With the highly anticipated days of fall-break fast approaching, I have begun to think about the ways in which I hope to network during this time. Making connections from your hometown can be invaluable. You might be surprised by how much these people can impact the development of your career.

For example, when I was trying to land an internship last summer, I was very thankful that I had worked so hard to cultivate these important relationships. In essence, my first internship did not offer me enough hours to fulfill my Scripps Summer Internship Grant requirements. I was down to the wire with only a week to find a new one and absolutely no leads. After a lot of thinking, I remembered that my dentist had mentioned completing clinical shadowing in the field I was interested in. I quickly reached out to her and she helped set me up with an amazing experience that worked perfectly with the grant.

By simply engaging in meaningful conversations during a routine cleaning, I was able to develop a contact that not only came to my aid in a time of need but has also become one of my closest mentors.

Wanting to expand your network even further? My favorite way is to use LinkedIn! If you take a look at the “See Alumni” tool on the Scripps College LinkedIn page, you can search through people by “Where They Live.” Look for some local alumni that work in the field that you are interested and send them an email. Perhaps they know of some local internships or shadowing opportunities that they could inform you of.

It is also important to remember that networking is not limited to people who are already in the career force. Many of your friends and acquaintances will go on to do bigger and better things. For this reason, it is important to network on campus and try to develop relationships with classmates. This can be a simple as sitting next to someone new every day or asking your lab partner out to coffee. Not only will this maximize your network, but it will also increase your wellness.

Connecting with my classmates is one of my favorite ways to network. It’s highly unlikely that your lab group is going to decline going out for coffee and completing the post-lab together. There is a common interest, or disinterest, already built in between the group. In addition, you can generate some great friendships this way.

Every interaction counts, so do not discount anyone! From the barista at your favorite coffee shop to the receptionist at your sister’s work—I have always found that somebody knows somebody. The well-known six degrees of separation theory always reminds us of how connected we actually are to one another. However, I have actually seen a series of studies claiming that the rise of social media has actually decreased this number to approximately 3.9 degrees of separation. Working in a larger, more common field such as medicine or business will decrease this number by an even greater amount.

Do you have any networking suggestions? Who will you be talking to during break? Let us know in the comments below!

1. Lack of Customization

I have often heard that companies will only spend around 30 seconds looking at your resume. For this reason, it is important to make it stand out; especially to the specific company that you are applying to. It is perfectly okay to cater your resume to the position you want (as long as you remain honest). When there is limited space to note your accomplishments, it is better to put the more relevant ones for each company.

In addition, developing a resume that is visually interesting can be a great way to get attention. While readability is paramount, if you’re applying for jobs in a design field, adding a little bit of color and design can be a wonderful touch. 

2. Over-focusing on High-School Accomplishments

While this is all that first year’s have, as you continue on to college consider highlighting on campus employment, volunteer and leadership roles on campus. We all put a lot of time and effort into our High-School activities and stripping it of these accolades can feel disheartening—but fear not! There are plenty of opportunities to create meaningful experiences and achievements in the years you spend in college. A good rule of thumb is: Most recent and most relevant. Start with what you have and work in reverse chronological order – Drop in hours at CP&R can help with this as well.

3. Listing Arbitrary Hobbies and Interests

While you are trying to convey a sense of yourself as a person, your resume is not the place to list what you like to do. An employer is concerned with whether or not you can do what they need you to do, and your interest in yoga and reading is irrelevant unless you can demonstrate how it helps in the role for which you are applying. Participating in a campus-wide yoga club or book club is a little more impressive, but better still is speaking about your role as a leader in one of these clubs.  

4. It’s All in the Details

Making sure that grammar and spelling are immaculate, it is also important to keep a sense of cohesiveness throughout the resume. Make sure that you are using the appropriate tense throughout (Past tense for jobs completed, present tense for roles you currently hold) and using consistent formatting. Using consistent  formatting throughout when it comes to dates, roles, titles etc. is one of the most important considerations.

What are some common resume mistakes you’ve made? Comment below on how you’ve learned to avoid these!

Week four of Sophomore year has been the most challenging week, both academically and emotionally. When times get tough, I do what I have always done: call my mom. In the midst of mid-term season, she has helped me battle the ups and downs of overbearing workloads, classes into the late hours of the night, and emotional displacement.

I have a renewed sense of appreciation for my mother; she makes my life so much easier. Throughout the week, she picked up the phone, even when it was my tenth call of the day. My mom truly is “Super-Mom.” Not only has she given up so much to raise my sister and me, but she has also worked to earn an extremely successful career. It has been inspiring to grow up watching her create and manage her own business.

I often take the driven and successful side of my mom for granted. For this reason, I decided to pick her brain about her career-path:

Tell me about your career path. Why are you where you are now?

