Keep Calm & Get Your Job On!

5 Ways to Decrease Stress & Increase Your Employability:

   1.  Perfect Your Resume

It is easy to become overwhelmed with where to start in the job search process.  It seems like there are a million things you need to complete before you start looking for full-time employment, and everywhere you go, you get different advice.  A great first step that will calm your nerves and put you in the right direction is creating a resume.  Once you have a rough draft created, you can approach friends, classmates, professors, and Career Services for feedback.  It's one thing to have a rough draft of your resume, it's another to have a polished and professional document ready to go to employers.  Without a resume, you're stuck.

You can setup an appointment for a resume critique by calling Career Services at 512-245-2645 or utilizing Career Services' 48-Hour Online Resume Critique resource. 

   2.  Create a Jobs4Cats Account

What's Jobs4Cats you ask?  It's a one-stop-shop for on-campus employment, internships, and full-time opportunities!  This job search database is unlike any other because Texas State students and alumni are the only individuals that have access to these great positions.  This eliminates the thousands of competitors that apply for jobs on generic job search sites.  If you don't have a Jobs4Cats account, create one now.  If you have not updated your account, don't waste another minute.  

With the number of job search sites available, it can be discouraging to start searching for your ideal fit.  Keep the beginning of your search simple, and get used to trusted and highly recommended sites first.  There is no need to be on every job search database on the internet.

   3.  Increase Your Professional Online Presence & Contacts 

Would you currently show your parent(s) or guardian(s) what you have displayed on your Facebook or  Twitter?  If this question gives you anxiety, you must cleanup your professional image.  Be sure to take down any unprofessional photos or controversial comments.  The competitive job market makes elimination by social media a component in the job search.  Don't take yourself out of the running before you even get an interview.

One way to start displaying your education and experiences professionally, is through LinkedIn.  LinkedIn is a form of social media that allows you to connect with a variety of professionals within any given field.  Recruiting managers are utilizing this site to search for new talent.  If you are not on this platform, you may be missing out on the opportunity to share your skills and connect with others.  

Creating a positive brand for yourself across various social media accounts will be a productive way to utilize your time between applying for your future career.  It beats sitting around anxiously waiting for a call.

  4.  Attend 'Graduation Just Got Easier' 

If you are wanting assistance kickstarting the first 3 suggestions, attend 'Graduation Just Got Easier'.  Graduation Just Got Easier is an event hosted by Career Services and a number of leading employers within various industries.  This event will occur on Wednesday, December 3, 2014 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Career Services Library (LBJ 5th Floor, 5-7.1).  Topics to be covered during the event include:

• Translating your student experiences to the resume - Presented by Enterprise Holdings
• Social media and the job search:  Develop a strong personal brand - Presented by Main Street Hub
• How to WOW employers during the interview - Presented by White Lodging 
• Your first 90 days in the new position - Presented by PLS Logistics 

We will conclude the event with resume critiques and a short Q&A.  The Alumni Association will also be present towards the end of the event to share the benefits of staying involved as alumni.  

This event is FREE!  

   5.  Take Care of Yourself - Stress Management

You are not alone in your job search, so take a deep breath and browse the resources below for stress management strategies.  Congratulations on your next steps and be proud of all you have accomplished.

• How to DEAL (Develop Effective Approaches to Life) - Texas State Counseling Center 
• 37 Stress Management Tips from the Experts - Reader's Digest 
• How Successful People Stay Calm - Forbes
• Nine Ways Successful People Defeat Stress - Harvard Business Review 

H-Town Bound: Careers Downtown - Networking with Alumni in Houston

Written by Sarah Stephens and Lacey Vest, Public Relations majors and participants of Career Services trip.

21 bobcats, three career service advisors, and two vans. That’s all it took to create a few days of adventure and long-lasting memories all for the sake of meeting up with established Texas State University alumni based out of Houston, Texas.

This trip, otherwise known as ‘H-Town Bound: Careers Downtown’, was planned to give a few select students a glimpse of what it took to stand out in their job search and how to snag that dream job we’ve envisioned having since stepping on campus and declaring a major. 

Four main events were planned for us on this quick, thirty-hour adventure-the first being a networking dinner at Blackfinn American Grille. This was where a panel of Texas State graduates employed in Houston would offer up their words of wisdom. 

There was a diverse selection of majors on this trip-ranging from business and public-relations to criminal justice and health administrations-so it was very beneficial to sit and hear from graduates that had studied similar things. 

Throughout the panel, we learned the immense power that networking holds. We also heard how beneficial joining and getting involved with campus organizations could be, as they oftentimes sharpen skills and widen knowledge about our future profession or industry.

After the panel ended, about 30 more alumni joined us for dinner. We spoke of shared professors and what a typical workday would look like once we joined our predecessors out in the working world. One student was pleased to hear that it wasn’t necessary to work in the same field as your degree post-graduation while others enjoyed learning of how bustling and reaping with career opportunities Houston truly was. 

The following morning entailed an early wake-up call. We all slugged down to the hotel lobby for breakfast and then jetted off to Halliburton for a 9 AM visit. Upon arrival to the very large and impressive Halliburton campus, we were each given name tags and split into two tour groups.

Our tour began with a look into the science side of engineering. We peered through glass windows into laboratories and saw where all the magic takes place at Halliburton. Then on the second part of the tour we were guided through the final stages of the assembly for the machinery. We even ran into a Texas State graduate who was currently employed at the company and was excited to hear we were from his neck of the woods. Halliburton was a great look inside the corporate world. Our tour guides explained all the different job opportunities, and some of the students were saying they could envision themselves working there.

The next stop on our tour was to PLS Logistics, a shipping company in Midtown. As soon as we walked in the doors, we immediately felt the change of pace. Everyone in the office was dressed in jeans and t-shirts, some throwing around a football and chatting with their neighbors.

The atmosphere was inviting and had many students saying that this was their favorite stop of the day because the company made us feel so welcomed.

After watching a short video about the PLS culture, we were introduced to Tori, a recent Texas State graduate, and successful employee at the company. She told us how much she enjoyed working at PLS and that any of us could do well there. Tori also mentioned PLS Logistics is specifically interested in hiring Texas State graduates for their company because of all the success the other bobcats have brought them.

The final leg of our trip was spent at the Texas Children’sHospital (TCH), where we met up with Andrae Turner, a Texas State graduate and current Manager of Ambulatory Clinics Cardiology. Turner made sure that he accommodated each of us by answering our questions that covered a wide spectrum of issues such as whether a cure for cancer could be in the works to if Public Relations was needed in hospitals around Houston.

Towards the end of our Q&A, Turner gave up a lasting bit of advice - "know a little bit about a lot of different industries. READ to stay connected. This all makes a well-rounded individual and prospective employee."

Before we left and our meeting with Turner came to a close, we were offered a brief tour which gave us an intimate view and realistic perspective of what working in a massive, crowded, and fast-paced hospital such as TCH was like. We toured the floors, viewed the different departments, and lastly saw an enormous toy railroad track that could keep both children and adults entertained for hours on end.

And then, as quickly as it all began, the trip came to a close

 

The 21 bobcats and three career advisors fumbled back into the two vans and we drove back to the hills of San Marcos with stories ready to be told and hunger in our stomachs to chase our dreams. Ultimately, we returned back to campus with gained knowledge and skill set, ready to perform exceedingly well in the workforce.