Jo Anne Cottrell

Role at the UMBC Career Center: Office Manager

Q:Where have you earned your college degrees?

A: Towson University

Q: What program(s) did you study? How did you choose your major?

A: I studied 3 languages in High School and knew that I wanted to pursue languages in college.  I graduated with a BA in Spanish.

Q: What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

A: Think for yourself

Q: Why should students visit the Career Center?

A: Students should visit the Career Center to explore the range of possibilities that they can pursue with their education.

Q: What is your favorite aspect about UMBC?

A: UMBC is a very supportive environment which encourages participation at all levels on campus.

Q: What is one item on your bucket list?

A: I have always wanted to live in a foreign country.  Someplace in Europe would be ideal for the travel opportunities it would present.

Want to connect with Jo Anne or any of our great Career Center team? Call our office at 410-455-2216 or check out our contact us page here: http://careers.umbc.edu/aboutus/

At the Fall Career Fair next week you are going to need a resume. You will probably find a company that will want to give YOU an internship or a job. The first thing they might ask you for is your resume. If you don’t have your resume updated, don’t panic. I have some tips on how you can show your already impressive accomplishments.

Your resume gives you 30 seconds to grab the reviewer’s attention and get into the yes pile.  You might be thinking: “That sounds impossible!”

It’s not impossible. There are actually a few easy steps that you can take that will place your resume in the YES pile. 

STEP 1:  Create a list of all relevant coursework, projects, work/volunteer experiences, and organizations in which you have participated. All of these things add significant value to your resume.

STEP 2:  Identify the important skills, achievements, and interests that you want to highlight on your resume.

STEP 3:  Develop descriptive phrases for your experiences. Qualify and Quantify what you accomplished on a daily basis. Develop statements like these for your course projects also. Start these phrases with strong action verbs.

STEP 4:  Put your resume into an organized format. Keep your formatting clear and consistent throughout the document. Your font can be between 10.5 and 12pt. and margins can be between .5 and 1 inch.

STEP 5:  Upload your resume to UMBCworks for review. Then come to drop-in hours or schedule an appointment with your career adviser.

Here are some additional Do’s and Don’t’s of resume writing:

Do:

Don’t:

The resume is not the only thing employers at the Fall Career Fair will be looking for. Here are some tips for Job Fair Etiquette. 

My last tip to prepare for this Career Fair is to start researching the employers who will be in attendance now. You can find the list at the bottom of the page HERE. Identify what skills you have that these companies need and make sure those skills are highlighted on your resume.

The Career Center has a lot more tips to resume writing. Check out the UMBC Career Guide for resume tips specific to UMBC students! If you are having trouble with starting your resume, have additional questions, or want to get your resume approved the Career Center has drop-in hours from 2 – 4pm Monday – Friday at the Career Center in Math/Psych 212, and 6 – 8pm Tuesday and Wednesday in the Library at the Writing Center. 

Name: Edgar Douanla Nzokwe

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: FINRA

Major(s)/Minor(s): Computer Engineering

Expected Graduation Year: May 2015

Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service-learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.

Interning at FINRA has allowed/granted me the opportunity to participate in and undertake various different tasks. For example, one of my very first tasks was to update the department's wiki page, which I did using HTML, SQL, Javascript and CSS to display information on the web page. However, I also participated in some more challenging tasks such as rebooting FINRA's servers after an upgrade. Actually, participating in this reboot let me see just how interrelated the departments are and how much coordination is required to ensure all services get restored. One more task, in fact my favorite one, was writing a program that parses a 20000 line data file and stores the information in Microsoft Excel worksheets and workbooks. Currently, I am working on writing scripts to automate part of the deployment process (getting applications to run on the cloud so that users can access it through the FINRA website).

Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.

First, I got my resume reviewed by the UMBC Career Center. My resume was 2 pages long when I took it to them but they help me reduce it to a single page with very rich content.

Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?

Career Center, Career Fairs, UMBCworks, Networking Events (Corporate Visibility Days, Info Sessions, Arts with A Purpose,etc.) 

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?

I had the chance to work with a wonderful team. Everyone was always happy to answer my questions. I also visited the server room and got to see servers and watch administrators troubleshooting them.

What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?

I had the opportunity to work on a variety of tasks which required me to learn new languages such as batch programming, SQL, and Jquery.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

Get your resume reviewed by the Career Center. Go for a mock interview to learn about your strengths and weaknesses Apply for internships Before Career Fairs, check out companies you like and apply for their internship through their website. Visit them during the fair, talk more about the company and tell them you already applied. Do not get discouraged when you get denied an internship. Just keep applying for more.

Please provide a short quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.

