On the Job
Congratulations! You got a job!
Now what?
There are things that you can do to set yourself up for success on your new job or internship. Note that throughout this document, we will use ‘intern(ship)’ and ‘new hire’ interchangeably. The advice follows for all types of employment positions.
Download this workbook for your internship or your full time job, so you can follow along and create your own personalized plan to start strong. Make a copy for yourself and edit or add to it as needed.
Before your informational interview, you should research the:
The person you are talking to.
Their organization.
Their role.
Research Worksheet: Use this to gather information before your informational interview.
Research Guide: This describes what you should research and the best resources to find that information.
Remind yourself what you want to learn about from this person.
What are all the different types of careers where you get to counsel people?
What does a financial analyst do?
What is it really like to work at Google?
What are best practices to prepare for an interview for a researcher in a lab?
If you only could learn one thing from this conversation, what would it be? Some interviewees talk a lot. There have been alumni who only get to ask two questions in 30 minutes. This helps you prioritize what you really hope to accomplish to ensure you don’t run out of time for your most important questions.
Do you have any personal goals?
I hope I can be present and establish rapport.
I hope I can ask one question that I create on the spot instead of just reading off my list of questions.
Braindump questions that you have about the learning goals that you set.
Do:
Think broadly about your questions.
Potential topics to think about:
Their role
Their journey
Their organization
The industry
How to get into the career
What would you need to learn to determine if you would like this career
If you are early on in your career exploration, here are some good go to questions:
What do you like most about your job?
What do you like least about your job?
What skills are really needed to do this job? If you look at people who are really successful in your job, what traits do they have?
How do you get into this job? What education do you need? What experience do you need?
What are typical tasks/projects that you perform? (If they respond that every day is different, ask them what yesterday looked look for them.)
Don’t:
Ask questions that you can easily find the answer to on their company website.
Ask questions that you already know the answers to. Sometimes people have a set list of questions that they ask everyone. Once you start to hear the same answers, stop asking the question. If you are bored listening to their answer, they will feel that boredom. Your questions should evolve over time.
Ask about salary. You can find salary information on Glassdoor or My Next Move.
Ask anything that might make them feel defensive (e.g. How can you work for a company who cheated customers out of millions of dollars in X scandal last year?).
Remember that you asked for this informational interview, so they are expecting you to drive the conversation.
Get organized beforehand so that you feel confident leading the conversation.
Write down your questions.
Organize the questions into a logical order, making sure that the most important ones are at the top.
Structure the conversation so you know how you want to open and close the meeting.
Be ready to just make it a conversation once you get into the meeting and throw your questions out the window.
Summarize your background in 30 seconds so that it leads to why you want to talk.
It is ok to write all of this down, even the transitions, to prepare for your meeting.
Start with small talk. Usually there is more small talk if you are meeting in person (5-10 minutes), but there might be a few minutes on a phone call too. Review the small talk page if you want a reminder of how to handle it with ease.
Transition to the informational interview. When there is a natural pause, you should end the small talk and transition to set the tone for the conversation. For example: “Thank you so much for meeting with me today. Let me tell you a bit about myself and why I asked to meet with you.”
Summarize your background. You should provide them with context of where you’ve been and how that has led you to be interested in what you will talk to them about in the meeting.
It should be 30 - 60 seconds in length.
Only include relevant information.
Example:
I became interested in athletic training and physical therapy when I tore my ACL in high school while playing soccer. I found myself asking my physical therapist so many questions about the rehabilitation process and it led me to major in kinesiology at my college. Last summer, I volunteered with a Physical Therapy office and while I liked the content, I was mostly working with elderly patients and found myself wondering about other careers related to Kinesiology.
State your goals. After a bit of small talk, you should be the one to transition to why you reached out, a brief background (your 30 second pitch), and your goals that makes it clear why this meeting would be helpful.
It’s important to anchor them to what you hope to get out of the conversation. Otherwise, they will feel lost and might ramble on about things that aren’t relevant to you.
At the end of your background summary, state what you want to get out of the conversation.
Example:
That’s why I reached out to you. I’d love to hear about your experience as a physical therapist, the culture and clients in your practice, and any thoughts that you might have for me about other career options within kinesiology.
Ask about their background. The first question for them should ALWAYS be asking them to describe their background, even if you researched their background on LinkedIn.
They will provide valuable information about WHY they made their choices in their summary.
You can get a sense of what they are really excited about/proud of in their background and where you might want to spend more time.
They might offer up other things that they are involved in that would surprise you because it’s not on their LinkedIn profile.
Example:
“I reviewed your profile on LinkedIn, but I’d love to hear from you about your background and your choices and what has led you to where you are today.”
Ask your other questions. Remember that although you have questions already written out, you should also ask follow-up questions or on-the-fly questions, as appropriate.
Wrap up with last questions.
These are two of the most important questions to ask! Don’t forget!
Do you have any recommendations of resources for me to learn more?
Do you know anyone else that would be good for me to talk to?
Thank them!
Things to confirm
Meeting time
Meeting location
If virtually connecting, who's calling who, how you’ll connect (e.g. Skype, Facetime, Google Hangouts, etc.)
Example of confirmation email for an in-person meeting:
Dear Lucious,
I’m looking forward to talking to you tomorrow at 1pm at The Leaky Cauldron. To make it easier to find me, I have medium length curly brown hair and will be wearing a burgundy sweater. If you don’t see me, please call my cell phone at (555) 123-4567.
Thank you,
Hermione
Example of confirmation email for a phone call:
Dear Lucious,
I’m looking forward to talking to you tomorrow! Just to confirm, I will call you at 222-333-4444 at 2:30pm.
Thank you,
Hermione
Do:
Be present. As much as possible, be present, listen, and ask follow-up questions (even if they are unscripted).
Ask clarifying questions. If they use a term or talk about something that you don’t understand, ask them to clarify! They will love that you are curious to learn more.
Take notes. They believe that they are giving you great advice, so you make them feel good about themselves by taking notes. Also, you’ll want to remember some of the points for yourself!
Maintain eye contact. Especially if you are taking notes, make sure to look up when you are listening. If you feel uncomfortable maintaining eye contact a trick is to look at their lower eyelid, but practice making eye contact to improve that skill.
Don't:
Act like a robot. As much as possible, try to listen and make it a conversation.
Only read off your question list. Make it a conversation. Ask questions that pop up into your head.
Keep an eye on the time.
Since you are driving the meeting, you need to manage the time.
With 5 minutes left, say, “I want to be respectful of your time, and we have 5 minutes left.” Half of the time, they will offer to talk to you longer, especially if you asked for a 20 minute conversation. Most adults block their calendar in 30 minute chunks, so they probably have a few extra minutes. However, t’s not good to assume.
Last questions
These are two of the most important questions to ask! Don’t forget!
Do you have any recommendations of resources for me to learn more?
Do you know anyone else that would be good for me to talk to?
Wrap up like a pro.
Once the end allotted time is approaching and they’ve finished answering the most recent question, it’s time to wrap up the conversation. Transition to ending the meeting.
Smile and pause to signal the transition.
Tell them how helpful the conversation has been.
Thank them for their time.
Ask if it would be ok to ask them follow up questions in the future.
Meeting at a coffee shop
Arrive early. Scout out a place for you two to sit that is relatively quiet.
Be on the lookout for them.
Start with a strong handshake. When you see them, shake their hand with a firm handshake, look them in the eye, smile and say something like, “Hi, I’m Cedric! Thank you so much for coming.”
Offer to buy them coffee because you are the one asking for a favor. Oftentimes, if you are a student, the adult will offer instead. If they decline and say that they want to buy you coffee, accept and say, “Thank you.” Don’t fight them over the check.
Bring notebook and pens to take notes! Bringing your questions with you is acceptable and encouraged.
Act interested! Your body language conveys your interest and will make them feel engaged even more than the questions you ask.
Lean forward.
Smile when appropriate.
Relax into facial expressions that show your interest in what they are saying
Sit up straight, but relax your shoulders and feel free to move your hands and body when you talk. You don’t have to be as formal as in an interview, but don’t slouch or lean back on your chair.
End with a strong handshake. Stand up, thank them, and shake their hand. Reinforce that it was helpful to talk to them.
Mentors can:
Provide advice on how to navigate your career/industry.
Help you get an interview
Help you grow within an organization
Help you explore new career options
Mentors should be people:
You click with
You respect
Who have knowledge/experience that can help you
Who take an interest in you
Examples:
Professors/teachers
Bosses/co-workers
University staff
Professionals you meet
Mentors or staff from programs such as PCF, Boys and Girls Club, etc.
Mentors are NOT everyone you meet.
Not everyone will have the same level of connection with you and that's okay! Conversations will vary with people depending on the nature of your relationship and how deep that relationship is.
Your “Personal Board of Directors” are a group of mentors that you can turn to with questions throughout your career (and life). Different people can play different roles. For example, while your mom might be your best cheerleader and incredibly important to talk to in stressful situations, it’s great to receive career advice from someone who has experience in your industry.
Be on the lookout for people who might serve in the following roles, pulling from all areas of your work/school/life.
There are many different ways to build relationships. Here is a list of options that you can choose from and match to the different people you’d like to grow into advocates.
The basics
Send thank you emails after conversations.
Connect with them on LinkedIn.
Follow their advice and let them know when you do it (e.g. read a book they recommended or applied to a job/internship).
What to ask for
Advice
More conversations with new questions
Help on revising your resume, preparing for interviews, etc.
Share
Congratulations- New job, promotion, new product launch, etc.
Good news about yourself- New job, new classes, new school, etc.
Bad news about yourself- Left job/school or difficult problems. This is tricky. Sometimes people feel like they should never share hard times or challenging situations with mentors/potential mentors.
What this is not: an email blast to your entire network updating them that you lost your job.
What it can be: one-on-one conversations with people whose advice could be helpful to you and will be respectful of the situation you are in.
Help them (personal-related)
Personal introductions- Introduce them to people who would be helpful with their personal life (e.g. looking for a babysitter or a new gardener).
Offer recommendations if they bring anything up that is challenging for them.
Examples from alums:
Offered restaurant recommendations for someone new in town
Tutored a mentor’s son in Spanish
Offered to help a mentor’s daughter apply to colleges
Important: Only do these things if you have the bandwidth to do them (i.e. Don’t sacrifice academics!). If you do not have the capacity to help, offer ideas for other people/resources. “I won’t be able to tutor, but I have a friend who has great tutoring experience.” It’s ok to say no.
Help them (career-related)
Send them articles of relevant work-related things.
Career introductions- Introduce them to people who would be helpful with their career.
Ask them what their problems are and send them ideas (in an email, in a PowerPoint deck, or ask to work on that problem for a school project/internship/part-time job).
You might feel like you don’t have much to offer your mentors, but you’re likely overlooking your skillset. For example, many adults would love to learn how to use social media or hear your perspective on how to market to a younger demographic!
