Career Services Notes for MSBA Students
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
With Fall Semester a near-wrap, it’s time to say congratulations on completing your first semester – and start to look forward to Spring Semester!
Congratulations on the progress you’ve made in your job search this semester. I’ve talked with some of you at various stages of your search, and I am eager to know where things stand at this time. Would you please update me on the status of your search? I’m here to help you, and knowing what help you need will help me be more effective!
Here’s the News You Can Use over Winter Break:
MSBA 2019-20 Career Activity Planner
AUCA Career Fair in Shanghai – January 2, 2020
Illinois Gies Business Fair - Spring 2020
Career Fair Student Ambassadors
Resource: Vault.com
Resource: Beyond B-School
International Illini Networking in Chicago 2020 (Heads-up on the Application Process)
Illinois Leadership Center Spring I-Programs
Job Scams – Warning Signs
Jobs on the Handshake Job Board
Career Services Availability over Break
MSBA Career Activity Planner
Are you curious about what you should be doing, in general, at this stage of your job search? Check the “MSBA 2019-20 Career Activity Planner”, which was included in the Career Management Foundations course you completed last April-May, before Summer Semester! This document provides an overview of the flow of a job search throughout the course of the academic year.
I’ve uploaded the Career Activity Planner in Gies Groups, in the Files Section of the MSBA website, for your reference. If you have any questions, please let me know!
AUCA Career Fair in Shanghai – January 2, 2020
Students who will be in China during the semester break are strongly encouraged to participate in the AUCA Career Fair. This event has been the source of many former MSBA students’ next job!
Click here for the Illinois Shanghai Office WeChat post about the AUCA Fair.
Click here for the AUCA Student Registration form – pre-registration is required, as this event is exclusive to students attending or having graduated from AUCA colleges and universities.
The event needs a few helpful volunteers – complete information is on the Volunteer WeChat page.
Note that AUCA also sponsors Career Fairs in late July and early August in Beijing, Shanghai and a third city. So, if you do not plan to be near Shanghai to attend this fair in January, you could plan to attend a fair this summer.
Illinois Gies Business Fair - Spring 2020
Thursday, January 30
2:00pm – 6:00pm
ARC
NOTE: the Spring Career Fair will be on Thursday – the second week of classes!
Make time during the semester break to prepare! Here’s what that means:
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Also check the company website job board, as many positions that may interest you are not included in the organization’s campus-recruiting strategy. Inquire about an opportunity you found on the company website when you meet a recruiter at the career fair, and ask who you should contact to learn more about that opportunity!
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Look on LinkedIn to find potential contacts (Illinois alumni, for starters...) at your target companies.
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Reach out to contact people during break, to ask for an “Informational Interview”. Learn all that you can, to prepare to meet and impress recruiters at the career fair.
Career Fair Student Ambassadors
Career Services invites students to volunteer to help at the Career Fair. The Student Ambassador roles including greeting recruiters, swiping I-cards for student check-in, and assisting with clean-up at the end of the day. If you will have extra time and want to get involved, please register to be a Student Ambassador. Note: completing the registration form means that you have committed to helping during the entire time you register for! You are expected to fulfill your commitment. (Stated another way: DO NOT sign up unless you are absolutely sure you will be there. Period.)
Resource: Vault.com
VAULT is an online library of Career Guides to a wide variety of industries, job search tools and skills (resume, cover letters, interviewing, etc.) and lists of top companies, by industry. Gies College of Business has purchased a subscription for all students in the college. MSBA students can access this VAULT subscription from Gies Groups – the “Gies Graduate Career and Student Services” portal. Click on “Useful Links” and the second item in the dropdown menu is “VAULT”. If you need to create an account, use your Illinois credentials (email address / netid / password) as requested, to access the paid subscription. When you are logged-in, you should see “Access provided by Gies College of Business – Career Services” at the top of the screen.