Never be afraid to express your opinion. It is better to say the wrong thing and be corrected than to never know if your opinion was wrong or right.

Below are just a few of the new Internship positions posted to UMBCworks in the past week. Check them out today!

Fall 2014 - Development Internship (9268575)
Young Audiences/Arts for Learning - Baltimore, Maryland
This is an internship that will provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to work in a busy fundraising office and to manage a project from start to finish. The project is a donor stewardship initiative to increase donor profiles on YA’s website. 

Fall 2014 - Media and Special Events Intern (9268571)
Federal Hill Main Street, Inc. - Baltimore, Maryland
Federal Hill Main Street is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering a vibrant and thriving business community that meets the needs of the neighborhood while preserving its unique and historic character.

National Museum of American History Internship (9268668)
The Smithsonian Institution - Washington, D.C., District of Columbia
The National Museum of American History internship program allows a diverse group of people with innumerable interests, strengths, and goals to encounter an educational environment where they can work with and learn from professionals and scholars in related areas of concentration.

Spring Internships at World Relief (9268464)
World Relief - Baltimore, Maryland
World Relief Baltimore is seeking interns who are passionate about serving the most vulnerable, and we think you could be a great fit! Interning with World Relief is a great way to gain a deeper understanding of relief and development work, while adding an internationally recognized organization to your resume.

Summer 2015 White House Intern (9268665)
The White House Internship Program - Washington, District of Columbia
Summer 2015 application is open and the application deadline is January 11, 2015
The White House Internship Program provides a unique opportunity to gain valuable professional experience and build leadership skills. This hands-on program is designed to mentor and cultivate today’s young leaders, strengthen their understanding of the Executive branch.

Writing Intern (9268143)
CoolCAD Electronics - College Park, Maryland
University of Maryland tech startup expanding the team to initiate new growth initiatives. Looking for interns who are interested in assisting with the growing and running of a startup operation. Intern will be tasked with a high level of responsibility and must act accordingly.

Fall 2014 - Gallery Intern (9268572)
Full Circle Photo - Baltimore, Maryland
Assist in the organization, design, and marketing of exhibitions in the lobby gallery. Attend & help manage receptions. Contact artists and assist curators. Applicants with a background in curatorial practice are encouraged to apply. Must be highly organized and personable, likes listening to problems and then find solutions, can swing a hammer...and more!

Fine Arts Intern (9268620)
Hamilton Arts Collective/Hamilton Gallery - Baltimore, Maryland
An established cooperative fine arts gallery in the Hamilton business district of Baltimore is looking for an intern to join our team and learn the ropes of managing a gallery with monthly changing exhibition schedule. The intern hired for this position should expect to be involved in all aspects of gallery management.

Spring 2015 - Research Intern (paid) (9268614)
The Chesapeake Group - Baltimore- 10 minutes from campus, Maryland
Use computer for analysis and graphic presentation of data and maps, use of standard programs, data input from surveys performed by others, data collection and entry, development of newsletters and other materials as required, updating networking sites (linkedin, etc.), spatial, planning or economic analysis opportunities as well.

Building Efficiency Intern (9268252)
SOL VISTA - Silver Spring, Maryland
SOL VISTA’s on-site services and proprietary technology helps hotel and other commercial building owners reduce their utility bills and environmental impact. Our clientele are located throughout the U.S. and Caribbean, and include well-known brands such as W Hotels, InterContinental, Sofitel, Viceroy, and Westin.

Intern (6807) (9268618)
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield - Owings Mills, Maryland
The intern is an integral member of the Product/Segment Management Team, located in the CareFirst Strategic Marketing Department in Owings Mills.

This position may include the following duties: Analyze market and segment competitors. Market research on segments and products within the CareFirst geographic region.

Spring 2015 - Clinical & Public Health/Policy Internships available (9268637)
The Pro Bono Counseling Project, Inc. - Baltimore, Maryland
The Pro Bono Counseling Project offers two different internship experiences- one that is clinical and designed to give psychology and social work majors experience in conducting intake interviews and assessments of clients presenting needs and documenting some case management.

Spring 2015 - Research Intern (9268615)
Maryland Psychiatric Research Center - Catonsville, Maryland
The Maryland Psychiatric Research Center (MPRC) is looking for a part time student intern for the spring of 2015 for 6-12 hours per week. Our program monitors antipsychotic prescription in Maryland youth under 18, while supporting research on schizophrenia and substance abuse.

To access these positions, login to your UMBCworks account (via the link in the Jobs & Internships topic in myUMBC) and find details and application instructions as well as hundreds of other job postings! Please note you MUST have an approved resume and be released to apply to internships. To schedule an appointment, access our online system in UMBCworks or call (410) 455-2216.