Nicole Heidelberg

Social Meida Don'ts!

2010-01-06T12:04:00.000-05:00

Social media is the most powerful tool of the century. With Facebook alone having over 300 million users, the world is becoming more connected, but the users seem to forget this. Why else would teenagers put up explicit photos of themselves or minors put up pictures of drinking? People believe that only their friends can see the pictures. The truth: there is the potential for everyone to see your photos and comments, even your future employers. Employers are using Facebook to look at applicants before hiring someone to make sure they aren’t making a mistake. For example, I came across this example of a guy who didn’t think about the fact that any could see this. On Facebook he has repeatedly commented on how every major except for pharmacy major is “easy” and that don’t deserve respect. Here was his latest comment:

Timothy E. Wirth said: Nate. You are the most useless PR major I have ever met. Congratulations. You still further lower my respect of a PR major to that of a business major.

Now, if an employer saw that comment, his or her first thought would be that this person is very self centered and doesn’t have respect for other people. Why would someone hire a man that doesn’t respect people, especially since the job of a pharmacist is to help his or her patients? Nate’s response to this comment shows professionalism:
Nate said: Tim, words can't express how disappointed I am in you at this point in time. I thought that you were well aware that I consider you a friend ... You call myself, and my major useless, you’ve personally insulted me and my major which is everyone I know. Did you know that while you play Tetris for hours on end I’m in my room, working on my writing, to make it clear and concise and to accomplish weighty goals? Or did you neglect to remember that I’m part of an actual PR firm that has real clients who are not on campus? Those things are constantly on my mind. Or did you neglect the organizations that many of your roommates and me are a part of and that actually have leadership roles in? While most of the time you play your horn, sing, or sit on your computer. Over break did you work on a collaborative project with others to meet a goal? Or did you just sit back and enjoy the holidays? … And one last thing, when responding to something like this, you should sit on what you want to say overnight, read it again and then decide if you really would want people to read what you have written.

Now, with social media, an employer would look at the two statements and see that Nathan, instead of yelling at the person who just insulted him, or throwing insults back at Tim Wirth, he explained what all he does in order to complete his PR major. This way, he didn’t stoop to the level of Tim, but instead explained everything that goes into PR major. He also gave Tim a good piece of advice: to sit on what he reads for a day. The comments were spaced 17 hours apart; however Nate read the comment about 10 minutes after it was posted. This shows that he used his own advice and was able to craft a nice response. If Tim had wanted to impress potential employers, he could have written an apology so that employers know that he has the ability to calmly respond and has good interpersonal skills, which are necessary for the pharmacy profession. Or possibly have deleted his comment all together.
Instead, Tim responded:

Timothy E. Wirth said: I said what I feel needed to be said. I can't help it you disagree. I'm sorry you feel that way.

This example shows how a simple comment on Facebook can be detrimental to someone’s career. Most employers want their candidates to have interpersonal skills so that they can work with customers and don’t make customers decide to go to another pharmacy. This simple conversation would show an employer that one person (Nate) has the ability to rationally and calmly form a response when someone has insulted him. Also, it shows that this is how Tim Wirth treats his friends; an employer would see this as a liability since if a person doesn’t have interpersonal skills to talk civilly to his friends, how will he treat a customer? It also shows that one person has a high ego and does not have the necessary interpersonal skills to complete a job in the pharmacy profession.

Dinner Etiquette During an Interview

2009-12-28T20:50:00.000-05:00

More and more often, employers are taking potential new hires out to dinner or lunch. There are a lot of do’s and don’ts that accompany such interviews. Even though I’m not going to go into the specifics about fine dining etiquette, there are certain mannerism’s one should avoid:

First: salting your food without tasting it first. If you do this, your hiring manager might think that you are impulsive or a creature of habit; either way, you leap before you look and that could be detrimental to a company, so they might not hire you.

Second: talking about taboo information. Companies are not allowed to ask you religion, marital status, age, sexual orientation … anything along those lines. If you start talking about those things, they can’t pretend to not hear you and you could come back one day and say they discriminated against you. The more you help them out by not putting them in those types of situations, the more they will help you out.

