Tuesday, November 30, 2010

WSU Alumni Chapter presents an opportunity for networking

WSU College of Communication is launching their chapter of WSUAA or WSU Alumni Association. WSU graduates should join the group to enjoy the benefits.
Joining the chapter allows you to connect with fellow graduates, and alumni already in the industry.
Even though the resource is in its preliminary stages, it could be helpful to join. For more information visit here.

Legislators to visit WSU, discuss the future of higher education

State legislators, including District 9 Sen. Mark Schoesler and Reps. Susan Fagan and Joe Schmick, will join WSU students, faculty and staff to discuss deeper budget cuts and what they might mean for future of higher education in Washington.

Be informed, be involved, make a difference.

The event starts at 11:10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 1, in the Honors College lounge. For more information and to RSVP to the event, click here.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Real World advice from College Graduates

Our professors give us relevant advice for the future, as do our parents. Sometimes a successful life seems unattainable to a budding college graduate on his or her way to the real world.

The web site Quintessential Careers has a compilation of different advice from recent college graduates. The site, founded by a doctoral student at Florida State University in the 80s, is the leader in career and job-search advice.

The web site lists different categories like job hunting tools, or career tools, and it compiles different advice from recent graduates polled from 100 different universities across the country.

Visitors can take advantage of advice anywhere from: Does college coursework prepare you for the real world? to the most important piece of advice for soon-to-be grads.

While some of the advice states the obvious (One graduate says the most important thing to remember in the real world is smile) it is advice from people, who were in our shoes just two or three years ago. Most of the information presented can be helpful advice, and it hopefully can be utilized.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

AfterCollege.com

AfterCollege is an online service that was started at Stanford University in 1999.

The website allows for college students, college grads, alumni and employers to connect through career networks at colleges and universities. Specific career networks include exclusive job opportunities, announcements and events of members of a network.

Their main goal is to create an efficient way to for job seeking students to connect with the right employers.

Today, AfterCollege testifies to have the largest number of career networks on the internet. It uses Career Management Tools to inform students and alumni about thousands of exclusive job opportunities each day.

Click here to visit the site.

LinkedIn Adds One New Member Every Second

LinkedIn, an online community for networking with colleagues, peers, bosses and recruiters, is a career networking website that boasts 85 million members and continues to gain popularity worldwide, according to a recent AFP article.

In an age where job-seekers and employers alike turn to the internet for job postings and qualified candidates, digital resumes on websites such as LinkedIn and VisualCV become invaluable feeds of information, opportunity and outreach. They also provide a form of social networking outside of very personalized Facebook and Twitter accounts, which would be a step in the right direction for many college students seeking post-graduate employment.

Furthermore, if you have built up a portfolio of multimedia productions, projects or web designs, digital resumes on VisualCV can also help to display a dynamic body of work and impress a potential employer. Showing you are technology savvy and up on the latest in social media might just give you an edge in the extremely competitive job-market.

So if you are serious about getting a job, check out LinkedIn and VisualCV.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Job Hosting Sites

Even though the job hunt for recent graduates has become far more competitive in the last decade, there have been advancements to make it easier as well. For example, job hosting websites. There are thousands of opportunities awaiting you online so forget rummaging through the classified sections and running around town searching for "work needed" signs. Instead, jump online and use the power of these sites.


Broadcasting:

http://part-time.careerbuilder.com/pt.ic/Broadcast-Journalism.htm

http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobs/list/q-broadcastinghttp://www.tvjobs.com/
http://www.cpb.org/jobline/

Journalism:

http://www.journalismjobs.com/
http://www.journalismjobs.com/search_jobs_all.cfm
http://cubreporters.org/jobs.html
http://www.peoplesearchpro.com/journalism/jobs/

Public Relations:

http://www.prsa.org/jobcenter/
http://www.prnewsonline.com/
http://www.prcrossing.com/
http://www.prweekus.com/jobs/section/257/

Advertising:

http://www.talentzoo.com/
http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/jobs-c-advertising_pr
http://www.marketingjobs.com/
http://www.mediajobmarket.com/jobs/index.jsp

Organizational Communication:

http://www.bestsampleresume.com/find-organizational-communication-jobs.html
http://www.indeed.com/q-Assistant-Professor-Organizational-Communication-jobs.html

Intercultural Communication:

http://www.job-search-engine.com/keyword/intercultural-communication/
http://jobs.trovit.com/jobs/intercultural-communication
http://www.indeed.com/q-Intercultural-jobs.html
http://www.bestsampleresume.com/find-intercultural-communication-jobs.html

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Economic Dissatisfaction Affecting College Student's Mental Health


A series of recent studies shows that depression and anxiety among college students and recent college graduates is the highest it has been in over 10 years.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, a questionnaire used to assess a variety of mental disorders, was administered to large samples of college students by researchers at San Diego State University. The survey has been used to collect mental health data on United States college students since as far back as 1938.

