Category Archives: Rana Campbell ’13

Rana Campbell ’13, Major: Sociology. Lives in Mathey. Her favorite inspirational quote is: “Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint you can on it.”- Danny Kaye

Question of the Week

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Can Career Services help me find career opportunities other than the ones posted on Tiger Tracks? – Jason Warrington ‘13

Such a great question, Jason! Career Services offers a host of ways to find out about career opportunities other than the ones posted on Tiger Tracks! In fact, our website is the number one place to go if you need more help with finding opportunities. Check out the following tips. I’m sure they’ll help out a lot!

  1. Use the Career Services website to search job opportunities by INDUSTRY at http://www.princeton.edu/career/about_us/online-resources/by-industry/.  This is a great resource to browse different opportunities depending on the industry you are interested in.
  2. Create a professional LinkedIn account. LinkedIn is a great resource for college students and alumni to build professional networks. It can also be used to learn about industry trends and research potential employers and opportunities. LinkedIn users can subscribe to job boards and groups. For example, I am subscribed to a social media job board. Whenever there are new postings, I get a customized email notifying me of “jobs I may be interested in.”  Our career counselors can help you set one up!
  3. Attend Career Services Events. Each semester Career Services hosts more than 100 programs and events. Attending these events is a great way to find out about opportunities that are not on TigerTracks. Events range from career panels and alumni speakers to company presentations and career fairs. Even more, they are a great way to network with other students and professionals who may be able to connect you with more opportunities. Check out our event calendar today!
  4. Alumni Networking.  One of the best ways to learn about career opportunities and to receive career advice is to get in contact with our wonderful Princeton alum! The Alumni Careers Network (ACN) portal is a great way to search alum by industry and profession.  There are over 4,000 volunteers worldwide who can be used as a resource when considering a career or for general networking within a specific field.
  5. Make an appointment with one of our career counselors who can provide customized job search strategies for each of the students they see.  Visit Princeton.edu/career for online scheduling or call our office at (609) 258-3325 to make an appointment today!

As you can see, Jason, TigerTracks is not the only Career Services’ resource that you can use to research career opportunities. It’s actually just one of many. Remember, the job search is a process and Career Services is here to help you.

If you have a question about Career Services you would like answered, feel free to contact me at recampbe@princeton.edu and I will do my best to assist you!

How You Can Use Twitter in Your Job Search

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You’re a senior and you don’t have a job. Yet. You spend all evening combing job sites such as Tiger Tracks, hoping to find that opportunity that speaks to you. You send in cover letter upon cover letter and resume after resume, all to your dismay. No response.  Why not try something new? As an early twenty-something, odds are you use social media on a daily basis. As a senior, you have probably started to manage your online presence and reputation. Why not use Twitter as a job search tool? Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging platform that job seekers can use to connect with and follow other professionals, recruiters, hiring managers, and leaders in their industry or field. Check out these awesome tips on how you can use Twitter to spice up and expand your job search.

  1. Create a professional profile. You want to distinguish between your public Twitter and your professional Twitter. You don’t want the conversations you have with your friends about unprofessional things available to potential employers. Save yourself the hassle. Make a professionally- focused Twitter account.
  2. Make sure your Twitter name is professional. You can use your full name or a combination of name and profession. For example, my twitter handle might be @RanatheMarketer.
  3. Make sure your profile picture reflects your professionalism. For example, I might have a picture of me in an office setting. A professional headshot could also work. Just make sure the image you select denotes the image you want to present to people looking at your profile.
  4. Make sure your profile information includes the top skills you can offer. You also want to include the type of opportunity you are looking for. If possible, add links to your professional website and/or Linkedin.  You can also link to other profiles or hashtags that reflect your skills.
  5. Tweet links to interesting articles about your field or professional. Recruiters may be searching the site to see who is talking about what. Also, use this platform to broadcast samples of your work or any other information that reflects your interest. For example, I may share an article I found about how to market company Facebook profiles. Someone who follows me may be interested and grateful for the share.
  6. Follow the leaders in your industry. Use the Twitter “search” and “find people” tools to look up people within your industry’s network. I may search “marketing managers in the NYC area” and see what comes up. Or, if you find an interesting article, you may directly tweet this to one of them. Who knows? This person may tweet you back, acknowledging your tweet. This is great way to network online! Also, don’t be afraid to retweet what someone else has shared. RETWEET, RETWEET, RETWEET.
  7. Follow organizations, companies, and lists that are in your area of interest. Look for interesting tweetchats or tweetups to join. Tweetchats are pre-arranged chats that happen on Twitter through tweets that include a predefined hashtag to link tweets in the form of a virtual conversation.
  8. Search and follow hashtags in your industry to stay current. One of the most important things you want to do is stay up to date on the industry buzz. Knowing what’s hot in your industry will be invaluable when reaching out to recruiters online. Hashtags can also be used to find jobs. For examples, employers recruiting Princeton students on Twitter are encouraged to use the tag #hiretigers when sharing content. Make sure that #hiretigers is one of your saved searches so you can receive updates when someone out there in the Twitter world is looking for a tiger to hire!

