Career Advice – DePaul University Career Center Blog

ASK Experience Series: Communication

In the newest HireDePaul Blog series, the Alumni Sharing Knowledge (ASK) Program will be hosting interviews with alumni designed to bring DePaul students access to unique career advice and professional insight. In the first installment, we spoke with Margaret Batkiewicz (‘74) about her career and the importance of good communication in the workplace.

Margaret spent most of her career in global employee communications, creating internal messaging to keep employees informed and up-to-date. When asked about the importance of effective internal communications, Margaret told us that “a company that communicates well with its employees is going to do better, [improve] morale, and have less turnover.”

This messaging came in many forms, one of which being a regular newsletter sent out to an international audience of employees. With such a diverse audience, it was important that she communicated consciously, ensuring awareness of cultural and linguistic differences. By consulting with company leaders from the various geographic regions she was communicating with and sending out surveys to employees, she was able to successfully navigate this unique challenge throughout her career. With that, however, comes the joy of communicating globally.

“I met so many wonderful people and learned so much about their cultures,” Margaret said.

From there, Margaret went on to discuss communication as a whole and how it can make or break a company.

“Communication is essential to the success of a company,” she said, “whether it does business locally or globally.”

But what is good workplace communication? Good communication skills vary by industry, position, and workplace culture. However, there are some good practices that can be applied to any professional environment:

Tone and Volume

Be conscious of the tone and volume of your voice when communicating with colleagues. There is some truth to the old saying “it’s not what you say, but how you say it.” Pay attention to your tone, watching out for any unintentionally negative, unenthusiastic, or accusatory intonations. As you get more comfortable in a workplace, continue to practice respectful and sincere communication.

Be Concise and Definite

Avoid any superfluous information. Communicate with definition, avoiding language that may unnecessarily extend or worsen periods of uncertainty like “maybe” and “probably.” In some instances, informing your coworker that you are unsure of an answer is equally appropriate to providing that answer, as long as you come back to them with that answer once you have it.

Practice Good Listening Skills

Listen closely and attentively while showing interest in the topic and respecting the speaker. Ask questions to clarify information you may have missed. Paraphrase what you have heard and repeat it back to the speaker to ensure understanding.

Give and Receive Feedback

Be descriptive and clear, while avoiding judgmental language. Be open to receiving feedback without defensiveness, allowing for the other person to address all of their points before responding. Remember: address modifiable, not unchangeable behavior.

For more information on career readiness, make sure to explore the HireDePaul Blog. To connect with alumni like Margaret and practice your communication skills online, check out the DePaul ASK Network!

Job Search Tips for 2021 Graduates

Be Distinctive

Right now, the job market is the hottest it’s been in recent years as companies are hiring following the COVID-19 pandemic, but that also means the competition is fierce right now.

Because many 2020 graduates had to put off their job hunt while companies went through closures and lay-offs, there are even more of your peers applying for the same jobs you are right now. That means your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile need to be polished and stand out.

However, for the same reason, the competition is stiff in the current job market; the popularity of remote jobs and internships also opens up the ability for you to apply to opportunities across the country—and the world!

Be Open-minded

While job postings on Handshake are at a high, not all sectors are hiring equally. The top industries looking to hire new graduates were the pandemic’s big winners: tech, financial services, education, and professional services, according to Handshake data. It’s essential to be flexible in your job search at a time like this and think about what skills you could bring to a role as well as what skills you could gain, even if the job isn’t exactly your dream role.

Settling for what is available doesn’t have to be a bad thing either! While working in your not-dream-job, you can spend that time also taking classes and getting additional certifications, attending webinars and events, and upskilling.

Be Prepared

Having classes, meetings, and hangouts over video chat platforms like Zoom has become commonplace in the past year, but it’s still important to treat virtual interviews the same way you would an in-person one. Make sure to dress professionally, prepare for any questions they may ask, know how to work the features of the platform being used for the interview, and that your setup is well-lit without any distractions in the background.

Some workplaces have also started requesting pre-recorded video interviews in which you answer a list of questions they have provided. Though this type of interview is not live, there is still not much time between receiving the questions and the deadline for sending the video, so it’s still important to prepare in advance.

If you’re nervous, ask a friend or family member to take you through a mock interview, or schedule an advising appointment, or drop in with a peer coach!

Be Creative

You should also be ready to explain how you spent 2020, especially if your summer internship disappeared because of the pandemic and a gap in your resume. Did you do any freelance work? What about personal projects? Did you take any new classes in your free time? Did you volunteer anywhere? You can also highlight any new hobbies you picked up to show you’re willing to and capable of learning new things.

You may have skills you never even thought about that you can highlight, including soft skills!

