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Personality,
intra-personal skills, the ability to communicate, internship experiences
and extracurricular achievements are often what land the job. Learn how
to combine your skills and turn them into a winning career.
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Unless
you intend to be an engineer, accountant or scientist, your major is minor
to most employers. Corporate recruiters may admire your proficiency in
analyzing the genetic map of a species, but they are more interested in
your transferable skills, work experience and attitude according to agricultural
career services.
Kenny Weynand, division after market manager for
the Dallas sales branch of John Deere, said students shouldn't feel insecure
about their credentials.
"You've developed marketable skills that apply
in business, and your experiences do count. If a student has been a waitress,
I think, 'She's worked in high-pressure situations and knows good customer
service. She knows how to make people happy and defuse tensions,' the same
skills needed for a marketing representative," Weynand said.
So give yourself credit and don't let your degree alone determine your destiny. A major in economics didn't keep Sandra Day O'Connor off the U.S. Supreme Court, and a degree in advertising didn't hurt country music star Garth Brooks. If you develop a strategy, and are persistent and creative, you can turn your education into an exciting job.
First remember you come to college to learn how to think, not how to master a vocation; working with a team, conducting research, analyzing problems and communicating effectively are skills necessary for success in any profession.
"The companies that interview at OSU hire good people, people who have worked hard to develop skills, not majors. They are problem solvers and people who have proven they know how to learn. The recruiters look for the skills you've learned in and out of the classroom," said Louann Waldner, director of career services in the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.
Recruiters ask about the field you've chosen as a way of getting to know you, not reject you.
"Sometimes students' ideals and what they want
to do change over time. We aren't going to hold you back just because of
your area of study. We are more concerned that the job is a good fit for
you. It costs so much to hire and train that it's counterproductive to
hire someone who isn't going to enjoy the job," said Katie Schulte, agricultural
recruiter for Koch Industries.
Where to Start
For the most successful students, career planning starts the day you walk on campus, Waldner said. You start by joining organizations, building a network, gaining experience and creating your career calendar. It is important to job shadow, read about the industry, attend career fairs and take every opportunity to practice your speaking skills.
The career fair provides a great chance to see a variety of jobs and companies you might be interested in working for down the road. It is also a great place to practice meeting people. Use the career fair to research companies, gain confidence and practice your people skills.
"Exposure is one of the keys to future employment," Waldner said. "It is never too late to start, but make a decision today to not wait another day."
She said it takes the average job hunter six to nine months to find a position. The later you start the more frustrated you'll be.
Ask the director of the career center to put you in touch with alumni who majored in your area recent grads as well as people who have been working at least 10 years to get a diverse perspective. Don't forget to register with career services, sign up at http://www.dasnr.okstate.edu/casnr/career.html.
Your Résumé
"Your résumé is the first impression given to a company, so it amazes me what little time some students put into them. Interview pre-selection is based on résumés," Schulte said.
Waldner said it's never too early to start a résumé. It is an ever evolving creative process that will also need to be changed to fit the profile of the job for which you are interviewing.
"If you have a résumé on file at career services it's ready in case someone requests it, and once you discover your objective it's easy to see if your experience matches or if you have gaps you need to fill," Waldner said.
"Preparation is always an advantage," Schulte said.
Keep your activities list current and include
dates, and your senior year will be a chance to fine tune what you have
compiled.
So What Really Counts?
Experience! Employers don't expect you to acquire specific technical knowledge about their company in the classroom. Internships, part time jobs and relevant activities are therefore mandatory.
"I did an internship part time in the summer. I didn't get paid but it was a great experience because it was with a top-notch company. It gets your résumé noticed as well," said Cody Blood, agricultural economics senior from Binger, Okla.
Students should not just join clubs and organizations, but get involved.
"It gives you a lot more to talk about in the interview if you held a leadership position and made a difference within that organization," Blood said.
Schulte said Koch Industries looks for students who take initiative. The new employees won't always be told everything; they are expected to deliver and need to know when and how to take action.
"We look for well rounded candidates who are adaptable
and ready for whatever is thrown at them," she said.
Interviews
The question remains, when faced with tough competition, what is the most effective way to distinguish yourself in an interview? If you don't know the answer to this question, consider yourself normal. But here are a few clues to put you a step ahead of your competition.
The newest type of interviewing is called behavioral interviewing. It is one of the hottest trends in evaluating and recruiting new employees.
Many recruiters will steer the interview into this area by asking you to describe a time when you used leadership skills or to describe how your communication skills benefited your employer. But, you'll really impress them if you volunteer detailed examples of prized behaviors.
Waldner said at least one-third of the companies who recruit at OSU use behavioral interviewing techniques.
"Behavior based interviewing gives us a feel for how you handled past situations and helps determine how you would handle similar situations in the workplace," said Schulte from Koch Industries, a company that uses, behavior based interviewing.
According to the OSU Job Search guide, behavior based interviewing tries to elicit a sample of behavior that is representative of the candidate's skills. Its predictions are typically more reliable and justifiable than the traditional approach. The behavioral interviewer makes the assumption that one behavior remains constant in similar situations.
Graduation could be years away or only one semester, but it's not too late to confirm your career direction or explore new options. Use summer positions and campus activities to gain more experience and visit the agricultural career services office today.
Classes today may seem drab, but when you enter the real world, you'll appreciate your college education for exactly what it really is an education for life.
By Janna Quaring
This issue of Cowboy Journal
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