Are you Professionally Ready?

There is now a professional readiness certificate that most Indiana college students can obtain while in school.  It's called the INdorsed Career Ready Graduate Certificate.  Currently there are 32 Indiana colleges that offer this certificate.  Click HERE to see if your college offers the certificate.

This statewide standard is used by Indiana colleges and universities to certify students’ preparation for professional work in several competency areas: professional identity, experience and skills. The certification provides consistency for core competencies while allowing flexibility for individual programs. Additionally, it offers students and employers an excellent benchmark for career readiness as they engage in the recruiting process.  Upon completion of the certificate, students are given the opportunity to submit their information for an online database.  Employers can recruit these career ready graduates HERE.

For IPFW students, please go to our website at http://www.ipfw.edu/offices/career/students/indorsed.html for more information about how to get started and who to contact with questions.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS

There are 3 basic areas of competencies, with 2 sections in each area and suggested activities to complete each area and section.

Professional Identity area

Self Assessment: This section is required because often companies will ask you during an interview why you've chosen this given profession. Through the development of self assessment you will be able to answer this question in a way that demonstrates you thoroughly thought about your career choice.
Self Marketing: This section includes preparation of your resume and interviewing skills, plus one additional activity that will help to showcase you as a candidate and/or create a "brand" online image.

Professional Experience area

Professional Experiences: You should know by now that all companies are looking for college graduates
to have both a diploma and 1-3 internships throughout their college years. There are other ways to gain experience, like attending a professional conference, so get out there and develop yourself in the field/industry of your choice (which your determined in the Self-Assessment section).
Professional Practices: This additional section in the experiences area is focused on developing networking skills and experiences. Networking is the #1 way people find job opportunities because most jobs are found through the Hidden Job Market. Start connecting with alumni, through LinkedIn, or through your own personal connections.

Professional Skills area

Professional Skill Development: It's not enough to just show up to the internship and do what you're told. What new skills did you develop at the internship? If there are certain skills you want to use in the future, then request those responsibilities from your supervisor and find ways to develop them. Leadership, creativity, initiative, and communication skills are all top skills that companies seek.
Unique Selling Point: Have you ever heard the question in an interview, "why should we hire you?" or "what makes you stand out among the other candidates?" This section will help you identify your uniqueness that you can bring to a company and enable you to answer these questions with ease.  A unique selling point is a vast as snowflakes, as no one will be the same from student to student. Start by considering what you do really well, where you excel in the classroom, at work, on the sports field, etc. Once you determine your top strength then perform two activities that support it for the certificate. Some people start by evaluating their experiences and find a common theme to identify the unique selling point, too.

Summer Externships

EXTERNSHIP

(noun): A supervised experience done outside of the classroom with the purpose of immersing oneself into a company and/or industry environment.

Summer Externships

IPFW Career Services offers externships on a year-round basis, for current degree-seeking IPFW students. We are currently accepting applications for IPFW students to complete a summer externship.

Summer Externships are more flexible than during the school year, as less students are taking classes.  A requirement of the program is that the student MUST devote 2-5 full work-days with the chosen employer.  There is more information about our participating companies and what the extern can expect during the job immersion, under the "Externship Sites" tab at http://www.ipfw.edu/offices/career/students/externships.html.

This is considered a professional experience and IPFW Career Services has the highest expecations of all the applicants from the application, to the interview, to the business etiquette expectations while at the company. Since this is a competitive experience, it is not a guarantee that every student will be offered an externship. Offers are typically not made for a few reasons, like the student didn't take the interview seriously, the employer is only able to host a 1-2 students but 5 applied, and if the student is developmentally beyond the purpose of an externship.  This means that if a student has already completed an internship in the same area, then the externship will go to a student with less experience.

Externships are seen as a springboard into internships, and are meant to help students discern between various industries and/or confirm their career choice.  If you are an IPFW sophomore or junior, this is a perfect opportunity for you to gain exposure prior to getting an internship your senior year.  Externships can even go on your resume under relevant experience or in the education section.

If you are an IPFW student and want to do an externship this summer with one of the following companies, then log into your JobZone account and apply to the IPFW Externships job posting, #716992.

