There is an ancient riddle which has confused students since the beginning of time: How do I get experience when all experiences require experience? Figuring out how to break into the job market can feel like trying to jump on an already moving Ferris wheel. Confusing, intimidating, and not how you want to spend your weekends. But there is a way to round out your resume, gain leadership experience, and develop a professional network without snagging that elusive first job in your preferred field.

Campus involvement is a great alternative. Hopefully, you made it to Involvement Fest and have a few clubs you’re thinking about joining. If not, don’t worry! The full list of UMBC student organizations can be found here. It might seem intimidating at first, but taking a few minutes to look through the list is a great idea. There are professional societies, department groups, and recreational clubs. Find a couple that seem like fun, figure out what time they meet, and you’re good to go!

As a member of a club, you have the chance to do three things that help boost your chances of getting a job.

1. Leadership Opportunities. Clubs are a great way to take on responsibility in a relatively low-risk environment. Having a leadership position in a club gives you experience managing other people and their schedules, planning events, budgeting, and recruiting new members. These are great skills to highlight in a resume and provide great stories to talk about in interviews.

2. Networking. In a club, whether its related to your studies or not, you’re going to make friends with people who will be able to help your career down the road. Building connections in and out of your major is always a great idea, and clubs are great ways to get out, meet people, and create lasting friendships. It’s a stress-free way of beginning to cultivate a professional network.

3. The Human Element. Most employers aren’t looking for an emotionless robot to sit behind a desk and bang out reports day after day. And if they are, you probably don’t want to work for them anyways. Clubs and extracurriculars show your potential employer that you’re more than just a student. You have a breadth of knowledge and ideas that support and enhance your professional development. Having dedicated interests outside your field of study show that you commit to the things that you love, and you’ll commit to your new job too.

Name:Jamie Denton

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Girls’ Life Magazine

Position Title: Editorial Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s): English B.A/ Media & Communication Studies

Work Term:Summer 2018

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.

One of my responsibilities was to write articles pertaining to fashion, beauty, fitness, books, and lifestyle for the Girls' Life website, which were published on a weekly basis. Additionally, I assisted in planning content for the Girls' Life website by brainstorming original and creative article ideas. I also became familiar with the inner workings of journalism by transcribing interviews and networking with people in the industry.

One cooling thing about my internship is that I had the privilege of working a music and festival event that was in partnership with iHeartRadio’s z104.3 and sponsored by L.A. Colors. It was extremely fascinating to be behind the scenes and see how companies collaborate and hold huge promotional events. I even got to work with the clothing brand Aeropostale, talk to some of the representatives, and forge relationships with people in similar industries. Plus, I got to take home a bunch of free items!

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

I looked on the UMBCworks website around late April, which is where I heard of the position. Then I took my resume to the Career Center, where it was carefully looked over, and I was given constructive feedback. After polishing my resume, writing a cover letter, and submitting three writing samples, I applied for the position a few days later.

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

Getting my articles published on the Girls' Life Website and getting featured in the magazine (it’s incredibly rewarding to see my name in print)!

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

I believe that I've served as a role model for young girls by writing articles that inspire and give advice to teens in order to facilitate their success in the world.

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

Use UMBCworks to help you find an internship or job opportunity! I wouldn’t have had my internship if it wasn’t for them. Also, don’t be afraid to go to the Career Center; it’s an incredibly helpful resource to improve your resume and strengthen your interview skills.

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Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Friday!

Welcome, or welcome back, to UMBC! To most, 90-degree weather and steadfastly green trees don’t really feel like the beginning of the school year, but believe it or not, here we are. I hope you’re at least a tiny bit excited for your new semester.

I’m always torn between excitement and stress. I filled my calendar with due dates and exams, but looking at it makes me realize how much I have to do. Before we go any further, let me introduce myself. I’m Emily, a third-year computer science major with minors in Mandarin and creative writing. I work as a Career Peer Advisor here at the UMBC Career Center, and this year I’m going to be handling our weekly blog posts. At the Career Center, we specialize in getting you all jobs, and more important than that, a job you might actually enjoy. Have no idea what field to go into? We have tools and appointments for that. Need a summer internship? We have specialists to guide you along the way. Want to have an internship showcased on your transcript? We do that too. Stop by the second floor of Math and Psych any weekday from 2 pm- 4 pm to get resumes reviewed, UMBCworks questions answered, and cover letters edited.

Now before you launch straight into classwork, it’s helpful to take time and evaluate what you did over the summer. Service projects you completed, jobs you had, internship experience, it can all be useful when redoing a resume. And I know that those summer experiences look different for everyone, so I’ll try and break it down a little.

