for the perfect summer

When most college students think of their summer vacation, it usually involves laying on the beach, hanging out with friends, and travelling across the globe. My summer is going to be just like that…sort of.

This summer I will be traveling with Catholic HEART Workcamp for nine weeks. Each week, my team and I will stay in a new city and entertain, feed, and guide over 400 high school students. During the day, the campers go out into the town and perform service projects to help make the area better. My team and I will be headed to a city near you, that is, if you live near one of these cities:

• Virginia Beach, VA
• Greensburg, PA
• Magnolia, DE
• Charlotte, NC
• Orlando, FL
• Charleston, SC
• Prince Frederick, MD
• North Arlington, NJ

This is my third summer with CHWC and I am so excited to serve as Team Captain for two teams of nine college students. My job is a lot of work (I wasn’t kidding about the 20 hour days), but it is also the most fun I have ever had and I can’t wait to get started!

As for my blog, I am going to do my absolute best to update it consistently. However, with my crazy schedule, I can’t guarantee that there will be a new post every week. If you don’t hear from me, I promise I am alive and well! When the summer wraps up, this blog will be back to it’s normal schedule.

Thank you in advance for you understanding about this! Have a wonderful summer everyone!

Best,
Emily 

3 things to do before graduation to prepare for life after college

With graduation quickly approaching, many of my friends are a little….panicked. Only a handful have been able to find jobs, and many are unsure of what is to come next. With the uncertainty of the future just in front of us, many college students have a difficulty making the shift from college to the real world.

The transition from cap and gown to pantsuits and briefcases can be made much easier if you prepare yourself ahead of time. The weeks leading up to graduation can be incredibly stressful and hectic: on top of completing all of your assignments for the semester you also have to worry about family coming into town, moving out, and about a hundred other miscellaneous tasks.

Luckily, coming up with your post-graduation plan is easy. Before you bid your frat brothers and study group friends goodbye, make sure you are prepared with the following items packed:

• A letter of recommendation from a professor you are close with. Whether it’s an advisor, a research moderator, or a teacher that you’ve developed a special bond with, talk to them about writing you a letter of recommendation. Present them with your resume and even a few talking points for them to cover. Many companies require a letter of recommendation when you apply for a job, and while letters from internship advisors and bosses is excellent, you definitely score points with employers when a professor raves about you as well.
• Contact information from your career center. Just because you won’t be a student anymore, that doesn’t mean that you can’t take advantage of your campus career center. Many colleges have an excellent career center that you can even access online. Here you will find interview tips, resume critiquing opportunities, and even full time positions and internships. Even if you never made use of this as an undergrad, it’s never too late to check out all that your alma mater can offer you.
• A membership to your school alumni association. I’ll admit, I’ve quickly walked past their tables outside the student union with my head down thinking, “I haven’t even left yet and you’re already asking me for money?!” However, the alumni association is a really great resource for new grads, especially if you plan to move to a new city. Your university has alumni all over the world, and being a member of this association can provide you with valuable networking contacts. It might cost you a little bit, but the reward is incredibly worthwhile.

What are you doing to prepare for life after college? Comment here!

This article originally appeared on CareerBliss.

lights, camera, hired: creating your video resume

For weeks now I have been planning on creating a blog post that focused on video resumes, but I have constantly been putting it off. The reason being: making a video resume is a lot harder than you might think. Writing your resume is relatively easy- you think of everything you’ve done in your career, and then you spend a few hours carefully crafting it. Video resumes, on the other hand, are a whole different ballgame.

There are plenty of great examples of video resumes on YouTube. In each you can see what to do, what not to do, and even the extreme, as displayed by my good friend Barney Stinson:

Well, maybe that’s not the best example.

Creating your video resume is completely unlike creating your regular resume.  Mashable gives some great tips to guide you along, but there are two important things to remember:

1. Your video resume needs to be short. Similar to how your written resume shouldn’t go over one page, your video resume shouldn’t be any longer than about three minutes (absolute max!). Imagine this as a slightly longer version of your elevator speech. Have the video be long enough to grasp and hold onto a hiring manager’s attention, but not so long that you end up boring them, or rambling and repeating yourself.
2. Your video resume is not a reiteration of your written resume. This is your opportunity to show employers a different side of you, so don’t simply read your resume word-for-word. Instead, highlight and build on some of your experiences, while also showing off your personality. The hiring team has already seen how great you are on paper, so let your video show them how great you are in “person.”

It can be easy to mess up your video resume, so make sure you avoid 10 common mistakes such as saying “uhm” too often, touching your face, and looking away from the camera.

