Part 6: Career Readiness Guide: Prepare For Success With Your Liberal Arts Degree | Job Search Communication Tools, Résumés & Job Interviews

This is the sixth of seven articles in this series, click here to go to the first article. If you’re searching for a remote internship, go to our search results page that lists all of the remote internships and other entry-level jobs advertised on College Recruiter and then drill down as you wish by adding your desired category, location, company, or job type.

JOB SEARCH COMMUNICATION TOOLS

Once you’ve developed a healthy list of job opportunities you’d like to pursue, you have to actually go ahead and pursue them! To do that in a way that maximizes your chances for success, you need compelling, convincing job search communication tools:
• Résumés
• Cover letters
• Recommendation letters
• Thank-you notes

You’ll use all of these critical tools, as well as your LinkedIn profile (see page 63) and opportunities like interviews, to cultivate and communicate your personal brand (see page 50): the image you convey to the world.

RÉSUMÉS

The Purpose of Your Résumé

The purpose of your résumé is to help you quickly explain your skills and competencies, qualifications, and fit for a position. It serves as your introduction to prospective employers and can be used both as a marketing tool for landing interviews and to help you reflect on your experience and plan for future skill and competency development.

Your résumé is one of the primary tools you can use to showcase your career readiness in a tangible, compelling way. Remember: We define career readiness as developing—and then being able to convincingly demonstrate and articulate—the following Core Career Competencies:

Keep these competencies at the forefront of your mind as you create your résumé. And if you haven’t been doing so already, start:
• Carefully documenting all your experiences, in and out of the classroom.
• Pinpointing which Core Career Competencies your experiences have helped you develop.

(Note: Your advisor, a career counselor, and/or a faculty member can help you with this process.)

Remember: Ultimately, you need to be able to demonstrate your career readiness, on your résumé and elsewhere. You can’t just say you’re career ready; you have to show it. With that challenge always top of mind: Which experiences—academic, engagement, and career—can you highlight on your résumé to show prospective employers that you have, in fact, developed the Core Career Competencies that signify career readiness?

Career Fact: What Is a Curriculum Vitae (CV)?

A CV presents a full history of your academic and professional credentials (including research projects, publications, professional development, and practical experience related to your field). It is commonly used when applying to graduate/professional programs, fellowships, and grants. The length of a CV is not limited to one page.

ACTION VERBS

On the four pages that follow, you’ll find:
• A categorized listing of action verbs you can use on your résumé (and elsewhere—for example, in your cover letter, in interviews, and on your LinkedIn profile).
• Examples of two solid résumés so you can see how the energy you put into writing and designing your résumé pays off in an attractive, compelling final document.

How to Structure Your Cover Letter
Here’s a basic tutorial on what your cover letter should look like, in terms of both content and format:

Career Fact: Connections Gain Attention

Referrals are one of the top ways people get invited to interviews. So share any connections you have with people your cover letter’s recipient might know, provided those people are comfortable with you using their names. Referring to connections, or “name-dropping,” is very common and is expected in U.S.-dominant business culture.

Let’s look at a high-quality cover letter so that you can see how the energy you put into writing
one pays off in an attractive, compelling final document.

Be sure to include your name and contact information at the top of your letter, either mirroring your
résumé header information or using professional business letter format.

Here’s an example of a concise, but effective thank-you note:

INTERVIEWS

You’ve made your case on paper—specifically, on your résumé and in your cover letter—for a job or an internship that intrigues you (and you’ve effectively applied many of the Core Career Competencies in the process, by the way). Now, you’ve landed an interview. Congratulations! It’s time to make your case in person—through an in-person interview and/or a virtual interview via video or phone. (The information in the pages ahead applies to interviews in general; we cover the key nuances of virtual interviewing below.)

We will walk along the path to interviewing success step by step: before the interview, during the interview, after the interview and—keeping our eye on the ultimate goal—at the offer stage.

VIRTUAL INTERVIEWING

More than half of employers now use video or phone interviewing as one of their college recruiting tools. In many ways, you’ll prepare for these virtual interviews—and perform in them—just as you would for a face-to-face interview, following the advice in the pages ahead

But virtual interviewing is also its own art form—particularly when it comes to interviewing via video. Whether you’re interacting with an employer on the phone, live on screen, or are instead recording your responses to a set of questions delivered asynchronously by a computer, you want to make sure your best self shines through!

Clarify Logistics. It’s OK to do so! This information is likely to be shared when you are invited for an interview, but in case it isn’t, do clarify logistics by asking what you can expect. For instance, will the employer be contacting you via phone or via video conferencing software? (Clarify who will be contacting whom.) How long is the interview? With whom will the interview be? What can you expect during the virtual interview?