The frequency of reaching out completely depends on the situation and the person. If none of the above have been relevant, it’s nice to send a note once a year. Example topics:
Reflections on the school year
Happy holidays
Talk to your Eastside Career Coach if you have questions.
Q: What if they don’t respond?
A: That’s fine! Oftentimes, they will read it, smile, and not respond. However, when the time comes that you really need something, they will remember these notes and feel more invested in helping you.
An event where people talk to each other with the intent of meeting new people and learning
Where might this take place?
Company information session on campus
Networking event sponsored by companies or organizations usually in evenings
Conference (often they have networking sessions in between speakers)
After a speaker on campus
People standing and mingling about the room
Knowing a few people or no one
Might have structured component (speaker, panel)
Might have food and/or drinks
Might have tables to set down your food/drinks on
What to learn
Who will be there
Agenda/structure
Attire (when in doubt, wear business casual)
Review small talk tips.
Set goals. What do you hope to get out of the event?
For example:
Meet and get contact information of 2 people.
Learn about the industry, company, career paths, etc.
Practice talking to 3 new people.
If this is your first networking event, maybe your goal is to just observe. That’s fine if it will help make you comfortable for the future.
Bring your resume if it‘s a recruiting event like a career fair or company information session.
Eat something if it’s going to be a long event and you aren’t sure there will be food.
Show up early! The best opportunity to connect is helping set up or being first when no one else is there yet.
Keep your phone in your pocket/purse. It is tempting to pull out your phone if you don’t know anyone or you are nervous. No one will approach you, however, if you are on your phone. Also, turn your ringer off.
Check the agenda to determine if you are supposed to be seated first, get food/drinks, or mingle, etc.
Find people to talk to!
Scan the room.
Do you know anyone?
Is there anyone who you know you want to talk to?
Is anyone standing by themselves?
Find the food/drinks. if you don’t know anyone and are nervous going up to talk to someone, get in line for food/drinks. Most likely there will be another solo person there and it’s an easy way to strike up a conversation
Admit if you are nervous. It’s a great opener to just say, “I am really nervous at events like these.” It makes them feel relaxed and want to help you.
Find the organizer. Introduce yourself and thank them. They are also a good person to help you find people to talk to at the event.
How to enter a group
Make eye contact with someone in the group.
Wait for a natural pause and ask, “May I join you?”
In the conversation
The event or topics in the event
What did you think of the panel/speaker?
Why did you decide to attend this event?
Their work
What is your role?
What projects are you working on?
How did you get interested in this?
Balance talking/listening, especially if you are in a group.
Act like a host. If you see someone who wants to join your group, invite them in. If you know someone, introduce them to the person you are talking to.
How to leave a conversation
It is totally fine to leave a conversation at a networking event. You are not expected to talk to only one person the entire time. Especially if you feel like you are not engaged in a group conversation.
Wait for a natural pause— when a conversation feels like it comes to the end or a natural stopping point.
Say, “It was really nice talking to you.”
Ask for their contact info if you connected with them.
Shake their hand and say, “Thank you.”
Do not invent an excuse. There is no need to say, “I need to use the restroom” or “I want to get a drink,” especially if you are not going to do those things.
After you leave a conversation
Snap a picture of the front of their business card if you got one. This is the only time to pull out your phone.
Write a note of what you talked about in the conversation so that you can keep everything straight.
Food and drinks
Eat beforehand so you aren’t focused on food.
Alcohol- If you are under 21, obviously, do not drink. If you are over 21, do not have more than one or two drinks. There is a fine lining of “loosening up to talk to people” and being remembered as “that guy.”
Do not overflow your plate because you might drop or spill your food.
Pro tip on holding plate, drink, napkin (LINK)
After the event
Invite them to connect on LinkedIn.
Send thank you email or LinkedIn message to remind them of what you talked about.
Complete these within 24 hours.
Example:
Dear John,
It was very nice talking to you tonight at the UC Santa Cruz Hewlett Packard information session. I appreciate how candid you were about the upsides and challenges within the marketing department. It definitely increased my interest in your summer internship program so I’ve already started the application. I hope that you have a wonderful weekend in Tahoe with your friends.
Thank you,
Sam
Relax and treat them as peers.
Be curious.
Do not respond with one word answers (e.g. “Good,” “Yes,” or “No”). Give them details and more information so they can ask follow-up questions.
Listen actively to their responses. Ask follow-up questions to something they say.
Ask open-ended questions. They get the other person talking more than “yes/no” questions.
Open ended: How do you feel about rainy days?
Close ended (yes/no answers): Do you like the rain?
Ask their question to you back to them. For example, if they ask about your favorite book, you give your answer and then ask them what their favorite book is.
After they answer your question, give your opinion on the same question.
Remember the importance of non-verbal cues. Maintain eye contact, smile, and act engaged.
These first sections are great for the 5 minutes of small talk in an interview setting.
The basics
How is your day going so far?
How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?
Do you have any good plans for the weekend? What are they?
How did you spend the winter break/holidays/long weekend?
Do you have any plans for the winter break/holidays/long weekend?
The weather
I heard it’s going to be beautiful/rainy/cold/foggy this weekend. How does that impact your plans?
This weekend was so cold/hot/rainy/beautiful. Did it impact your plans at all?
What is your favorite kind of weather?
If you could live anywhere based on weather, where would it be?
Non-question: You can always commiserate together on how people can’t drive in the rain or snow and the impact it has on traffic. This is a common small talk topic!
Your location/surroundings
Have you ever been to this coffee shop, town, conference before?
What do you recommend to order? What are you going to order?
(If you’re new to the area) Where do the locals go?
The rest of these are better for networking situations or situations when you have more time.
Entertainment
Are you reading any good books right now?
Have you seen any great shows/movies lately?
Are there any apps on your phone that you can’t live without? I’m always looking for recommendations.
I’ve recently gotten into podcasts. Do you listen to them and have any suggestions?
What are your favorite accounts to follow on Instagram?
What type of music do you listen to?
Hobbies
What do you do in your free time?
How did you become involved in that hobby?
What do you love about it? What is hard about it?
Are there any hobbies that you’d like to try or classes you’d like to take?
Food
Do you eat out around here often? Do you have any good recommendations?
Do you like to cook? What types of things do you like to make?
If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
What’s your go-to comfort food?
Are there any foods that you absolutely would not eat?
What are the best cheap eats around here?
Does your family have any “secret” or famous recipes?
What’s your favorite restaurant that other people don’t tend to know about?
Travel
If you could fly anywhere for free, where would you go?
What’s the coolest road trip you’ve ever been on?
Where’s the last place you traveled? What did you do there?
Do you prefer action-packed vacations or relaxing on the beach?
What’s the next trip you have planned?
If you could take a workcation or sabbatical, where would you go and what would you do?
What’s your favorite thing to do around here on the weekends?
Sports
Did you watch the game this weekend?
Do you follow any sports/sports teams?
How did you get interested in that sport? Did you play growing up?
Life
Are you from around here? Where did you live when you were growing up?
How is that different from here/now?
What’s the weather/people/hobbies like there?
Do you have any pets? Are you a dog person or a cat person?
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Just for fun (not for an interview or formal setting)
If you were in charge of picking the eighth wonder of the world, what would you choose?
What do you wish you had placed in a time capsule 15 years ago? What would you place in a time capsule today for people to open up 100 years from now.
What’s the strangest compliment you’ve ever gotten?
Have you ever thought of a cool invention or company, only to discover someone had already invented or started it?
If you could teach a college course on any subject you want, what would it be?
What’s the most out-of-character thing you’ve ever done?
What would be your ideal superpower?
If you could have any type of animal for a pet, what would it be?
Religion
Politics
Race/Gender/Sexuality
Do:
Follow their lead. Typically, you wouldn’t engage in one of these topics until the other person brings it up.
Continue the conversation if you share similar beliefs and are comfortable talking about it! You can form great relationships with others by discussing these topics.
Do not:
Argue with people who do not share the same beliefs.
Take it as an opportunity to lecture or educate them on why they are wrong.
You should steer the conversation to benign, non-combative topics. There is a time and place to discuss opposing views on hot button topics, but small talk while interviewing, networking, or on the job are not going to be those times.
Many companies ask for you to submit a cover letter when you apply to their job. Why? They use it as another tool to filter candidates to:
Get an understanding of your story and interest in them beyond your resume
Assess your writing skills
See if you are willing to put in the extra time to write a cover letter, which shows how interested you are in their position
There are three questions on their mind that you should answer in a cover letter:
Why are you interested in the role and industry?
Why are you interested in the organization or company?
Can you do the job?
Get started with the Eastside template. Although there are slight variations for formatting or templates out there, the content should all be similar.
Formatting Tips
Margins: between .5 and 1 inch.
Font: 11 or 12pt and a professional font, such as Times New Roman, Arial, Cambria, or Calibri.
In this template, we use a formal business letter structure with your contact information, the date and their contact information at the top. It looks like this:
Your First and Last Name
Your Street Address Your City, State, Zip
Your Phone Number
Your Email Address
Today’s Date
Their Name (if you have it)
Their Role (if you have it) Company Name Company Street Address of P.O. Box Company City, State, Zip
Dear Ms. or Mr. Their Last name (if you have it) or Dear Hiring Manager (if you do not):
Note: You can either stack your address or if you want to save space you can write your address in one line across the top like this:
Jane Villanueva
580 Doral St. Miami, FL 33130 (555) 555-3303 ♦ JaneV@myschool.edu
Tips
Your email address: Include the email address that you check most regularly to ensure you don’t miss an email that they send to you.
Name of company contact: Read the job description and job posting to find a name of the contact at the organization. Can’t find a contact name?
If it says in the job description that the role would report to a certain title and you can find the name of that person on the company website, address your cover letter to that person
If you cannot find an actual person’s name at the organization, you can address your letter to, “Dear Hiring Manager,”
Company address: Research to find the organization’s headquarters’ mailing address.
State what position you are applying for and how you heard about it.
Use the exact name of the role as it’s written in the job description
If it is a large organization, include the Requisition number
Example:
“I am very interested in applying to the Undergraduate Field Sales Operations Intern position (#9187394).”
Bonus Points:if you are a strong writer you can be creative and hook them into reading your letter.
My passion for rescuing animals began at age seven when I rescued an abandoned kitten and cared for it all by myself. That passion grew into a career interest as I volunteered in a local animal shelter. That’s why I’m thrilled to apply to the summer internship position at the SPCA.
Additional Tip: Do NOT include the wrong company name or wrong job title. This easily can happen if you cut and paste from other cover letters.
Why the Role
The role or function is what you will be doing on a day to day basis, including the tasks and projects that you will perform.
To develop your sentences on why you are interested in the role:
Read the job description.
Reflect on what sounds interesting and exciting about the role to you.
Which tasks or skills in the job description do you like to use?
Have you done any of the tasks in past experiences?
Did you ever talk to someone that you led you to be interested in this type of role?
Write 1-3 sentences giving specific reasons why you are interested in the role.
Why the Organization
To develop the sentences describing why you are interested in their organization:
Research the organization.
Reflect on what is unique about the organization and exciting and interesting to you about the organization.
What is unique about their organization: their mission, products/services, culture?
What do you like about the impact they make?
Do you connect with their target audience?
Have you ever used their product or services?
Do you know anyone who works there who speaks highly about them?
Write 1-3 reasons on why the organization.
In the second paragraph, you are going to summarize why you have the skills they are looking for in the open role.
To develop these sentences:
Look at the job description to see what the skills and experiences they are looking for are
Choose 3-4 skills and/or experiences from the list that you definitely have. You should not list off 8 skills that you have that they are looking for.
Put those skills into 3-4 bullets or a paragraph and give a summary statement demonstrating why you have that skill.
Bullet points:
Makes it easy to read
Allows you to cut and paste for multiple job postings
However, you can also write it in a paragraph.
Example:
I bring a unique set of skills developed through my summer internships, coursework and personal experiences.
Communication Skills: As an Admissions Intern at Year Up last summer my comfort with communicating with others grew tremendously. My responsibilities involved interviewing 1-4 applicants one on one and speaking to 20-30 applicants each day on the phone
Computer Skills: In my first internship I regularly updated Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint slides. Last summer, I became proficient in Salesforce while I entered data each day, ran reports, and identified duplicate entries during my internship.
Social Media Experience: Last semester I took a marketing class which introduced me to best practices in social media. In addition, I am active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Pinterest on a daily basis.
You will have a final 1-2 sentences to conclude the paragraph.
Do not write in the company name so that you will not have to change it in future cover letters or worry about leaving it in when you copy and paste for future cover letters.
Restate that you are interested and that you hope to be in contact with them.
Salutation: You can use any of the following:
Sincerely,
Thank you,
Warm regards,
Your name
You should write your full name
You do not need to worry about handwriting a signature
Example:
Sincerely,
Michael Cordero, Jr.
Make sure it fits on one page
Proofread! If there is a typo on your cover letter, you will automatically be thrown out of consideration
Then have a friend proofread it.
Make sure you have the correct company name throughout the letter. This is a common mistake when students are cut and pasting in different letters.
Save your document as Your First Name Your Last Name Cover Letter Their Organization Name Year (Ex: Darci Factor Cover Letter Tesla 2018)
Share your Cover Letter with your Career Coach in a Google Doc for feedback.
When you send the letter to the company, download and attach it as a PDF in case they do not have access to Google Docs or the same version of Word as you.
Many companies ask for you to submit a cover letter when you apply to their job. Why? They use it as another tool to filter candidates to:
Get an understanding of your story and interest in them beyond your resume
Assess your writing skills
See if you are willing to put in the extra time to write a cover letter, which shows how interested you are in their position
There are three questions on their mind that you should answer in a cover letter:
Why are you interested in the role and industry?
Why are you interested in the organization or company?
Can you do the job?
Get started with the Eastside template. Although there are slight variations for formatting or templates out there, the content should all be similar.
Formatting Tips
Margins: between .5 and 1 inch.
Font: 11 or 12pt and a professional font, such as Times New Roman, Arial, Cambria, or Calibri.
In this template, we use a formal business letter structure with your contact information, the date and their contact information at the top. It looks like this:
Your First and Last Name
Your Street Address Your City, State, Zip
Your Phone Number
Your Email Address
Today’s Date
Their Name (if you have it)
Their Role (if you have it) Company Name Company Street Address of P.O. Box Company City, State, Zip
Dear Ms. or Mr. Their Last name (if you have it) or Dear Hiring Manager (if you do not):
Note: You can either stack your address or if you want to save space you can write your address in one line across the top like this:
Jane Villanueva
580 Doral St. Miami, FL 33130 (555) 555-3303 ♦ JaneV@myschool.edu
Tips
Your email address: Include the email address that you check most regularly to ensure you don’t miss an email that they send to you.
Name of company contact: Read the job description and job posting to find a name of the contact at the organization. Can’t find a contact name?
If it says in the job description that the role would report to a certain title and you can find the name of that person on the company website, address your cover letter to that person
If you cannot find an actual person’s name at the organization, you can address your letter to, “Dear Hiring Manager,”
Company address: Research to find the organization’s headquarters’ mailing address.
State what position you are applying for and how you heard about it.
Use the exact name of the role as it’s written in the job description
If it is a large organization, include the Requisition number
Example:
“I am very interested in applying to the Undergraduate Field Sales Operations Intern position (#9187394).”
Bonus Points:if you are a strong writer you can be creative and hook them into reading your letter.
My passion for rescuing animals began at age seven when I rescued an abandoned kitten and cared for it all by myself. That passion grew into a career interest as I volunteered in a local animal shelter. That’s why I’m thrilled to apply to the summer internship position at the SPCA.
Additional Tip: Do NOT include the wrong company name or wrong job title. This easily can happen if you cut and paste from other cover letters.
Why the Role
The role or function is what you will be doing on a day to day basis, including the tasks and projects that you will perform.
To develop your sentences on why you are interested in the role:
Read the job description.
Reflect on what sounds interesting and exciting about the role to you.
Which tasks or skills in the job description do you like to use?
Have you done any of the tasks in past experiences?
Did you ever talk to someone that you led you to be interested in this type of role?
Write 1-3 sentences giving specific reasons why you are interested in the role.
Why the Industry/Sector
When we talk about for-profit companies, we use the term industry to describe the types of products they make or services they provide (e.g. the tech industry or auto industry). For non-profit organizations we use the term sector to describe the services they provide (e.g. education sector or environmental sector).
To develop your sentences on why you are interested in their industry/sector:
Read about the industry that they are in.
Reflect on what sounds interesting and exciting about the industry to you.
Have you ever studied or read about that topic?
Have you worked in the industry in the past?
Do you do any hobbies related to the industry?
If not, why do you care about it?
Write 1-3 sentences on why you are interested in the industry
If you are applying to many of same type of roles, then the line on why the role and/or why the industry can stay the same for each new cover letter. The unique new sentence will be the why the company lines.
Why the Organization
To develop the sentences describing why you are interested in their organization:
Research the organization.
Reflect on what is unique about the organization and exciting and interesting to you about the organization.
What is unique about their organization: their mission, products/services, culture?
What do you like about the impact they make?
Do you connect with their target audience?
Have you ever used their product or services?
Do you know anyone who works there who speaks highly about them?
Write 1-3 reasons on why the organization.
In the second paragraph, you are going to summarize why you have the skills they are looking for in the open role.
To develop these sentences:
Look at the job description to see what the skills and experiences they are looking for are
Choose 3-4 skills and/or experiences from the list that you definitely have. You should not list off 8 skills that you have that they are looking for.
Put those skills into 3-4 bullets or a paragraph and give a summary statement demonstrating why you have that skill.
Bullet points:
Makes it easy to read
Allows you to cut and paste for multiple job postings
However, you can also write it in a paragraph.
Example:
I bring a unique set of skills developed through my summer internships, coursework and personal experiences.
Communication Skills: As an Admissions Intern at Year Up last summer my comfort with communicating with others grew tremendously. My responsibilities involved interviewing 1-4 applicants one on one and speaking to 20-30 applicants each day on the phone
Computer Skills: In my first internship I regularly updated Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint slides. Last summer, I became proficient in Salesforce while I entered data each day, ran reports, and identified duplicate entries during my internship.
Social Media Experience: Last semester I took a marketing class which introduced me to best practices in social media. In addition, I am active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Pinterest on a daily basis.
You will have a final 1-2 sentences to conclude the paragraph.
Do not write in the company name so that you will not have to change it in future cover letters or worry about leaving it in when you copy and paste for future cover letters.
Restate that you are interested and that you hope to be in contact with them.
Salutation: You can use any of the following:
Sincerely,
Thank you,
Warm regards,
Your name
You should write your full name
You do not need to worry about handwriting a signature
Example:
Sincerely,
Michael Cordero, Jr.
Make sure it fits on one page
Proofread! If there is a typo on your cover letter, you will automatically be thrown out of consideration
Then have a friend proofread it.
Make sure you have the correct company name throughout the letter. This is a common mistake when students are cut and pasting in different letters.
Save your document as Your First Name Your Last Name Cover Letter Their Organization Name Year (Ex: Darci Factor Cover Letter Tesla 2018)
Share your Cover Letter with your Career Coach in a Google Doc for feedback.
When you send the letter to the company, download and attach it as a PDF in case they do not have access to Google Docs or the same version of Word as you.
Almost all employers will require a resume when you apply for a job. On average, recruiters spend 8 seconds on each resume.
What? Why only 8 seconds?
They are very busy, sifting through 100s of applicants for each open position, and they probably have many open positions that they are trying to fill.
They have very specific qualities that they are looking for in candidates.
Why do they require a resume?
Concise and quick way to review your background
Summary of relevant experience that indicates if you can do the job
Signals if you want to work in their industry/role
Can keyword search in a database to narrow matches quickly
Where do their eyes go and how do they read it in 8 seconds?
Your name, then scan the left hand side
School, expected graduation date, and names of where you worked
First one or two words in your bullets hoping that the verbs match the skills they are looking for
Additional information section for skills, abilities, interests or interesting tidbits
Most of you created a strong resume while at Eastside. You should use this as a base and add new information to it.
Search Your Google Drive- Your resume should be a Google Doc, titled Your First Name Your Last Name Resume (e.g. Betty Cooper Resume).
Check with Eastside- If you cannot find it in your Google Drive (and know that you created one while at Eastside), reach out to your Career Coach. They might still have access to it.
Starting from scratch- If you attended Eastside before 2010 or if neither of you can find it and need to start from scratch, start with this resume template (link to college resume template).
Before anything: Change ownership of your resume
Right now, you are the owner of your Google Doc resume with your Eastside email address. Your email address will expire in one year and after that, you will not have access to this document.
To prevent that from happening, follow these steps:
In the document, click “Share” in the upper right hand corner of the document
Type a different email address that you would like to use to own this document (probably a personal Gmail account) in the “Invite people” field. Click send.
Log into your other email account (the one you just added).
Go to File → Make a Copy
Rename it, “Firstname Lastname Resume 2023”.
To the old version, add “Old” to the Name or leave the year as 2022 to indicate it’s no longer your most updated resume.
Add as an editor:
Make sure you change your sharing settings so it’s editable by anyone with the link (this allows all career coaches to have access to your resume, if need be). Go to Share → Get Link → make it shareable with anyone who has the link.
The title of your resume should be, “Firstname Lastname Resume 2023”
HEADER
Change your email address from your Eastside one to whatever email you use the most (maybe your new college email address).
