All posts by Lynne Wolf

Career Planning: How to Prepare for the Future When You Have a Past

Events,

Join us for a lunch and learn workshop to help you succeed at career planning for your future and overcome past mistakes.

Are you being haunted by past legal mistakes?  Do you know someone who has hit a roadblock because of past choices? We all have said or done things we wish we could take back.  Sometimes it’s just words exchanged in the heat of the moment and other times it’s life-altering actions. This workshop, open to SPC students, faculty, and staff, can help.

  • When: Tuesday, Jan. 30
  • Time: 12:30 to 2 pm
  • Where: Seminole Campus, UP-154 

Career planning event flier During this workshop Dr. Christy Powers, Chair of the Paralegal Studies program on the Clearwater Campus, will address topics such as:

  • How to account for your background issues
  • What the State of Florida does regarding past convictions
  • How to interview when you have background issues

Come get great information and then share it with everyone you know. We will be serving pizza to all who attend so come fill your brain and your belly.

Work on career planning with Career Services

This workshop is brought to you by Career Services on the Seminole Campus.  Stop by and see your career professionals in the Student Services Suite in the University Partnership Building or the career professionals on your campus.  We are here to help with your career planning and employment preparation.

To RSVP for this event, please contact Lynne Wolf, Career Specialist, at 727-394-6034 or by email at wolf.lynne@spcollege.edu.

Don’t let past mistakes stop you from making future plans.

Summer Games, Come Out and Play!

Career Exploration,

 

Remember playing the board game, The Game of Life?  As you traveled through your life, you made decisions on careers, getting married, having kids, mortgages and so much more.  How can you translate the fun of the board game to real life? Join us to play a life size version of this classic game.

summer

There is no need to pre-register for this event just drop in:

  • Date: Thursday, July 13th
  • Time – 12:00pm to 2:00pm
  • Location – Seminole Campus – UP Lobby

You will be able to choose an occupation and then build your life by visiting 9 “stations”.   Will you marry and/or have kids?  Will you hit a roadblock or earn a reward?  Each station will provide financial implication information as well as resources available to students.  If you are a student who is unsure of your career and occupation, this is a fun way to “try before you buy” and if you are a student who is sure, then come get a glimpse of your future could become.

SPC students from all campuses are welcome to join us for this fun interactive game.  Once you finish the game, stay and enjoy a refreshing Rita’s Italian Ice  and share with your fellow students your “glimpse of the future.”  Was it what you thought it would be?  Are there some changes you might like to make based on what you learned?

Check out The Game of Life, have some fun and enjoy a summer treat.  For more information about this event or the Seminole Campus Career Services, please contact Career Specialist, Lynne Wolf.  Follow us on Twitter at #careerspc and #spcintern.

We look forward to seeing you there.  Bring your SPC friends!

Congratulations Class of 2017! What Comes Next?

This is a photo of graduates
Employment Preparation,

You are about the walk across the stage in your blue cap and gown.  The family and friends who have supported you are sitting eagerly in the audience to cheer when they hear your name. You are ready to shake hands, pose for pictures and receive your diploma (well diploma cover.  The real deal arrives in a few weeks).  Now it’s time to GET A JOB! For many of you, the interview process has already begun.  You have researched potential employers, utilized your LinkedIn site was well as SPC’s Career Launch  (online job search tool located in MyCourses)  and are making those intentional professional connections through networking. Many of you have gone on interviews and you are waiting and waiting for the second or follow up interview.  Some of you have put this off thinking the job is waiting for you once you make “that walk.”

Glassdoor, a website that searches millions of jobs and companies to share insights from employees, salary information, employment tools and blogs covering everything employment, has help for you.    Kathy Khalvati, career blogger for Glassdoor has interview advice that helps the first timer to the seasoned job seeker. Check out her article 9 Reasons Why You Didn’t Make It Past The First Interview posted on March 31, 2017.  Learn from her quick and concise blog about mistakes made and remedies so you won’t do that again.  With Kathy’s help, you can avoid hiccups that may take you out of the running before you even get started.