I hope you find these tips useful. Want more advice? Click here to see a list of the top 25 Twitter accounts you should be following as a job seeker!

How I Spent My Last Summer at CBS!

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For the past four summers, I have had the opportunity to intern for CBS Corporation in New York City.  This summer was extremely interesting, not only because it was my last summer as an intern, but because of the exciting and challenging experiences that came my way!

In a nutshell, for the first half of the summer, I spent my last summer at CBS watching a lot of TV! As a business development intern,  I was given the task of analyzing programming and commercial loads across the four main  broadcast networks (CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC) video on demand platforms. The aim of the project was to find ways that CBS could increase its video on Demand presence and remain competitive in the on demand world. It was basically my task to find out how CBS could make its on demand business better. The video on demand providers that I used to watch network content were Comcast, Verizon Fios, and Time Warner Cable. At first, the project seemed a bit daunting. How do I find a way to keep track of what was being made available across networks and platforms? With the help of the Vice President of Business Development and one of the Research Analysts, I was able to make a master spreadsheet that I used to input the data I collected.  It was a time intensive project, but very rewarding. At the end of my seven weeks with Business Development, I presented my findings to a group of executives within the department. I offered my recommendations on how CBS could use the current video on demand landscape to make its own business better.

I spent the summer learning about….

  • Programming/content trends. Not all broadcast networks make all of their content available via on demand. This can be for a host of reasons (production company contracts, syndication issues, etc). Some networks also only make certain “dayparts” available. Dayparts are split into categories such as “daytime”, “primetime”, and “late night”. This was eye opening to me because I once thought networks make EVERYTHING available on demand.
  • Ad Trends. I learned the difference between ad loads that were C+3 and Day 4 Forward (If you are not sure what this means….Google it! It’s a lot to explain).

For the second half of the summer, I interned with CBS Watch! Magazine.  As a Watch! Intern I helped with the day-to-day operations of running a magazine. This meant attending daily edit meetings, helping secure and track artwork, and preparing mock ups to be presented to section editors. I, along with two other interns, had the task of preparing social media content to be posted on our Facebook page. Other intern tasks included assisting at photo shoots. This summer I got to attend three, my favorite being an early morning shoot at Bergdorf Goodman with Anna Sophia Robb, the star of the CW’s Carrie Diaries. This was extremely exciting because we got to work in the iconic Bergdorf before it opened to the public. I loved working with the different CBS stars and their publicists. At first, it was a bit intimidating but then I ultimately realized that celebrities are just like every day/normal people.

When my summer came to an end, it was a bit bittersweet. I realized that I would probably never be an intern again. I was able to experience so many new things while learning so much about my own strengths and weaknesses, which to me was a great way to spend my last summer at CBS!

At the end of the summer, I was approached to write a blog for the CBS Diversity site about my four summers at CBS as well as my participation in the Emma Bowen Foundation program. Click here to check it out!

TigerTracks Myths Debunked

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Think you know everything there is to know about TigerTracks? I thought I did—that is, until I took the time to chat with Julie Shurts, Career Services’ Associate Director of Recruitment & Employer Relations. Julie shared that Princeton’s TigerTracks system is powered by Experience, a leading provider of campus career management systems used by over 300 career centers at top schools throughout the United States. Princeton has used Experience since the late 1990s and each year this vendor has made enhancements to the system to make it more user-friendly for students and administrators alike.

