Developing an ePortfolio

ePortfolio

An ePortfolio is an online bio for students to share the highlights of their collegiate career with prospective employers or graduate and professional school selection committees. A fully developed portfolio should offer a broader sense of who you are, what you have accomplished, and what you hope to achieve. The ePortfolio should be designed as a self-narrative, and serve as an invitation for employers and selection committees to get to know you.

Employers and graduate and professional school selection committees are now seeking more than just a traditional résumé from candidates. Interested parties want to know more about who you really are, and will likely search online to find out more about you. So you should ask yourself: what do I want to appear in an online search? By creating an ePortfolio, a prospective employer will learn about your accomplishments as an undergraduate, and why you have chosen your particular career path.

The Honors College has created an ePortfolio program to provide you with the resources needed to successfully showcase your career in Honors. Whether you are headed directly into the workforce, or planning to apply for graduate or professional school, developing an ePortfolio will enable you to distinguish yourself from other candidates.

Job Opportunities/Scholarship Announcement

Job Opportunities/Scholarship Announcement 

Healthcare

Are you looking for a unique job opportunity to gain real-life experience in child development and to be part of an amazing journey of recovery?

 Join our Team - We are creating two miracles!

UH faculty member invites you to be part of her seven-year-old daughter’s and seven-year-old son’s fun and exciting in-home Son-Rise programs.  For kids in the autism spectrum, this approach of play therapy combines a fun, loving, and nonjudgmental attitude with learning through play

 · No experience necessary. We will provide ongoing Son-Rise training

· Compensation: $10/h

· Looking for people to begin immediately

· Flexible schedules

· Pearland area

Qualifications

· Energy, enthusiasm and excitement!

· Reliable and punctual.

· Patient, persistent and open minded.

· Seeking to enrich your life by helping those of two amazing children.

 To find out more, please contact Dusya Vera at dusyavera@yahoo.com

http://www.autismtreatmentcenter.org/contents/other_sections/autism-solutions.php

  

Michigan State University College of Law

King Scholars program will provide full-tuition scholarship assistance (a three-year value of $105,000) to 20 members of the fall 2013 class. A competitive candidate has achieved undergraduate GPA of 3.75 and 162 or higher on LSAT.

The College of Law will also award $28,500 and $17,500 to as many as 60 members of the 2013 incoming class. A competitive candidate has achieved undergraduate GPA of 3.50 or higher and 157 or higher on the LSAT.

For more information visit www.law.msu.edu/admissions/scholarships .html or contact admiss@law.msu, or 517-432-0222.

 Events Internship

Institute of Interfaith Dialog

There are a several projects the intern would work on including annual friendship dinners, art contests for middle and high school students, and international trips for schools of communication at university level. This is not a paid internship.

For more information contact Ali R. Candir, Executive Director

acandir@interfaithdialog.org or call (713) 974-4443

THE NUMBER ONE PURPOSE OF A RESUME
The resume is a tool with one specific purpose: to win an interview. If it does what the fantasy resume did, it works. If it doesn't, it isn't an effective resume. A resume is an advertisement, nothing more, nothing less.
A great resume doesn't just tell them what you have done but makes the same assertion that all good ads do: If you buy this product, you will get these specific, direct benefits. It presents you in the best light. It convinces the employer that you have what it takes to be successful in this new position or career.
It is so pleasing to the eye that the reader is enticed to pick it up and read it. It "whets the appetite," stimulates interest in meeting you and learning more about you. It inspires the prospective employer to pick up the phone and ask you to come in for an interview.

What are the most important things to remember about writing an effective resume? They can be encapsulated in a six-letter acronym, FAKTSA, in which the letters stand for:

Focus
Appearance
Keywords
Transferrable Skills
Accomplishments

Focus

A sharp focus is an extremely important resume element. Given that employers screen resumes for as few as 6 seconds, a resume should show the employer at a glance what you want to do and what you're good at. Studies have shown that employers wanted resumes to show a clear match between the applicant and a particular job's requirements. A "general" resume that is not focused on a specific job's requirements is seen as not competitive. In a study by CareerBuilder.com, 71 percent of hiring managers preferred a resume customized for the open position. Note that objective statements have long been used -- with varying degrees of success -- to sharpen the focus of resumes, but they are currently out of fashion with employers. To sharpen your focus, consider a section such as a "Summary of Qualifications," "Profile," or the like.