Check Your Tech and Environment. Before and during the interview, make sure your technology works—Internet connection and phone reception. We recommend using your headphones. Next, think about where you will interview. Arrange a space that is comfortable, has little to no distractions, and offers good lighting. Lastly, communication is key. At the start of the interview, check in about how communication is going for you and the employer (i.e., audio, connection, volume). This is also a good time to discuss a backup plan in case technical issues come up. Provide the employer with a number to best reach you.

Eliminate Background Distractions. From both a visual and an audio standpoint, make sure the setting you pick is quiet and distraction-free. If you’re interviewing from your residence, ask your roommate(s) to keep the noise down. If you’re interviewing via video, make sure the room you’re in is well lit so that the interviewer can see you clearly. You also want to make sure that nothing in the background reveals personally identifying information you would not want to share.

Dress the Part. Yes, even if you’re not meeting in person; it will boost your confidence. You want to dress wisely, in a way that makes sense for both the job/employer itself as well as for your own personal identity. Experiment a bit beforehand, with the help of a friend, to get a sense of how you look best on camera.

Speak Clearly, into the Microphone. Be sure you talk loudly enough to be heard, but not so loudly as to be overbearing. Confirm as well that your computer’s/phone’s microphone is working properly, and that it is set to pick up your voice easily.

Remember too, once again, that you are more than your major. Don’t forget that the list of the Core Career Competencies you’ve been developing came from extensive discussions with employers in particular. They are the ones looking for your Analytical & Critical Thinking, Innovation & Creativity, Oral & Written Communication, and Applied Problem Solving (among other Core Career Competencies) in real-world settings. Your liberal arts education is helping you develop these competencies. Now is the time to speak about them!

Career Fact: Skills and Competencies Matter Most

While the classes you’ve taken are important, 93% of employers report that they care more about your skills and competencies than your specific major (according to a study by the Association of American Colleges & Universities). So be sure to emphasize both in all your career-related interactions.

Know the Employer

The biggest mistake interviewees make, according to surveys of employers who hire new college graduates, is lacking knowledge about the organization they’re interviewing with You can avoid this fate by doing your research to learn more about the employer before your interview. Figure out its culture, philosophy, and career paths, as well as its history and structure. The more you know, the better prepared you will be—and the more impressive you will be as well.
Follow these steps to guide your efforts:

Gather information on the employer from:

• People you know who work in the industry. Use any connections you have through family, friends, professors, or classmates.
• The company’s/organization’s website.
• External websites such as Glassdoor (glassdoor.com), LinkedIn (linkedin.com), and The Business Journals (bizjournals.com) for the geographic area where the organization is headquartered.

Prepare questions to ask the interviewer(s):

• Don’t ask questions that could easily be answered by visiting the employer’s website. Instead, use the information you find in your research to create thoughtful questions that go a bit deeper.
• Don’t ask about salary or benefits unless and until you have a formal job offer to consider. Sometimes employers will ask you about your salary requirements before they offer you a job. When they ask, be ready to give an answer based on the research you’ve done.
• Possible general questions that are appropriate to ask:
• What is a typical day like for this position?
• Who is your ideal candidate?
• What is the supervision structure?
• What are the next steps in the interview process?

Know Your Fit
After you’ve thought about your background and you’ve done extensive research on the organization, your fit for the position will start to emerge. While the interview is a place for the employer to find the best person for their open position, it is also an opportunity for you to figure out if you are a fit for that job and that organization. Throughout your interview, it’s critical to be able to convey to the employer why you’re a good fit.

So go through each line of the job description and think of an example from your academic, engagement, or work experience that demonstrates the associated skill/competency or quality the employer is seeking. This exercise will help you decide if you’re a good fit for the position and help you prepare for the interview itself. You can even make yourself a quick chart:

Practice Answering Interview Questions
It’s impossible to know exactly what an employer will ask you in an interview. But the position description offers you a pretty good guide to what skills/competencies the employer is seeking.

So determine what those key skills/competencies are, always keeping in mind that the Core Career Competencies will certainly be among them. Then write down and practice describing examples of how you have developed these skills/competencies.

The more you practice, the more comfortable and natural you’ll feel during the interview. You can
even record yourself so that you can study how you’re coming across to others. You can also do
a practice interview with a career counselor, your advisor, a faculty member, and/or a volunteer
employer.