If you had a job or internship, there are a few important things to do before you forget everything in the haze of school projects. First, add the experience to your resume. If you’re not sure how exactly to do that, we have tons of resume examples on our website. Second, consider reaching out to your direct supervisor. Thank them for an informative summer and generally explain how much the experience meant to you. This is a great way to accumulate references for your next application.

If you had a job or internship not related to what you’re studying, the two steps above are also very important to you. I know it might not seem like it, but by maintaining a summer job, you’re cultivating professionalism and work ethic that will help you in your field for years to come. While you’re editing your resume, think about any skills you gained that might transfer to the field you want to work in. Maybe as an office assistant, you got a lot of experience with spreadsheets. Maybe as a retail worker, you helped organize schedules and shifts so that your colleagues stayed happy. These all look wonderful in a job description.

If you didn't work over the summer,there are still a lot of thing to consider. Volunteer experience, extracurriculars, new computer skills, and personal projects in your field of study are all important to have on resumes. Take a few minutes, brainstorm a list of your accomplishments, then take a look our career guide to figure out how to showcase what you did.

Here at the Career Center, we also had a productive summer. We have a new resource for students: Big Interview. Sign in with your UMBC login and you have access to their database of interview questions. You can even record yourself answering interview questions and get feedback from a Career Center team member through email. It’s a great practice tool for those who get a little nervous while interviewing.

Now that your summer is all summarized (see what I did there), you’re ready to hit the ground running. There are lots of big and exciting things coming up, from the Career Fair, to On the Roads with companies like Morgan Stanley, to panels with representatives from T. Rowe Price. Till next week, I’m your friendly neighborhood Career Peer. I wish you all a smooth start to the semester, and I hope we see you soon!

Hey, everyone! Welcome back! I hope you guys enjoyed your summer.

Just a quick reminder to come visit the ISSA booth at Involvement fest on 9/12 from 12 - 3pm. and come say Hi!

Some fun facts and benefits for joining Information Systems Security Association:

• Become a member of the ISSA, it looks great on any resume
• Learn about bleeding edge security measures
• Network and find career opportunities
• Meet the ISSA executive board
• Stay involved on campus

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at Involvement fest! We have a lot planned for this semester!

~ ISSA Executive Board

Name:Genevieve Ahearn

Internship, Co-op or Research Site:U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Position Title:Directorate Resource Assistant Fellow

Major(s)/Minor(s):Biology

Work Term:Summer 2018

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.

The magnificent ramshorn is North America's largest air-breathing freshwater snail endemic to two counties in North Carolina. It is believed to be extinct in the wild with only two captive populations in existence and is a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act. I have had the privilege of working on a plan to reintroduce the snail back into the wild. I started out reading everything there was to know about the snail. I summarized different methods of deciding where and how to reintroduce the snail into one document. I then spent a lot of time speaking with experts on what they thought would be the best method and worked with partner organizations to come to an agreement on what the next steps should be. I cultivated relationships with land managers in order to spread awareness about the snails status and to broaden the snails horizons as to where it could be released. More recently, I've been visiting potential reintroduction sites to decide if the water has just the right chemistry to move forward with testing water suitability on the snails. We've found a few spots, but this snail's a tricky one!

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

A professor sent out an email to all students majoring in GES at UMBC about the opportunity in mid-February. I actually had missed the original deadline, but luckily it was extended. I had applied to lots of positions before this one, and my resume had been reviewed by a lot of older friends that had already gone through the process. Of course I still ended up submitting my application at the very last moment, which is very stressful and I would not recommend it. I got a phone interview, and I immediately booked a practice interview with UMBC's Career Center. I asked to be recorded for future reference and I'm so glad I did. I never realized how overly self-deprecating I sounded and how bad my posture was in an effort to be non-threatening. Not only that, but they asked tough questions and gave me feedback on my answers and tips for thinking on the fly in the future. It definitely boosted my confidence for the interviews and helped me during the interview for this position. It's worth trying if you've never interviewed before.

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

If you love animals and ever want to make an impact, work for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They are on the front lines of protecting species habitats and cultivating relationships with all kinds of people to make protecting biodiversity a universal issue.

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

I had a few people ask me this summer how I justify what I am trying to do. Most people wouldn't care about a snail going extinct because they're not especially cute and cuddly and they do not strictly speaking perform an obvious service for humans. But that's exactly why I've liked this position. I've gotten to give a voice to something that normally gets overlooked. Snail diversity is diminishing at a very fast rate from mostly human causes, and that's all I need to know. Even if a species function isn't obvious, it more often than not plays a role in its ecosystem that would lead to a reduction in ecosystem function without it. Except mosquitoes. Nobody likes them.

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

Never give up! I applied to sooo many positions, and got so many no's but all it takes is one yes!

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