Below is a great example of a video resume. However, this person clearly has an extensive resume and has been working in his field for a long time, so don’t worry if your video doesn’t match up. They key things you want to take away are that he kept it simple, concise, and did not just repeat his resume:

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Spark Hire about the very topic of video resumes. If you are a jobseeker I highly suggest you check this site out. It allows you to upload your written resume and post your video resume right beside it. Spark Hire makes the video process so easy a caveman could do it: with one click of a button on their site, you can record, save, and upload your video resume online. Then, companies can contact you directly and even conduct video interviews with you on the site. Best of all, it’s completely free.

My biggest suggestion is to write your script ahead of time and memorize it as best as you can. It is very easy to tell when you are reading something because your eyes wander all over the place, so try and know as much of your script as you can. It will probably take a few tries, but eventually you’ll get the hand of it!

Have you created a video resume and sent it to employers? Tell me your story!

the worst interview mistake I’ve ever heard of (and how to avoid it!)

This semester, I had the privilege of working as an intern at the Pittsburgh Human Resources Association. I learned a lot, met a ton of great people, and created several great marketing pieces that I’ll add to my employment portfolio.

With the academic year wrapping up, my boss asked me to pitch the job description to my sorority sisters to see if any of them would be interested in filling my role for the following semester. I shared the internship description; four sisters applied and, as I left for the weekend, I told my boss I was confident in each of their abilities.

When I returned to the office that Monday, I was excited to hear about how their interviews had gone. You can imagine my surprise when I learned that my boss wasn’t very pleased with the applicants I referred.

She then told me that even though they all had impressive resumes, she ultimately did not choose them. Why? Because when asked what they knew about our organization, they flat out told her that they did not do any research on the company before the interview.

I was stunned.

This was by far the worst interview mistake…ever!

Listen up, job and internship seekers.

Researching a company before you contact them is the golden rule when job hunting. If you don’t complete this simple task, it will cost you the position, as exemplified above. Even if you think you know everything about the company, give yourself a distinct competitive advantage for your interview through research:

• Research will give you a good idea of the kind of work you’ll be doing 
• Research may reveal an area the company could improve upon (and you can impress the interviewer with your ideas)
• Research will help you come up with questions to ask during the interview
• Best of all, you can do this research on your own (no private investigation team needed!)

Here are a few easy ways to research a company before an interview:

• Visit the company website. This is only step one, but it’s an important start. You’ll get a sense of the work they do, the product mix, level of customer focus, the company’s culture and more. All of your research should begin here, and you should check back often for updates to the page.
• Thoroughly review the company’s social media profiles. Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, LinkedIn YouTube, Pinterest, Tumblr – you name it, they are probably there. Thoroughly research the company online, especially if you’re applying for a PR, marketing, or social media position. This will give you a sense of the “voice” of the organization and will provide some insight into the company’s culture as well.
• Research the news. You can easily see whether the company has been mentioned by searching for it in Google “News”. You’ll find information that might not have been posted by the organization directly, which is good because that type of information hasn’t been “cleaned” by the company’s PR Department. Whether good or bad, news articles provide un-biased insight that may help you decide if you would be a good fit for the company.

Preparing for an interview involves much more than printing your resume and ironing your best outfit. 

Don’t risk losing an opportunity because of a careless, even lazy, mistake: not researching the company ahead of time. 

Do the work of looking into an organization before you walk into the office. By the time you leave, the recruiter will more likely be convinced you are the right fit for the company- and the job!

what pinterest can teach you about the job hunt

I’ll be the first to admit that I have a severe addiction to Pinterest. Not only is it a great place to find all of those recipes and DIY crafts I’ll create (eventually), but it’s also where I can relax and escape from my crazy life for a few minutes.

To some, Pinterest might seem like just another social media site, but to job seekers, Pinterest can teach you a lot of valuable lessons about the job hunt. Below are a few ways that you can use the tools you have learned through Pinterest and apply them to your job search:

• Stay organized. This is by far the most valuable lesson that Pinterest will teach you. In just a few minutes, you can pins hundreds of items, and if you saved them all to one board it would get very messy, very quickly. By creating categorized boards, you can easily find what you’re looking for on Pinterest. This same rule applies to your job hunt. Create an excel spreadsheet that organizes all of your networking contacts and another that will keep track of the status of each of your job applications. This way, when you need to get in touch with someone or follow up on a previous connection, you can find all of the necessary information quickly and easily.
• Follow through. On my Pinterest, I have lots of delicious food recipes saved that I plan to make one day. In the back of my head, however, I know that I probably won’t ever do this and instead I’ll live off of Chinese take out. All of that time I spent pinning the perfect menu for my ideal dinner party is considered a waste if I never actually take the time to make the meal. In your job hunt, it is easy to create the “to do” list of all of the companies and professionals you plan to interact with, but if you never actually contact them then you will never have the opportunity to benefit from their experiences. Instead of making a list a hundred miles long, break down the tasks so that you can attack them in a more efficient manner. This way, you will feel like you have accomplished more instead of constantly feeling like you are drowning in everything you want to do.
• Find what interests you. Pinterest is wonderful because no matter what your interests are, you can pin content that is personal to you. Plus, you are able to pin every little thing you are interested in, instead of just a few things. From DIY crafts, to your dream wedding, to geeky gadgets, you can create a personalized board that is all your own. Make sure you apply this same tactic to your job hunt. There is much risk involved in unemployment, but you can’t be afraid and pigeonhole yourself into a job you will hate in five years. Instead, take some time to explore different options to find a career that you will truly enjoy. Try job shadowing a local company or calling a professional in your field for an informational interview to ask them some questions so that you can get a better understanding of what you’re getting into.

Finally, remember that at the heart of it, Pinterest is so addicting because it is fun. Even though you might feel overwhelmed during your job hunt, remember to take some time to relax and do something enjoyable! When you take a few minutes to breathe, suddenly your tasks won’t seem so daunting and you will be able to attack them with more energy.

This article was first posted on Career Bliss.

6 summer resume builders (no internship required)

So, you didn’t get chosen for your dream summer internship. As you stare at all of the blank, white space on your resume, you begin to wonder how you will ever get a “real” job. Summer is supposed to be a wonderful break from the hustle and bustle of school, full of sunshine, free time and potential. Yours doesn’t seem to be playing out that way.

Have no fear, dear jobseeker. There are plenty of things you can do during the summer to beef up your resume and get real world experience. The number one thing you need to remember is to avoid leaving holes in your resume. “Holes” are those gaps of time where there was little to no activity between jobs or schoolwork. While there are plenty of excellent reasons of gaps in your resume, you want to try your best to avoid them. If you were chosen for an interview you might get the chance to explain these holes, but if your resume doesn’t make it into the “call now” pile, your gaps might be the reason why.

It can be very tempting to want to sit poolside every day this summer, but when you’re a jobseeker you don’t exactly have that luxury. Summer is the prime resume building season because you don’t have a ton of classes messing with your schedule.

If your summer plans don’t include an internship or full time job, don’t worry. Below are 6 resume builders you can complete this summer to increase your chances of getting hired in the fall:

• Volunteer. This should be number one on your summer “to do” list. Non-profits don’t have the big budgets of larger corporations, so they are always looking for help. In many cases, volunteers complete the same tasks that interns do, so you’re still learning valuable skills. Many employers look for volunteer experience these days, because it proves that you’re not afraid to do hard work for no pay. In fact, a lot of companies require the employees to complete service hours a couple times a year, so proving that you already have a servant heart is a huge bonus.
• Get a temp job. While working as a barista or lifeguard isn’t exactly on the job training for what you might want to do 10 years from now, it does help you learn skills like team building, interpersonal communication, customer relations, and more. If you can take these summer jobs and make them relevant to the job you want, you’ll be able to make your resume stand out.
• Learn a new skill. If you have been looking at online job descriptions, you might see that many positions require you to be familiar with various computer programs. Summer is a great time to take advantage of the opportunity to learn these skills. Even if you simply check out the 30-day free trial, you will still have a leg up over other applicants.
• Increase your social media presence. If you’re looking for a position in social media, PR, marketing, advertising, or any field for that matter, having knowledge of social media, and the proof that you have this knowledge, is paramount. It’s not enough to have an account in your name, or know how to “like” things and post pictures. This summer, consider starting a blog discussing your job search, or increase your twitter followers by sharing content more regularly. Whatever you can do to show you have put effort into this area will definitely beef up your lackluster resume.
• Organize a community event. Whether it’s an art show, carnival for kids, 5k race, or you try an set a Guinness World Record, organizing large events can take a lot of work. However, it also provides invaluable experience, and looks fantastic on a resume. It proves that you work with others while under a lot of pressure and still complete a goal. Companies love to see experience like this, plus it is a ton of fun for you, your friends, and the community. You might even make a networking contact at the event!
• Travel. Summer vacations are an awesome time to unplug and take a break from the outside world, but you can still turn your vacation into relevant experience. Consider interviewing locals in the areas your visit about a particular topic and writing a blog about it. Or, share the best places to eat and play that the hotel concierge won’t tell you about. Whatever you can do to show that your entire vacation wasn’t spent by the pool is great for your resume.