Here are a few of the most prevalent types of questions you should be ready for:

Tell me about yourself
• This is a very common way for an interview to begin. The key here is to keep your answer relevant to the position you’re seeking. The interviewer doesn’t need to know your entire life story; only the parts that make you a good fit for the position. So think about what brought you to this interview. Why did you apply for the position, and why are you qualified? You may want to talk about your educational background and the experiences you’ve had in college that are relevant, such as internships and student group involvement. This is also an excellent time to specifically mention your strongest of the Core Career Competencies that signify career readiness, perhaps doing so in terms of how others see you (e.g., “The people who know me best say I’m an excellent writer and a collaborative leader.”)

• Bring up pre-college experiences only if they are particularly important to why you are applying for the position. Perhaps, for instance, you had early exposure to the organization through a family member, or you took a key class in high school that sparked your interest in the industry.

• Keep your response to this question concise. That’s why preparation and practice are so important. Time yourself, making sure your response is no more than two minutes long.

What are your strengths? weaknesses?
• Think of three strengths you have (especially in the framework of the Core Career Competencies) that are relevant to the position, and come up with specific examples of when you’ve used these strengths to accomplish something that matters. For example, you might say that your top three strengths are:

• Written communication, as evidenced by the concise memo you wrote for your internship supervisor, summarizing a recent book proposal.

• Organization, as shown by your ability to maintain a 3.8 GPA in a busy semester of 18 credits, a 15 hours-per-week internship, and a leadership position in a student organization.

• Problem solving, which was apparent when you led the development of a process for attracting and recruiting new students in collaboration with your fellow sorority members.

• When you’re asked to give a weakness, the best way to respond is to focus on something you’re trying to improve. Pick a skill versus a personality trait, and talk specifically about what you’re doing to get better at it. For example: While I’m confident in my ability to present to a group, I’m not as skilled in different presentation tools. I am currently challenging myself to not use PowerPoint for my next three presentations, and to instead use newer tools such as Prezi, or rely on different visual aids.

One cautionary note: Make sure the skill you decide to talk about as a weakness is not one that is essential to the position you’re seeking! That said, employers know you’re human, and that as humans, we make mistakes and have weaknesses. Showing self-awareness of the areas you need to improve is a great sign of maturity. Therefore, it’s OK to be honest about those things, and then discuss how you have learned from your past experiences.

Behavioral-based questions
Employers are relying on behavioral-based questions more and more, thanks in large part to the underlying assumption behind them: “The past predicts the future.” Specifically, the thinking goes, how you’ve performed on something in the past will give the interviewer some pretty good insight into how you might respond to similar situations in the future.

Behavioral-based interview questions usually start with a phrase like “Tell me about a time when…” or “Give me an example of when….” Because you won’t know in advance the exact questions you’ll be asked, you’ll need to study the job description closely to see what specific skills the employer is seeking, particularly in the context of the Core Career Competencies that define career readiness. Then, simply think of examples of times when you demonstrated these skills/competencies, pulling from a variety of situations (not all from your classes, for instance, or an internship, or a student group activity).

Then practice—and practice some more—responding to each anticipated question using what we call the STAR format: Situation-Task-Action-Result.

Let’s break this STAR concept down a bit further:
• Situation: Briefly set up the situation you were facing by describing the context of your example (the who, what, where, when, why, and how).
• Task: Explain the task you (not the group) had to complete, or the problem you had to solve.
• Action: Describe the actions you took to complete the task or solve the problem.
• Result: Close by explaining the result of your efforts. Quantify the outcome if possible.

Here’s an example so you can see exactly how the STAR technique works:

Question: Describe a project for which you faced multiple deadlines, and talk about how you handled it.

Answer:

Situation: Last fall, I took the initiative to apply for grants to fund a professional speaker for a campus event. It’s often difficult to get grants for event funding, and it’s important to meet various grant deadlines.
Task: I researched grant options and found several possibilities. Each had a different deadline and a different window of time when the money could be used.
Action: The varying timelines required me to create a small database, which I organized by grant deadlines, purposes, and the windows of time they could be used. I used this database to help me apply for the appropriate grants at the appropriate times.
Result: The primary grant came through, but a smaller grant did not. So I quickly helped find a last minute event sponsor, then helped to update the PR materials and budget accordingly. In the end, the event was successful on multiple levels. We expected about 50 students to attend; 60 showed up. Also, we were able to provide honorariums to additional speakers. It was a fun project—one that required me to organize, problem solve, and make decisions.

As you get better at answering interview questions this way, you will find that the STAR approach is actually quite empowering. It gives you a specific method for responding, which boosts your confidence and improves your performance.

No, you may not know exactly what questions you will face in an interview. But you can make some pretty educated guesses, and the STAR technique offers you a proven way to prepare and deliver compelling responses.

— This is the sixth of seven articles in this series. Click here to go to the next article. This series of articles are courtesy of the collective expertise of the staff in the Office of Undergraduate Education and Career Services in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota.