...said one confused college student to another slightly older and hopefully less confused college student (or recent grad). To give you some background, the Fulbright Program offers approximately 1,800 Americans the chance to teach English, study, and conduct research in countries around the world every year. It is competitive and involves an application process that demands dedication and purpose from its applicants, but the payoff in the end is incomparable and immeasurable. For more background information, look here: http://www.marist.edu/publicaffairs/fulbrighttopproducer.html (And, yes, Marist is a top producer among master’s universities in the country so you know you’ll be getting the best of the best in terms of guidance and support -- in Pat Taylor, we trust.)
Unfortunately, there is no “How to Fulbright for Dummies” on Barnes & Noble shelves just yet, so I’ve tried to outline some beginner tips here instead (from the perspective of someone who considered applying this year but didn’t plan well enough to give it their best shot). START EARLY. I cannot emphasize this enough. If you want to start on your Fulbright journey in the months following graduation, and you aren’t thinking about this junior year, you aren’t thinking about this, period. If you’re open to working a bit and then applying, that’s an option, too. But for undergraduates who want to embark on this journey after their senior year, you absolutely have to start considering location and purpose junior year (and there's nothing wrong with starting even earlier). RESEARCH. I would say this speaks for itself but it really doesn’t. I’m not talking the kind of mediocre half-hearted research you do for your research paper in that random history class you have to take to fulfill your core. I’m talking this-is-where-you’re-going-to-live-for-a-whole-year-so-learn-everything-about-it kind of research. If you don’t know the first thing about the competition or how you want to structure your year abroad - whether it’s at the front of a classroom, behind a desk, or in the wilderness with your mentor studying animal habits on the environment - you’re not going to enjoy the application process or your time abroad. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. In high school, my business teacher always drilled it into us that location was of the utmost importance when setting up your own business - he would make us yell, “location, location, location,” until the saying had no meaning in our life if it wasn’t somehow related to business or entrepreneurship. Well, the Fulbright fellowship is similar to that. Choosing a location is paramount, not only because it’s where you’re going to live, but also because the more reasons you have for choosing a particular place, the more likely your shot at being chosen to live and teach, work, or study there. HAVE A PLAN, but keep in mind that plans change. And that is A-OK. I remember when I went to a Fulbright discussion last spring, where three alumni spoke of their experiences - one in Thailand, one in India, and one in New Zealand (so yeah, different worlds entirely) - one thing each kept repeating was how much and how often things will change. Especially if you’re conducting research, Nick Holmer insisted that you keep an open mind because your original research idea will change in some form or another. Building an idea in America is one thing, but executing it in a foreign land is a whole different hurdle. Know what you want to do abroad, set up plans, have goals, but do NOT close your mind to all the possibilities that await once you land on foreign soil. Though I have not been in this position myself in terms of Fulbright, I know firsthand how quickly things change when you have expectations for situations or locations you know little about. But, this is just a sneak peek at all the great information you can hear this Wednesday, November 30, at the Fulbright panel discussion Pat Taylor (Marist’s graduate school and fellowship advisor) is holding in Fontaine’s Henry Hudson Room (3rd floor) starting at noon!! To attend this event, please RSVP to [email protected] and show up Wednesday, 11/30, at noon in the Henry Hudson Room - with questions galore! And for further updates on scholarships and fellowships, please LIKE the Scholarship Fox at Marist Facebook page!!
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When I was a sophomore in college, one of my professors made it a homework assignment for us all to set up a LinkedIn account and "connect" with her. At the time, it was at the bottom of my to-do list. LinkedIn? As a sophomore? Why do I need that? But then I realized that it's never too early. And it's better to learn it while you're young than to suddenly become a senior and struggle to teach yourself the ins and outs while balancing the 1938 other things you have to do. My point? Do it now, and thank me later. DO create a LinkedIn profile even if you don’t know what you want to do with your life after graduation. It never hurts. DON’T neglect yourself and all the accomplishments and achievements of your professional or academic life. Take time to fill in the profile sections with your current activities and your past ones too, with descriptions to help employers understand all of your capabilities. DO use it as a networking tool to develop contacts in certain industries, corporations, or even within your school’s alumni community. DON’T just accept any Joe Schmo random middle-aged man who wants to connect with you. You don’t get bonus points for having a ton of connections, sometimes you only really need one to make it worth it. DO research companies and executives that you would benefit from connecting with, or follow them for tips and inspiration. DON’T treat it like Facebook. Don’t look up the profile of that random senior guy on the baseball team you’re crushing on because LinkedIn has a feature that allows people to see who’s been viewing their profile. Unlike social media, where the only indication that you’ve been stalking someone’s page comes if you accidentally “like” something from weeks ago, LinkedIn will give notifications every time you view someone’s page. So, to make a long story short, don’t. DO utilize your alumni networks. Last summer, I was able to find a recent Marist grad who worked in the HR department of a company I was considering interning for. Though I didn’t end up applying, the opportunity to pick her brain gave me a huge insight into what they were looking for and what kind of atmosphere prevails within the company. DON’T badger people. Be respectful, just like you would if you were emailing or calling someone about a job/internship opportunity. Make sure they know you don’t expect them to give you a job, but could just really use some advice. If you build a good enough relationship, then who knows – the job offer may come somewhere down the line. Lastly, DO sign up for our LinkedIn events next week: Tuesday, November 15, 2016 @ 11-12 in LB 342 the Mair Room: “Level Up Your Brand: What You Need to Know About LinkedIn & Business Cards” @ Noon-3 pm in LB 332: “LinkedIn Photo booth” – where you can get your professional picture taken but make sure you bring a flash drive and wear professional attire!! Thursday, November 17, 2016 LinkedIn speaker Erin Cook comes in to discuss more of the best LinkedIn practices, with TWO different sessions to choose from: @11-12 in SC 3105 OR @ 2-3 in SC 3105 And DON’T forget to RSVP now and show up at the time you registered for, and in preparation watch our new video providing LinkedIn starter tips: I’m a journalism/English kind of gal, and all of a sudden I’m being told that if I’m lacking direction on where to start my job search, I should look at federal job opportunities. Federal jobs? You mean, like, working for the government? But I hate politics… Well, weirdly enough, it turns out you don’t need to be a big bad political science major, or even criminal justice for that matter, to work one of the countless jobs included under the federal employment umbrella. After visiting the site www.usajobs.gov and exploring a little, I realized that not only is it possible to apply for a federal job, but the application process is explained thoroughly so you don’t have to sit staring at your computer, frantically wondering how to apply for each job on indeed.com and wondering if they’ll ever EVER get back to you or if your application was just a shot into the void – never to break the surface again. They even have it set up in a user-friendly way with a specific job search category for students and recent graduates called “Pathways” and found here. From there, you can find internships or jobs suited to your major (literally by clicking “federal occupations by college major”) or you can conduct your own search by using keywords such as “writing” or “photography” which, believe it or not, display results – and not boring things either, but things like “public affairs specialist” and “videographer.” Not to mention you can pinpoint the geographic region you want to work in, and go from there. Because, despite what us common folk may assume about D.C. being the hubbub of all things government, the city is, in fact, only home to about 15% of all federal jobs. Plus – your options are by no means limited to the United States. Just as an example, jobs are offered on army bases across the world, with opportunities to work in places like Germany and China. If you are interested and want to learn more than the website can tell you, I urge you to consider attending the federal job application process seminar on Wednesday, November 9, in Hancock 2023 from 11:00-2:30 pm with lunch provided. The Director of Recruitment Outreach from the U.S. Department of Labor, Dolores Garcia, will lead the seminar and engage in topics such as what each section of the application is asking for, and how to follow the process through with successful interviews as well. You can sign up for this seminar on FoxQuest by going to “Events” and then “Career Programs” and RSVP’ing to the federal application process seminar. Who knows… this may be just the job you’re looking for. |
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