Dr. Seuss says “You have brains in your head.  You have feet in your shoes.  You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” I say, don’t forget, when your choice leads to needing help, SPC Career Services will still be here for you.  We LOVE alumni. Congratulations on your graduation on May 13th.  Shake those hands, pose for pictures, and receive those cheers.  You deserve it!

Working Wednesday on Seminole Campus

Career Exploration, Employment Preparation

Working WednesdayWorking Wednesday, cool name, what is it?  Working Wednesday (or WW as we like to call it) is a drop-in event every Wednesday on the Seminole Campus from 12 – 2pm in the University Partnership, UP Lobby.  We will kick off the spring term on February 1st.

  • Come have some fun and learn about employment and internship opportunities
  • Practice soft skills that employers are looking for in new hires
  • Discover job openings and connect with employers, human resources professionals, and many more

Each week we will have a different theme so you will want to mark your calendar and plan to attend EACH week.  Students can “earn” their socks at certain events or even “earn” a portfolio.

Working Wednesday Working Wednesday

Check out the schedule for February and come find out how to earn these cool items.  Both will help as you work on your career readiness with the SPC career professionals each week.

 February 1st – The Game of Life – Take your current or proposed career choice and walk through life.  Discover education needed and the financial impact.  Get married or not.  Have kids or not.  Choose transportation, housing and even do a wellness check.  Learn about resources along the way and get a financial snap shot of your career and your life.

February 8th – Assessing Your Career – Check out the different career decision tools available to students.  You are well aware of Focus 2, but

have you heard about the COPS interest inventory, Knowdell Card Sorts, or the JIST Personality Career Inventory.  If you are still unsure of your career and major, come see us.

February 15th – Don’t Leave Your Career to “Chance” – Come play Career Pong, Pin the tie on the Provost, and more.  Let’s talk about your career decision.  Don’t leave it to chance.

February 22nd –   What’s Your Major? – Have you made a career decision?  Let’s talk about it and then have you meet with an academic advisor to create or finalize your MLP, My Learning Plan.  Knowing your major and the classes needed to earn your degree will help you stay organized as you work your way through St. Petersburg College.

Career Services are here to help you make this important decision AND have fun along the way.  Come learn skills and earn your socks and portfolio.  We look forward to seeing you on Wednesdays in the UP Lobby on the Seminole Campus.  We will be there from 12-2pm.  You be there too!

Follow us on Twitter at #careerspc and #spcintern

New Year Career Resolutions

Career Exploration, Employment Preparation, Internships,

Renewed Commitment

With the new year fast approaching, it’s a good time to make a few career resolutions. Here are ten steps to making your career decision and the actions to take to get going:

10. Invest in yourself.  Because you are worth taking the time to know what you want out of life.  So, visit with a career professional on your campus and talk it out.  Do a few career assessments to help clarify.

9.  Research your possibilities. You discovered your interests, skills and personality, now research those careers using The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ – Occupational Outlook Handbook. This site provides information on salaries, education needed, projected growth, similar occupations, professional associations and more.  Then, check out the Occupational Information Network. Here you will find skills, abilities, working conditions, educational institutions, state specific salaries and growth.

8. Connect to professionals. Talk to those who do what you want to do. As in, is this really right for you?  Ask yourself: Who do I know that does this job?  Who do I know that knows someone who does this job?  Don’t know anyone?  Leverage your social media to find these connections.

7. Schedule informational interviews. Ask questions to confirm this career choice. Then, spend some time with several different professionals in your area of interest.  Get a good feel for how you will spend your decades in the world of work.  Also, we have informational interview questions, sample emails and phone scripts in Career Services.  Come see us!

6. Job shadowing. From the informational interview, ask to see if you can spend a few hours observing what these professionals do in order to make sure this is how you want to invest your time and money.

5. Meet with your Academic & Career Advisor. Update your SPC degree and create your My Learning Plan (MLP). Then, identify your transfer (AA) program or school with the advisor.

4. Join a club on campus. Employers are looking for employees with strong communication and leadership skills. On campus clubs are a great way to practice these skills as well as build your resume. Don’t wait until your last semester.  Be a leader on campus.

3. Build you network. We all know the saying, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” If you are not connecting to professionals in your field, you are limiting your possible future employment opportunities.  Start now.

2. Create a professional resume. Check out the resume building tool in MyCourses called Optimal Resume. Get templates, tips and samples to create dynamic resumes.   This tool does so much more than just resumes, so check out all the tools.  Then, take your resume to a career professional on your campus for review.

1. Show up to class on time and give it your best effort. This is a quality employers are looking for, so why not start this habit now? Arriving to class on time and being prepared are two keys to good grades.  Go for it.

In conclusion, SPC Career Services can help you with each of these steps.  Come see us and get started on your New Year and renewed commitment to YOU.

Pure Gold: Workplace Lessons from the 2016 Olympics

SPC Career Services Olympics
Career Exploration, Career News,
There’s a lot to be learned from The Olympics, according to Lindsey Pollack, a leading voice on millennials in the workplace.

Pollack is a bestselling author of Becoming the Boss: New Rules for the Next Generation of Leaders and Getting from College to Career: Your Essential Guide to Succeeding in the Real World. She has been called a “translator” as she advises both young professionals and organizations that want to recruit them.  She writes a regular blog that recently focused on lessons we can learn from the 2016 Olympics. Check out what she has to say.

SPC career professionals: Your career coach

Do you need help creating those career milestones, training your career skills and setting goals and action steps? Contact a career professional on your campus.

Don’t know your campus Career Services staff?  Check out this link. These on-campus and online professionals are here to provide support for your career vision.  Don’t have a vision for your future world of work?  Well, we can help with that too.

Career Services + You = Career Gold

Be the career Olympian who:

  • finds their passion
  • trains for competition
  • rises to the winners circle

Career Services wants to help you:

  • discover your skills, interest and values
  • research strong matches and connect to professionals
  • gain the employment skills necessary

You too can be a pure gold winner in life. Already are a gold winner?  Come share your success with us.

Follow us on Twitter at #careerspc and #spcintern.

 

Get help with common job seeker mistakes

Employment Preparation,

Many people looking for career opportunities are committing common job seeker mistakes – from not customizing their resumes to failing to send a post-interview thank you note.

careerbuilder

Harris Poll conducted an online poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from May 11 through June 7 this year, and the results revealed several mistakes that job seekers are making and how to correct them.

Some of those common mistakes include:

  • Not customizing a resume for each employer
  • Not finding out the name of the hiring manager and personalizing the application
  • Not including a cover letter with a resume
  • Not following up with an employer after applying
  • Not sending thank you notes after an interview

For more than 20 years, CareerBuilder has been at the forefront of innovation and resources for employment preparation and job search.

Check out the whole story here.

Want help avoiding job seeker mistakes?

Career Services at St. Petersburg College can help you avoid these job seeker mistakes and also help you find internship and job opportunities.

Career Services helps students define who they are and identify career paths that match their personalities, values, interests and strengths. Whether you are “undecided” or “very focused” about your career choices, SPC Career Services can help you define or refine your path. Career Services can help you:

  • Identify your interests, skills, values and personality to find the best career fit
  • Search databases and explore thousands of careers
  • Understand the connection between your educational and your career options
  • Develop a personalized career action plan with a Career Professional

Connect with us! Provide your student number and then you are ready to go.  We look forward to working with you.

Follow us on Twitter at #careerspc and #spcintern.

 

 

 

The Game of Life

Game of Life flyer
Events,

No one can predict the future, but with a little planning and a whole lot of fun, you can try on a future with The Game of Life.   Join the St. Petersburg College Seminole campus Career Services team for an interactive journey through your potential future career and how life’s challenges and rewards effect your career journey.

