Next Big Game: What AU Students are saying!

The Next Big Game brings recruiters and professionals to campus to talk about various topics that will help students in their job search and transition into the world of work. Go to www.auburn.edu/career/biggame for more information and enjoy candid student feedback on the events below:

Video by Laura Cargill

Custom-fit majors: What your personality means for your major

Wouldn’t we all love to be doctors and engineers; being guaranteed a well-paid job at graduation? I tell friends that if I had it to do all over again, I would have been a dentist—four-day work weeks making a six figure salary. But the truth of the matter is I wouldn’t have been happy in the medical field. I just don’t have the personality traits to compliment the “doctor mentality.”

So what can your personality tell you about which major or career you should choose? A lot. Examining personalities can reveal your strengths (organization, communication), weaknesses (judgmental) and preferences (one-on-one vs. large group, field work vs. desk job). These are important to consider not only for your success in a major, but also your future contentment with your career.

There are lots of personality assessments out there (i.e. every magazine in the Kroger checkout line). More professional and scientifically sound evaluations, like the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator or Strong Interest Inventory, can offer more in depth insight and analysis.

According to Myers-Briggs (available on the CDS website), I am an ENTJ or, as my mom describes me, a “Type-A” personality. Recently, I decided to revisit what this all really means about my personality to help with upcoming interviews. (It’s a good idea to really know yourself before going into an interview.)

To save time (and money), I completed the TypeFocus evaluation on the CDS website which is very similar to the Myers-Briggs. TypeFocus offers job suggestions after completing the questionnaire. At the top of my results, I found my major; a nod to the test’s accuracy.

The trick is to answer honestly. Maybe, for example, you strive to be organized always making to-do lists but rarely finishing anything on the list. If the question asks if you’re a procrastinator, don’t say “no” because you wish you weren’t, say “yes” to avoid cheating yourself from the most accurate results. Don’t respond how you want to be perceived. Remember, no one is seeing your answers. This is just for your benefit. Choosing majors or careers that match your preferences enable you to better enjoy your work, stress less and accomplish tasks with less effort.

A major does not mean you are committed to any particular occupation or vice versa. Before declaring a major, I never took one of these assessments—a credit to my Type A personality of needing and sticking to a plan. I knew what I wanted to study but, I still debate, even with graduation literally days away, what exactly to do with my major. Choosing a major is hardly straightforward. I’m not saying you should major in whatever the assessments tell you, but definitely don’t ignore them.

Career Development Services offers five different assessments to help define your personality. Besides helping to choose a major or career, having this information can help in interviews later on. Take the time to really get to know yourself then speak with a career counselor about what it could mean for your future.

By Kelly Cargill

Super-charge your job search!

Auburn University has partnered with CareerShift for your job search. Just sign-up using your Auburn email address.

CareerShift provides an easy-to-use, approach for cracking the "hidden job market" and for managing your job hunt all in one place. You’ll be able to search for jobs and save your searches, find and save a list of contacts, create resumes and cover letters, and put them together in a targeted e-mail or postal mail campaigns. Then you can track your responses from "Come in for an interview" to "You’re hired."

How CareerShift Works
All of our research and organization tools together create a focused discipline to help you find a job. With CareerShift, you can immediately use;

MY JOBS – to search for jobs and save them to your CareerShift account.
MY CONTACTS – to search for companies and contacts, then save and manage your networking list.
MY DOCUMENTS – to create as many targeted resumes and cover letters needed or upload your current documents.
MY CAMPAIGNS – to automatically create unlimited email and postal mail campaigns with your saved contacts and documents.
MY CALENDAR – to set your email alerts, get organized for follow up tasks.

With CareerShift you can do the following:

• Search every job listing, including job boards and company websites
• Get inside contact information immediately, including email addresses, for millions of companies
• Create and organize all of your documents
• Confidentially market yourself
• Remain focused and organized
• Access your secure, private account from anywhere, anytime, 24/7

It’s simple. It’s smart. It’s confidential. It’s convenient. Oh! And it's FREE!

Look who’s hiring, and we mean BIG time

After 71,000 job cuts were announced on what is now being called “Bloody Monday,” it’s not surprising to feel you may never find a job. But there is light at the end of the tunnel.

One huge oversight people are making during the job search involves the availability of government jobs. Any job that is found in the private sector can also be found in the public sector. Currently, the U.S. government employs 1.93 million people, according to the Office of Personnel Management. Just in the first half of 2008 alone, the government added 91,702 new hires.

How can you find one? Easy. Federal agencies are required to post all of their civil service openings on USAJOBS, which can be accessed at http://www.usajobs.gov/. Some federal agencies are classified as excepted service openings, as in the FBI and CIA. This means they have their own hiring system, evaluating applicants with their own criteria. These agencies are not required to list open positions but most often elect to do so. If you are interested in an excepted service position you should contact the agency directly.

Interested, but not willing to move to Washington D.C.? Not a problem. Only 12-percent of federal jobs are located in the Capitol City. In fact, the southeast is actually the second highest employer of federal employees outside the greater D.C. area. For the more adventurous, positions are available all around the world.

