Career Development

You have a relatively short time left in your undergraduate Delta Chi expeirence. Your first student loan payment will be due, you'll be firing off cover letters or graduate school applications left and right, unsure who you are applying to when the address is a post office box. You may be starting to think about your first apartment and networking with others to help you in your career preparation.

You have a relatively short time left in your undergraduate Delta Chi expeirence. Your first student loan payment will be due, you'll be firing off cover letters or graduate school applications left and right, unsure who you are applying to when the address is a post office box. You may be starting to think about your first apartment and networking with others to help you in your career preparation.

Several tasks for managing your career are essential for you to confidently start the job search process. Gathering job listings and recommended readings, developing your resumé and applying for graduate schools are critical at this time in your college career. This section will highlight resources, materials and skills you will need to acquire before graduation.

While individuals can take advantage of the below-listed opportunities on their own, it would be beneficial to the entire senior class to work through these experiences together for the support they can provide for one another. The skills you will acquire through this Area of Mastery are:

• Career Panning
• Resumé Building
• Networking and Job Searching
• Professional Image Training

To achieve mastery over this area, complete the following four activities. Below each activity you are provided with sample options that you may utilize to fulfill the activity. Remember, these are only sample options, you may choose to come up with your own options that may better suit you or your chapter's needs. Follow up your accomplishments in your Learning Journal. Finally, once you have completed all activities within this Area of Mastery, finish the area by answering the concluding Critical Reflection questions within your Learning Journal.

Understand the importance of your professional image in the job market.

• Invite a men's retail store employee, an alumnus, or a university official to talk about dressing for interviews, luncheon meetings, and other events where professional attire is expected. Have him walk through appropriate attire for these occasions and how to shop for this attire. Take notes on the presentation.
• Read John T. Molloy's New Dress For Success. Compile a list of important points to remember from the book. Then go to a men's clothing store and spend some time looking at what is available. Have the store take your measurements, then browse through the store to get a feel for your own personal sense of style. Make sure to use strategies taught by Molloy's book during this activity.

Begin to form a network to enhance your job search.

• Interview an alumnus in your same professional field. Use the Alumni Interview Form to gather information about his daily work, career preparation, and education. By interviewing another member of Delta Chi, you are enhancing your professional network as well as developing a new relationship with a fraternity brother. Look through the chapter alumni list to find an alumnus with whom you feel you could develop this relationship.
• To begin the networking process, call the Chamber of Commerce of cities in which you would like to work. Ask the staff to send you their list of local businesses and nonprofit organizations. Spend time going through these resources. Record 5-10 potential places of employment from each city.
• After compiling materials on various companies in your field, utilize the Job Search Follow-Up Worksheet to begin and track all of your job-hunt calls. This can help you stay organized and focused in your job search. Put some of the details of this search in your Learning Journal.
• Talk to an academic advisor about the typical job interview in your field. Develop a list of questions to ask a potential employer. Find out the interview process for your profession. Then invite 2-3 alumni to conduct mock interviews and give evaluations. Develop a list of your strengths and weaknesses. Videotape your performances so you can see yourself in an interview situation (if available).

Develop you resumé.

• Invite a career counselor to the chapter to help the members develop their professional resumés. Then complete your resumé in at least two different styles. Share the resumés with your academic advisor and a staff member in the career development office for feedback. Review your resumé with an alumnus in your field and ask for constructive feedback. If alumni are not available, visit your campus alumni office to network with other alumni who share your same professional field.
• Find resources on the internet and at the library for writing a good resumé. At a chapter meeting share these resources so that others may enhance their resumés. You may choose to purchase a computer program to help members develop their resumes. Ready-to-Go Resumés for Mac and PC by Yana Parker is a book/software packages containing two tools for resumé preparation that anyone with access to a computer can put to work immediately. The book provides various types of resumés, examples of each, and shows how to use the software.

Produce and implement a plan of action to advance your future occupational goals.

• Have each member bring to a meeting a recommended reading or resource that they have used. This could include articles, books, magazines, newspaper sections, books on tape, or other resources. Ask each member to share the reason he chose the resource and develop a list of all the materials. See the Career Development Readings and Online Resources as a start. Utilize at least one career development resource, then report on your findings.
• Purchase the special issue of Business Week and Inc. magazines. Each of these magazines publishes an annual list of the 100 fastest-growing publicly held companies (Business Week) and the 500 hottest private companies (Inc.). List the top twenty, with which, considering your major, you may be able to get a job.
• Develop a plan/strategy for conducting a graduate school search. Investigate the study group opportunities and recommended materials for the graduate school exams (LSAT , MCAT , GMAT, GRE, etc.) and other standardized graduate school admission tests. Call for an appointment with your advisor and college dean to discuss your plans. Make a list of recommended graduate schools based on their feedback and begin gathering your transcripts and leadership transcripts (if available). Develop a list of individuals who would serve as character, academic, and professional references.
• In preparing for an interview, gather historical information on the company. Pull together sales figures, training program materials, and other helpful data. Research the firm through the web and library. Request a copy of the company's annual report so you can focus your interview questions and answers. Record the steps of your research. After a professional interview, evaluate your own skills. If you do not get the job, call the company's interviewer for some honest feedback on your interview. Make a list of your weaknesses, then inquire about how to strengthen these areas. You may ask professionals on campus, alumni, or the chapter's current members.