2014 Participating Companies

• Allen County Adult Probation
• Allen County Department of Health
• Allen County Superior Court
• ARAMARK Sports & Entertainment
• Aunt Millie's Bakeries
• BKD LLP
• Boy Scouts of America
• Diskey Sign Company
• Fort Wayne Museum of Art
• Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation
• Fort Wayne Youtheatre
• IPFW Alumni Relations
• IPFW Athletics
• IPFW Career Services
• IPFW Helmke Library
• IPFW Human Resources
• IPFW Military Student Services
• IPFW Office of Diversity & Multicultural Affairs
• IPFW Special Events
• IVY Tech Community College, Student Support Services
• UPS
• Windsong Pictures
• YMCA Youth Services

If you are a local company and want to host IPFW students for an externship, please complete our registration form at http://www.ipfw.edu/offices/career/employer/externships.html.

Internship? I can do that later...

Now is the time to start polishing your resume for a summer internship.  Employers are expecting all graduates to not only have the degree, but experience to go along with it!  Internships are no longer optional in an employers eyes, but REQUIRED!!

When to Start
As you start thinking about signing up for classes look to see if there is an internship course listed for your major.  You can arrange your own internship and also get academic credit for the experience.  This is especially helpful if you have some free electives available.

Even if you don't want to do it for academic credit, you should still consider setting up an internship about 2-3 months prior to your expected start date. This means start looking in March for a Summer internship!!

How to get Started
Your professors may have some leads, but definitely check with your campus Career Services office and/or Co-op department on campus.  IPFW's Career Services is located in KT 109 and can be found online at www.ipfw.edu/career.

Career Services may have a program to help you locate an internship, like our program called the Train-A-Don Internship Program.  Usually a safe bet would be to contact your Career Services office and request a resume critique, then use that time to also tell your career counselor about your intentions for an internship.

Other Options
If you have connections at a company and want to create your own internship, that's great!! GO FOR IT!  I do recommend reporting that internship to your Career Services office for 2 reasons:

1. Support if something should go wrong
2. Validating the experience and having it approved by your university

Alternatives to Internships
If you are a student athlete or just don't have time to do an internship because of working full time, consider these options to still get experience related to your career goals:

• Maybe turn your part-time job into an internship. Talk to your current work supervisor and see if you can get more experience in an area of interest.
• Volunteer - this is most appropriate for non-profit work and is great because of the flexibility of time with each organization
• Externship/Job Shadow - take 2-3 days and request a job shadow.  Your Career Services office can help you make connections.
• Student Organization involvement - get involved with committees and leadership roles
• Use spring break to do volunteering, service trips, or something other than partying.  You don't have classes to worry about so take this free time and use the most of it!

Externships - another way for college students to get experience

EXTERNSHIPS
Think of an externship as a mini-internship experience or an intense job shadow.  Externships were developed through IPFW Career Services in 2009 because we wanted to provide experience options for freshmen and sophomores who may not be ready for an internship or are still clarifying career goals.  All college students have found it helpful, though, even seniors and graduate students.

Employers are recruited and design an experience for a 2-3 day externship, which occurs during spring break week.  During these days students have the opportunity to observe company meetings, practice work-content skills, and are even given small projects to work on during the day.  The externship is to be like an immersion experience and the student will experience a day-in-the-life from opening to closing, typically 8/9am - 4/5pm.

Students sacrifice some of their spring break to get experience... If you were an employer, wouldn't you want to hire someone willing to sacrifice play-time for their career?

STUDENT BENEFITS

• Network with a company and a professional in a specific field
• Find a future internship
• Make a connection with a potential mentor
• Gain experience to place on your resume

EMPLOYER BENEFITS

• Connect with new talent
• Way to find potential new interns
• Train students to the world of work at little cost (just time)

CHECK IT OUT!

We have more information about the program on our website!

http://new.ipfw.edu/offices/career/students/externships.html

Contact Karen Obringer Campbell at obringek@ipfw.edu for more information

Unlock Your Potential

I was introduced to a new webpage today: Experience.com

This is an excellent site with resources for students, alumni, employers, and schools.