So: What’s in VAULT for MSBA students? Here are a few resources I’d suggest as starting points:
Information in VAULT is very reliable; you can trust it. If you’re looking for a job, please make time during break to use resources, such as VAULT, to refine and provide inspiration to your job search!
Resource: Beyond B-School
Another career development resource available to MSBA students is “Beyond B-School". In colloquial English, “B-School” means Business School, specifically graduate degree programs in Business. “Beyond B-School" is an online resource designed to help graduate students studying business disciplines gain a competitive edge in the job search.
MSBA students can access this VAULT subscription from Gies Groups – the “Gies Graduate Career and Student Services” portal. Click on “Useful Links” and the fifth item in the dropdown menu is “Beyond B School”. If you need to create an account, use your Illinois credentials (email address / netid / password) as requested, to access the paid subscription.
What’s in Beyond B School for MSBA Students? Here are a few places I’d start:
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Focus Programs: Foreign Student Seminar. Click on the “International MS Students” option, and you will arrive at a series of Video seminars covering every phase of your job search. Note: The job market for students in MBA programs is very different from the job market for students in Master of Science in Xxxx programs. So make sure that you follow the “International MS Students” course to get the relevant advice.
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Quick Links: Company Research. Reality is that most MSBA students find their next job by researching companies to find where their education and interests match a company’s need. Watch the Company Research videos and use time during break to further your company research. You’ve heard of Steve Dalton’s “2-Hour Job Search” in class. Watch Steve’s video on Beyond B-School, and apply what you learn to your job search
Remember – whenever you have questions about something you read on VAULT, or LinkedIn Learning, or Beyond B-School or another online resource, please let me know!
International Illini Networking in Chicago 2020 (Heads up on the application process!)
Event Date: Saturday, February 15, 2020
Application will be available on Handshake, starting Tuesday, January 21
For international students who are interested in connecting with alumni in Chicago, this is a great opportunity to learn from alumni about their job searches and career experiences. To be a part of this amazing full-day networking event hosted by career services offices across campus, you will need to apply, be selected, and then make a payment of $50 (for transportation and lunch). All international students across campus are eligible to apply. Only 150 applications will be available; and only 100 of those students will be selected to participate.
If you would like to participate in International Illini Networking in Chicago on February 15, then you need to mark your calendar so that you complete the application on Tuesday, January 21.
Illinois Leadership Center Spring I-Programs
Illinois Leadership Center programs and events are open to all Illinois students. The fees all students pay cover the costs of these workshops, so take advantage of these development opportunities while you are a student!
Visit the Illinois Leadership Center website for complete information on upcoming programs. Don’t wait for me to inform you about Illinois Leadership Center (ILC) events – subscribe to receive ILC updates directly to your email inbox! (If the link doesn’t work, scroll down on the website main page and click “Subscribe for ILC Updates.)
Employers recruiting University of Illinois students expect applicants to demonstrate exceptional leadership skills. What does your resume reveal about your leadership experience, and your preparation for a future leadership role? Is your actual leadership experience supported by intentional focus on developing your leadership philosophy and competencies?
Participate in ILC I-Programs to take your leadership potential to the next level! Descriptions of each program are on the ILC website. Registration is now open for iPrograms in Spring Semester. Register NOW, as capacity is limited and they fill quickly:
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Petullo Insight i-Program – Saturday, February 1, 2020
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Imprint i-Program – Saturday, February 29, 2020
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Integrity i-Program– Saturday, March 7, 2020
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Inclusion i-Program – Saturday, March 28, 2020
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Ignite i-Program – Saturday, April 18, 2020
I-Programs are full-day events. For shorter workshops, check out the “Workshop Wednesday” series, with topics including:
Job Scams – Warning Signs
Last week I received an email message that was clearly a job scam. The “job” was to be a “Store Evaluator” – and even the job title was misspelled, to be “Store Elevator”! And the sending address was a University of Illinois-Chicago email account! Needless to say, I reported the message as a scam. This reminded me -- to remind you to be alert to potential job scams! It’s very easy for criminals to “pull a fast one” on vulnerable job candidates. Don’t fall for a scam!