“I always knew I wanted to be a teacher.  I can’t recall ever wanting to be anything else.  After working in a preschool in college I remember thinking it would be fun to own a preschool (I imagined it in an old house) and all that I could do there.  I have always enjoyed being around little children as well as organizing activities, events, and projects.  I love to be silly and animated and that always make a connection with children.”

What inspired you to own and operate your own business?

“As much as I imagined owning my own business, owing this business was a series of fortune events that fell into place perfectly and the perfect time.  It started with one of my daughters attending the preschool and becoming close friends with the owner.  She learned that my education was in Elementary and Early Childhood Education and we started talking.  She had started the business and run it for 20 years and was ready to retire.  I had just left corporate America and was looking for my next step career-wise and really wanted to utilize my education.”

What is the mission behind your business? Has this changed throughout the years?

“The mission behind young learners was offering creative learning to young children.  This mission itself has not changed, but the way we do it has.  In the last 9 years the rise of our diversity, the rise of children with special and medical needs has changed the way we do it.”

What were the biggest hurdles that you faced in building your own business? How do you work to overcome these?

“One of the biggest hurdles I faced building the business was all the business things outside of the functioning preschool program, like payroll, licensing, taxes, insurance, etc.  I was a teacher, not a business person.  I have a dedicated support system and reliable recourses to help me.  The only way I can overcome these is by constantly learning.  Every school year situations come up that I did not predict and I handle it the best I know how.  Many time it sparks new policies and procedures that I then put in place for future years.” 

What kind of qualities do you look for in employees?

“I look for individuals who are organized, outgoing and fun.  Responsible, trustworthy and punctual.  It is also important that they can communicate strongly with a wide variety of people and personalities.  I have found some of these traits are more important than their educational background.”

 How would you describe your work environment and what do you to maintain this?

“Our environment can be very stressful at times.  I try hard to make it fun and keep morale up.  Some of the ways I do this is:  Starbucks Days, Potlucks, Silly Contests (with prizes) like games, crazy sweater day, best costumes, spirit days, etc.  I also usually try to do an off-site staff event in the spring where we can all do something together out of the building.

Have there been any influential figures in your life that have facilitated your success?

I have many people in my life that have influenced me.  I have two teachers, one in high school and one in college who influenced my love of children, education, and teaching.  The former owner of my business was huge in the beginning and navigating owning this business.  My Dad and husband are also huge influences in helping with the business side of things.  To this day, I couldn’t do it without their guidance.”

 Looking back, what do you wish that you could have told your younger self?

• “Don’t rush to grow up. Don’t rush to get married and have a family.  There is time.
• You are not perfect. No matter how hard you try or no matter what you say or do, you will make mistakes. You are human.
• Stop trying to always please everyone. Not everyone will always be happy with you.  Please yourself first.
• Hard work and sacrifice towards anything WILL pay off.
• Trust your instincts; they have proven to be right more than wrong.
• Don’t worry so much.
• Be grateful for what you have and when.”

It is no secret that maintaining a LinkedIn profile can be incredibly helpful in advancing one’s career. Not only is LinkedIn a great platform for professional networking, but it can also be used to find potential jobs and internships. For this reason, it is important to keep your profile up to date and congruent. Structuring a captivating profile can be tricky, but with a little work, anyone’s profile can be professional!

Profile Picture

Make sure that your profile has a picture that is professional and current. I know that Scripps and some of the other Claremont schools actually provide workshops where they will take these photos for you, free of charge. Don’t fret if you can’t make it to one of their workshops. We happen to be on one of the most beautiful college campuses in the country. Grab a friend, a camera, and your favorite professional attire. It is best when this photo is a headshot; a medium close-up that focuses on your face.

Summary

Your summary should provide a brief overview of your skills and special interests. As a student, it is helpful to mention your intended areas of study and use numbers whenever possible. Be personal and authentic, but not long-winded. It is important to get to the point in this section. Add the details of your accolades in the sections below the summary.

Censors

If you would not say it in an interview, then do not write it on your LinkedIn profile. Make sure that your writing style is formal, academic, and not overusing jaded buzzwords.

Customized URL

Maintain congruency and professionalism by customizing the URL to your LinkedIn. You can do this in the “Edit Profile” section of your LinkedIn. Placing your name at the URL is the simplest and easiest way to customize. Now when you put your LinkedIn URL on your resume it will have a little more pizazz, so to speak.

Get Endorsed

While it is good to have an array of “Featured Skills and Endorsements,” they are only given meaning when endorsed by others. Do not be afraid to ask your friends to bolster your credentials by endorsing you in skills that they agree with. You can help them out by endorsing them back! Bonus points if you can get them to write you a recommendation!

Update Your Contact Information

It is important to have contact information on your page that you check regularly. Only add websites that show your professional identity in the best light.