Third: drinking. They may ask if you want a wine or something at the dinner. At lunch, this is probably not appropriate at all. In any case, you want to let your host order first and you order last so you can follow the trend. Try to lean on the side of no alcohol though at lunch or dinner.

Those are a couple tips to help you out on a dinner interview. You should however brush up on the particular of manners (which forks to use, what to do with your napkin, etc) before a lunch dinner as well.

Career Advice Part 3 - The Telephone Interview

2009-12-18T14:47:00.000-05:00

Alright, you've made it past the initial cover letter and resume process, and now have been contacted because the hiring manager wants to conduct a telephone interview with you! Congratulations to begin with. Now what do you do though? Most companies conduct a telephone interview before committing to having you for an onsite interview (this can require flying someone in, giving them lodging and food, the whole nine yards. They need to make sure you're a viable candidate before committing to that expense).
First thing to remember is this: a telephone interview is not an informal interview. This is just as important as an in person interview. Even though you can take a phone interview in your pajamas and the boss won't notice, they will notice informal slang, radio songs in the background, and anything else that suggests you aren't taking this phone call seriously. So what do you need to do to be taken seriously and to advance onto the final stage of the hiring process: the on site interview?

For starters, you should give them the number of a landline, not a cell phone, because cell phones are notorious for dying or dropping calls at the most inconvenient times. Dropping a call is not a good impression. A landline will also eliminate any static. Make sure your landline is in a quiet place though. Having your employer call you at your home phone will your 2 little kids are screaming is not an ideal situation because you and the interviewer will be distracted and unable to hear each other.
After securing a landline in a quiet place, the next step is to gather your notes. In a phone interview, the employer is looking to see if you've done your homework. They might ask you "what do you know about the town that is company is located in?" Yes, they really do ask those questions. It proves you have researched everything important about the company. It also ensures that the candidate knows where the company is because if they fly a candidate out and that's the first time the candidate realizes the company is located in the middle of a corn field, then they might withdraw their application on the spot and the company just wasted a bunch of time on you.

Your application was your first screening process, this interview is the second screening. Gather any notes about the company, organize them, and grab your resume and cover letter, list of references, and anything else that could be important. Impress them with your excellent oral communication skills and extensive knowledge of the company, and you'll be set and prove to the company that it is worth their time to have an in person interview because you truly are the best candidate.

Career Advice Part 2 - The Resume

2009-12-06T21:31:00.003-05:00

This post will focus on the details of the resume. Hopefully you read my previous post on cover letter advice dated November 25th. If not, please do; there is very helpful advice there too.

The resume is considered the most important part of the application packet. The resume is the document that will tell the employer why they should hire you, and is about half of the reason an employer will hire you (the other half is your performance on the interview). This being said, your resume needs to be top notch. Some of the basics: no grammatical or spelling errors, keep your resume to one page if you have less than 3-5 years experience, and keep your resume tasteful. Making sure these points are all followed is the first step to a successful resume. Also, if you submit an electronic resume, send in both a Word Document version and a PDF version. Large companies have scanning programs; they can open your Word document and use the programs to scan the document. If they want to print your resume, they can print the PDF so the formatting doesn't change.

The next point to discuss is your heading. As mentioned in the last post, the heading needs to match your cover letter heading. Here is a preview of mine:

As noted in my Cover Letter blog, this example has a flower graphic in the upper left hand corner, which my cover letter doesn’t. When I apply to a job, I will make sure that either both documents will or will not have the graphic. This demonstrates how a tasteful graphic can enhance your resume and make you stand out from the crowd of other applicants. Don’t use graphics such as your picture, cartoons, or anything non-neutral or obnoxious, because an employer can see that picture and disregard your resume if it’s not tasteful or invokes a bad memory for them.

After your heading, put in all your Academic information, including your degree, graduation date, GPA (if it’s above a 3.5. If your cumulative GPA is not above 3.5 but your major GPA is, you can put your major GPA up only). Here is the example of my Academic section:

After that, there are two to three more sections: employment, activities, and experience. You can also add in "volunteer", "affiliations", etc. if these are not listed under one of the three headings I have listed first. There is a style called the “Chronological Style”, where you list all those activities (within each sub-heading) starting from the most recent to the least recent (normally going back up to 10 years; do not put on high school information unless you are a freshman in high school). Then there is the “Functional Style”, in which you list your activities by your skills; not including dates at all. This is not recommended since it normally means you have long gaps in your employment history. “Combined Style” combines the both. “Chronological” and “Combined” are the two most recommended styles.

All through your resume, you need to use “keywords”. Each resume needs to be customized to each job. If there is a job that requires experience “implementing databases” and you have the experience, then you need to place that in your resume. Use action verbs as well. Say “implemented …” or “taught”, such as:

Kalamazoo Area Mathematics and Sciences Center (2006-2009)
• Performed secretarial duties, taught children ages 3-13 in different areas of math and science

You should also put in specific skills if the job requires it (put in a section that says “Skills” and then “AP writing style” if the job says it require AP writing skills). You can also put in an objective; that is completely up to you. Some people are saying “don’t put in an objective, it’s all stated in your cover letter”. Some people say that you should put one in; the choice is up to you. If you place one on your resume, make sure it's not generic; customize it to the job you're applying for. However, you always have to submit a cover letter with your resume.

Happy job hunting! Below is an example of my resume. Hopefully with these tips and the advice that you should visit a Career Coach with any other questions or concerns, your job searching will be fruitful.

Career Advice Part 1 – The Cover Letter

2009-11-25T22:57:00.013-05:00

I am going to, over the next several days, give different advice on job application processes, including cover letter, resume, and phone interviewing. Disclaimer: I do not own a Master's in Career Counseling or any related degree. I do work in a Human Resources office, have talked to our Career Services institute, and read at least 1-2 articles on cover letters, resumes, interviewing, etc. a day.

So today: the cover letter. This is just as important as your resume, but is constantly overlooked in the application process. Your cover letter is going to tell the employer everything your resume doesn't. Your cover letter is also going to be the most personal aspect of your application packet. Even though your resume shouldn't be just a cookie cutter template (I will discuss resumes next post), there are only so many ways you can say "Intern in the Office of Human Resources" in a personal manner.
So, general rules of a cover letter:

The cover letter is a business letter. Your cover letter needs your contact info and the companies contact info. Here is the way mine is set up:

There are several things to notice here. First off, my header is the exact same as my resume. There is actually a small picture of a flower on my resume and cover letter, but I have taken them out to show the different designs and layouts of cover letters and resumes. I personally like graphics, and in my post about resumes, you will see the graphic I have put in mine.

Going back to the header though: you need all your contact information right on the front of your cover letter and resume. Do not make the hiring manager search for your information! If you want to put your address above the address of the hiring manager, you can do that too.

Put your phone number and e-mail first on your cover letter and resume. If the hiring manager is going to contact you, they will more than likely contact via e-mail and via phone, at least initially. Phone screenings are the first step before an onsite interview. Many people are not putting e-mail address, please put your e-mail adress on the cover letter.

Then comes the date. Write out the day the way I have. Not 15^th , but 15. December, not "Dec." These are all part of the business letter format.

Underneath your header is the name and address of the hiring manager. Take the time to find out the name of your hiring manager: "To whom it may concern" is going to convey the message "this person did not take the time to personalize their cover letter, nor did they take the time to do some research". If you can't put effort into your cover letter, how do they know you will put effort into the job you are applying for.

Lastly, say "Dear Mr. Anderson:". Not "Anderson COMMA" (Anderson,). Anderson COLON is the proper way to address the letter.

This cover letter is to tell the hiring manager everything your resume can't. If you're applying for a Public Relations job, you are not going to put on your resume "Attend Networking Events". So, in your cover letter, you can say "I have excellent networking skills. I have participated multiple networking events (or you can say I have attended 20 networking events, whichever) as well as following up on the contacts I meet at these events and creating many business relationships". This shows that you can create networks, which is important in the PR world. For me, the job I am applying for said "Ability to work in a fast paced environment" and I so I wrote "Working in the fast paced environment of the HR office". My resume does not say "Intern in the faced paced HR environment", so by placing that fact in the cover letter, the employer knows that I have the experience they need in an employee. This is what is meant when I say "the cover letter says everything that your resume doesn't".