This summer, make sure you relax and recharge your brain, body, and relationships. But, don’t forget to take the opportunity to add some experience to your resume as well! There are so many things you can do this summer to increase your chances of getting a job, you just can’t be afraid to try them out.

What things do you do in the summer to build your resume? Comment here!

twitter for job seekers: you are what you RT

Building and maintaining a personal brand is essential for job seekers, especially when it comes to your online presence on social media sites.

Most job advice experts will tell you that you need to remain professional online; and I completely agree. However, I was recently told that, although I post great content online, my Twitter profile seems too “stiff” because I don’t often post my personal thoughts or show my snarky side.

I didn’t know how to respond to this counsel. Of course I know better than to post inappropriate language or pictures online. But when job hunting, is it better to post impressive and professional content or content that reflects your personality?

After thinking about this for a while, I’ve come to the conclusion that while showing you have a spine is a good thing, you must always keep in mind that anyone can read what you post online.

On Twitter, it’s easy to forget that you have an audience. When your favorite comedian tweets a joke or that hilarious “@___girlprobs” tweets something that is “so you,” hitting that retweet button is almost too easy. When job seeking, you must always remember that “you are what you retweet”, and what might be humorous to you could offend someone else. And that someone else may be the hiring manager you want to impress with your professionalism!

No matter at what stage you are in your professional career, you have a lot to lose. Although it is important to be unique so you stand out against other applicants, remember that when sharing the words or opinions of others, your followers will automatically assume that these are your words as well.

Be careful what you retweet… the hiring world is watching.

the diary of a PR student who isn’t majoring in PR: part 6

Lately, a lot of people have been asking me what my plans are for after graduation. Everyone wants to know where I’ll be living, what I’ll be doing there, and if I have a job yet or not. The truth is, when you are in college, it’s hard to really know what exactly you want to do with the rest of your life. Without proper experience, answering these tough questions is difficult for most.

At my university, there are only a few PR focused courses offered. Sure, I’ve put a lot of effort into gaining real world skills through internships and campus groups, but I haven’t been able to really dip my toes into the field.

In order to see what it’s really like on the inside of the PR world, I contacted the Director of PR at a local marketing group to see if he would be willing to allow me to job shadow him at the office for a few hours. Luckily he agreed, and a few weeks later we scheduled a day to meet.

My day spent at LarsonO’Brien was a truly eye-opening experience. I was able to meet almost everyone in the office, sit in on a conference call with one of their clients, and spend some one-on-one time with some of the PR team. This was unlike any other interview I had ever experienced, because the pressure to impress a future employer was not there. Instead, I was able to truly focus on the experience, and ask the questions that I might not ask during an interview.

I would definitively recommend that if you are planning on jumping into the PR field that you spend a day job shadowing a professional first. Not only will you get to see firsthand what life in PR is like, but you will also get a feel of the culture of the industry, and be able to really question whether or not PR is right for you.

Once you schedule your job shadow day, prepare yourself. Come with a list of questions, but also bring a pad of paper and a pen to write down notes or question as the day progresses. Also, don’t forget to write down every person’s name you have a conversation with in the office so that you can send them a thank you note after you leave. Finally, pay close attention to everything around you! Job shadowing will give you a close look into the world of PR, so if this is going to be the job for you, make sure you are soaking it all in.

If you end up job shadowing and find that this job might not be for you, don’t be disheartened. PR is not for everyone! You can always visit another office to see if the feeling is different there, or take this as a sign to check out something similar to PR. Not all companies, offices, or positions are alike, so keep looking around until you find the right job for you!

thank you notes: not just for birthdays anymore

Trust me, I’ve been there: thank you note hell.

After every holiday/birthday/major life event my mother would nag me to send thank you notes to those who gave me gifts or did something nice for me. As a kid, I would roll my eyes and reply with some sort of backhanded comment. But now that I’m older and in the midst of my job hunt, I have begun to see the value of handwritten thank you notes.

Notice that I said handwritten. (Emails, texts, and tweets need not apply here.)

A few weeks ago I was discussing this very topic with a friend who had never heard of sending a handwritten thank you note after a job interview or networking event. He then said that it seemed like a waste of time. I was appalled! Could it be that sending handwritten notes has become a lost art?

If so, that is exactly why you should send them!