According to the survey, eight times as many college students meet the criteria for major depressive disorder and/or generalized anxiety disorder than 10 years ago.

Interestingly, the increase in anxiety and depression appears to be due to young people’s changing values and views about the world.

According to Jean Twenge, the lead researcher behind the study, college students have experienced a generational shift from “intrinsic” to “extrinsic” goals. Intrinsic goals deal with a person’s sense of self worth, development, and understanding of the world. Extrinsic goals focus on material wealth, status and how other people perceive them.

Twenge noted a poll of college freshmen that found “being well off financially” was more important to them than “developing a meaningful philosophy of life.” This attitude is drastically different from years past when the opposite was true, Twenge said.

This extrinsic concern is supported by research at Harvard University. The 17th Edition Survey of Young Americans’ Attitudes toward Politics and Public Service by Harvard University shows that financial obligations and employment are the number one concern among college students.

Here were some of the findings:

- 85% think the current economic state will make it difficult for their graduating class to find permanent jobs upon graduation.
- 62% are concerned with meeting their bills and obligations.
- 59% are worried about having money for “extras”
- 59% are worried about finding an affordable place to live.
- 47% worried about being able to live in the city of their choice after graduation.

The Panetta Institute for Public Policy and Hart Research Associates support these findings in their 2010 Survey of America’s College Students.

According to the survey, 83% of students view the economy as weak, and 40% say they have been personally affected as a result. In fact, 74% of college seniors said they are worried about finding a job after graduation, the lowest number the survey has ever seen.

Other concerns include having too much student loan debt (44%), too much credit card debt (25%), being able to afford health care (31%) and their personal financial situation (68%).

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Graduate School: Where To Go & How To Get There


As we reach the end of the 120-credit requirement list and our Degree Audit Report is turning green, a lot of us are wondering: what now?

There is a fork in the road and we can either go two ways: more school or more work. The recent budget cuts to higher education are swaying our minds from the possibility of textbooks and student loans. However, the economy is preventing us from starting our careers we've worked so hard to begin. So what to do and where to go?

Well, the first glimmer of a silver lining rests within scholarships, grants, and fellowships. If you're involved in any club, Greek chapter, multi-cultural center, or foreign exchange program; you're chances at receiving funding will increase. Just put yourself out there and you never know money might just fall from the sky. Here is a list of scholarships available in the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication.
The deadline is in 11 days!

If you’re looking at moving forward to graduate school the practice GRE (Graduate Requirement Exam) is offered FOR FREE on November 13 from 8-5 in the CUE. WSU also offers free MCAT, DAT, OAT, PCAT, and LSAT practice tests for other WSU students on this day. For more information, go here.

Once you've figured out the finances, finished taking the examinations, the finals step is deciding where to go for your masters/doctorate degree. Whether you wish to stay within the field of communication or decide to venture out, here is a list of the best graduate schools in the United States.

By the time you have spent a few more years in the classroom, the economic storm should have settled and you will have obtained not only more knowledge, but a faster route to eliminating debt as well.

Use Social Media to Create Personal Branding

You can have the opportunity to create a personally branded resume by making use of social media. Interviewers, recruiters and hiring managers will search for you long before they call you for an interview. By creating a social media resume, it will enable you to maximize your own personal marketing.

A social media resume is a collection of your educational background, professional experience, references, contact information and a gallery of your work. It enables people to see your qualities, skills, abilities and however else you choose to market yourself.

One way to create a social media resume is to create a Google Profile. Blogging, podcasting, video productions and photo galleries are other ways to use social media. To find out information about how to create your own social media resume click here.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

U.S. Census bureau

This site can be of great use to graduates. The census bureau has many tools and references that help compare different cities, states towns...

Click here to visit the site

America's Wealthiest and Poorest States

This article compares different states' median income. It is helpful to see where people have a stable job and income. Keep in mind that the comparisons don't take into account the cost differences between states; however, it is helpful for college graduates to maximize their potential careers by going to the states that provide the best jobs and incomes.

Read more here

Midterm Election Results Affect Us

Regardless of how many college students and recent graduates exercised their right to vote in these midterm elections, the results will affect everyone - so stay informed.

Click here to see local, state and nation-wide results from Seattle's KOMO News.