During the course of our interview, Julie debunked some of the top myths about TigerTracks. Here’s what she had to say:

• Myth: TigerTracks has limited job and internship postings.
Fact: TigerTracks postings have been increasing every year. The number of overall job and internship posting has increased by 29 percent since last year alone (as of April 2012). Another key fact is that over 52 percent of the Class of 2011 found their full-time jobs by using TigerTracks!

• Myth: TigerTracks is only for specific industries.
Fact: TigerTracks is not particular to any specific employment industry. There are more than 40 different employment industries represented in TigerTracks! The range of industries with postings in TigerTracks includes Arts & Entertainment, Communications, Consulting, Engineering, Finance/Banking, Law/Legal Services, Retail/Merchandising, and Technology, among others.

• Myth: There are no nonprofit job listings on TigerTracks.
Fact:  The nonprofit sector has had the greatest number of overall postings of all the industries represented in TigerTracks for the past two years! Of the 4,000+ postings in 2011-2012, 30 percent are in the nonprofit sector.

• Myth: The same jobs are always posted on TigerTracks.
Fact: The number of overall job and internship postings changes every day as new positions are added and current positions close. Timing is important, as different employers and industries tend to have different recruiting periods.

• Myth: TigerTracks is not customizable.
Fact: There are many ways you can personalize your TigerTracks profile. One way is by indicating your industry and job functions preferences. . Industry preferences relate to the type of company or organization that  interests you, and Job Function relates to exactly what type of work you are interested in doing. Career Services frequently sends targeted email through the system based on these preferences, updating you on job and internship opportunities based on your preferences. If your preferences change, be sure to update them so that you continue to receive pertinent announcements. Your concentration is also important to list in TigerTracks, as targeted email messages are also frequently sent based on concentration.

• Myth: TigerTracks searches are difficult!
Fact: If you perform a job or internship search in TigerTracks and you do not get many results, review your search criteria and make sure you have selected all of the relevant options. For example, if you are looking for nonprofit sector positions, instead of clicking only “Nonprofit” from the list of Industries, consider selecting multiple options, such as all of the nonprofit subcategories, Nonprofit Organization, Foundation/Think Tank, Social/Human Services, International/NGO, Education, etc.

• Myth: TigerTracks does not allow you to save searches.
Fact: You can save any search you create. To do this, just click the “You’re Your Search” option on the Search Results page and give your search a name. Your saved search will appear on your home page when you log in. When you create a saved search, you can also opt to receive an email announcement when a new opportunity that matches your search enters the system. You can save upto 50 searches!

• Myth: Positions on TigerTracks are not only for Princeton students.
Fact: TigerTracks contains positions that are posted through Career Services as well as positions directly posted through the vendor, Experience. Positions posted through Career Services are from employers who are looking for Princeton candidates only.  These positions are labeled with an orange shield icon. Positions posted through Experience are open to non-Princeton students, too.
 
• Myth: TigerTracks is only for juniors and seniors.
Fact: TigerTracks is for all students and every year in school! All currently enrolled undergraduate students enrolled in degree programs are automatically given a TigerTracks account at the start of Freshmen year. Your username is your Princeton email address. Your password is randomly generated. To obtain your password, click “Forgot your password?” on the TigerTracks login page.  Currently enrolled graduate students can set up an account by visiting the Career Services office. The office is open weekdays between 8:45 am and 5 pm (Sept. – May) and 8:30 am – 4:30 pm (June – August).

I hope debunking some of these TigerTracks myths inspires you to log on today and start your career search! Click here to check it out!

Final note, if you have any questions about TigerTracks, stop by during daily walk-in hours from 3-5 pm and a career counselor will be happy to assist you.

Career Services’ Facebook Offers Glimpse into History!

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Just like everyone else in the world, Career Services had to switch to the new Facebook timeline format last week. Career Services’ unveiled and introduced their new Facebook timeline with this status update:

Welcome! We hope you like our new Timeline format! An overview of the history and evolution of Career Services at Princeton University is available on our timeline. A career function was established in 1912 and the office has undergone many transformations over the past 100 years! (Yes, that’s right Career Services celebrates its 100th Anniversary this year!!) We are adding the last two decades worth of history over the next few days to bring us to present-day Career Services. “History aficionados” out there should enjoy this wealth of historical information!

