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Career Development Quarterly Newsletter Vol. 1, Issue 2 Page | 1
Office of Career Development Quarterly Newsletter Maymester 2017 Vol 1, Issue 2
Chatham Students Embark on New Professional Journeys Congratulations to all of our graduating students who landed full-time jobs in their fields or solidified
plans for their next steps! Whether through attending job fairs like WestPACS, tapping into their
networks, or spending hours on grad school and job applications, our soon-to-be grads’ persistence and
commitment to professional development during their time at Chatham paid off. Here are just a few
highlights:
Lynzy Groves (class of ’16, Marketing and Management) – secured full-time position with the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) where she interned and volunteered during her time at Chatham.
Sarah Weinschenker (class of ’16, English and Music) – secured full-time position from her internship experience with Front Porch Theatricals.
Catrina McMullen (class of ’15, Integrative Medicine) – secured full-time position with Penn’s Corner, after working with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) for almost 3 years.
Internship Highlights Our current interns are gaining valuable hands-on experience at 65 different internship sites
around Pittsburgh this semester! Here are just a few…
Career Development Quarterly Newsletter Vol. 1, Issue 2 Page | 2
Curtis Szewczyk (sophomore, Environmental Biology) – interning with the Pittsburgh Zoo and the PPG Aquarium, testing water quality, exhibiting maintenance & husbandry care, preparing diet and feeding, participating in educational tours and classes, and assisting with enrichment, medical treatments, and fish acclimation.
Aiyanna Washington and Rachel Kolar (junior and
senior, Accounting) – interning in the community with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, providing low-income families with free tax preparation.
Megan Cooper (junior, History and Political Science) – interning with the Department of City Planning as the Zoning Counter Intern, researching the legal use of properties and best practices in Zoning, and designing handouts and other materials.
Summer Internships Secured
Congratulations to our students who have already secured their summer internships! These two students
started their internship search early on, and look where they’ve landed!
Krista Arena (senior, Chemistry) – secured an internship with MOTE, a marine
laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, working on their ocean acidification research.
Kathryn Polaski (junior, Management Information Systems) – secured an internship with PNC Bank.
Landon Faraoni (junior, Management) attended the WestPACS Job and Internship fair this spring and landed a paid internship with Bankers Life.
What about you? What are your plans for the summer? The deadline for summer internships is May 26th, which is quickly approaching! Summer is the perfect opportunity to do an internship or volunteer
experience in your field, while you aren’t consumed with a full academic course load. If you haven’t started your search or application process for summer or fall internships, be sure to schedule an appointment with
our office so we can help you get started!
Career Development Quarterly Newsletter Vol. 1, Issue 2 Page | 3
Ask Lesli In our Ask Lesli column, Lesli Somerset, Coordinator of Student
Counseling, Outreach, and Resources addresses pressing questions from
Chatham students. Have a question you’d like Lesli to answer? Email
[email protected] with the Subject “Ask Lesli.”
Dear Lesli,
I am heading home for the summer break and while I am gone I was hoping to
get involved in something that will beef up my resume. I have not completed an
internship and I don’t know if it’s too late to set one up, I also am not sure of
what internships are available in my hometown. Can you provide some ideas of things I can do over the
summer that will help build my resume? – Summer Bound Junior
Dear Summer Bound Junior,
Kudos to you for wanting to have a productive summer that doesn’t only include the pool, Netflix, and
working on the perfect tan! The summer is great time to get involved in things to build your resume.
Below I will hit on a few opportunities but remember to get creative and find ways to get involved with
things you are passionate about!
Community Service. There are endless opportunities to give back to the community while building skills
through community service and volunteering. Research some of the nonprofit organizations in your area
to learn about how to get involved as a volunteer. This will help you to build great connections with
community members as well as building skills you can put on your resume!
Informational Interviews. You can also gain great experience and build professional contacts through job
shadowing and informational interviewing. If there is a certain field of work you want to learn more
about, reach out to organizations in your area to learn about job shadowing opportunities. While you’re
at it, consider setting up informational interviews with professionals in those organizations to learn more
about the organization and their jobs and get tips on how to find jobs and succeed in that field. You can
find information and tips on job shadowing and informational interviewing at careers.chatham.edu.