Appearance

Your resume needs to catch the readers attention and be simultaneously reader-friendly. Research indicates that employers rank easy readability as the most important resume point in terms of first impressions.
 For a "print" resume -- used for networking, career fairs, taking to the interview, and mailing to the employer -- include some design elements, such as rule lines, to give your resume graphic interest. We also strongly recommend a bulleted style to make your resume more reader-friendly. Most employers prefer bullets and dislike the density of type seen in a paragraph format.
 Some job-seekers damage the appearance of their resumes by trying to squeeze a lot of information onto one page. Don't be afraid to go to a two-page resume.

Keywords

More than 90 percent of resumes are searched for job-specific keywords. Therefore, if you apply for a job with a company that searches databases for keywords, and your resume doesn't have the keywords the company seeks for the person who fills that job, you are pretty much dead in the water. Some career experts recommend a section of industry-specific keywords, labeled with a heading such as Areas of Expertise, Core Competencies, or Key Proficiencies. Other career gurus disdain these keyword sections because they list disembodied words with no context. They would prefer to see the keywords embedded in contextual accomplishments statements

Transferable Skills

One of the most important concepts you will ever encounter in the job-hunting process is that of transferable job skills. The deft use of transferable skills should pervade your job search and be a key factor in your resume, cover letter, and interview strategies. What are transferable skills? Simply put, they are skills you have acquired during any activity in your life -- jobs, classes, projects, parenting, hobbies, sports, virtually anything -- that are transferable and applicable to what you want to do in your next job.

Accomplishments

Many resumes are duties-driven when they should be accomplishments-driven. Job-seekers should, for example, NEVER use expressions like "Duties included," "Responsibilities included," or "Responsible for." That's job-description language, not accomplishments-oriented resume language that sells. Accomplishments are the points that increase reader's interest, stimulate a request for a job interview, and help sell you to an employer -- much more so than everyday job duties. Be sure also that the accomplishments you list support your career goals.


Katharine Hansen, Ph.D., creative director and associate publisher of Quintessential Careers.

UH Internship Career Fair

We recommend that our students complete at least one internship (paid or unpaid, for-credit or not-for-credit) before graduation. The Career Services Center at the University of Houston offers many internship resources. Visit http://www.career.uh.edu/internshipservices/newsletter/ to learn more, and remember the Internship Career Fair will be held on Wednesday, October 3 from 1-4 in the Campus Recreation Center Multipurpose Room. Business Attire.

Should I do an Internship? YES!

An internship is a work-related learning experience for individuals who wish to develop hands on work experience in a certain occupational field. Internships may be the best thing that you can do for your future. Internships provide work experience opportunities to university students. Employers are willing to hire interns with little or no experience, and whether the internship is paid or unpaid, the benefits are endless. Here are some of the benefits:

Gain Valuable Work Experience
An internship provides the opportunity to gain hands on work experience that you just can’t get in the classroom. College students and first time job seekers aren’t usually desirable candidates, but companies are willing to train them as interns and give them the experience they would need to get a job.

Have an Edge in the Job Market
Employers are usually more concerned with your work experience than your qualifications and internships are often the only way to get the work experience you need to secure a job, so they're a vital part of your resume.

Many employers prefer or require applicants who have done an internship or relevant work experience and in many of the more competitive job markets it is essential to set you apart from the others. Many skills are best learned on the job, and even internships that are not directly related to your career provide you with opportunities to demonstrate your transferable skills, such as leadership, critical thinking, and communication skills.

Transition into a Job
Employers see interns as prospective employees and many finish their internships and continue working with the company full time. Internships are the number one way for employers to find new staff in the US.

Think of it as a really long interview, after which you’ve proved that you are a capable and hardworking employee. During your internship, your mentors and professional colleagues can introduce you to potential employers, plus provide references and describe your accomplishments to assist in your job search.

Decide if this is the Right Career for You
If you’re not sure if this is the right career for you, doing an internship is a great way to try it out. Internships are generally short-term, so you can test your future career without committing and find out if it is a career that will satisfy you.

Networking Opportunities
Internships are a great way to meet people in your field. Even if you have experience, knowing people never hurts. An internship allows you to meet people who might help you land a job later on and give you the contacts in the industry you’re trying to break into.

People who know your potential and work ethic are happy to pass along tips about opportunities, share your information with their friends, and provide you with suggestions on how and where to look for positions once you graduate. Leverage this group of professionals into a network to help you land the position you want.

Apply Classroom Knowledge
As an intern you will gain immediate career-related experiences that complement your academic credentials. Not only can you apply the theories that you learn in class to real experiences, but you can take those experiences back into the classroom.

An internship introduces you to the world of work and how work gets completed beyond academia. It’s a chance to prove the worth of your qualifications and to show that you can perform in the role you've been given.

Internship stories?

We'd like to hear your internship stories! Contact Libby at lningrassia@uh.edu to share your recent internships or jobs.