So on campus interviews have begun and as always, we are enjoying the chance we have everyday to hear employers rave about the quality of students here at Babson.  You have been called "well prepared" and "very high caliber" by more than one of our visitors. Way to kick off the season!

But what good would feedback be if we only talked about the good stuff? We have gotten some really helpful and specific pitfalls to watch out for from a few of our partners. Hopefully these tips will help you as you prepare for your campus interviewing experience.

Know your resume. If you put something on your resume, you should know why it is there. How has that experience helped you to grow? Will the skills you learned there be applicable to this position and if so, how?

Careful with buzz words or hot industry topics. If you bring them up, be prepared to have a conversation about them.  Apparently several students brought up the home mortgage crisis of this summer in their interviews, but were unable to really explain the situation and it's ramifications on the market.

Beware the canned response. We cannot stress enough the importance of the Why questions. You MUST think these through and develop an answer that truly reflects your background and goals for the future. Be as specific as possible. We have heard that some students have "parroted back what they heard at the info sessions, nearly verbatim". While the employers like to see that students were listening, they felt that a better job could have been done integrating the company's values into the conversation, without it seeming like students had memorized a list of traits.

It is great to have students back on campus. We certainly missed your energy and are excited to kick off a new academic year. CCD has already been busy registering seniors for the full time campus recruiting program. Nearly 50% of the graduating class of 2007 received their job directly via the campus recruiting program and we're sure the class of 2008 will have equal success.

We have had a very busy summer here in CCD.  As some of you have heard by now, we have introduced brand new recruiting software to our services called Babson Career Connections (BCC). We are thrilled to be working with this new vendor and believe that you will also enjoy the added benefits of this system upgrade. A few new features:

• Increased network of opportunities. Our new system is part of a larger network supported by The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). This means that in addition to access to jobs/internships posted to Babson students only, you will be able to also access opportunities that companies have posted to the general NACE network.
  
  
• Easy access. No need to remember another username and password - just go to the Babson portal and link to BCC under your Smart Tools.
  
  
• Help from home. Members of CCD will be available online for help using the new system. Every Monday - Friday from 1pm-4pm you can use AOL instant messenger to get assistance from BabsonCareerHelp.
  
  
• Lifetime access to Babson job postings. That's right - whether a year out of school or 15 years into your career, BCC will keep you connected to employers seeking Babson talent.

It is shaping up to be a great year already! I will hop onto this blog periodically to share random insights, answer questions that seem to be popping up a lot from students in the office, and post thoughts for the day. Until next time - happy hunting!

Megan

Your first year of work will likely include some successes, but also some challenges.  To help you successfully make the transition from school to work, we have compiled a list of strategies for first year success:

Learn the Culture
Every company has its own personality and culture.  It will be important for you to "fit in" with your new environment.  Perhaps, the best strategy for doing so is to listen to and watch others.  Paying attention to what is said and how individuals interact with each other can help you become an accepted member of the group as well as help you avoid embarrassing mistakes.

Learn the Art of Being New
If you really want to "knock the socks off" of your employer, acknowledge that you understand the importance of being new and do not be afraid to admit that you do not know something. 

Manage Your Expectations
You will likely have many expectations about your new job.  If you work at keeping your expectations realistic, you won't be disappointed.  In addition, do not be surprised if your colleagues are not wooing you as the recruiters had done during the interview process. 

Become a Savvy Subordinate
Bottom line:  Your job is to make your boss look good.  Do this well and you will succeed!

The Boston Marathon is over, but for some, the job/internship search is not.

If you're going to stay in the race you have to be ready.  

Tips to help you win the race:

Warm up - Make sure your resume and cover letters ready to go

Train - Practice your interviewing skills, use InterviewStream (http://www3.babson.edu/Offices/ug_ccd/Virtual-Mock-Interview.cfm) or schedule a Mock Interview with CCD

Eat right & drink plenty of fluids -Talk with everyone you know about what you're interested in, drink in whatever information you can, opportunities can come from the wildest places!

Stay tough - Keep looking for opportunities on eRecruiting, use Google to find out more about an industry or company, access Vault or Monster.com to learn more about positions.  Don't get discouraged if something doesn't work out; move on to the next opportunity & keep going!

With this strategy you'll make it to the end of the race!  But of course no one can finish a race without fan support.  Stop by CCD for help along the way, we are great cheerleaders (at least one of us sported pom pom's in her college days)!  We are happy to help you in any way we can!  Below are some things that might help.

The initial answer to this is NO, you are not too late to get an internship.  That being said, at this point in time you may have to keep your options open and not limit yourself to one specific internship or industry.  Some companies have filled their internship quotas already so these may not be an option, but there are still many great companies out there who want to hire Babson talent.  But they cannot hire you if you do not get your application/resume to them!  

In addition to eRecruiting, another great way to find internships is to narrow down the companies you might be interested in working for and check their web sites (Tip:  search under the keyword careers). Some companies only advertise their opportunities via their web site. Don't be afraid to apply straight to the company. If you have questions on how to do so, or how to follow up with the company, stop by during drop-in hours to chat with CCD staff about developing a strategy for this type of search.

And of course, don't forget about networking! Talking with friends and family, you parents friends or your friends parents, can also lead to great summer internship opportunities.