Not Interested in Graduate School

1
Not Interested in Graduate School?

• Jobs Other Post-Graduation Opportunities
• PSYCHOLOGY PEER ADVISORS
• NOVEMBER 15TH, 2004

2
What To Expect Tonight

• Marketable psychology major skills for jobs and
  internships
• Find it
• Apply for it
• Make the most of the job!
• And other options

3
YES! Psychology Majors Got Skillz!

• Roxi

4
What You May Not Have Realized

• Well-rounded individuals
• Human Relations
• Research
• Communication
• Creativity

5
Human Relations

• Knowledge of human development behavior
• Recognize behavioral emotional disorders
• Deal effectively with others
• Understand individual cultural differences
• Display empathy

• Engage in ethical practice
• Understand group dynamics
• Organize lead groups
• Display counseling skills
• Promote healthy relationships

6
Research

• Evaluate research
• Develop ideas theories
• Administer surveys psychological tests
• Give presentations
• Collect, organize, analyze, interpret data
• Select interpret statistical tests

• Write proposals reports
• Familiar with variety of research methods
• Defend ideas in an objective manner
• Use appropriate resources for research and
  literary reviews

7
Communication

• Good listener
• Resolve conflict
• Inform explain
• Influence persuade

• Verbal written skills
• Mediate negotiate
• Motivate

8
Creativity

• Troubleshoot
• Define problem areas
• Brainstorm
• Problem-solving

• Offer new perspectives and ideas
• Develop and improve for different outcomes

JMU Psychology department information about
skills - http//www.psyc.jmu.edu/undergraduate/psy
c_major/ getbachelorsjob.html
9
Direct Jobs

• Academic Advisor
• College Counselor
• Career Planning and Placement Counselor
• Eligibility Worker
• Housing and Student Life Coordinator
• School Counselor
• Case Worker

• Secondary School Teacher
• Social Work Assistant
• Special Program Teacher
• Student Activities Advisor
• Crisis Intervention Counselor

10
Less Direct Jobs

• Affirmative Action Representative
• College Admissions Officer
• Customer Service Representative
• Legislative Aide
• Employee Relations Assistant

• Human Resources Recruiter
• Human Resources Training Specialist
• Labor Relations Researcher
• Personnel Assistant
• Survey Assistant

11
Indirect Jobs

• Advertising Media Planner
• Medical Researcher
• College Development Specialist
• Volunteer Coordinator
• Corrections Officer
• Educational Researcher
• Probation Officer
• Customs Officer

• Environmental Communications Specialist
• Law Enforcement Officer
• Loan Officer
• Market Research Statistician
• Public Affairs Coordinator

12
Great Resources!

• Career titles for majors and links to more great
  websites - http//www.uncwil.edu/stuaff/career/Maj
  ors/psychology .html
• Divides job opportunities into categories based
  on service (business, communication, human
  relations, public administration, and more) -
  http//www.stthomas. edu/academiccounseling/Major_
  psyc.htm
• Skills and obtained positions for psychology
  majors - http//www.mrs.umn.edu/services/career/ca
  reer_planning/majors/psycholo.php

13
Job Searching on Websites

• Kami

14
Looking at Websites

• Go to typical search engine
• Pick site that has good description of what site
  offers
• Use trial and error

15
Search Jobs Websites

• What are they?
• http//www.careerbuilder.com
• http//www.monstertrak.com
• http//www.jobs.com/
• http//hotjobs.yahoo.com
• How do you use sites?

16
MadisonTRAK

• What is MadisonTRAK?
• How do you register with MadisonTRAK?
• http//www.jmu.edu/career/interviewing

17
The Wanted Ads

• Look at daily newspapers of specific location
• Go to States/Regions official website
• Virginia http//www.state.va.us
• Ask people within the field

18
Get Pumped to Write Your Resume!

• Katie

19
Keys to Success for Your Resume

• Make a draft and sign up for a Resume Clinic at
  AACD
• Resume to get the Interview
• Three Keys to Success
• Purposeful What is your point?
• Concise one page
• Highlight Stand Out

20
Brainstorm

• List out everything you can think of for
  involvement at JMU
• Juniors and Seniors should not include High
  School
• Good rule of thumb is to go back four years
• Most important and meaningful will stand out in
  your mind and naturally be a part of your list

21
General Writing Guidelines

• QUALITY not Quantity!
• Use action verbs (organized, produced,
  researched, and developed)
• Positive emphasize successes, skills,
  leadership abilities, accomplishments
• Resume ? Interview ? Job

22
Front and Center

• Your name!
• Your name and personal information stand out and
  be completely legible (NO FUNKY FONTS)
• Include school mailing address/phone number as
  well as permanent mailing address/phone number if
  still in school

