This document provides you with valuable information regarding your professional job or internship search. Topics listed below should provide an overview of some of the most important tools and steps for planning your career, seeking employment/organization and applying for employment opportunities.

I) Planning your Career

Personality and Career Assessment Exercises

*Keirsey Temperament and Character Sorter
*Enneagram Personality Dynamics Test - Which "type" are you?
*Test Junkie - tests in IQ, health, relationships, personality and career

Occupational Information

*Environmental Careers Organization Career Center - career tips, links to other web sites, answers to your environmental career questions, and information about jobs in a variety of environmental fields
*Occupational Outlook Handbook - US Dept. of Labor Statistics
*Nature and the Environment Career Guide
*Statistical Resources on the Web - Offered by University of Michigan Documents Center

II) Networking

*Initiating Informational Interviews
Informational interviews are conversations that you arrange with individuals that have experience in professions that you wish to investigate. This strategy is useful throughout one's career. Experienced professionals use it to research career changes or advancement opportunities within their careers. Informational interviews are different from job interviews and employers will appreciate your awareness of this. It is not an opportunity to ask for a position or about current job openings. At a later date, the contacts you made will be helpful in your job search by networking. Look at the attachment on this page that will outline how to ask and conduct an informational interview.

*Students and Alumni as Resources Students at our School enter with diverse and impressive academic backgrounds and employment experiences. It is often remarked that students are some of the best resource persons available to assist other students whenever they are seeking answers, a fresh perspective, or contacts. You can find out about our Students and Alumni - including employment and internship information. A survey is taken six months following graduation each year, to determine the academic and employment activities of the graduates. Also, be sure to look at the Yale Career Network (YaleCN), a database of alumni who are interested in networking with you. This network will allow current Yale students/alumni to connect with other alumni to discuss career objectives and explore career interests.

*Faculty as Resources Information about courses, individual projects and research for current school F&ES faculty is available. Oftentimes, students may be able to find research and work opportunities directly with these individuals during the school year or at other times.

III) Resume Writing

What is a resume? A concise summary (1-2 pages) of your experience (work, volunteer, and leadership), education and skills that are relevant to your employment interests. It is NOT a chronicle of everything that you have ever done. The resume often creates a first impression of you to potential employers by communicating your professional qualifications and experiences. Your goal is to use the resume to get an interview with an employer. Resumes should be tailored for each career field. Some people choose to create a slightly different resume for each job posting. For more information about developing an effective resume, please refer to the attachment on this page.

IV) Cover Letter Writing

A well written cover letter is an effective way to present your qualifications to an employer. Cover letters are read, compared, and used to screen candidates for interview consideration. Your resume, when accompanied by a cover letter, is a sign of a serious and professional approach to job hunting. It will give employers whom you approach an indication that you are sincerely interested in their organization, and that you are giving them personal attention that would not be shown by the arrival of an unaccompanied resume. Also, cover letters present your ability to communicate in writing, as well as your organizational ability, both of which are pertinent to most positions.
The purpose of the cover letter is to get an interview. Jobs develop from interviews, not letters, so the application letter must achieve a number of things in a minimum of space:

a) introduce you to employers
b) catch their attention and arouse their interest
c) persuade them that you are the person to interview

For a suggested outline for a cover letter, please refer to the attachment on this page.

V) Dressing for the Interview and Career Fair

There are many great internet resources for advice on dressing for interviews and fairs. A few suggestions follow:

From Princeton University's Career Office website: Dress Code

From Monster.com: Dress Appropriately

From Worktree.com: http://www.worktree.com/tb/IN_dress.cfm

VI) Interviewing

The interviewing process can be broken down into three stages: Preparing for interviewing, Conducting yourself during the interview, and Following-up after the interview. There are attachments on this page that covers topics for each of the three stages of interviews as well as other interviewing resources.

BEFORE THE INTERVIEW: Building a List of References & Preparing for an Interview

DURING THE INTERVIEW:
a) What to Expect
b) Potential Traditional-Style Interview Questions
c) Behavioral Interviewing and the STAR Method
d) Case Interviewing
e) Telephone Interviews
f) Video Interviews
g) Questions to Ask the Recruiters

AFTER THE INTERVIEW
a) Thank You Notes/Follow-up
b) Job offer evaluation
c) Salary Negotiation

VII) Other General Interview Information Resources

*Business Career Center - University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business - Interviewing Information
*At Ease, Inc. provides information and training tools on developing professional etiquette.
*Advice on Interview attire
Dress for Success - A site concerned with Men's attire
How to Dress - Job-Interview.net shows you how to dress for success on your interview
Business Attire - "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." Get Ready.

VIII) Resources for Ph.D.'s

Ph.D. students applying to academic or non-academic positions will usually need to include more application materials than master's students. There is an attachment on this page that covers writing a CV, statement of teaching philosophy, and a statement of research.