Career Services has had many transformations over the years and the historical information in the timeline includes photos as well as news articles from each period. In order to see our Facebook page, first click here. (Don’t forget to “like” the page so you can receive updates on events, news articles, and expert career advice.) On the right hand side of the page, one should see a timeline. The timeline dates from “now” all the way back to when Career Services was “founded”. If you click on the “founded” link, you will be taken to a page that gives details about the center’s founding as well as shows you a picture of Career Services’ first director, George MacFarlane Galt, graduate of the Class of 1890! In 1912, Career Services was called the “Self Help Bureau” and was designed to assist students with financial needs to find work during the academic year, summers, and post graduation.  

As you browse through the various decades, it is so interesting to see the different name changes, events, and happenings of Career Services throughout the past century. For example, I was able to read a clip from a 1935 newspaper article in the Daily Princetonian entitled, “What Employers Looked For in Graduates in 1935.” Who knew that articles like this were being written in 1935? (I didn’t!) Another milestone that caught my interest was a 1976 Daily Princetonian article titled “Career Services Reduces Seniors’ Anxiety” that discussed how students who came to Career Services were less anxious about the challenges of the job market and economy because they were developing a plan.  This is so similar to students of today!

I really like this new feature of the Career Services Facebook page. I hope other students take the time to browse through the history of Career Services to understand how the center has changed in many aspects, but remained the same in one, which is to help students find their way in the career development process!

Resource Spotlight: Career Spots

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Career Services at Princeton University has so many extra cool resources on their homepage; all for students to use! I decided to dedicate this blog to highlighting and reviewing one of those resources, Career Spots. In the “About Us” section of their website, CareerSpots states:

Life is complicated. Our mission is simple. CareerSpots strives to help students be best prepared for the job search. Our straightforward, compelling videos clearly illustrate what students need to know BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the job interview. We pledge to provide the most relevant career advice and information available today from leading experts across the country.

Hmmm…this seems pretty cool.  Videos to illustrate what to do during the job interview process? This is definitely something interesting. With the advent of Youtube, it seems like one can almost find “how-to’s” on pretty much any subject. A whole site dedicated to providing video how-to’s for the job search process is definitely a resource that a lot of students will find useful. Students can access videos, on the go or even during their down-time. How do you use CareerSpots? In order to access Career Spots, follow these steps:

1. Visit www.princeton.edu/career
2. Scroll to the bottom of the webpage
3. Find and click on “CareerSpots” along the bottom panel of the homepage

Once you click, you’ll be on the CareerSpots homepage.  On this page, you’ll find 18 videos related to the interview process.  The videos cover a variety of subjects.  The first video that caught my attention was “Stand Out Resumes”. I clicked on the video and watched.  I found the video very useful.  The video featured Heidi Grouix, a senior recruiter from Whirlpool Corporation. In the video (which was only 1:20), Heidi highlighted key features of a standout resume. The information was detailed, but structured in a concise way that was easy to understand. After the video was done, one has the option to watch other career-related videos.  Some of the videos even come with “Quick tips” handouts that are available for download or printing.  This was my first time using this Career Services resource. I definitely recommend students to explore the videos and content on this site. The career tips and videos posted here are filled with value and can definitely be a great resource for students who have career questions! So what are you waiting for, go check it out!

Why I Love the Princeton University Career Services Facebook Page

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I can’t imagine the world without Facebook! In high school, I was an avid MySpace user, but by the time I arrived at college, I had become a full blown Facebook addict.  Although I sometimes find myself on the site when I should be doing other productive things, there is something alluring about the site that keeps me on it.  Social media functions as a mechanism for users to share information with each other. As Facebook’s technology becomes even more sophisticated, the ways that users can share information and the type of information that can be shared seems endless. I wanted to get some quick facts about Facebook, so I went to their Statistics page. Here are some cool facts that I found:

  • Facebook has more than 800 million active users
  • More than 50% of their active users log on to Facebook in any given day
  • There are more than 900 million objects that people interact with (pages, groups, events, and community pages)
  • The average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups, events
  • On average, more than 250 million photos are uploaded per day
  • More than 350 million active users currently access Facebook through their mobile devices