Check to make sure your address on the resume is still your home mailing address.
Confirm that your phone number is your current phone number.
EDUCATION
Insert your college ABOVE Eastside in the exact same format (see example below).
In your Eastside section, delete “degree expected May 2022” and → “High School Diploma, May 2022” instead
For your Eastside education dates, change “Present” to “May 2022”
Double check your GPA - is it most recent? Remember, if your GPA is below a 3.4 probably take it off.
If you have a separate section for Foothill College, delete it and add in one bullet under your Eastside experience that says, “Foothill College (Dual Enrolled Student):” and then list the courses
If you have an awards section, make sure that it is updated
Example of what it should look like:
California State University, East Bay Hayward, CA
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, Minor in Marketing, expected May 2025 August 2022 - Present
Eastside College Preparatory School East Palo Alto, CA
High School Diploma, May 2022 August 2018 - May 2022
Foothill College (Dual Enrolled Student): Introduction to Psychology, Composition & Reading, Composition, Critical Reading & Thinking Through Literature
EXPERIENCE
Add in your summer employer following the same format as the other experience sections. Insert a few bullets summarizing your work.
Review your Experience section. For any of them that you are no longer participating in, update the dates (e.g. “Present” should now have the end month and year)
For any that you are no longer participating in, review your bullets to make sure that all of your verbs are in PAST tense.
EASTSIDE ELECTIVE COURSEWORK
Unless the coursework is relevant for your future major, you can delete it. (Ex: If you want to be an engineer and you took the engineering class, keep it on your resume. If you want to go into graphic design and you have multiple years of art, keep it there.) But if those classes aren’t relevant, delete.
VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
If you have a volunteer section, review your entries. Feel free to delete any sections that aren’t meaningful or add new skills to get your resume to one page.
FORMAT
We want to get your resume to one page - if you can do that, great. Otherwise, talk to a career coach and they can advise you on what to delete/condense.
Check all of your locations and dates on the right hand side. They should be right justified (line up on the far right margin). You can insert a right tab stop to align it easily by doing the following in Google Docs. If you prefer video instructions, click this link to watch.
Go to the top ruler and click on it
Three options will pop up. Choose “Add Right Tab-Stop”
Drag the triangle to align with the upside down triangle on the ruler so that it aligns with the right hand margin.
For each line, place your cursor to the left of the dates or location, click it and hit the tab key. The text should slide automatically to align to the right.
Find an example in the attachment.
1. Email address: Make sure your email address is the one that you check most regularly
2. Phone number: Make sure that your phone number is up to date
3. Mailing Address: Make sure that your mailing address is up to date
Which address to use?
If you are looking for jobs near your home, then include your home address. For example:
Betty Cooper
coopb@riverdale.edu 555-555-5555
125 Main St. East Palo Alto, CA 94303
If you are looking for jobs near your home, but go to school out of state, or if you are looking for jobs near your out of state school, then you can use your school address or include both. For example:
College: If you are still in college, it should be at the top.
What about Eastside? If you are a 1st or 2nd year, you can still have Eastside, but that should go beneath the entry for your college. Delete the Eastside section around your 2nd year of college. As you get more recent and relevant experiences you’ll need more space on your resume and your high school experiences will feel outdated.
Graduation date: Make sure your expected college graduation date is updated.
College GPA: Double-check your college GPA: is it updated? Reminder, if your GPA is below a 3.0 do not include on your resume
Dates: These can be expressed in numbers (8/2015) or words (August 2015). Just make sure to be consistent in your choice throughout the resume.
Example of Education section for a 4th year:
Example of Education section for a 1st year:
This step is optional, but if you worked on relevant class projects that an employer would care about, include them in this section.
Read job descriptions of roles that you are interested in applying to.
Identify any skills or tasks that they are seeking in candidates that you don’t have in work experience, but do have experience from classes.
Create a projects section and label it in a way to catch the reviewers attention (e.g. Lab Experience, Technical Projects, Marketing Projects, etc.)
Draft impact statements (see Step 6) that include as many buzzwords from the job description as possible.
Example 1:
Research Experience
Conducted a change blindness research study; conducted one-on-one interviews, created, distributed and analyzed survey results, coded data, interpreted results, and wrote a 10 page final paper
Researched 12+ primary sources and wrote a 25-page paper on the effectiveness of programs to reduce juvenile recidivism
Example 2:
RELEVANT ENGINEERING PROJECT EXPERIENCE
Design of Optimal Drying Processes 1/2018-6/2018
Course: Mechanical Engineering Senior Capstone Design
Project Engineer
Collaborated with a team of five to investigate potential solutions to optimize the dehydration of food products for a manufacturing company, Olam SVI
Researched and developed a preliminary MATLAB model design and simulation for the optimization of a dehydration system based on principles of heat and mass transfer
Redesign of a Contaminant Bowl Used in Fuel Filter Applications 11/2017-12/2017
Course: Computer Aided Design
Collaborated with a team of six to conceptualize new designs for a contaminant bowl used in fuel filter applications
Developed a 3D model of the new design using Pro/ENGINEERING software and tested the principal stresses on the model using Mechanica
Successfully managed to improve the failure due to bulging experienced by 90 percent
Organize your Experience section(s) in a way that best highlights your achievements and best tells your story. Talk to your Eastside Career Coach for help.
Some Experience section labels to choose from are:
Work Experience
Volunteer Experience
Leadership Experience (include if you hold a leadership role in a club(s))
Extracurricular Experience
Experience (this is a generic catch all header that many students use)
Create targeted resumes. You can be creative and label the sections in a way that would target and stand out to a recruiter.
Examples:
If applying for a teaching internship, label a section “Teaching and Tutoring Experience” and place all experiences related to kids there and then have another section called “Other Experience” and place any other experiences there.
If applying for an art-related internship create and label a section “Art Experience” and place any experiences such as summer programs, classes, volunteering or work experience related to art in that section.
Order your entries within in section so that the most recent experience is at the top.
Create impact statements for your bullets.
Read a typical job description of the types of jobs you are interested in applying to.
Identify the skills (verbs) that they are looking for in that job.
Reflect on your experiences and think about when you’ve used those skills in the past.
Write impact statements highlighting tasks and projects using this structure:
Power Verb (tied to skills they are looking for) + What you did = Results
Example:
Analyzed class of 25 students’ performance, identified problem areas, and customized lessons to focus on each student’s gaps, improving all students’ grades to A’s and B’s by end of year
Start each impact statement with a power verb. Click here for a list of power verbs.
The middle should include as many buzzwords and keywords that they list in their job descriptions.
Show results and your impact!
Add in numbers whenever you can to quantify scope.
Show results. Reflect on what the organization was able to do better, faster, cheaper, and differently based on your help.
Order your bullets with the most important ones at the top.
Foreign languages
Label your language abilities appropriately. If you list yourself as fluent, be prepared for your interview to be conducted in that language.
Choose from this list to label your language abilities.
Technical skills
Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, computer programming languages (Java, C++, Python, R), social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat), etc.
Label your skills appropriately.
Hobbies
Any hobbies or interesting tidbits that would be great conversation starters in an interview.
For example:
Hiked for 30 days in the Alaskan wilderness with NOLS
Enjoy creating and sketching superhero characters
Passionate about English Premier League Soccer
Self taught jazz pianist
Other things relevant to the job
Anything that shows interest in the organization that you are applying to. For example:
If applying to a gaming company include, “Avid role-playing and strategy gamer”
If applying to an environmental organization include, “Passionate about environmental issues, particularly in water conservation”
To choose what bullets to include in this section on your resume, follow these steps:
Read job descriptions of jobs that you want to apply to.
Identify what technical knowledge they require.
Identify any other types of skills, foreign languages that they are looking for.
Think about the industry they are in and the services they provide.
Identify what you could include about yourself to highlight numbers 2-4.
Example of an Additional Information section:
Additional Information
Fluent in Spanish
Proficient in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Google Drive and Adobe Creative Cloud; familiar with Excel
Passionate about digital photography and filmmaking
Hiked in the Alaskan tundra for 30 days with National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in summer 2015
Dates can be numbers (08/2015) or words (August 2015), but just make sure to be consistent in your choice throughout the resume.
Margins are between .5 and 1; most common margins for our alums are .7.
Font are between 10-12pt and in a professional font (e.g. Times New Roman, Arial, Cambria, Calibri).
Do not include a picture on your resume.
How to Right-Justify (Add Tab-Stops) to Your Entries
AKA how to save yourself hours of time when formatting!
In order to align dates or locations to the right-hand margin, follow these steps:
Go to the top ruler and click on it.
Three options will pop up. Choose, “Add right tab-stop.” This should create a little triangle that points to the left.
Drag the new triangle to align with the upside down triangle on the ruler where the right-hand margin is. They should now be in the same spot.
For each line, place your cursor to the left of the dates or location and then hit the ‘tab’ key. The text should slide automatically to align to the right.
You can do this for each of your entries as you type them out OR you can do it for the entire document
To do the latter, highlight the entire resume and add a right tab-stop. Now, every time you hit ‘tab’ throughout the document, the text will then move.
Note that when you change your margins, you need to then change your right tab-stops.
Formatting Rubric
Bullets are no longer than 2 lines. There are no paragraphs/long narratives
Each bullet starts with a capital letter
Bullets do NOT end in periods (your bullets are not complete sentences so they should not end with a period
Header names of companies, organizations, classes should be bold
YES:Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula
Titles of roles should be capitalized and italicized
YES:Cashier
NO:cashier
Label the title of the role, not description
YES:Cashier
NO:Rang people at register
All bullet points are exactly the same font, size, and alignment
All text in same font and font size (other than the name) in 10-12pt font. There should be no unusual fonts, colors, unusual symbols, photos, or other visual “clutter.”
Entries within each section are listed in reverse chronological order by completion date. The most recently COMPLETED (end date) items are at the top within each header.
Content Rubric
Leading verbs should be in the tense that correspond with whether or not you are still involved with that organization or company. (Present = present tense. No longer involved = past tense)
YES: Communicate(d)
NO: Communicating
No personal pronouns (I, my, me, myself)
Every bulleted task or accomplishment begins with an action verb.
YES: Presented
NO: Gave Presentations
NO: Responsible for giving presentations
NO: I presented
Verbs are varied and highlight a variety of skills.
YES: Analyzed, Collaborated, Created, Motivated, Developed, Organized
NO: Helped, Helped, Helped, Worked, Worked
Bulleted statements show what you did, NOT what you learned.
YES: Presented recommendations to 5 staff members and gained approval to move forward
NO: Developed communication and persuasion skills by presenting to staff members
NO: Learned how to communicate and persuade
Bulleted statements highlight transferable skills.
YES: Organized napkins, silverware, and salt and pepper on each table to make them tidy
NO: Cleaned tables, swept floors, washed dishes
Bulleted statements include sufficient detail.