There are many types of scams: immigration scams, love scams, tax/IRS scams, and tuition scams. In addition to these scams, there is also another type of scam which many students tend to fall for easily – job scams.
Job scams are quite difficult to spot (and these scammers have developed very sophisticated methods to deceive you!). Many scammers use real companies to post their jobs – but -- they’re actually not real companies! If you feel that the job posting, the person contacting you or the interview process doesn’t feel quite right, then it's probably not right. Feel free to email me at djkbrown@illinois.edu if you are not sure whether a job opportunity you found is real or “fake”.
Here are the top 10 Job Scam Warning Signs:
1. The job is too good to be true (high salary, work-from-home, no interview required etc.)
2. Vague job requirements and job descriptions
3. Unprofessional email messages (lack of formatting, misspellings, poor grammar, etc.)
4. Online interviews via Yahoo Instant Messenger
5. Emails don’t include contact information or are sent from a personal (not corporate) email account
6. Search results just don’t add up
7. You’re asked to provide personal confidential information as part of the application process
8. They say they will send you money or valuables, or they want to use your personal bank account to transfer funds (NOTE: In the past, students have fallen for the scam and sent money and/or provided their bank account information. The end result is ALWAYS that the scammers take – steal --the student’s money directly from the bank account, and there is absolutely no way to get the money back. If you receive a request like this, please DO NOT give any personal information! For assistance, please contact the University Police at 217 333 1216)
9. They want you to pay for something, even something very small (they’re testing your willingness to be scammed!)
10. Your “gut” says it’s a scam
These articles provide more details on the top job scam warning signs:
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/top-job-scam-warning-signs-2062181
https://www.thejobnetwork.com/10-warning-signs-that-job-offer-is-a-scam/
Bottom Line: Go with your gut instinct. If something doesn’t feel right, please communicate and reach out (contact me or a colleague at Gies Business Career Services, report it to the University Police, etc.) Don’t let the desperation to find a job cloud your judgment!
Jobs on the Handshake Job Board
I would be totally remiss to not include a few positions recently posted on Handshake – as a way of reminding you to logon to Handshake to see what you find, that suits you! Here’s what I found today:
Synchrony – Business Leadership Program – Data Analytics BLP
swissre – Graduates@swissre program 2020: Underwriter Credit & Surety, Beijing
Olam – Associate – Future Leaders Program
NetEase Games – Brand Management Trainee
When you’re reviewing job postings on Handshake, remember to look at the “Similar Jobs” listed on the right-hand side! Handshake’s Artificial Intelligence will provide targeted job suggestions for you, and the more you use the Handshake job board the more on-target the jobs will be!
Career Services Availability over Break
Career Services will be open through mid-afternoon on Friday, December 20, and will be closed through the holidays. All University offices will open on Thursday, January 2, 2020. When the office is open, an advisor will be here to assist any student with their job search.
I will be out of the office starting Thursday, December 19 and will return on Tuesday, January 7. However, I will be at a conference here on campus January 13 through 17. Starting January 7 I will be checking my email, so let me know how you are doing and what I can help you with and I’ll reply.
If you are on campus, please feel free to come in to discuss your career search before classes start in January! With the Gies Business Fair the second week of classes, you want to be prepared!
That’s it for today, this week, this semester and this year! I wish everyone a very restful yet productive break. Enjoy time with your friends and family while you can, as once you start working you will likely not be able to take such a long break from work.
If you’re in the job market, I look forward to working with you next semester to land your next job. Career Services is planning several career development events, in addition to career fairs and employer on-campus recruiting events, to keep your job search moving forward.
Thank you for being great students to work with. As I reflect on the past year, I realize how fortunate I am to work with talented students who have very bright futures.
Happy, Happy Holidays,
Dede
Dede Kern Brown
Your Career Advisor
Gies Business Career Services – 1033 BIF
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