Banner

Something that almost always grabs my attention on a LinkedIn profile is a customized banner. Most people keep that dull, generic header behind their profile picture. However, even a simple pattern can make your profile stand out among the others. I personally love using websites that allow you to customize and create your own banner. As long as you keep it appropriate and professional, this can be an awesome way to visually highlight your profile.

If you have any helpful LinkedIn tips and tricks, feel free to comment below!

As I head into week three of my sophomore year it seems that I have already found myself succumbing to the magical powers of NyQuil and lozenges. How did I get here? I used to be the one with immaculate attendance who never got ill. The sad reality is that it is way too easy to get sick in college. The dorm rooms and communal areas seem to be a breeding ground for the strep, flu, and everything in between. To make matters worse, it is impossible to get into the student health center in a timely fashion.  Whether it’s your roommate, your partner, or a co-worker, someone around you is bound to be sick.

Becoming an “adult,” or whatever we call this weird stage of our lives, is rough. We are all just figuring it out as we go along.  One of the biggest changes I have seen in this transition is the level of forgiveness about being sick. If you missed a few days of high-school, it was not the end of the world. This more lenient environment allowed me to even take my fair share of mental-health days throughout the year. But in college, much like the real world, professors are not as forgiving about missing classes and making up work. Even if you have a doctor’s note, the world keeps moving forward and you still are responsible for the material that you missed.

As a result, I constantly try to avoid becoming ill at all costs. I know that taking sick-days from school, work, and internships are usually more detrimental than beneficial.

Here are some of my favorite pro-tips that I use in order to avoid getting sick throughout the year:

1. Washing hands.

As juvenile as this sounds, I think that everyone needs this simple little reminder. I do not know if people think that it’s okay to break this childhood rule now that we are older, but washing hands is a must. Too often I see grown individuals leaving the bathroom without washing. It does not matter how clean you are when you go. If you flush the toilet, (and I seriously hope that you do) you are touching something that everyone else before you has also touched. How do you know that they didn’t leave the germs that they coughed into their hand all day or some other unmentionable substances on the handle?

2. You get in what you put out.

I find this little mantra to be true in every realm of life. As it pertains to sickness, I focus this mindset on liquids, diet, and exercise.

Say “yes” to putting hydrating fluids into your system and “no” to coffee and alcohol. Both of these contain diuretics that will dehydrate you and actually work against your efforts to fight off infection.

Maintaining a healthy and balanced diet is another essential factor to maintaining wellness.

Although taking multi-vitamins and other supplements are helpful, they are intended to complement a balanced diet, not single-handedly provide your necessary nutrients. Fill your plate with fresh greens, antioxidants, and lean proteins whenever you can! You will start to notice that when you eat better, you feel better.

My Cross-Country coach used to tell me “the only workout you regret is the one that you skip.” I have always found this to be true. Not only does exercising release endorphins and increase general levels of happiness, but it also promotes better sleep and longevity. When exercising, remember to clean your gym equipment. You might be gracious about wiping down your mat and machine when you are done, but did the person before you do the same? Before grabbing those weights, they might have been coughing into their hands throughout the day. Or worse, they might be one of the individuals who doesn’t wash their hands after using the bathroom. Getting into the habit of wiping these down before and after exercising will save your immune system in the long run.

3. Sleep

With no parents enforcing a curfew or bedtime every evening, the world is your oyster. Although the possibilities of the late-night hours are endless, there is no denying that natural call to sleep. I know that getting to bed a little earlier might seem like a pain, but it is worth it in the long run. Life is better when you can make the decision to choose sleep, rather than when all of your work and activities have to take the hit from being too sick to participate

4. Keep a clean space.

Maintaining a clean environment will keep you feeling fresh. You can do this by washing your sheets every one to two weeks and wiping down communal surfaces. Don’t forget about cleaning items such as your keyboard, water-bottles, and doorknobs. I try to do this weekly.

For better air quality, get outside. There are many days during the weekend where dinner-time rolls around and I realize that I have spent the entire day at my desk. If you can’t get out very often, try to work with the window open. The circulation of air from the outside will let the room breathe, so to speak.

5. Treatment

If, despite your best efforts, sickness thrusts itself upon you, try to attack the oncoming sickness head-on. The second that I begin to feel the symptoms, I begin chugging water, tea, and Emergen-C like it’s my job.

My main suggestion here is to try to have medications and necessities on-hand at all times. The last thing that you are going to want to do when you are sick is make the daunting trek to the local pharmacy or health center.

Ultimately, taking precautionary tips will maximize your wellness. You might be teased for being a germ-o-phobe, but you will be envied when you stay healthy and happy throughout the year. Adopting these habits now will facilitate your ability to avoid getting sick in college and in the professional world.

If you have any tips or tricks for fighting off sickness, we would love to hear them in the comments section.