YES: Tutored 5th grade students in math, reviewing long division, exponents, and prime numbers
NO: Tutored students
Bulleted statements use numbers to quantify scope and detail to make accomplishments clear.
YES: Collaborated with 5 students to plant 25 trees over 3 days
NO: Collaborated with students to plant trees
Bulleted statements quantify results when possible.
YES: Re-organized shelves in supply closet to fit 20% more cans
YES: Re-organized shelves in supply closet to make it easier to find appropriate cans
NO: Re-organized shelves
Edit your resume to fit on one page.
Proofread! Then have a friend proofread it. Typos are an automatic, “no” from the organization.
Save your document as Your First Name Your Last Name Resume The Current Year
Example: Jughead Jones Resume 2018
Share your resume with your Career Coach in a Google Doc for feedback.
When you send your resume, download as a PDF to send:
In case they do not have access to Google Docs or the same version of Word as you.
So that they cannot see comments, edits and revision history on your resume!
An event where people talk to each other with the intent of meeting new people and learning
Where might this take place?
Company information session on campus
Networking event sponsored by companies or organizations usually in evenings
Conference (often they have networking sessions in between speakers)
After a speaker on campus
People standing and mingling about the room
Knowing a few people or no one
Might have structured component (speaker, panel)
Might have food and/or drinks
Might have tables to set down your food/drinks on
What to learn
Who will be there
Agenda/structure
Attire (when in doubt, wear business casual)
Review small talk tips.
Set goals. What do you hope to get out of the event?
For example:
Meet and get contact information of 2 people.
Learn about the industry, company, career paths, etc.
Practice talking to 3 new people.
If this is your first networking event, maybe your goal is to just observe. That’s fine if it will help make you comfortable for the future.
Bring your resume if it‘s a recruiting event like a career fair or company information session.
Eat something if it’s going to be a long event and you aren’t sure there will be food.
Show up early! The best opportunity to connect is helping set up or being first when no one else is there yet.
Keep your phone in your pocket/purse. It is tempting to pull out your phone if you don’t know anyone or you are nervous. No one will approach you, however, if you are on your phone. Also, turn your ringer off.
Check the agenda to determine if you are supposed to be seated first, get food/drinks, or mingle, etc.
Find people to talk to!
Scan the room.
Do you know anyone?
Is there anyone who you know you want to talk to?
Is anyone standing by themselves?
Find the food/drinks. if you don’t know anyone and are nervous going up to talk to someone, get in line for food/drinks. Most likely there will be another solo person there and it’s an easy way to strike up a conversation
Admit if you are nervous. It’s a great opener to just say, “I am really nervous at events like these.” It makes them feel relaxed and want to help you.
Find the organizer. Introduce yourself and thank them. They are also a good person to help you find people to talk to at the event.
How to enter a group
Make eye contact with someone in the group.
Wait for a natural pause and ask, “May I join you?”
In the conversation
The event or topics in the event
What did you think of the panel/speaker?
Why did you decide to attend this event?
Their work
What is your role?
What projects are you working on?
How did you get interested in this?
Balance talking/listening, especially if you are in a group.
Act like a host. If you see someone who wants to join your group, invite them in. If you know someone, introduce them to the person you are talking to.
How to leave a conversation
It is totally fine to leave a conversation at a networking event. You are not expected to talk to only one person the entire time. Especially if you feel like you are not engaged in a group conversation.
Wait for a natural pause— when a conversation feels like it comes to the end or a natural stopping point.
Say, “It was really nice talking to you.”
Ask for their contact info if you connected with them.
Shake their hand and say, “Thank you.”
Do not invent an excuse. There is no need to say, “I need to use the restroom” or “I want to get a drink,” especially if you are not going to do those things.
After you leave a conversation
Snap a picture of the front of their business card if you got one. This is the only time to pull out your phone.
Write a note of what you talked about in the conversation so that you can keep everything straight.
Food and drinks
Eat beforehand so you aren’t focused on food.
Alcohol- If you are under 21, obviously, do not drink. If you are over 21, do not have more than one or two drinks. There is a fine lining of “loosening up to talk to people” and being remembered as “that guy.”
Do not overflow your plate because you might drop or spill your food.
Pro tip on holding plate, drink, napkin (LINK)
After the event
Invite them to connect on LinkedIn.
Send thank you email or LinkedIn message to remind them of what you talked about.
Complete these within 24 hours.
Example:
Dear John,
It was very nice talking to you tonight at the UC Santa Cruz Hewlett Packard information session. I appreciate how candid you were about the upsides and challenges within the marketing department. It definitely increased my interest in your summer internship program so I’ve already started the application. I hope that you have a wonderful weekend in Tahoe with your friends.
Thank you,
Sam
Some text here. The quick brown fox ect, ect,ect.
Link here
Link here
Link here
Link here
Link here
Link here
Link here
Some text
Link here
Almost all employers will require a resume when you apply for a job. On average, recruiters spend 8 seconds on each resume.
What? Why only 8 seconds?
They are very busy, sifting through 100s of applicants for each open position, and they probably have many open positions that they are trying to fill.
They have very specific qualities that they are looking for in candidates.
Why do they require a resume?
Concise and quick way to review your background
Summary of relevant experience that indicates if you can do the job
Signals if you want to work in their industry/role
Can keyword search in a database to narrow matches quickly
Where do their eyes go and how do they read it in 8 seconds?
Your name, then scan the left hand side
School, expected graduation date, and names of where you worked
First one or two words in your bullets hoping that the verbs match the skills they are looking for
Additional information section for skills, abilities, interests or interesting tidbits
Most of you created a strong resume while at Eastside. You should use this as a base and add new information to it.
Search Your Google Drive- Your resume should be a Google Doc, titled Your First Name Your Last Name Resume (e.g. Betty Cooper Resume).
Check with Eastside- If you cannot find it in your Google Drive (and know that you created one while at Eastside), reach out to your Career Coach. They might still have access to it.
Starting from scratch- If you attended Eastside before 2010 or if neither of you can find it and need to start from scratch, start with this resume template (link to college resume template).
1. Email address: Make sure your email address is the one that you check most regularly
2. Phone number: Make sure that your phone number is up to date
3. Mailing Address: Make sure that your mailing address is up to date
Which address to use?
If you are looking for jobs near your home, then include your home address. For example:
Betty Cooper
coopb@riverdale.edu 555-555-5555
125 Main St. East Palo Alto, CA 94303
If you are looking for jobs near your home, but go to school out of state, or if you are looking for jobs near your out of state school, then you can use your school address or include both. For example:
College: If you are still in college, it should be at the top.
What about Eastside? If you are a 1st or 2nd year, you can still have Eastside, but that should go beneath the entry for your college. Delete the Eastside section around your 2nd year of college. As you get more recent and relevant experiences you’ll need more space on your resume and your high school experiences will feel outdated.
Graduation date: Make sure your expected college graduation date is updated.
College GPA: Double-check your college GPA: is it updated? Reminder, if your GPA is below a 3.0 do not include on your resume
Dates: These can be expressed in numbers (8/2015) or words (August 2015). Just make sure to be consistent in your choice throughout the resume.
Example of Education section for a 4th year:
Example of Education section for a 1st year:
This step is optional, but if you worked on relevant class projects that an employer would care about, include them in this section.
Read job descriptions of roles that you are interested in applying to.
Identify any skills or tasks that they are seeking in candidates that you don’t have in work experience, but do have experience from classes.
Create a projects section and label it in a way to catch the reviewers attention (e.g. Lab Experience, Technical Projects, Marketing Projects, etc.)
Draft impact statements (see Step 6) that include as many buzzwords from the job description as possible.
Example 1:
Research Experience
Conducted a change blindness research study; conducted one-on-one interviews, created, distributed and analyzed survey results, coded data, interpreted results, and wrote a 10 page final paper
Researched 12+ primary sources and wrote a 25-page paper on the effectiveness of programs to reduce juvenile recidivism
Example 2:
RELEVANT ENGINEERING PROJECT EXPERIENCE
Design of Optimal Drying Processes 1/2018-6/2018
Course: Mechanical Engineering Senior Capstone Design
Project Engineer
Collaborated with a team of five to investigate potential solutions to optimize the dehydration of food products for a manufacturing company, Olam SVI
Researched and developed a preliminary MATLAB model design and simulation for the optimization of a dehydration system based on principles of heat and mass transfer
Redesign of a Contaminant Bowl Used in Fuel Filter Applications 11/2017-12/2017
Course: Computer Aided Design
Collaborated with a team of six to conceptualize new designs for a contaminant bowl used in fuel filter applications
Developed a 3D model of the new design using Pro/ENGINEERING software and tested the principal stresses on the model using Mechanica
Successfully managed to improve the failure due to bulging experienced by 90 percent
Organize your Experience section(s) in a way that best highlights your achievements and best tells your story. Talk to your Eastside Career Coach for help.
Some Experience section labels to choose from are:
Work Experience
Volunteer Experience
Leadership Experience (include if you hold a leadership role in a club(s))
Extracurricular Experience
Experience (this is a generic catch all header that many students use)
Create targeted resumes. You can be creative and label the sections in a way that would target and stand out to a recruiter.
Examples:
If applying for a teaching internship, label a section “Teaching and Tutoring Experience” and place all experiences related to kids there and then have another section called “Other Experience” and place any other experiences there.
If applying for an art-related internship create and label a section “Art Experience” and place any experiences such as summer programs, classes, volunteering or work experience related to art in that section.
Order your entries within in section so that the most recent experience is at the top.
Create impact statements for your bullets.
Read a typical job description of the types of jobs you are interested in applying to.
Identify the skills (verbs) that they are looking for in that job.
Reflect on your experiences and think about when you’ve used those skills in the past.
Write impact statements highlighting tasks and projects using this structure:
Power Verb (tied to skills they are looking for) + What you did = Results
Example:
Analyzed class of 25 students’ performance, identified problem areas, and customized lessons to focus on each student’s gaps, improving all students’ grades to A’s and B’s by end of year
Start each impact statement with a power verb. Click here for a list of power verbs.
The middle should include as many buzzwords and keywords that they list in their job descriptions.
Show results and your impact!
Add in numbers whenever you can to quantify scope.
Show results. Reflect on what the organization was able to do better, faster, cheaper, and differently based on your help.
Order your bullets with the most important ones at the top.
Foreign languages
Label your language abilities appropriately. If you list yourself as fluent, be prepared for your interview to be conducted in that language.
Choose from this list to label your language abilities.
Technical skills
Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, computer programming languages (Java, C++, Python, R), social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat), etc.
Label your skills appropriately.
Hobbies
Any hobbies or interesting tidbits that would be great conversation starters in an interview.
For example:
Hiked for 30 days in the Alaskan wilderness with NOLS
Enjoy creating and sketching superhero characters
Passionate about English Premier League Soccer
Self taught jazz pianist
Other things relevant to the job
Anything that shows interest in the organization that you are applying to. For example:
If applying to a gaming company include, “Avid role-playing and strategy gamer”
If applying to an environmental organization include, “Passionate about environmental issues, particularly in water conservation”
To choose what bullets to include in this section on your resume, follow these steps:
Read job descriptions of jobs that you want to apply to.
Identify what technical knowledge they require.
Identify any other types of skills, foreign languages that they are looking for.
Think about the industry they are in and the services they provide.
Identify what you could include about yourself to highlight numbers 2-4.
Example of an Additional Information section:
Additional Information
Fluent in Spanish
Proficient in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Google Drive and Adobe Creative Cloud; familiar with Excel
Passionate about digital photography and filmmaking
Hiked in the Alaskan tundra for 30 days with National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in summer 2015
Dates can be numbers (08/2015) or words (August 2015), but just make sure to be consistent in your choice throughout the resume.
Margins are between .5 and 1; most common margins for our alums are .7.
Font are between 10-12pt and in a professional font (e.g. Times New Roman, Arial, Cambria, Calibri).
Do not include a picture on your resume.
How to Right-Justify (Add Tab-Stops) to Your Entries
AKA how to save yourself hours of time when formatting!
In order to align dates or locations to the right-hand margin, follow these steps:
Go to the top ruler and click on it.
Three options will pop up. Choose, “Add right tab-stop.” This should create a little triangle that points to the left.
Drag the new triangle to align with the upside down triangle on the ruler where the right-hand margin is. They should now be in the same spot.
For each line, place your cursor to the left of the dates or location and then hit the ‘tab’ key. The text should slide automatically to align to the right.
You can do this for each of your entries as you type them out OR you can do it for the entire document
To do the latter, highlight the entire resume and add a right tab-stop. Now, every time you hit ‘tab’ throughout the document, the text will then move.
Note that when you change your margins, you need to then change your right tab-stops.
Formatting Rubric
Bullets are no longer than 2 lines. There are no paragraphs/long narratives
Each bullet starts with a capital letter
Bullets do NOT end in periods (your bullets are not complete sentences so they should not end with a period
Header names of companies, organizations, classes should be bold
YES:Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula
Titles of roles should be capitalized and italicized
YES:Cashier
NO:cashier
Label the title of the role, not description
YES:Cashier
NO:Rang people at register
All bullet points are exactly the same font, size, and alignment
All text in same font and font size (other than the name) in 10-12pt font. There should be no unusual fonts, colors, unusual symbols, photos, or other visual “clutter.”
Entries within each section are listed in reverse chronological order by completion date. The most recently COMPLETED (end date) items are at the top within each header.
Content Rubric
Leading verbs should be in the tense that correspond with whether or not you are still involved with that organization or company. (Present = present tense. No longer involved = past tense)
YES: Communicate(d)
NO: Communicating
No personal pronouns (I, my, me, myself)
Every bulleted task or accomplishment begins with an action verb.
YES: Presented
NO: Gave Presentations
NO: Responsible for giving presentations
NO: I presented
Verbs are varied and highlight a variety of skills.
YES: Analyzed, Collaborated, Created, Motivated, Developed, Organized
NO: Helped, Helped, Helped, Worked, Worked
Bulleted statements show what you did, NOT what you learned.
YES: Presented recommendations to 5 staff members and gained approval to move forward
NO: Developed communication and persuasion skills by presenting to staff members
NO: Learned how to communicate and persuade
Bulleted statements highlight transferable skills.
YES: Organized napkins, silverware, and salt and pepper on each table to make them tidy
NO: Cleaned tables, swept floors, washed dishes
Bulleted statements include sufficient detail.
YES: Tutored 5th grade students in math, reviewing long division, exponents, and prime numbers
NO: Tutored students
Bulleted statements use numbers to quantify scope and detail to make accomplishments clear.
YES: Collaborated with 5 students to plant 25 trees over 3 days
NO: Collaborated with students to plant trees
Bulleted statements quantify results when possible.
YES: Re-organized shelves in supply closet to fit 20% more cans
YES: Re-organized shelves in supply closet to make it easier to find appropriate cans
NO: Re-organized shelves
Edit your resume to fit on one page.
Proofread! Then have a friend proofread it. Typos are an automatic, “no” from the organization.
Save your document as Your First Name Your Last Name Resume The Current Year
Example: Jughead Jones Resume 2018
Share your resume with your Career Coach in a Google Doc for feedback.
When you send your resume, download as a PDF to send:
In case they do not have access to Google Docs or the same version of Word as you.
So that they cannot see comments, edits and revision history on your resume!
Get started with the Eastside template. Although there are slight variations for formatting or templates out there, the content should all be similar.
Formatting Tips
Margins: between .5 and 1 inch.
Font: 11 or 12pt and a professional font, such as Times New Roman, Arial, Cambria, or Calibri.
In this template, we use a formal business letter structure with your contact information, the date and their contact information at the top. It looks like this:
Your First and Last Name
Your Street Address Your City, State, Zip
Your Phone Number
Your Email Address
Today’s Date
Their Name (if you have it)
Their Role (if you have it) Company Name Company Street Address of P.O. Box Company City, State, Zip
Dear Ms. or Mr. Their Last name (if you have it) or Dear Hiring Manager (if you do not):
Note: You can either stack your address or if you want to save space you can write your address in one line across the top like this:
Jane Villanueva
580 Doral St. Miami, FL 33130 (555) 555-3303 ♦ JaneV@myschool.edu
Tips
Your email address: Include the email address that you check most regularly to ensure you don’t miss an email that they send to you.
Name of company contact: Read the job description and job posting to find a name of the contact at the organization. Can’t find a contact name?
If it says in the job description that the role would report to a certain title and you can find the name of that person on the company website, address your cover letter to that person
If you cannot find an actual person’s name at the organization, you can address your letter to, “Dear Hiring Manager,”
Company address: Research to find the organization’s headquarters’ mailing address.
State what position you are applying for and how you heard about it.
Use the exact name of the role as it’s written in the job description
If it is a large organization, include the Requisition number
Example:
“I am very interested in applying to the Undergraduate Field Sales Operations Intern position (#9187394).”
Bonus Points:if you are a strong writer you can be creative and hook them into reading your letter.
My passion for rescuing animals began at age seven when I rescued an abandoned kitten and cared for it all by myself. That passion grew into a career interest as I volunteered in a local animal shelter. That’s why I’m thrilled to apply to the summer internship position at the SPCA.
Additional Tip: Do NOT include the wrong company name or wrong job title. This easily can happen if you cut and paste from other cover letters.
Why the Role
The role or function is what you will be doing on a day to day basis, including the tasks and projects that you will perform.
To develop your sentences on why you are interested in the role:
Read the job description.
Reflect on what sounds interesting and exciting about the role to you.
Which tasks or skills in the job description do you like to use?
Have you done any of the tasks in past experiences?
Did you ever talk to someone that you led you to be interested in this type of role?
Write 1-3 sentences giving specific reasons why you are interested in the role.
Why the Industry/Sector
When we talk about for-profit companies, we use the term industry to describe the types of products they make or services they provide (e.g. the tech industry or auto industry). For non-profit organizations we use the term sector to describe the services they provide (e.g. education sector or environmental sector).
To develop your sentences on why you are interested in their industry/sector:
Read about the industry that they are in.
Reflect on what sounds interesting and exciting about the industry to you.
Have you ever studied or read about that topic?
Have you worked in the industry in the past?
Do you do any hobbies related to the industry?
If not, why do you care about it?
Write 1-3 sentences on why you are interested in the industry
If you are applying to many of same type of roles, then the line on why the role and/or why the industry can stay the same for each new cover letter. The unique new sentence will be the why the company lines.
Why the Organization
To develop the sentences describing why you are interested in their organization:
Research the organization.
Reflect on what is unique about the organization and exciting and interesting to you about the organization.
What is unique about their organization: their mission, products/services, culture?
What do you like about the impact they make?
Do you connect with their target audience?
Have you ever used their product or services?
Do you know anyone who works there who speaks highly about them?
Write 1-3 reasons on why the organization.
In the second paragraph, you are going to summarize why you have the skills they are looking for in the open role.
To develop these sentences:
Look at the job description to see what the skills and experiences they are looking for are
Choose 3-4 skills and/or experiences from the list that you definitely have. You should not list off 8 skills that you have that they are looking for.
Put those skills into 3-4 bullets or a paragraph and give a summary statement demonstrating why you have that skill.
Bullet points:
Makes it easy to read
Allows you to cut and paste for multiple job postings
However, you can also write it in a paragraph.
Example:
I bring a unique set of skills developed through my summer internships, coursework and personal experiences.
Communication Skills: As an Admissions Intern at Year Up last summer my comfort with communicating with others grew tremendously. My responsibilities involved interviewing 1-4 applicants one on one and speaking to 20-30 applicants each day on the phone
Computer Skills: In my first internship I regularly updated Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint slides. Last summer, I became proficient in Salesforce while I entered data each day, ran reports, and identified duplicate entries during my internship.
Social Media Experience: Last semester I took a marketing class which introduced me to best practices in social media. In addition, I am active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Pinterest on a daily basis.
You will have a final 1-2 sentences to conclude the paragraph.
Do not write in the company name so that you will not have to change it in future cover letters or worry about leaving it in when you copy and paste for future cover letters.
Restate that you are interested and that you hope to be in contact with them.
Salutation: You can use any of the following:
Sincerely,
Thank you,
Warm regards,
Your name
You should write your full name
You do not need to worry about handwriting a signature
Example:
Sincerely,
Michael Cordero, Jr.
Make sure it fits on one page
Proofread! If there is a typo on your cover letter, you will automatically be thrown out of consideration
Then have a friend proofread it.
Make sure you have the correct company name throughout the letter. This is a common mistake when students are cut and pasting in different letters.
Save your document as Your First Name Your Last Name Cover Letter Their Organization Name Year (Ex: Darci Factor Cover Letter Tesla 2018)
Share your Cover Letter with your Career Coach in a Google Doc for feedback.
When you send the letter to the company, download and attach it as a PDF in case they do not have access to Google Docs or the same version of Word as you.
A: 1. Because friends and family (usually) want to help. Sometimes they “try to be helpful” by sharing ANY job that they hear of, which oftentimes is not aligned with what the alum wants. If you tell them what you want, you (usually) decrease the number of jobs they share with you that aren’t aligned.
2. Many Eastside alumni have been surprised when a family member takes the description of what they are interested in, shares it with their clients and suddenly sources an informational interview or real interview. It’s happened plenty of times.
Course requirements shared by every undergraduate student. Though requirements vary by college, they are typically divided into certain academic categories (e.g. social sciences, arts and humanities, physical sciences). The purpose of GE requirements are to encourage students towards a more balanced, liberal arts education.
