Career Insight

You are pursuing one of the toughest and best majors in Smeal. You will come out of college making $60k. Everyone is going to want to hire you and you are going to be so successful, making your way up in the ranks of a leading Fortune 500 company.

This is what I am told when I tell people that I am majoring in Actuarial Science. Sure, one of the reasons I chose not to major in Accounting or Finance is because Actuaries are fewer in numbers and they are still highly respected. The prospects of making a decent salary are good and that is honestly one of the reasons I chose not to go into something like education. I am not looking to become a millionaire but to be able to send all of my future children to whatever colleges they want to go to is definitely something I want to be able to afford. Oh, and I love math and stat (I know, I know… I’m weird). I am good at what I do and as far as math and stat go, I am really interested in the material I learn in my classes. But today I was talking to one of my coworkers and I wonder if I will really love my future job and be happy with the work I will do for the next 40 years of my life.

Matt, a Graphic Design major in the College of Arts and Architecture, works for the RIIT Group. Among other things, he creates various images for the Smeal College of Business - whether they be used on websites or on iTunesU. He showed me some of his creations and wow, I am jealous of his talent! He even took two minutes to show me a quick “demo” on how to create one of his masterpieces — TWO MINUTES! Matt loves what he does and it seems like he really has fun. He gets to be creative and his job is never the same from day to day.

When I was in middle school I enjoyed using PhotoShop (granted I only knew the basics) and I wanted to be a graphic artist. I once told my mom that I wanted to work for Hallmark and design their greeting cards (you can laugh). But as I grew up I kind of labeled that idea as “unrealistic” and committed myself to becoming a business student at Penn State. I had enjoyed art but because I never considered myself outstanding in that arena, and because I spent my free time playing sports rather than making art, I figured I didn’t have what it took to pursue graphic design in college. I knew that going into Actuarial Science would mean working in an office everyday with relatively fewer opportunities for creativity.

I am excited for my actuarial internship this summer and for the career that lies in my future, but I just wonder and HOPE that I will love my job and feel passionate about what I do. But isn’t that what everyone wants? Isn’t that what everyone strives for in life - “success” and happiness? I guess it is just something I will have to continually strive for and try to find in the years ahead.

I am guessing that you have been told time and time again about the importance of meeting with your adviser once a semester. Do you? I have heard horror stories from peers in other colleges who swear that their adviser gave them false information and caused them more of a headache than it was worth. They would rather master the scheduling system and do the research first-hand. Please do not let these tales discourage you, however. Yes mistakes can happen, but Smeal, in my opinion, has done an excellent job at hiring and training well qualified individuals to guide its students through their college careers.

I remember when I first went to my adviser as a freshman with no clue how to plan my next four years and a very vague idea of why I had selected management as my major. It was a pleasant surprise that I did not feel I was one of 100+ students that this adviser was responsible for; rather, I was an individual in a big school and an environment that I was unfamiliar with. This was the person to throw ideas out towards, helping me to decide what I should take advantage of and what I should just let others accomplish. This included having a minor or two or three, going abroad, determining what classes would be best for my interests, finding a internship, graduating early, switching around class requirements, etc. As I questioned my major and my mind’s image of where I wanted to be in five years, I knew that I had someone to talk to who knew her stuff because her job was solely to help students know theirs. The advisers are sitting at their desks in 202 Business Building to help you– take advantage of it. Make an appointment just to chat about a current situation, to plan next semester, or to discuss your long term goals. Get to know your adviser, because he/she is one of the best and most efficient tools that you have.

On Monday, February 18th, I attended the career fair along with hundreds of other Penn State students. I even ran into someone that I went to school with who currently attends Penn State Erie. With a Management major and a Labor Studies and Employment Relations (aka HR) minor, my job search consists of management training programs and human resource rotational programs. Although there was not a great deal to be found in HR, I found a slew of management trainee programs through my research on the Nittany Lion Recruiting site. Going to the career fair with a list of the companies that I wanted to visit and some of the job openings that I knew were available made my day much more productive and efficient. Time passed so quickly and after three hours of being there, I realized that my feet were aching and my resume load that I had brought was

During the fair, I, and a lot of my friends were able to get one or two interviews. However, in the week or two following the fair, is when those interviews start to pick up. Or at least that is my experience and that of peers I have spoken with.

My advice:

• During the interview, keep in mind that those sitting across from you are just people; they are not that different from you.
• Ask them about how they feel the corporate culture/environment fits them. This will give you a better idea if the company is a good fit for you. Plus, people like to talk about themselves and their work.
• Make sure you have a business card or contact from the person interviewing you.
• Send a short thank you email following the interview.
• Do not stop the job search, because it might not work out with this company, or perhaps you will find something even better.

Good luck to those of you looking for internships and jobs!

Well, it is that time of the year once again where seniors are scurrying to find jobs and many underclassmen seek internships. I am a senior and I must agree with those who say that finding a job is the equivalent to having another 3 credit class. You are researching, writing, presenting (interviewing), and testing yourself; the time commitment is intensive. However, I do not wish to focus on this subject further, it more-or-less is a segue.

Rather, I want to talk about networking. Although I am sure you are sick of hearing how important it is, have you ever sat back and thought about how it has impacted your life thus far?

I am not asking you to bring to memory a huge, life-changing experience that occurred because you met a corporate CEO of a prestigious company. What I am saying is that much of where our life-paths lead can be connected to networking. For example, maybe you came to Penn State because your favorite teacher went here and recommended it, or perhaps you decided to join a student organization simply because your new roommate who you just met asked you to. Is this not networking? Someone connected you to something that impacted your life, if even in a small way. Do you agree?

I consider myself a fairly sociable person, and I am always up for the occasional drop-in to say hi. So when I got to know a few people who work in the Corporate Relations office, never did I think to myself “Tara, you must network by meeting these people because it will benefit your life.” I was just being me. However, looking back, I realize that the internship I had last summer and a part-time job that I currently hold with Smeal were, in part, received because I made myself known to individuals who could recommend me or refer me to one of their networks. I was networking and didn’t even know it.

Why am I telling you this? I want you to realized that networking is not something foreign or to be nervous about. It is all around you and you simply are shifting it to a more business-oriented focus. Take the time to visit your professors during office hours or to meet some of the alum who are coming to visit their alma mater. Do this, not just for the sake of your professional career, but because you never know where the conversation will lead.

So today I was walking through the business building, and couldn’t help noticing several people decked out in suits carrying that trademark leather portfolio. And of course I knew exactly where they were going– to an interview.

Smeal really pushes us as students to aggressively seek internships and full time employment. The dean, faculty, and staff, all try to imprint in us the importance of killer resumes, and awesome interviewing skills. I always thought it was a little much.

Then in talking with my dad about interviews and the like. I said that Smeal really harps about practice, practice, practice when it comes to interviewing, and that I didn’t think it was necessary. He told me that I may be surprised as to how bad a lot of people are at interviewing.

I guess it’s something we take for granted; the fact that we have significantly better resumes and interviewing skills than a lot of other people, even older adults who are already in the workforce! Although, most of us end up interviewing on campus, against other students from Smeal. So you end up running against kids of the same caliber anyways. All the more reason to refine your resume and interviewing skills!