The Game of Life

Thursday, July 14th

10:30am-12:30pm

Seminole Campus – UP Building Lobby

During the Game of Life students will be able to choose an occupation and then build their life by visiting 10 “stations”.   Will you marry and/or have kids?  Will you hit a roadblock or earn a reward?  Each station will provide financial implication information as well as resources available to students.

If you are a student who is unsure of your career and occupation, the Game of Life is a fun way to “try before you buy”.    If you are a student who is confident of your career decision, then come get a glimpse of your future.

There is no need to pre-register for this event.   Students can come by and join us any time between 10:30am and 12:30pm.   Please bring your student ID or your student number.  Play the game and be rewarded with a TropiCool Pop when you are done!

Students coming to this event also have the opportunity to:

Check out The Game of Life, have some fun, eat a delicious TropiCool pop and register for classes.  There is no better way to spend your morning.

For more information about this event or the Seminole Campus Career Services, please contact Career Specialist, Lynne Wolf.   Remember to follow us on Twitter at #careerspc and #spcintern.

Personality to Profession: Making a Career Decision

Personality to Profession: Making A Career Decision art
Events

Are you still searching for that “perfect career?” Are you asking yourself: “what’s my major?”  or “what do I want to be when I grow up?”  Are you confused with so many options or maybe not enough?  Have you completed Focus 2 but need more help? Then this event is for you.

Seminole campus Career Services in collaboration with the Women on the Way (WOW) program will be hosting a Personality to Profession: Making a Career Decision workshop.

Tuesday, June 28th

12:30-2pm

Seminole Campus

University Partnership Building (UP)-  Room 303

A Tropical Smoothie lunch will be provided for the first 50 students

During this workshop you will explore your personality by using the Career Personality Inventory, a personality assessment tool.  You will dig deep into the four major personality types and the combination of these so you can connect your type to occupations.

personality to ProfessionYou will explore occupations by:

  • Characteristics
  • Work Environment
  • Your Strengths
  • And finally develop a plan of action to make a career decision

We will use a computer lab to research occupations and learn how to connect with professionals in the appropriate industry.  Students will leave this workshop renewed in their career pursuit having created and action steps to explore, prepare and succeed in a career.

Preregistration is not required, just show up ready to have fun and learn more about your personality and the career connection.  Don’t forget, a Tropical Smoothie lunch will be  provided during the workshop for the first 50 students.

For more information, please contact Lynne Wolf , Career Specialist on the Seminole Campus or Pepper Harth Student Support Advisor for the Women on the Way (WOW) program.   WOW is a new program to the Seminole campus.  Come meet Pepper and learn how you can become an active member.

Remember to also visit Career Services for more events and follow us on Twitter at #careerspc.

 

Summer Registration Tips

Summer registration stock art
Career Exploration,

Summer registration is underway.  Have you made your career decision, met with an academic advisor and created an MLP?  If so then you are ready to register using that MLP.  If not, now is the time to come see us in Career & Academic Advising.

Career professionals are here to help you make that all important career decision.  How do you want to spend your “world of work” life?  Do you know what careers are a good fit for your interests, skills, values and personality?  Begin by taking the Focus 2 assessment located in your MySPC and the MyCareer tab, then come see us in Career Services to review and discuss your results.  This is one of the biggest decisions of your life.  Come talk to us about it.

The career and academic advisors are ready to help you take that big decision and translate it into your education path.  Advisors can help with the right college major and scheduling the right classes.  This roadmap of classes is called your My Learning Plan.  Creating and following your MLP makes registering for classes seamless.

Are you close to graduating?  Well Career Services is still with you on your journey.  Do you need an internship, a resume, or being your job search?  Come to Career Services and let’s talk.  We want to talk about what your future career field looks like and what should you be doing NOW to be competitive when you arrive there.  Are you ready with what the employer needs?  Do you know what they need?  Come see us.  We want to hear about your plans or help you create a plan and to be excited with you.  Contact Career Services today!

Be sure to follow us on Twitter at #careerspc and #spcintern