The body of the cover letter can be however you like. I chose to write an intro paragraph and then bullet point my specific key words. Key words are what the employer puts into the job description. If they say "Ability to work in a fast paced environment", make sure you mention that in your cover letter. All cover letters will be unique to each company.
Finally, your first sentence should be something along the lines of "This letter is in response to your position of Manager as advertised in The Courier newspaper". Mention the job and the place where you saw the advertisement.

Hopefully these tips have helped. Feel free to e-mail me at nicole.heidelberg@yahoo.com for any other questions or tips on your cover letter. Next post will be on resumes.

Communication

2009-11-22T11:33:00.001-05:00

Communication. The basis of any type of relationship. If you want to keep a friend, then you need to talk to them; call them up and say “hi”. If you want to keep your girlfriend or boyfriend, you need to tell him that you love/care about them and that you miss them when you’re apart. Communication is necessary for survival; when babies are not touched, held, or talked to, they die. They could be well fed, warm, and well taken care of. If they don’t have a relationship with another person; if no one holds them or talks to them, they’ll die. That is how necessary communication is. So why is communication so hard? On top of snail mail, we now have email, cell phones, Facebook, Twitter, AIM, Facebook chat, Google Wave …. there is no shortage of ways to communicate with people. So why is trying to hold a conversation so difficult? Why can I send out 10 emails, and only receive one in return? Why can I ask someone to call and never receive a ring? Has communication become so difficult or impersonal with these social media and electronic tools that people are just sick of communication?

Sending an email has become a chore sometimes. If I want to just tell someone “yes”, I have to formalize the email to say “Yes sir, that is what you are supposed to do. Hope that helps”. It gets exhausting. When you’re just talking to your friend/significant other though, you feel that you don’t have to give answers, so if you send out an email, they may just not respond or, if you’re looking for a “real” answer to a question, they’ll just tell you “ya”. We end up communicating to people who we don’t hold a deep relationship with too much, and forgetting that our significant others want to just hear a simply “hello, how are you? I love you”

Face to face talk is always preferred to electronic, that is true. That doesn’t mean that we can just not talk to our friends because we don’t see them face to face. A quick email saying “hi” can mean the world to someone. So don’t forget to tell people hi, to return your emails, and to keep your relationships healthy by communicating with others.

Time Management Skills ...

2009-11-20T18:44:00.001-05:00

... are things that people have been trying to teach kids since they are old enough to remember. There are classes that are dedicated to this concept. I can attest to having taken the classes and jotting down many notes. Then the quarter starts, and all those lessons are thrown right out the window. I find excuses to procrastinate, and trust me, there's no shortage in procrastination excuses. Something changed this quarter though, and I learned all about time management. What changed? Basically, this quarter I had no free time.

You know the saying "the only way to learn to swim is to jump in"? I believe that's true, in every aspect of life. This quarter, I took on so many projects and classes, that I didn't have much time left for just me. So I learned that every minute counted. My 45 minute lunch break was used to start/finish a project or maybe study for a test I had the next hour. I learned so many creative ways to utilize my time that I was actually getting work done quicker than I had when I had more time. There was a project assigned at the beginning of the quarter and due 10 weeks later. I had all the research done and 1/3 of the paper done by week 3. By reducing my time, I learned to manage it better.

So don't be afraid to do all the activities you want to do simply because you "don't have enough time" or think your time management skills aren't up to par. You'll learn quickly how to get everything done. "Necessity is the mother of creativity", I firmly believe that. Don't go overboard and schedule yourself for every minute of every day either though. Find a happy balance and then add one more thing. You'll learn how to manage it and you'll be grateful you did.