Features for students:

• Discover opportunities - what's out there and where you fit in
• Be introduced to alumni, career experts and industry insiders
• Learn more about industries, mentors and career resources
• Present your Experience and stand out to employers

Features for alumni:

• Search exclusive jobs posted by fellow alumni
• Get timely industry content and career-focused guidance
• Be introduced to alumni, career experts and industry insiders
• Package and present your personal brand to employers

Features for employers:

• Largest Network of College Students and Recent Grads - Over 4 million high-quality candidates from our exclusive partnerships with university career centers, alumni associations, and honor societies.
• Focused. Cost-effective. Easy. - Target your job to precisely the candidates that you want. Proactively outreach to pre-qualified students and grads.

Features for schools:

• A Single University-Wide System - Leverage our scalable solution for career management, career fairs, alumni mentoring and engagement with your corporate partners
• 100,000+ Employers - Give your students and alumni access to exclusive opportunities from top employers throughout the Experience Network
• The Industry Leader - Join the largest network of universities, alumni associations, honor societies and organizations providing lifelong career services

There are even more features for these groups, like a career dashboard, blog, tweets, latest news, recruiting solutions, and conferences/webinars.

IPFW Externship Program: From a students perspective!

My externship at the United Way of Fort Wayne was quite a unique experience. What made the experience first rate was the insight that I received from a member of the United Way team. I was able to get a behind the scenes and view the ways in which the United Way is woven into the variety of fabrics which represent various Non-For-Profit organizations within the Fort Wayne community.

The person that I was shadowing was Jamie Garwood, the Director of Education Initiatives and Strategies at United Way. She was the head of improving the quality of learning that children received within the context of a child's initial learning stages. She worked with Fort Wayne Study Connection and while working with her, I learned many tips on how to not only create ideas but to incorporate the ideas of an array of persons to a common goal which made all persons involved feel a sense of accomplishment.

Lastly, I was able to talk one on one with the CEO of the Fort Wayne United Way. He was able to better direct many of my energies as well as summarize the way in which my thought patterns could become a reality. I found the conversation enlightening and I took what he said to heart.

I would do an externship again and I would recommend this program to anyone who has an interest in learning more about careers, how a company /program runs or if you just want to gain some more work experience or network with employers.

Xavier Qadar

____________________________________________________________________

In August of 2009, IPFW had 11 students participate in the externship program. This program allowed the students to explore a specific career path, gain marketable job experience, and make professional connections by working with alumni and local employers for 2-5 days from August 10-21, 2009.

If you are interested in hearing how you can be an extern, contact Career Services at 260-481-0689. We are offering this program again over Spring Break - mark your calendar!

Get involved with nonprofit agencies...

Are you interested in helping people?
Are you interested in making a difference in people's lives?

One of the ways you can do this is by serving on a nonprofit agency's board or on one of their committees. This also looks great on your resume and will help you to have an edge over your competition when you are applying for an internship or job. If you're not sure what this would involve, come to "Get on Board", which is presented for the 2nd year by Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana (YLNI). This two-part series will cover board basics, and also provide an opportunity to network with area nonprofit organizations who are searching for talented people like yourself to serve on their boards and committees.

The first workshop will be held at the downtown branch of the Allen County Public Library on Wednesday, May 20th from 6-8 PM. This workshop will introduce you to the board basics you'll want to know in order to be a stellar board member, and to decide if board service is right for you. The program will be facilitated by the Paul Clarke Nonprofit Resource Center. Light refreshments will be served.
**Cost is FREE. Space is limited and the event is open (on a first-come, first-served basis).
RSVP quickly to rsvp@ylni.org. Please put “5/20 Get on Board event” in the subject line.

"Get on Board Take 2" will be held at the Tower Bank lobby in Fort Wayne on Wednesday, June 17th from 5:30-7:30 PM. Come make connections with local nonprofit agencies at the 2nd annual Get on Board networking mixer. This informal event will give you the opportunity to talk to representatives from organizations large and small, across a broad spectrum of service areas. All attendees are encouraged to create a free profile at www.boardnetusa.org prior to the event.
**Cost is FREE. Space is limited, and the event is open (on a first-come, first-served basis). RSVP to rsvp@ylni.org. Please put “6/17 Get on Board event” in the subject line.

Questions about Get on Board? Contact Wendy at wendy@ylni.org.
Questions about YLNI? Visit www.ylni.org or email info@ylni.org.