Dressing professionally can be a tricky task. Here our some helpful articles on dressing for success whether its professional attire or business casual!
1. Business Dress Code Basics Learn the basics of business dress codes. Features descriptions of Business Casual and Business Formal dress. Also: where to shop for each dress code.
3. Here’s What 'Business Casual' Really Means Business casual can mean so many different things depending on the company or region your in. This article gives a great overview of what business casual really means.
4. Fashion Challenge: Brighten Up Business Casual Absolutely love this article, it talks about the difficulty of transitioning from class to the workplace and has some great outfit ideas.
5. Pinterest Is always a great source for additional articles and outfit ideas!
BONUS! We love this graphic that shows you don't need many pieces to put these outfits together!
As you can probably tell from our previous posts we love Ted Talks! They are super inspiring and you can learn so much in just a short 15 minutes. When I came across this article that had 15 Ted Talks preselected for college students, I just had to share it!
Love this Ted Talk! Not everyone knows exactly what they want to do in college, and that's perfectly okay. Don't settle for just any job, find what your passionate about and turn it into your career!
"The things we have in our head that we think are impossible, are just milestones waiting to be accomplished."
1. Decide what type of thank you note to send. Three common types of thank you notes are; Typed notes that are printed, put into printed envelopes, and mailed, emailed notes, and hand-written notes. Notes sent through snail mail are preferred by most formal companies but sometimes due to time constraints an email will have to do.
Bonus Tip: You can always do more than one. For example send an email the day of and a handwritten note a week later.
2. Make it personal and sincere. Reference the interview you had with them. Maybe you really enjoyed learning how they started their career or you have the same alma mater.
Bonus Tip: If more than one person interviewed you, you will need to send a personal note to each.
3. Be concise. Express your appreciation and reiterate your interest and qualifications.
4. Proofread. I cannot emphasize this step enough! You can have an amazing interview and completely botch it with grammar errors and spelling mistakes. I recommend having a peer look over it as well.
5. Follow up. Don't worry if you don't receive a reply, often the people interviewing you receive 100's of emails a day and frankly just don't have the time. If two weeks go by with no news feel free to reach out again.
We could all use a little inspiration to kick off our new year. Sheryl Sandberg the current COO of Facebook and author of Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead shares her three pieces of advice for women aiming to reach the top in the workplace in this TED Talk.
Sanberg's coined phrase "lean in" has caught on in the discussions about women in the workplace. To lean in, in the words of Sandberg, means to not pull back when it comes to your professional career when you want to start a family. This challenges the idea that women cannot achieve their professional ambitions and be a mother at the same time. Take a look at this video for her simple advice on how to do both.
Throughout your college career your resume becomes an essential tool to have for your career building future. This one piece of paper explains who you are and what you can bring to the table for an internship, job opportunity, or even to share with a mentor. As I've developed my own resume there are some tips and tricks I have found that helped me create a solid resume:
1. Use a template! There a millions of resume templates on the web these days. Many of them are free. They taking care of the formatting for you, so you can focus on content and wording. Below is an example of a simple yet slightly unique resume.
2. Experience doesn't have to be paid! You may feel that you do not have a lot of formal job experience related to your career field. However, a leadership in a club on campus or volunteering for an organization can be just as relevant as a formal internship. It is all about how you describe your responsibilities and tasks.
3. Use your school's career center! Most colleges have a career center with staffed professionals who's job it is to help you prepare you for life after college. This includes developing your resume. Take advantage and seek out advice from one of your career counselors. They especially can help you with wording when it comes to describing your work experience.
4. Customize your resume for the job you want! Some work experience will be more relevant than others depending upon the job or internship you are applying for. Take a look at what the employer is looking for in a candidate and make edits to your resume accordingly.