I find it extremely cool that Facebook connects so many users and that it serves as a forum for information to be shared. So, you are probably wondering why do I love the Princeton University Career Services Facebook page? Here are some cool facts about our Facebook page:

  • Mythbusting Mondays – Every Monday the fanpage busts career-related myths. These myth-busting facts are normally linked to interesting articles or Career Center events that pertain to the topic
  • Event Photos – Career Services hosts numerous events each semester. We love taking pictures at these events to put up on our site. Students also like seeing themselves.
  • Fun Career Center Surveys – Throughout the semester, Career Services likes to get student feedback on a lot of career center initiatives. Students even have a chance to win prizes!
  • Interesting Articles – Every week, we try to post links to career-related articles that will grab reader’s attention. Recent posts that I’ve enjoyed reading have been “Why You Should Have a LinkedIn Profile,” “Getting Noticed, Getting Hired: Candidate Attributes That Recruiters Seek,” and “The Art of Choosing the Right Social Media Profile Photo.” All of these articles are shareable, so you can share them with others in your network.
  • Career Services Events – All of Career Services’ events are posted under the “events” tab on our page. Browsers can peruse this portion of the page to see what kind of events will be going on for the rest of the semester
  • 690+ “likes”- We have over 690 people who currently “like” our page. We love that so many people are interested in staying connected with Career Services. It is also very cool that not only students like our page, but so many alumni and recruiters do as well. So, if you haven’t done so already, make sure to go to Facebook and like our page—you will be in very good company!

Whether you are at home, school, the office, or even on the go, you can stay connected to Career Services on Facebook—it is like a one-stop shop for everything related to Career Services.

WELCOME BACK

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Hi everyone! My name is Rana Campbell and I am one of Career Services’ student bloggers for the spring 2012 semester. Some of you may remember me from my blog posts last year, but for those of you new to the site, I am one of the Princeton University Career Services’ Communications and Marketing interns and also a student blogger, responsible for providing you with interesting career-related content. There is so much information about careers out there and sometimes it is hard to navigate and prioritize. So, my blog will focus on bringing you all of the highlights as well as telling you a little bit about my own career planning experiences. I am eager to share helpful career information with you and am also  excited about all the interesting events Career Services has coming up this semester.

I can’t believe I’m a second-semester junior already. It seems as if it was just yesterday that I was writing my first career services blog post as a sophomore. Furthermore, I can’t believe how fast the year went by. The next thing I know it’ll be summer again and I’ll be back at my summer internship. Last summer, I interned at CBS in New York City. For half the summer, I worked at CBS News in the Newspath department (CBS’ video affiliate service), which was really cool. I helped produce new packages and worked with the live web stream. I even got to do my own demo reel of the CBS Moneywatch newscast. For the other half of the summer, I interned with CBS Watch! Magazine, which is CBS’ premiere network magazine. Both internships allowed me to develop lots of new skills such as how to navigate the WordPress blogging platform, track artwork for magazine publishing, and use video archival software.

Winter break has ended and getting back to my campus schedule can seem a bit hectic.  Whether it is writing papers, studying for exams, trying to finalize this semester’s schedule, catching up with friends, or planning extracurricular events, time management can get a bit crazy. That’s how I am feeling right now, but one thing I am excited for are all the events Career Services has planned for the semester.  The Summer Internship Fair is coming up on Friday, February 17th, in Dillon Gymnasium from 1-4 pm. For tips on how to be successful at a career fair, click here to visit Career Services’ “Working a Career Fair” webpage.  Be sure to watch the “How to Make the Most of a Career Fair” video with tips and career fair advice from students who attended last year’s Summer Internship Fair. This year the Summer Internship Fair will be at a bigger venue with more than double the number of employers than we have had in previous years! Whether you are a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior, attending the fair is a way to get information about internship programs, different career fields, and organizations, and begin making connections with future employers. This is an event that you do NOT want to miss!
 
Stay tuned for more of my blog posts this year.  I plan to blog weekly on interesting topics such as reviews of Career Services online resources, student spotlight video interviews, “how-to” tutorials, and more…