Sometimes, certain colleges within universities require in addition to the GE (i.e. for a school of engineering or a school of cinematic arts).
A major is a specialization at a college or university. See Thinking about Majors for more information on thinking about and deciding on majors. Major requirements are the necessary classes in order to acheive a specific degree. You can find a list of major requirements through your college's registrar or department website.
A minor is like a mini-major in that it offers students the opportunity to specialize in a certain subject, but with fewer requirements. Concentrations are options within a major, which offer students the opportunity to further specialize in a subject through a thematic lens, usually with no extra requirements. Some colleges have alternate names for their minors, be sure to refer to your college's website to verify.
courses usually designated for first and second years, but available to take at whatever time. These tend to be larger, introductory or survey courses with a focus on introducing broad subjects in an effective manner. Often, these course numbers begin with 00 or are in the 100-range.
courses typically designated for upper-level students, but available to take if other skills or course requirements are met. These classes are usually smaller and offer a more in-depth approach to a subject or specialization. Upper-division courses tend to focus on more discussion and research.
time when you can choose classes; may depend on number of units completed or other status (e.g. EOP or athlete). Often, this information will be available on your portal as registration nears.
the unit measuring educational credit, usually based on the number of classroom and lab hours per week plus homework throughout the term. Sometimes, schools have a policy of making all classes an equivalent number of units, like 1.00.
Courses necessary to have completed in order to enroll in a particular class. A class can have more than one pre-requisite, which usually reflect a certain ability or skill needed in order to master the given class. Pre-requisites to be completed prior to enrollment in a designated class.
an additional class needed in order to enroll in the given class. Unlike pre-requisite courses, which need to be completed before enrolling in the designated class, co-requisites need to be completed alongside the class in the same term.
"free" courses that count towards the units needed in order to graduate, but not necessarily for the GE or major requirements.
varies by insitution, but usually a combination of the GE, school requirements (if applicable), major requirements, and a general unit count equivalent to four years of coursework.
course requirements shared by every undergraduate student. Though requirements vary by college, they are typically divided into certain academic categories (e.g. social sciences, arts and humanities, physical sciences). The purpose of GE requirements are to encourage students towards a more balanced, liberal arts education.
Sometimes, certain colleges within universities require in addition to the GE (i.e. for a school of engineering or a school of cinematic arts).
a major is a specialization at a college or university. See Thinking about Majors for more information on thinking about and deciding on majors. Major requirements are the necessary classes in order to acheive a specific degree. You can find a list of major requirements through your college's registrar or department website.
a minor is like a mini-major in that it offers students the opportunity to specialize in a certain subject, but with fewer requirements. Concentrations are options within a major, which offer students the opportunity to further specialize in a subject through a thematic lens, usually with no extra requirements. Some colleges have alternate names for their minors, be sure to refer to your college's website to verify.
courses usually designated for first and second years, but available to take at whatever time. These tend to be larger, introductory or survey courses with a focus on introducing broad subjects in an effective manner. Often, these course numbers begin with 00 or are in the 100-range.
courses typically designated for upper-level students, but available to take if other skills or course requirements are met. These classes are usually smaller and offer a more in-depth approach to a subject or specialization. Upper-division courses tend to focus on more discussion and research.
time when you can choose classes; may depend on number of units completed or other status (for example, athletes and EOP students often benefit from priority enrollment). Often, this information will be available on your portal as registration nears.
the unit measuring educational credit, usually based on the number of classroom and lab hours per week plus homework throughout the term. Sometimes, schools have a policy of making all classes an equivalent number of units, like 1.00.
courses necessary to have completed in order to enroll in a particular class. A class can have more than one pre-requisite, which usually reflect a certain ability or skill needed in order to master the given class. Pre-requisites to be completed prior to enrollment in a designated class.
an additional class needed in order to enroll in the given class. Unlike pre-requisite courses, which need to be completed before enrolling in the designated class, co-requisites need to be completed alongside the class in the same term.
"free" courses that count towards the units needed in order to graduate, but not necessarily for the GE or major requirements.
varies by insitution, but usually a combination of the GE, school requirements (if applicable), major requirements, and a general unit count equivalent to four years of coursework.
Colleges design their general education requirements and major programs to be generally about four years, but simply choosing a major and enrolling in classes doesn't guarantee that you will have everything you need. In order to guarantee that the classes you are enrolled in meet the requirements necessary for all of these programs, you must first understand the key terms associated with university requirements and how to read the course catalog. You can find that by navigating to "The Course Catalog & Key Terms" above.
Of course, colleges anticipate that all of these requirements together can be tricky to master. In fact, most schools have already supplied you with your own roadmap towards graduation, based on your major(s). These plans are called Degree Audits or progress reports. You can usually find these through your student portal or college advisor. We've included a useful tutorial on our "Degree Audits" page.
As mentioned, you need a specific combination of courses and credits to make sure you're on track to graduate with the degree of your choice. But, there's a high likelihood that you aren't the only student with that particular plan in mind. Majors can be impacted and certain, crucial classes are known to fill up quickly. If you don't have priority enrollment, you have to make sure you're prepared with a roadmap that ensures you're still on track. You can learn all about creating your own roadmap, as well as tips for how to choose classes, on our "Roadmaps" page.
Finally, and most importantly, choosing classes in college empowers you to be in control of your learning. You have access to an incredible wealth of information and experts on topics ranging from astrophysics to dance theory, and more. Sometimes, you just want to learn a new skill like Korean language or coding, which can be useful for internships. Other times, you just want to explore something you've always been curious about, like the history of fashion or US-Russian relations. Nearly all the time, these types of classes fulfill your GE requirements anyways. But, what if you fall in love with one of these new topics? What if you're all of a sudden questioning the very program you based your entire schedule on?
Though it's perfectly normal to go into college with a clear idea for what you want to study, it's just as normal to realize that you have a new passion you've never had the opportunity to know about yet! Changing majors is not just normal, it should be viewed as a sign that you're moving in a positive direction towards a more meaningful college experience. As long as you have a clear understanding of your requirements, and you're equipped with a well-structured roadmap, explorative classes will be built-in to your experience. Students change their major all the time, and at various points in their college journies. Most of the time, it has little impact on their overall graduation timeline. To learn more about choosing an education path, navigate to "Thinking about Majors" using the link above.
Go over your roadmap and degree audit to see if you might benefit from taking some of your required courses this summer. Taking courses can help you graduate earlier, save money, and free up some time on your calendar for a research fellowship, study abroad, or an internship during the academic year.
Often, colleges allow students to retake courses for a higher grade. Most of the time, these courses must be taken at your college, but you should always confirm with your advisor as policies vary by institution.
We all have that one requirement we’ve been dreading. It might be less stressful for you to take that class during the summer, where you’ll benefit from a lighter courseload and more time to focus on this specific class. Not only will you perform better in this specific class, you will also be freed up to do better for future terms. Wow, thanks, Summer Me!
Now’s your chance to explore if you’ve ever been curious about a particular topic, time period, or subject matter. Who knows, you might even fall in love with a new major!
Internships aren’t the only thing that can look good on a resume. After all, the value of internships come from learning new skills. Talk to your career coach about the kinds of professional skills you’d like to develop over the summer. Classes might include topics like computer programming, statistics, accounting, graphic design, and learning new languages. Not sure what kind of skills you should develop for the jobs you’re interested in? You can also discuss with your career coach!
Not all skills have to align with a professional goal! Schools offer courses that teach students a variety of useful and interesting skills, like learning new instruments, sound mixing, painting, sound mixing, robotics, creative writing, and more. There’s always value in learning something new!
Subsidized loans are the cheaper option because the U.S. Dept of Education will pay the interest on the loan while you're in college while unsubsidized loans accrue interest over time. Subsidized loans are need-based, so you will need to check your school's financial aid package to verify your loan offers.
Both subsidized and unsubsidized loans are granted by the federal government and both will offer favorable interest rates for you in addition to a six-month grace period after graduation to begin payments. Remember, federal student loans are very common and they exist to help you pay for college. Don't stress out too much if you need to take them out. You can always talk to your college coach about what long-term payment will look like.
Federal work-study is a need-based form of financial aid that basically grants you the opportunity to work part-time while you're in school to help pay for your college expenses. These jobs can range from on-campus in the dining hall or library, to off-campus working at a local museum or tutoring students. If you're offered federal work-study as a part of your financial aid award, we recommend you accept so you're eligible for jobs that are reserved for this program. Federal work-study is not a job offer, and accepting does not obligate you to work for the school, nor does it guarantee you will make the amount of money you are offered.
The amount offered to you as federal work-study is a rough estimate of what you might earn. You will need to look for and apply for jobs on your own, which can be competetive depending upon which school you attend. The amount of money also depends on the wage rate and the number of hours you are offered, which also vary. Because it varies so much and is not a guaranteed amount, we do not factor work-study amounts into your student budget.
Enter 000-00-0000 for your parent's social security number. Though they won't be able to create an FSA ID to sign your FAFSA electronically, you can print the signature page and have them sign that to mail to the indicated address.
No, but you do need to contact your school's financial aid office immediately in order to start an appeals process for your aid package. Schools understand that financial situations can change dramatically, and most are willing to work with students in order to create a revised financial aid package that accurately reflects your family's latest financial circumstance.
Sometimes, schools automate their appeals process through the school's website or your student portal. Google "[your school] financial aid appeal" to see if you find the right appeals result. If not, contact your school directly. In any case, you will need to have ready a brief summary outlining any changes to your family's income and/or expenses, along with any documents that can verify these changes (medical bills, furlough notices, letter of termination from job, unemployment check stub, bank statements, etc.).
Be responsive! Still respond to any and all emails/voicemails within 24 hours. There is a tendency to slack off a bit once you get an offer and that will ruin your good reputation.
Complete any final steps
Not all companies will require all of the following, but we've had alumni lose their internship because they failed to:
Sign the offer letter! Some companies will allow you to accept the offer verbally or in email and others will require you to return a signed document or click into an online system.
Complete drug tests (if required). If you have concerns over your drug test, reach out to your Eastside Career Coach.
Get fingerprinted (if required)
Complete paperwork by their deadlines. If you cannot complete any of their requests by the deadline, let the organization know ASAP and offer up a plan of when you can complete them. Ask your Eastside Career Coach for advice on how to handle this.
Dress code and your wardrobe
Ask about their dress code and be specific. Are jeans okay? Sneakers? The term "business casual" or "smart casual" can mean different things to different organizations, especially in the Bay Area.
Followtheleadoftheotheremployees, but err on the side of caution by dressing up slightly more, especially for the first few days.
Checkyourcloset. Do you have enough clothes to last one week? We recommend:
2-3 nice pants, skirts
5 nice tops
Check out our guide to "business casual" LINK
Logistics
Confirm the start date, start time, location, and who you will meet. Sometimes your start time and location are different on your first day vs. a normal day. Reach out to your contact to confirm.