Which agency is right for you? There are three easy steps to find a good match.

1. Examine the agency’s mission statement. Mission statements give you insight into the agency’s philosophy and culture. Look for goals that match your own.
2. Find a location you like. Maybe you know, without a shadow of a doubt, where you want to live. Look at the agencies with positions in that area.
3. See what jobs are available. Not all agencies hire at the same time or in the same numbers. If you know you want to work for the Department of the Interior, look where and who they are hiring. If it’s not something you qualify for, look for similar agencies.

The usajobs.gov website can be difficult to navigate. Avoid the frustration and let a career counselor help you with your search. While in the Career Development Services’ office, you can find out what federal jobs are available for your major or how to write a federal resume.

Don’t lose all hope in the private sector, though. Of the 100 companies on Fortune Magazine’s “Best Companies to Work For,” 20 are hiring. These are the best companies in the nation and they want you! All are listed below, in order.

#2 Edward Jones

• Top 2 locations: St. Louis, MO; Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): 1,040
• What they're looking for: Financial advisors and branch office administrators

#4 Google

• Top 3 locations: Mountain View, CA; New York City, NY; San Francisco, CA
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): 350
• What they're looking for: Engineering, marketing, product management, people operations, legal, sales

#5 Wegmans Food Market

• Top 3 locations: Rochester, NY; Buffalo, NY; Syracuse, NY
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): 2,000
• What they're looking for: Store positions.

#6 Cisco Systems

• Top 3 locations: San Jose, CA; Research Triangle Park, NC; Boxborough, MA
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): 500
• What they're looking for: engineering disciplines and customer advocacy

#7 Genentech

• Top 3 locations: South San Francisco, CA; Vacaville, CA; Oceanside, CA
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): 585
• What they're looking for: Commercial, product development, manufacturing, CFO group and legal

#8 Methodist Hospital System

• Top 2 locations: Houston, TX; Baytown, TX;
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): 400
• What they're looking for: Management, nursing, clinical professionals, non-clinical professionals (such as IT and HR), entry level support services (such as housekeeping and dietary) and administrative/clerical jobs.

#22 Whole Foods Market

• Top 3 locations: New York, NY; Austin, TX; Chicago, IL
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): 800
• What they're looking for: Retail and non-retail like accounting and IT

#38 Microsoft

• Top 3 locations: Redmond, WA; Issaquah, WA; Mountain View, CA
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): Thousands
• What they're looking for: software design engineers, financial analysts, human resources, administrative and marketing and sales talent, particularly in online ad sales

#50 Burns & McDonnell

• Top 3 locations: Kansas City, MO; Downers Grove, IL; Houston, TX
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): 400
• What they're looking for: Engineering, architecture, construction management

#51 Ernst & Young

• Top 3 locations: New York, NY; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): 2800
• What they're looking for: assurance, tax, and several of the advisory practices

#52 Booz Allen Hamilton

• Top 3 locations: McLean, VA; Herndon, VA; Arlington, VA
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): 1,046
• What they're looking for: Software and systems engineers, information assurance and security engineers, and intelligence analysts with access to classified information

#56 KPMG

• Top 3 locations: New York, NY; Montvale, NJ; Chicago, IL
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): Thousands
• What they're looking for: administrative assistants, IT associates, tax and audit managers

#58 PricewaterhouseCoopers

• Top 3 locations: New York, NY; Boston, MA; Tampa, Fla.
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): 500
• What they're looking for: Talent in assurance, tax and advisory

#59 Scripps Health

• Top 3 locations: La Jolla, CA; San Diego, CA; San Diego County, CA
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): 442
• What they're looking for: Executives, managers, staff nurses (RN), imaging techs, pharmacists, IT and service and support people

#63 Mayo Clinic

• Top 3 locations: Rochester, MN; Jacksonville, FL; Phoenix, AZ
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): 1,000
• What they're looking for: Nursing, research and lab technicians, health-care professionals

#79 Baptist Health South Florida

• Top 3 locations: Miami, FL; South Miami, FL; Coral Gables, FL
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): 728
• What they're looking for: RNs, allied health professionals and clerical/administrative staff

#80 Bright Horizons

• Top 3 locations: Atlanta, GA; Washington, DC; Watertown, MA
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): 387
• What they're looking for: Center and school staff, center and school leadership positions, benefits, client services (sales), payroll, property management, information technology, marketing

#88 Publix Super Markets

• Top 3 locations: Lakeland, FL; Miami, FL; Jacksonville, FL
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): 900-plus
• What they're looking for: retail, information systems, manufacturing, distribution and other support offices

#96 T-Mobile

• Top 3 locations: Bellevue, WA; Houston, TX; Austin, TX
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): 2,163
• What they're looking for: Retail, customer service, sales, engineering and operations, EIT, finance, product development, legal affairs, business operations, human resources, marketing, integrated customer experience, corporate communications

#97 Accenture

• Top 3 locations: Chicago, IL; Reston, VA; New York, NY
• Number of job openings (as of Jan. 13, 2009): Thousands
• What they're looking for: IT, finance and sales development

Courtesy cnnmoney.com

By Kelly Cargill