Someday these job-related entries will stop. But for now, poll time.
I'm curious about where my peers pick up what they know about job-hunting. I hear a lot of general laments about how liberal arts education leaves people ill-prepared for careers that aren't academia, unsure of what other options exist, and I've certainly spent enough time being bitter about my own relative inexperience. At the same time, though, I see people who went to schools that are larger and less academia-centric than the trico struggling and wondering what to do with their BAs. There are people my age with "useless" liberal arts degrees and jobs, so clearly people learn job-hunting skills somewhere. But if so many colleges are allegedly doing such a crap job with practical skills, where are my employed fellow liberal arts degrees learning the practical skills from?
Hence, poll time. If I had a paid account, these would be tick boxes, not radio buttons--multiple answers are totally okay.
I learned how to write and format a resume from:
*My parents/other adult family members
*Other adult mentor figures (Professors, employers, family friends, etc)
*Career services people at my college
*Peers in work fields similar to mine
*Peers in work fields different from mine
*Entirely self-taught
*Other (explain in comments)
I learned how to write a cover letter from:
*My parents/other adult family members
*Other adult mentor figures (Professors, employers, family friends etc)
*Career services people at my college
*Peers in work fields similar to mine
*Peers in work fields different from mine
*Entirely self-taught
*Other (explain in comments)
I learned to parse a job ad (figure out if my experience is relevant, figure out what the difference is between skills that are "desirable" or "preferred," figure out when to risk applying for things I'm not entirely qualified for, etc) from:
*My parents/other adult family members
*Other adult mentor figures (Professors, employers, family friends etc)
*Career services people at my college
*Peers in work fields similar to mine
*Peers in work fields different from mine
*Entirely self-taught
*Other (explain in comments)
I learned how to answer annoying job interview questions from:
*My parents/other adult family members
*Other adult mentor figures (Professors, employers, family friends etc)
*Career services people at my college
*Peers in work fields similar to mine
*Peers in work fields different from mine
*Entirely self-taught
*Other (explain in comments)
Resume: My mom gave me a very basic first template that got me my first camp job or two, but it was the career services folks at Bryn Mawr who suggested the format I use now. This is one of the few areas where I can give them a lot of credit.
Cover Letter: Mostly my mom, though peers have helped some.
Parsing job ads: I am utterly clueless, and no two people's answers are the same. This is the one I am most curious about other people's answers to, since the more job ads I look at the more confused I get.
Interview Questions: Lots of people. I still don't have satisfactory answers in my head some questions, which may or may not be solvable by asking more people.
Hence, poll time. If I had a paid account, these would be tick boxes, not radio buttons--multiple answers are totally okay.
I learned how to write and format a resume from:
*My parents/other adult family members
*Other adult mentor figures (Professors, employers, family friends, etc)
*Career services people at my college
*Peers in work fields similar to mine
*Peers in work fields different from mine
*Entirely self-taught
*Other (explain in comments)
I learned how to write a cover letter from:
*My parents/other adult family members
*Other adult mentor figures (Professors, employers, family friends etc)
*Career services people at my college
*Peers in work fields similar to mine
*Peers in work fields different from mine
*Entirely self-taught
*Other (explain in comments)
I learned to parse a job ad (figure out if my experience is relevant, figure out what the difference is between skills that are "desirable" or "preferred," figure out when to risk applying for things I'm not entirely qualified for, etc) from:
*My parents/other adult family members
*Other adult mentor figures (Professors, employers, family friends etc)
*Career services people at my college
*Peers in work fields similar to mine
*Peers in work fields different from mine
*Entirely self-taught
*Other (explain in comments)
I learned how to answer annoying job interview questions from:
*My parents/other adult family members
*Other adult mentor figures (Professors, employers, family friends etc)
*Career services people at my college
*Peers in work fields similar to mine
*Peers in work fields different from mine
*Entirely self-taught
*Other (explain in comments)
Resume: My mom gave me a very basic first template that got me my first camp job or two, but it was the career services folks at Bryn Mawr who suggested the format I use now. This is one of the few areas where I can give them a lot of credit.
Cover Letter: Mostly my mom, though peers have helped some.
Parsing job ads: I am utterly clueless, and no two people's answers are the same. This is the one I am most curious about other people's answers to, since the more job ads I look at the more confused I get.
Interview Questions: Lots of people. I still don't have satisfactory answers in my head some questions, which may or may not be solvable by asking more people.