Career Development
At the Huntsman School, we believe in empowering our students to own their education and their careers. Career development opportunities include exploring careers, preparing professional documents, and then being career-ready by gaining the skills employers want, and truly engaging in the process. This starts the first day you enter the Huntsman School of Business.
Career Exploration
The first step in your career development is to explore your options by completing the Career Action Plan (CAP).
Career Preparation
Preparation for your career will be a continual process. This includes resume, cover letters, and interview prep.
Career Readiness
See if you have the skills that employers are looking for. If not, here are ways to develop and articulate those skills to truly be ready for the workplace.
Career Engagement
The last step in your career development is engagement, which includes meaningful networking, informational interviews, and being a professional.
USU Career Services Offered
USU Career Services: Resume review and interview preparation are available through appointment with Dannon Loveland, the USU Career Services liaison.
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Leadership Competency
Many companies now use "behavioral interviewing", a technique in which the applicant is asked to describe past behavior in order to determine whether a candidate is fit for a particular position. Many of these behavioral interviewing based questions are ultimately getting at one of the eight career readiness competencies such as leadership. These challenges will help you reflect on and articulate the career readiness competencies, helping you be more prepared for interview questions and other career opportunities.
Career Action Plan
The Career Action Plan (CAP) is a personal, step-by-step method to discover your career objectives. Here you will discover what majors and careers align with your own interests, values, and strengths. This is an opportunity to really invest upfront on yourself to begin (or change) your career path.
Career Exploration Trips
Connect with alumni, get career advice, job search tips and enjoy an immersive workplace experience. Engage in first-hand opportunities for meaningful careers with our Career Exploration Trips.
Career Expo
The Huntsman Career Expo is your opportunity to make early connections with key professionals and learn about internship and employment opportunities with 50 of the Huntsman School’s best corporate partners. Get your suit cleaned, get your resume polished and start practicing your personal elevator pitch!
Career Management Competency
You are able to navigate and explore job options, understand and take the steps necessary to pursue opportunities, and know how to self-advocate for opportunities in the workplace." Learn how to better understand and articulate these skills by completing a Career Management challenge or by articulating a significant past experience.
Case Interviews
A Case Interview is a job interview technique used predominantly by management consulting firms but is growing in popularity among investment banks and tech companies. These ‘story-like’ questions reveal creative and analytical problem-solving capabilities while under pressure.
Creating a Cover Letter
A cover letter is a powerful way to demonstrate your written communication skills, and showcase information you could not explain in your resume. Though not all employers require cover letters, many still consider it essential to filter potential candidates. A customized cover letter could be the key to getting an interview.
Creating a Resume
A resume is a marketing tool used to demonstrate the skills and the value you bring to a company. It is crucial to effectively articulate and customize your appropriate skills to the job position.
Critical Thinking/Problem Solving Competency
Employers rated critical thinking/problem solving as the most important skill they seek in job candidates. Start where you are to improve this competency by completing one of the challenges to improve your Critical Thinking/Problem Solving skills. It is important to be become a critical thinker and problem solver and equally important to know how to articulate this skill to employers.
Digital Technology Competency
Whether you naturally gravitate toward technology or fall more into the category of being a "late adopter" of technology, learn how technology is affecting your desired industry and career and how you can use it to leverage your professional opportunities by completing one of these challenges.
Elevator Pitch
An elevator pitch is a brief persuasive speech that conveys who you are and is used to spark interest in you. Typically, about 1-3 sentence statement which communicates why you are someone worth hiring. It should be about 20-30 seconds in length.
Global/Intercultural Fluency Competency
This competency is defined as the ability to "demonstrate openness, inclusiveness, sensitivity, and respectful interaction with all people along with an appreciation of individuals’ differences." Although your colleagues will have varying opinions, improving in this competency will allow you to navigate these differences in a respectful way, creating an inclusive workplace.
Informational Interviews
An informational interview is when a person investigates a job, career, and/or position by having a conversation with someone connected to the industry in question. This informal interview will usually include advice about the work life, industry trends, career exploration, and even hiring culture.
Interview Advice
There are different types of interviews, and every interview will be unique to the company giving it. Being prepared for a job interview can be stressful. We will give you tips on what to do before, during, and after an interview.
Job Negotiations
Congratulations, you have a job offer, but now you need to negotiate some of the terms. Professor Merideth Thompson has the following tips for you.
Job Search Strategies
The 21st century brings a variety of ways to search for jobs. From online social media accounts, Career Exploration Trips, Focused Fridays, club involvement, the Career Expo’s, and more, we will give you the latest tips and methods of finding the right job for you.
Networking
Networking is the process of interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts. A lot of emphasis is put on networking - it is consistently listed as one of the most important ways to get a job.
Oral/Written Communication Competency
Strong communication skills are consistently in high demand in the workplace. Oral and written communication skills are essential to navigating team dynamics and projects, solving problems, managing your career, and more. This highly-sought after skill is defined as the "ability to articulate thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively in written and oral forms to persons inside and outside of the organization.
Prepare for Graduate School
Graduate school is a part of many business students’ career path. Applying to graduate school can be as intensive as applying for a job. If your graduate program requires a college placement test (GRE, MAT, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT.), you will need the resources to prepare yourself.
Professionalism/Work Ethic Competency
Your non-verbal communication, task management, punctuality and other work habits can impact your career long term and has a significant impact on your professional work image. The mission of the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business is to "develop leaders of distinction in commerce and public affairs." Among other factors, our students will be identified by their strong commitment to ethical leadership.
References
Most employers require a list of references as part of their job application or hiring process. We will walk you through the process of building your list of professional contacts, reaching out to them, and creating a document to submit to potential employers.
STAR Response Method
The S.T.A.R. (situation, task, action, result) response method is a popular and successful way to answer questions in an interview when asked about your personal experience. Most employers seek specific behaviors in the candidates they interview, and following STAR, you will clearly communicate your own behavior.
Sample Cover Letters
We have 3 samples of a cover letter to provide you with examples of what industry leaders are expecting from applicants. Seeing a sample cover letter will guide your efforts when creating your own.
Sample Interview Questions
Though every interview will be different, it is wise to have answers ready for a variety of possible questions. We have provided some generic, yet plausible, questions you could be asked. These are Behavior Interview questions, in which a STAR response would need to be prepared and practiced.
Sample Resumes
We have samples of 12 resumes across multiple majors to give you a visual illustration of what industry leaders are expecting from applicants. Seeing an example of a resume will guide your own efforts in creating your own.
Sections of a Resume
Resumes have defined areas of content, such as contact, education, experience, and so forth. Each will be formatted according to the organization or job you are applying for. We have an overview of each section for your information as you create your own resume.
Skills Employers Want: Career Readiness Opportunities
The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has gathered the top competencies that employers want to see in their employees. The Career Readiness Opportunity is a systematic way for you to develop and articulate these skills so you can successfully transition to the workplace.
Teamwork/Collaboration Competency
Those dreaded group projects do not end when you are awarded your diploma, which is arguably something to look forward to! You can learn a great deal from working with others in teams and other collaborative settings. So put that group project to work in strengthening this competency or select another challenge in its place.
Telling Your Story
Though every interview will be different, it is wise to have answers ready for a variety of possible questions. We have provided some generic, yet plausible, questions you could be asked. These are Behavior Interview questions, in which a STAR response would need to be prepared and practiced.
Thank You Notes and Emails
Following up an interview with a Thank You note or email is a crucial component of landing a job. Though there is mixed opinion whether you need a physical note or just an electronic email; 86% of employers said the absence of a note shows a lack of follow-through.