And if you are still looking for ways to add to your resume, there are plenty of ways to gain experience outside of a traditional internship.

Be Authentic

While your network is a valuable resource in job hunting, it’s also a great space for building relationships with peers in your industry. Not every contact in your network will be in the position to give you a job when you need one, but it’s still essential to maintain and build relationships without expecting a transaction. Professionals in your industry — especially DePaul alumni — can give you helpful advice and share their experiences.

Consider setting up an informational interview with someone in your field or bringing up the possibility of job shadowing at a company you’re interested in or with someone whose role is appealing to you. Check out the ASK Network to connect with alumni.

And don’t forget to give back when you can and open yourself up to meeting with students as a professional in your field, or pass on opportunities you come across to your peers if it’s not something right for you!

More information:

Meet Juliann Krupa, Coordinator of Guest Engagement & Learning Programs Specialist at John G. Shedd Aquarium

The Health Care & Science (HCS) Career Community wants to introduce students to a wide range of careers. Students may be familiar with popular clinical roles (e.g., nurse, physician, veterinarian), but less familiar with jobs like healthcare data analytics, health administration, or biotech research.

Today, we want to highlight a science educator at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium. In a virtual interview, Debbie Kaltman (HCS Employer Engagement Specialist) met with Juliann Krupa (DePaul ‘20, MS in Science Education) to share her educational and career journey, her current role as a Learning Programs Specialist, and advice for students interested in science education.

Juliann had many experiences in the museum industry to gain knowledge of animal care and conservation work. Through these opportunities, she discovered her passion for interacting with learners of all ages. As an informal educator, Juliann designs and implements different projects and programs for the aquarium and interacts with new guests of all ages and backgrounds. She finds teaching and learning from museum guests to be very rewarding.

Juliann shared her insights on informal education: “Being in informal education is a great way to test out if you would like to teach. If you’re not necessarily interested in teaching in the formal classroom, there are all kinds of opportunities at museums, forest preserves, and historical houses. There are a lot of opportunities in areas that are perhaps not ones you might think of right at the top of your head.”

Check out the full video below to learn more!

Resources:

Shedd Aquarium

Work at Shedd

Internships

How I Got This Job: Foreign Service Officer

Caroline Savage is a career Foreign Service Officer who served most recently as Director of the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Press Center.

As a non-resident fellow at Georgetown’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, her focus is diverse diplomacy leadership in foreign affairs, a project she began during her tenure as Virginia and Dean Rusk Fellow at ISD from 2018-2019.Prior to Georgetown, she served as Public Affairs Officer at U.S. Embassies Azerbaijan and Mozambique. In Washington assignments, she was Director for Russia and Central Asia on the National Security Council and Political-Military Officer in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Russian Affairs. She also served previously in Belarus and Luxembourg. A native of Wisconsin, she graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, then received master’s degrees in Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her languages are French, Russian, Portuguese and Azerbaijani. She is currently in Kazakh language training for her next job as Consul General in Almaty, Kazakhstan, this summer.

Line of Work / Career Journey

The foreign service generalist track houses specialties in political, economic, public diplomacy management and consular cones. The traditional path is you sign up to be a Foreign Service Generalist, and you’re typically sent overseas to begin your career at one of the 270+ embassies or consulates around the world. The work you’ll be doing involves representing U.S. interests abroad, putting a human face on American interests and policy, and forging relationships with local people.

Savage spoke about her first two years on the job and the time she spent overseas in Luxembourg. She reflected on the large workload and political portfolio she managed, as well as the meetings and issues she tackled while there. Savage explained the series of tests one must take to get their foot in the door to do foreign service. After she passed her tests, there was still a long process to receive her health and security clearance, during which she completed her Master’s. As an undergrad, Savage studied abroad in Russia, taught, and secured as many internships as she could. Her main goal was to gain as much experience as she could in whatever form it was available to her.

Application and Hiring Process

The big components are the written exam and the qualitative evaluation panel to basically look at your resume and your written products and decide whether you’re invited to the oral exam. Therefore, the written and oral exam are the big components. If you pass those, then you have to go through the process of receiving your health and security clearance, which can take several years.

Skills / Experience / Advice

If you’re interested in joining the foreign service, take the written test sooner rather than later, because you may have a couple years, like I did, between taking the test and actually starting the career.
Be aware, engaged, and informed about what’s happening in the world.
Re-read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, so you know which amendments are which.
Sharpen your oral and written communication skills – be concise, clear, and compelling in your writing.
Be able to distinguish yourself professionally and experientially from other applicants in the oral exam and group sessions (leadership and collaboration skills).
Take practice exams, gain experience with local organizations such as the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, network with industry professionals in the Midwest.
If you don’t pass the Foreign Service Exam the first time, it’s no big deal. Savage knew several people who passed the 5^th time or the 8^th time

Websites and Resources

Meet Sadie Freedman, Product Manager at CancerIQ

The Health Care & Science (HCS) Career Community wants to introduce students to a wide range of careers. Students may be familiar with popular clinical roles (nurse, physician, veterinarian), but not with jobs like healthcare data analytics, health administration, or biotech research.