Internships. If you are interested in doing a summer internship, it’s not too late. Set up a meeting with a
member of the Career Development staff to discuss the process as well as receive help finding an
internship in your hometown. Make sure you set up an appointment soon so that we can help you get
everything done before the add/drop deadline on May 30th!
Don’t forget to take advantage of the Career Development office even during your summer break!
Schedule a Skype meeting with a member of the Career Development staff to prepare yourself to take on
any and all of these opportunities!
Career Development Quarterly Newsletter Vol. 1, Issue 2 Page | 4
Grad Student Leaves Lasting Impact through Student Employment
Over 400 graduate and undergraduate students are
employed through the Chatham Student Employment
program each year. The hard work, commitment, and
dedication of Chatham Student Employees
contributes significantly to our dynamic community,
and presents a tremendous opportunity for
professional development.
Carol Balk, MS Counseling Psychology ’17, is one of
many student employees who leaves a lasting impact
on Chatham and the Office of Career Development.
Her work over the past three years includes providing
career counseling and guidance to countless Chatham Cougars, both current students and alumni;
introducing new theories and approaches to supporting students through their career exploration; and
contributing new programs and concepts that have been fully developed into integral parts of the Career
Development mission and operation. Carol’s contributions to the community were recognized during this
year’s Student Leadership Awards ceremony, where Carol received the 2017 GSA Professional Excellence
Award. Carol shared a few parting thoughts with us about her experiences through student employment.
What did you gain or discover through your student employment experience at Chatham/in the Office of
Career Development?
I think my experience is a good example of how a student employment job can lead to building skills in a field or major that is of interest to you. I was very interested in testing out whether career advising was a profession I wanted to pursue after graduation. I was able to set my own goals for the competencies that I wanted to develop and my supervisor helped me by challenging me with responsibilities in those areas. I've also enjoyed making connections with other student employees that I wouldn't necessarily have met otherwise. The staff have also been great mentors.
How did student employment prepare you for what’s next in your personal and professional journeys?
My student employment offered me many opportunities to build new skills in the field of career development. Consequently, I am able to apply for jobs with a significant amount of experience which makes me competitive with other professionals that have been in the field.
Student employment helped me to overcome the" catch 22" situation of needing experience to get a job that will give me the experience I need to get a job!
I highly recommend getting a student employment job. Even though I work there, I can honestly say that the staff at Career Development are great and helping you find a job on campus that matches your career interests and helps you build competencies necessary for your future goals!
Career Development Quarterly Newsletter Vol. 1, Issue 2 Page | 5
LinkedIn Tips and Tricks
A well-written LinkedIn profile will allow you to stand out
when networking and making connections for your
internship/job search. Below are some useful tips that can
help with personal branding to the individuals in your
network.
Make sure to have your profile updated frequently.
Use A Professional Photo. You may want to consider using a visually appealing background that stands out.
There should be no typos, misspellings, or grammar issues throughout your profile.
Make sure to write a well-written summary. A good summary can really be a selling point to your potential connections! Use this section to expand and highlight your skills, experience, and achievements.
Use keywords that are going to enhance the reader’s attention. You will want to use those keywords that are important to your field of interest. Using the right key words will allow you to stand out and expose you to more people in your network.
Add sections to your profile that will enhance your marketability. In addition to the Education and Experience section, you will be able to add sections that will give you more depth such as volunteering, languages, honors and awards, and causes that you care about.
Connect with individuals that you don’t even know yet. Getting to know new people is the whole point of networking. Therefore, it will only benefit you if are forthcoming by connecting with them.
Make sure to personalize invitations to connect. This default message, “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn” can be impersonal. Introduce yourself and discuss how you are interested in speaking to your new contacts about their particular career
field. You can also mention how you initially met or you can bring up a topic that you discussed in a LinkedIn group.
Use this professional site to build relationships. When someone accepts your request, you will want to comment, share or like their posts. Once you build the relationship, it will be easier to establish the relationship and keep them in your network.
Post Your Amazing Work. This can include publications or PowerPoint presentations of your work. This will allow you gain more visibility while highlighting your expertise and interests to the individuals in your network.
Find and join LinkedIn Groups. This is a great opportunity for you to start interesting discussions on niche topics that are relevant to you and your network. There are also lots of professional groups and networks that you can join or follow to help you learn more about your
field. To get you started, be sure to join the Chatham Office of Career Development group on LinkedIn!
Ask for Recommendations. You will want to be selective by picking specific people to recommend you on the LinkedIn site. If there are specific skills that you want your contacts to highlight in their recommendation, be sure to tell them that.
Source: Kim, Larry. “22 Top Tips to Effectively Raise Your Profile on LinkedIn.” Inc.com, 10 Dec., 2015. https://www.inc.com/larry-kim/22-top-tips-to-effectively-raise-your-profile-on-linkedin.html
Career Development Quarterly Newsletter Vol. 1, Issue 2 Page | 6
Event Highlights and Recaps The Career Development Office hosted Internship Week from March 13th to March 17th, there were
various events held throughout the week to promote student skills and build their professional
knowledge to help prepare them for future internship and employment opportunities!
J. Crew Professional Dress Event
The Career Development Office held their Annual
J. Crew Professional Dress Event on March 14th
at the J. Crew store in Shadyside. Undergraduate
and graduate students from the university met at
the Walnut Street store for appetizers, a fashion
show, and of course, shopping! A photographer
took LinkedIn profile photos for the students and,
to ensure that they looked professional, a J. Crew
stylist helped them put together business
appropriate outfits. Students also had the
opportunity to have their hair and makeup done
by the Philip Pelusi stylists!
Nonprofit Networking Mixer
The Nonprofit Networking Mixer held on February 16th in the James Laughlin Music Hall drew
over 40 nonprofit employers to campus to network with students about potential job and
internship openings within their organizations.
Career Development Quarterly Newsletter Vol. 1, Issue 2 Page | 7
Internship and Job Mixer
The Internship and Job Mixer was held on March 16th in Mellon Center. It drew more than 100
participants, both students and employers! Keep an eye out for other networking events
throughout the year to build connections and find potential job and internship opportunities!
Women and the Wage Gap
Women and the Wage Gap was held on March 2nd and
co-sponsored through the Women’s Institute as part of
Women of Color HerStory Month. Speakers Rose
Holandez of the U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s
Bureau and Marcel D. Baldwin of the EEOC spoke to
faculty, staff, and students about the reality of the
gender wage gap and its impact. Attendees were able to
engage in meaningful discussion with each other and
with the speakers over lunch.
For a full listing of Career Development Events coming up in the summer, visit the Career
Development Calendar or check out Happenings on My Chatham.
Career Development Quarterly Newsletter Vol. 1, Issue 2 Page | 8
Social Media Highlights This semester we held our 1st Twitter chat on the topic of internships. We
had several professionals participate, offering insight on how to land
internships and bring you’re a game. Got you hooked? You can still see all the
Tweets by searching for the hashtag #chathaminterns.
Interested in hearing the professionals’ insight on another topic? Tweet us
what you want to know about to @chathamucareers. Stay up-to-date on our
events and career trends!
Chatham University Office of Career Development Dilworth Hall, 1st Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15232 https://careers.chatham.edu/
Career Development Staff: Mary Utter, Ph.D.
Assistant Dean of Students
(412) 365-1482
Jessica Caolo, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Career Development
(412) 365-1524
Crystal Vietmeier, M.S., NCC
Assistant Director of Career Development
Internships and Experiential Learning
(412) 365-1525
Kate Sheridan, M.A.
Assistant Director of Career Development
Student Employment
(412) 365-1280
Lesli Somerset, M.A.
Coordinator for Career Development
Student Counseling, Outreach, and Resources
(412) 365-1593
Lauren Tudor, M.A.
Coordinator for Career Development
External Relations
(412) 365-276