College Student's Dilemma's

2009-11-19T20:21:00.002-05:00

The one thought on all college students mind’s seems to be: what am I going to do when I’m out of college? This thought process seems to terrify yet excite students. There are plenty of resources for students. I personally have become a fan of Twitter, where I follow several career and resume building sites. They’re teaching me how to better my resume and how to attain a rewarding job. What no one can tell me though, is what job I am going to be happiest in. I currently am exploring the world of Human Resources. This career is appealing for many reasons. My first and foremost love is psychology. The process of understanding why people act the way they do is fascinating, which is why I want to use my psychology to work in the field of Human Resources. Here’s my dilemma however: I don’t know if Human Resources is what I want to do. There’s also the possibility of Communications, specifically Public Relations.

In short, I want a career where I can interact with people. Psychology is the basis for so many fields. Industrial/Organizational psychology is the premise for Human Relations and employee relations in general. Psychology is also the basis of marketing; figuring out what types of advertising will cause consumers to purchase a certain project or visit a certain store. Then of course, psychology is the basis of counseling. There are so many choices, and adolescence/emerging adulthood is not the best time in a human’s development to make these lifelong decisions. Developmentally, in adolescence our prefrontal cortexes are still not completely developed, so our ability to make non-impulsive decisions. So what are we as adolescence supposed to do?

There are always school counselors for us to turn to. I know when I was in High School though; I had no exposure to psychology, and had never even heard of Public Relations. I want a career where I can be around people in a dynamic environment and where I can be in control. Is this the career I will want in 10 years though? I’m in the stage of my life where I want to travel and experience a dynamic social life. This is normal of emerging adulthood; the excitement and the sensational stimulation.

This is why I am spending my college career exploring many different options. I am an intern in Human Resources, a member of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), and hopefully a Peer Career Assistant, where I will help other students write and critique resumes, write a cover letter, and obtain a job in the field of their choice. Most importantly though, I am a college student. A girl who enjoys psychology, communications, and helping others. I will use my skills and likes to hopefully receive a job that I will enjoy my entire career.

Fall Quarter, 2009

2009-11-13T23:37:00.002-05:00

Fall quarter, 2009, at Ohio Northern University, has taken it's tool on me this quarter. That's not to say I haven't enjoyed it though. I came to Ohio Northern University in 2007 as a chemistry major, and last year I changed to a psychology major. In order to take all the classes I want to take before I graduate, I took 20 credit hours (for reference: 12 credit hours is full time, and 19 is the maximum we are allowed to take without paying extra and receiving the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences approval). My classes included:

• Intro to Management
• Intro to Statistics
• Abnormal Psychology
• Sex Offender Assessment
• Developmental Psychology

These classes were very work intensive by themselves, but as an Honor's Program member, I decided to make Abnormal Psychology into a contract course, meaning I had an extra project to do on top of the normal work for the class. I also received a superb job on campus; an intern in the Human Resources Department of Ohio Northern University. I hope to use my psychology degree to enter the field of Human Resources when I graduate, and having this job is an extreme benefit to myself for when I graduate. I work a minimum of twelve hours a week in the office during the week.

As if all of that wasn't enough, I was also elected President of the Honors Program. This was a great honor even if it means some extra work. As a returning member of Student Senate and Student Advisory Board, I spent part of my quarter conducting surveys for the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and planning events for the entire College of Arts and Sciences. I also decided to join Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) and their firm, called Vision Communication. I realize that class work is crucial to my education, but I am also a firm believer that practical experience is possibly the most important part of my college career. I am gaining experience in Human Resources and Public Relations, along with learning how to interact with figures of authority and receiving actual experience in conducting surveys and writing reports. I can learn about all of these concepts in class, but actually using them is vital to fine tuning these skills for the work force. Also, these extra organizations I am a member of have taught me how to manage my time better than just having classes without extracurricular. This quarter might be the best quarter of my academic career grade point wise, and I am a firm believer that my success is due to the fact that since I have so many activities, I have learned how to manage time and put in extra work for my classes as well.

It would be very beneficial for me to stay at Ohio Northern University an extra year, but I know that is not possible. I plan on continuing my education once I graduate from this university, possibly earning degrees in Public Relations and Management. For now though, I will focus on perfecting my organizational skills, my relationship skills, and my overall personality while attending class and participating in these exciting organizations.