Aca demic and Career Advising Center (ACAC) hosted its annual Career Fair Training Camp in Blackwell Ballroom in preparation for the Job and Internship Fair, which will take place today.
According to the ACAC Longwood Blog web site, students can "come participate in interactive stations where you can get your résumé reviewed, hear tips on how to dress for success, design your own business cards and learn how to network with employers … this event is designed to meet your needs."
Different stations were set up around the Lank ford Student Union Ballroom with faculty and staff available to assist students with questions or critiques on their résumés, their professional attire, their business cards and anything else.
Prior to the event, the ACAC organized multiple workshops, including "Résumé Writing 101: Put ting Yourself on Paper" and "Talk Your Way to the Top." Also available to students throughout the week were walk-in appointments, typically from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. in Room G08A of Lancaster Hall. Online, the ACAC also makes available to students handouts on cover letters, tips on interviewing, tips on resume writing and more.
On the day of the event, flyers were available with tips on what proper business attire is. The fli ers read, "The standard suit for [men and women] still has a strong place in the professional world. Standard business attire is more polished and professional-looking than casual dress."
For both men and women, "Everything should be clean, well pressed and not show wear. Care fully inspect new clothes for tags, and all clothes for dangling threads, etc. Ensure you are well groomed (hair, nails, shoes and make-up)."
Cindy Cave, executive director for Meals on Wheels for Prince Edward County, was available to emphasize the importance of business attire, saying, "Business casual is crisp, neat and should look appropriate, even for a meeting with a CEO. It should not look like cocktail, club or picnic at tire. Avoid tight or baggy clothing; business casual is classic rather than trendy."
Cave said, "You've spent four years in a very re laxed environment with more people like yourself. It's pretty casual. Anything goes. It doesn't matter if you get out of bed and you put your hair up and it's not clean or whatever. I think it's a different environment in that there are different standards out there." She added, "The transition from school to the working [world] is a huge one. It's really different. So, all kinds of ages and all kinds of expectations and you just have to put out a little more effort."
Graduate Student Assistant Katie Mann assisted students on how to format business cards to be given to employers on the day of the Job and In ternship Fair, saying that students should include their given name, university name, major and GPA if it is a 3.0 or higher. She added, "On the back, you can put your qualifications, any special skills you have."
Mann suggested using the website www.vistap rint.com for its affordability. Additionally, free paper and templates for business cards were avail able for students to use and print out of their own computer.
Overall, Mann suggested that each student should "always double check your spelling, gram mar, making sure all of your contact information is correct."
Assisting students through critiquing the format and professionalism of their résumés, Assistant Professor of Management Charles White said stu dents should follow the ACAC website's example résumé to make their résumé as clear to read and professional as possible.
White also suggested students often update their résumé to maintain current information. "That's also the other hard part. Don't expect that at the end of four years of college, you'll remember everything you've done. Be updating that résumé the whole time as you go through and it'll be a lot easier when you get ready to apply for that intern ship or job," said White.
The most common mistakes students make on their résumés are either including too much or too little. White said, "You've gotta have – especially for different types of jobs – just the right amount of information to convey what you did. If it's a relevant job, you want more information. If it's not relevant to the job you're applying for, air on the side of less information, but still talk about what you did on the job."
If interested in more information on events hosted by the ACAC, go online to www.longwood.edu/career.