23
What Should Be Included?

• Job Objective
• Education
• Experience
• Activities
• Honors

• Interests
• References
• Skills
• Personal Data

24
Job Objective

• Also may be called job target, career objective,
  or professional objective
• Purpose to set the tone for your resume and
  indicate the type of work you are seeking
• If you have several career interests and you are
  applying for several positions that are
  unrelated, you may want to develop several
  resumes with different job objectives

25
Education

• All colleges and universities attended with your
  most recent school attended listed first
• Include the name and location of your college
• Type of degree received and the date
• Your major and minor
• Your cumulative GPA and your major GPA can be
  listed if it is an asset
• List training that supports job qualifications

26
Example of Educational Experience

• JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY, Harrisonburg, Virginia
• Bachelor of Arts, May 2005 Cumulative GPA 3.62
• Major Psychology Major GPA 3.50
• Minor Family Studies

27
Experience

• Purpose to highlighting related skills and
  abilities
• Title of your position, name of the organization,
  location (city and state), and the dates you
  worked
• Paid work, volunteer work, extensive
  involvement in student organizations
• Be brief and use strong, past-tense action verbs
  to indicate both the level of responsibility you
  had and your accomplishments
• If you have multiple experiences directly related
  to the field, then you can list those under a
  separate category titled Related Experiences

28
Activities

• Highlight organizations clubs you participate
  in
• Name of the organization, any offices you held,
  and the dates
• You may also include a brief description of the
  activities in the organization
• IMPORTANT to have QUALITY experiences NOT
  QUANTITY!! Dont over-extend yourself.
• Find organizations that you are comfortable with
  and passionate about! Dont just do something
  because you need a Resume filler

29
Honors

• Any honors you received such as President's List,
  Deans List, scholarships, memberships in
  honorary societies
• Give dates and membership status (if applicable)
• If you have less than three entries for this
  section, you can list honors under education

30
References

• Seek permission before listing a reference
• Pick faculty employers who know your work well
  and will positively recommend
• You only need to state that references are
  available upon request from the employer
• Reference Page
• Names, addresses, phone numbers of references
• Advantage provides information directly to the
  employer without having to make a request
• Disadvantage you will not know when your
  references will be contacted

31
Reminders

• Format and verb tense consistent
• Proofread for misspelled words and grammatical
  errors
• Appearance is just as important as content

32
Résumé Printing Tips

• Clean, neat and visually appealing
• Avoid clutter by using ONE font style
• Use all capital letters, bold print, underline,
  or italics to highlight parts of your resume
• Use a good inkjet printer or have it printed at
  someplace like Kinkos.
• Printed on a light-colored bonded paper with
  matching color for cover letter
• You may use simple graphics such as lines to
  create a border

33
Visit AACD

• RESUME CLINICS offered in Wilson 306Learn about
  
• Which format is right for you
• How to organize and prioritize relevant
  experiences
• Drafts are welcome, but not necessary
• No sign up required but clinics are limited to
  the first thirty students who arrive and sign in
• Thursday, November 18, 2pm
• Monday, November 29, 2PM
• http//www.jmu.edu/aacd/resume_content.htm

34
How to Make the Most of Your Job

• Jen M.

35
You Have a Great JobNow What?

• Apply your undergraduate education
• Try to get involved in everything
• Network

36
You Have a JobDoes That Help?

• Food service
• Child or Adult care services
• Sales
• Secretary

37
Other Options

• Jess

38
So Besides a Job?

• Become an Italian Gypsy
• Move to Vegas. Become a professional Britney
  Spears-Federline impersonator
• Move to NYC. Become an actor/waiter
• Move to Canada. Become a Mountie
• Become a writer

39
No ReallyWhat Can I Do???

• Not ready to enroll in a graduate program?
• Up to 9 credits without enrolling in a program
• Want to see the world?
• Go Backpacking!
• Find temporary employment opportunities in other
  countries that will sponsor a short term work
  visa

40
I Want to Volunteer.Without Leaving the Country

• Americorps - http//www.americorps.org/
• AmericorpsVISTA
• AmericorpsNCCC
• City Year - http//www.cityyear.org/
• Teach for America - http//www.teachforamerica.org
  /flash_movie.html

41
Id Like to Volunteer and See the World at the
Same Time

• Peace Corps - http//www.peacecorps.gov/
• Teach English as a Second Language in a Foreign
  Country
• http//www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/work/esl
  /bestwebsites.shtml

42
Thank You For Coming!

• PSYCHOLOGY PEER ADVISING
• JOHNSTON 113
• 568-6214
• OFFICE HOURS MON.-THU. 10-5, FRI. 12-2
• AIM PeerAdvising
• E-mail peer_advise_at_jmu.edu
• http//cep.jmu.edu/peeradvising/