CancerIQ is a digital health startup company that helps health care providers “use genetic information to predict, pre-empt, and prevent disease – starting with cancer.” In this interview, Debbie Kaltman (HCS Employer Engagement Specialist) met with Sadie Freedman, a Product Manager at CancerIQ, to discuss her education and career journey, current job responsibilities, future goals in the health technology field, and insights to students.

Sadie’s background and passion for genetics and healthcare services allowed her to gain an internship with CancerIQ, which opened her to a world of new career opportunities in telehealth. In her full-time role as Project Manager, she works closely with CancerIQ’s sales, customer success, development, and marketing teams to oversee the products, take in and implement customer feedback, look into new product ideas, and improve current products. Inspired by CancerIQ’s software “pointing out patients that a provider never would have thought to do increased screenings on and catching cancers in earlier stages”, Sadie expressed that she has found a rewarding career that she plans to continue developing.

A valuable token of advice from Sadie for current students: “One thing I was missing as an undergraduate was awareness of potential career paths, so try to explore what is out there”.

Check out the full video below to learn more!

Don’t forget to visit CancerIQ’s Careers Page for their upcoming Summer Interships!

Lessons for 2020 Grads from 2008 Grads

For 2020 graduates, the job search looks drastically different than it did even three months ago. Every day more and more questions are presented. How do I navigate hiring freezes? How can I still gain experience and leverage my skills? What resources are out there during this time? While the current state of the world is a public health crisis, the job market has many similarities to that of the 2008-2009 recession. We interviewed three DePaul alumni who graduated amidst the recession to learn how they navigated the job market and leveraged their skills and adapted to the changes.

Matt Isaia, who graduated from DePaul in 2008 with a B.A. in English and currently works as the Electronic Resources Librarian at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake.
Mostafa Radwan, who graduated from DePaul in 2009 with a Masters in Computer Science and is currently a Solutions Architect at Docker Inc.
Tara Genovese, who graduated with a B.A. in International Studies from DePaul in 2008 and currently works as a Social Worker at Fresenious Medical Care.

In general could you tell me a bit about your experience applying to jobs and finding employment upon graduation?

Tara: When I graduated from DePaul, I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after graduation and had very little guidance during that time. It was generally expected that once I graduated with a college degree that I would find a job easily afterward. Unfortunately, this was not the case. I remember one of my first professional interviews hearing in the waiting area about people’s 20 years of experience and master’s degrees competing for the entry-level job I applied for. Needless to say, I was not very confident in that interview or really in myself at the time. I would say compared to many of my friends who graduated that same year as me, I was lucky to find something. I had volunteered as an ESL teacher for a few months and I was contacted by the manager of the Non-profit regarding an AmeriCorp position there. That position did not pay me well at all, but at least I was able to get a forbearance on my loans, get really great experience, and be eligible for an end of year grant for each year completed to go toward further education or paying off my loans. I was not able to financially move out on my own after graduation and stayed with my mom.

Matt: I graduated in August of 2008 and had been working a part time retail job that held me over. I began looking for work and quickly realized that in order to find this first job out, it was less about applying and more about networking. I was able to find a job with a small company specializing in government contracting. Networking was definitely the crucial component during this time.

Mostafa: As an international student, there was already an additional level of difficulty. I had landed an internship and had experience as a software engineer prior to graduation which helped the most. Despite that, it was still very tough, I had a lot of interviews but not a lot of people were hiring. Many companies responded that these were “uncertain times” and they would keep me posted, but I began running out of money so I had to look for a plan B. I kept doing a lot of interviews and eventually landed an interview and job out of state in GIS mapping around September/October of that year.

I found it most important to remember that you won’t be where you are forever, it’s okay that you’re in that job for now.
Matt isaia, Electronic Resources Librarian at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake

Did you have to shift your plan to account for the recession and economic changes?

Tara: I was 22 years old so there really wasn’t much of a plan to begin with. I was still trying to figure things out back then. I really started looking at the money after this, seeing how certain positions weren’t in demand. I guess in this way my mindset changed. I wanted to work in a field where I could help others but wouldn’t starve. This in a lot of ways is why after getting my master’s in social work I went to medical directly instead of mental health because hospitals and health clinic’s pay better and offer benefits. If there wasn’t a recession, I probably would have gone straight to nonprofit work or after my master’s straight into mental health. I was always massively afraid of losing what financially I had or losing my job. I think this changed the way I negotiated my salary at work. Because the common saying was “just be happy you have a job.” This again is what I am hearing today but instead of “happy,” I hear “grateful.” I, personally, find these statements very problematic.