You see, in our world today, communicating with others is easy. In just seconds, we can tweet or post. It takes only a few minutes to whip up an email and instantly deliver it to the recipient’s inbox. Boom, they’ve got mail! And that is the problem… because they are easy to do, your thank you email, as beautifully crafted and heartfelt as it may be, now sits among hundreds of other emails. Meanwhile, the hiring manager wants nothing more than to delete all of these emails to get their inbox count back to zero.

The real mail, however – the kind with a stamp printed on actual paper – only comes once a day, and there usually isn’t much of it to sort through. So your handcrafted note goes front and center on the desk – and is immediately noticed by the recruiter!

Which would you rather receive: a quickly created email buried among dozens of others? Or a lovely handwritten gesture from someone who went the extra mile to take time out of their day to write a thoughtful, personalized note?

Being the one applicant, out of hundreds, who sent a handwritten note could make a big difference in whether or not you get hired for a position. I’ve even heard of employers holding onto the notes they receive, for years, as a reminder of those who have so impressed them.

Below are four tips to keep in mind when using handwritten thank you notes in your job hunt: 

• Get personalized stationary. Yes, I know you are unemployed and feeling broke, but purchasing these are well worth the investment. “Personalized” doesn’t mean a “cute” pad of paper with a giant “L” for Lisa on the front. I’m talking about actual high-quality paper stock – from the stationary store or even FedExKinko’s by the piece for less than $1.00. Spring for the embossed kind if you really want to make an impression.
• Keep a few blank notes in your car. As soon as your meeting is over, write the note and walk back into the office and hand it to the receptionist/gatekeeper so the note can be delivered to your interviewer. If you established a relationship with the front desk person, write a short note to him or her, too! Get as many people in the office as possible talking about you.
• Don’t be generic. Just as you would for a thank you email, add something personal to your handwritten note. Recall a specific instance during your conversation that impressed you and mention it to show that you paid attention and truly digested the information… that you really “get it”!
• Follow up with an email and LinkedIn request. A few days after your meeting, send a follow up email and LinkedIn request so that the interviewer has several different means to contact you. Don’t follow up before 24 hours, however. You don’t want to seem desperate or needy!
  

Have handwritten thank you notes proven to be helpful in your job hunt? Comment here!

why non-traditional networking tactics might be your best bet when looking for a job

Whether you are just beginning your job search, looking to expand upon your existing network, or are somewhere in between, you know how difficult in can be to find new people to connect with professionally.  A few months ago when I first started looking for jobs, I felt completely lost. I knew what kind of job I wanted and where I wanted it to be located, but I couldn’t seem to find many people that were able to help.

 As the weeks progressed, I started to notice that the problem was not a lack of people who were able to help me, but it was that I was thinking too literally about whom to network with. I believed that the only people who could understand my professional goals would be those who worked in the exact position I was looking to enter into.

 When you think too narrow-mindedly about who can help you in your job search, the chances of you finding people to talk with becomes smaller. When job hunting, anyone can be considered a potential professional contact.

 Most of the professionals in my network were not found in a traditional way. In fact, I can only think of a few who I met that way! Instead, I have found contacts in places and situations I never thought possible. Below are a few different places to network that might not come to mind right away:

• Twitter. Without a doubt, Twitter has been the number one place where I have found professionals to network with. Through my own blog posts, sharing and commenting on others’ blog posts, weekly Twitter chats and more, I have found hundreds of people in my field who are more than willing to help with my job search. If you’re a job seeker in today’s social media driven world and you’re not on Twitter, you’re probably not making as many connections as you could be. 
• Family and Friend Connections. Pretty much everyone I know is aware that I am looking for a job. This isn’t because I’m friends with them on Facebook or because my mom calls them each week to fill them in on my life. It’s because I have personally told them and asked for their help and guidance. I’ve made a lot of connections through crazy family connections and friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend situations. These types of networking contacts are great because the person you ultimately connect with trusts you off the bat since someone they are close with has referred you to them.
• Cold Calling. Creating these types of connections takes a lot of guts, but in the end they can become some of your strongest contacts. It’s easy: find a company you’re interested in and email the person in your desired position and ask to speak with them for an informational interview. I’ve used this method a few times, and every time the person has been so friendly and willing to help me in my search. Best of all, many of them have sent me a list of other people to contact. Since the person sees how dedicated you are to your search and that you weren’t afraid to seek them out, they feel comfortable enough to refer you to those in their own professional contacts.

 You see, dear job seeker, networking doesn’t happen in cookie-cutter ways anymore. Instead, you must always stay on your toes and take any chance you can get. Everyone you meet has the potential to be a networking contact—you just need to be unafraid to make the connection!

 What are some other non-traditional networking tactics you’ve used in your job search? Comment here!