Matt: There was a physical shift in that I wasn’t 100% sold on moving back home with my parents. Given the time, I ended up moving back home, which definitely wasn’t the easiest decision. The first job that I took after graduation had very little to do with what I wanted to do and what I had done at DePaul. I think that this shifted my thoughts. I began thinking more about pursuing other opportunities like advanced degrees.

Mostafa: My original plan was to go into software engineering, but, at the time, there weren’t a lot of jobs out there so I tried to still stay in technology.

Are there any specific skills you had picked up at DePaul that helped you the most in that first post-grad job?

Matt: I definitely picked up a lot of soft skills that were useful. DePaul has robust general education requirements that helped hone my excel skills, allowing me to become familiar with spreadsheets and looking at data. My English classes also helped hone my writing and research skills. With these skills I was able to say I have a lot of experience writing and ask if I could work on a certain project.

How did that first post-grad job help you in your later roles?

Matt: Honestly, it was most helpful in that I was able to learn what I really want to do versus what I don’t want to do. At the first job, I had an overwhelming sensation that I don’t want to stay here and saw it as just a stepping stone to what I do want to do. I started asking myself what it is I need to do in order to get out of this work. Where do I want to be? I could stay where I am or I could challenge myself. I think it’s more than okay to try jobs that you might not see yourself in because you’re able to learn about what you want to do and don’t

Additionally, what were some of the best resources you found while job hunting?

Tara: For me, I didn’t stop learning about the job-hunting process. There are so many resources out there on how to formulate your resume, cover letter, what colors are best to wear during a job interview, everything on the internet. These help. Keep learning. For me, I primarily used indeed.com like websites where they take postings from multiple job boards. I would also try to use the same verbiage in my cover letter and resume as in the job post.

If there is a company you like, make a schedule of when to look back on their job board. Start finding people on LinkedIn who work for the company and look at their experience. Even though it’s scary, just contact them for an informational interview and come prepared and on time.
Tara Genovese, Social Worker at Fresenious Medical Care.

Matt: Networking was definitely the most important resource during that time. I think the ASK network has really streamlined the process within the DePaul community. I wish it had been around for me. I also utilized the Career Center’s resume review service which helped get my materials in order to apply.

Mostafa: LinkedIn wasn’t very popular while I was job searching but it definitely is now and I’d recommend checking out LinkedIn. Candor is also a great resource to find out who has a hiring freeze right now. I made sure to take advantage of the services at the Career Center as well. I made appointments for a resume and cover letter review a few times which made sure everything was the best it could be. I landed my internship from the Career Center job fair so I would definitely utilize them during this time.

Finally, what is some advice that you’d give graduating seniors during this time? This could be related to careers or could be overall life advice.

Tara: Life is always uncertain. You will get what you want but you have to be prepared that it is not going to be with plan A. It’s never easy to be flexible and adaptable, but it will teach you to persevere. I graduated in the time of the worst recession this country had ever seen until today, I have a master’s degree, I work in the field that I got it in, I own my home, and I have a small business. I didn’t allow someone to tell me how to live my life. I didn’t listen to how the media always insulted my generation. I got what I wanted and for the most part, getting there wasn’t by plan A or B. If you want what you want, you will get it but you have to believe it in order to do so!

Matt: Try to look for jobs that are very in demand right now. If you’re able to, try looking at COVID-19 response jobs. I would also keep in mind that once the economy opens back up there’s going to be a big flood of people looking for jobs. Be aware of the competition; it’s a numbers game in any economy. Right now, there’s so much that we can’t control, so it’s important to try to stay positive. Focus on the things you want to do, and ask yourself ‘what can I do now that I couldn’t do before.’ This could be hobbies or upskilling, try to embrace the situation as much as you can.

Mostafa:

Make sure to take care of yourself first, before others; make sure that you’re meeting your own personal needs (getting sleep, eating well, surrounding yourself with loved ones).

Try to see what’s available out there resource wise, any income or recovery plans. It’s going to be super difficult to concentrate on a job search if you don’t know how to pay for your rent. Apply to lots of jobs, and find or create your own opportunities, even ones you might not have normally considered. In life, it’s important to never stop learning, even outside of class; this can be a great time to upskill. Try to continue to foster relationships during this time, network, reach out to people through the ASK network. Your career is a work in progress, it’s never going to end, where you land after graduation doesn’t determine your entire future.