Commute
Modeoftransportation - How will you get to work every day? Drive, walk, bike, public transportation, carpool?
Backupplan - If you are relying on someone else to carpool, what is your backup if they don't show up?
Mapit/testit - Google Maps has a feature where you can map out your route by day/time and by car/public transportation to see how long it will take. Practice it before your first day, especially if there are multiple transfers or you are unfamiliar with the route.
Conflicts or Concerns
Vacation - it is not expected that an intern or a new hire would take time off. BEFORE you start, talk to your family. Do you/they anticipate any weddings, graduation parties, or vacations?
Startlate/endearly - Do you have any concerns that you would need to end the internship early or delay your start date?
Ask your Eastside Career Coach for advice and then communicate this to your contact as soon as you realize it. They do not have to accomodate you; do not expect it
What to bring on your first day
Notebook and pens - get a new notebook to use throughout the summer.
Laptop - Most of the time, they will provide a laptop, but not always. And if they do, sometimes it's not ready for you on your first day. Clarify if you should bring it.
Lunch (unless they tell you not to) - Don't assume that you'll have time to leave the office to buy lunch.
Paperwork - Bring signed forms if they asked you to fill them out before your first day.
Passport or something from both List B and List C - You'll need this for your paperwork on the first day, unless they asked you to come in prior to starting.
Bankrouting# andaccountnumber - This allows your to enroll in direct deposit; you might be given an option to do this remotely before you start.
Your Notebook
Set up your notebook for success by labeling sections so you can easily go back and add to it. Although you can choose to organize however you'd like, our section recommendations are:
Questions for manager. Write on the first few pages of your notebook all of your questions for your manager. Our recommendations are here. LINK to Questions
People you meet. Starting on the last page of your notebook and working to the middle, take notes on everyone you meet, including their name, title, descriptions so you can remember them, and any other tidbits like has 2 high schools sons or big Warriors fan.
Reflections. Mark a page in the middle of your notebook for reflections. you can draw a line down the middle and label one column likes and the other column dislikes for you to take notes during the summer. Write down any advice, lessons, or ideas as well.
Goal Setting
Reflect on what you want to get out of the experience. Write the answers in your Onboarding Worksheet.
What are your goals?
What do you want to learn?
What skills do you want to develop?
What bullets do you want to add to your resume?
Who do you want to add to your network?
Setting realistic expectations on your first day
Lower your expectations. Companies are busy and sometimes deprioritize internship preparation. Don't be surprised if on your first day, you do not have:
A place to sit.
A computer.
Projects sketched out.
Time to see your boss. Your boss might be really busy or out of the office on vacation.
If you experience a more welcoming, prepared environment, consider yourself lucky!
First impressions matter. How you show up the first few days will be how they will see you for the rest of your time there.
Arrive early! Try to arrive 10-15 minutes early. As you know, traffic in the Bay Area is very unpredicatable, so leave home earlier as well.
Dress nicely. Wear your best outfit on your first (few) day(s). it sets the tone that you are taking this seriously.
Don't forget that strong handshakes, smiles, and eye contact are useful beyond the interview stage. Do this with eveyr new person you meet. Every alum could make their handshakes firmer by 25%.
Take notes! Take notes on everything they tell you, even if it sounds basic.
It makes them trust you more. It gives them the confidence in your ability to follow through correctly.
It will be easier for you later as all of the instructions start to blend together and information starts to pile up.
Ask questions. There are so many things that new hires and interns figure out over their first two months through trial and error...but you don’t have to. You can save time, do things right the first time by asking questions.
Write out the following questions in your notebook or print out the onboarding worksheets.
Tactical/logistical questions
When and how long for lunch/breaks? If needed, where can you buy lunch on-site or nearby? Do people usually eat at their desks or go to a central location?
Where are the restrooms?
Who should you go to if you have technical questions (e.g. printer, computer, or phone)?
Do you need to set up a phone/voicemail?
Are there other interns on board this summer? How can you connect with them?
How should you report unexpected absences (e.g. sickness) or late arrivals?
Communication questions
ASK THESE QUESTIONS. So many alumni regret not just asking these questions at the beginning of the summer.
Will you have one-on-one meetings with your manager? How often? What should you prepare for those meetings? If you don’t, request them!
How does your manager like to communicate if you have a question between the formal meetings (e.g. email, chat, text, Slack, drop in to office, wait until you have a formal meeting)?
If you have a question for someone else on the team, how should you reach out to them?
Who are the people on the team? What are their roles? Who should you build relationships with in and out of our team? Where can you find an organization chart
Who else should you go to if you have questions?
Are there calendars, chat rooms or listserves that you should be on?
If you are sending emails to other people (either externally or internally), ask your boss if you should send a draft to them first before sending it out, CC them on the emails, or summarize afterwards? Many managers want to see a draft or at least be CC’d in the beginning because they:
Don’t know your quality of work in the beginning and want to make sure that you are representing them/the organization in a professional/appropriate manager. It’s not anything you did, they just don’t know you yet.
Want to be kept in the loop in case anyone asks them questions.
Want to know if they can mark an item off their own list as completed.
Expectations/projects
What does success look like for you for the summer? At the end of the summer, if your manager were to say you were excellent, what would that look like?
What are your projects? What would success look like for your projects? What metrics will be used to evaluate success on the project?
Are there any key deadlines that you should know about? Ask how long a project should take.
Re-confirm deadlines of projects.
How often should you check in and get approval? How would your manager like to updated on regarding projects and how often?
Are there things that you should do if you have downtime between projects?
Is there a formal performance evaluation process during and/or at the end of the internship?
Staying organized
Create a tracker to track your projects/tasks so that you can share it with your boss (without them asking for it).
Relationship Building
It can be intimidating in large meetings to join conversations, so start small and build relationships one-on-one first. Ask teammates individually to coffee/lunch.
Communication with your manager
Over communicate, especially at the beginning. Tell your boss everything that you are working on/completed. This will establish good habits for you and show your boss that you are proactive. You will learn what the appropriate amount of communication is as time goes on.
If you have any concerns/problems or anticipate anything coming up, bring it up sooner than later with your manager.
Not enough work?
Some alumni don’t have enough to work on.
Ask your manager for more projects.
Ask other people on the team if there are things that you can help them with.
If they can’t articulate projects, ask them what’s frustrating in their jobs/at work/with their projects. Sometimes people can’t “come up with projects” but they certainly can complain. Listen to what they complain about and offer to help them with those things.
Ask people what you could do to learn more, what should you read, and what you could do to improve your skills.
Look around. Are there things that you see that could be improved? Do you have any ideas? Share them with your manager.
If none of these help, talk to your Eastside Career Coach about it. Leaving work early without approval or playing around on your phone are not acceptable options.
Not feeling challenged?
Sometimes, projects or tasks can feel very basic, but this might be because they don’t know your skills and abilities yet! That can be frustrating and you might be tempted to just stretch those projects out over the summer. Don’t do that!
Instead, use the opportunity to get those projects done as quickly and as perfectly as possible, communicating in a professional way with your manager. By showing your manager you can work quickly and without errors, you reveal that you can be given more responsibility and better projects.
You have to build your manager’s trust. Seize every opportunity to do that!
If you are still struggling, talk to your Eastside Career Coach about it.
Thank everyone you worked with.
Write thank you cards, emails, or tell them in-person one-on-one. Bonus points if you can be specific and tell them what you learned from them.
Add your colleagues on LinkedIn.
Stay in touch with people you connected with. Note that you want to stay in touch with and make sure you have their contact information. Learn how to build relationships here.
Using job boards is probably the most common way people look for jobs. It’s convenient and easy. As we have stressed before and will again, using job boards is only one way to search for jobs; you should be using multiple methods for the most success.
Step 1: Save searches on job boards
LinkedIn: Organizations must pay to post on LinkedIn. It has the best tools to network and has highly curated job postings. Some organizations ONLY post on LinkedIn and some don’t want to pay, so they won’t post there. This is why we recommend you look at multiple job boards.
Indeed: Has the most job postings. It pulls job postings that are not behind a firewall into one convenient job board and also organizations can post job openings on their site for free. If an organization posts a job on their own company website, it will show up on Indeed.
Industry specific: Some industries have their own job boards that organizations and job seekers use more than the general job boards like indeed and LinkedIn.
Dice- Best site for tech and engineering jobs
Edjoin- Best site for jobs in education
Idealist- Best site for any mission oriented openings for jobs, internships, or fellowships
Teamworkonline- Best site for jobs in sports
Use both LinkedIn and Indeed.com to see most postings
Search using your criteria. Play around with different searches until you find one(s) that yield the best matches.
Location
Keywords
Role/Function: Graphic Designer, Marketing, Research Analyst, Internship
Tools, Program, or Skills: Photoshop, Spanish, Python
Filters
Job Type: Internship, Full-time, Part-time, Temporary
Experience Level: Entry, Mid, or Senior Level
Company Name
Tips
Job descriptions themselves may give you other good keywords to use in your search, as you may find related or commonly used industry terms.
Filter by date posted; the older a job posting, the more likely the job will have been filled.
Save the search in both job boards. They will email you when there is a new posting that matches your criteria.
Step 2: Apply when you see a posting that is interesting. Some might ask for a cover letter, resume and/or LinkedIn profile (links)
Step 3: Find someone who works there. Remember the ways that organizations like to hire? You can increase your chances of getting an interview by reaching out to someone at the organization.
It may sound crazy, but alumni have had success in doing it and receiving job offers!
How to find a connection
Type the organization’s name into LinkedIn’s search bar.
Do you have any 1st connections?
If yes, great! Go to Step 4.
If no, go to #3.
Do you have any 2nd connections? If yes, is your mutual connection someone you know well enough to reach out?
If yes, great! Go to Step 4.
If no, go to #4.
Type in the name of your college in the university field and see if there are any alumni at the organization.
If yes, great! Go to step 4.
If no, go to #5.
Search by the department that you are interested in (either by typing it in as a keyword, or just glancing through the list of employees).
Continue to hone in on who you might reach out to by seeing if you have anything in common with them. Maybe they share the same:
Major
Sorority/fraternity
Hometown
Cultural identity
School
Step 4: Reach out to that person.
How to reach out
Within LinkedIn:
If you’re in the same group, you can message them for free. (link to networking)
Ask them to connect and write a short message.
Sign up for a 30 day free trial in LinkedIn and email anyone for free.
Find their email. (link to networking)
What to say
Keep it short.
Focus on them first. Say something specific about what you like about them and/or their organization.
Mention what you applied to.
Ask:
For a 20 minute conversation.
For advice on how to best set yourself up for success.
Example 1:
Dear Joyce,
I have been using the Strava app for the last three years and absolutely love it. It has been incredibly helpful to me while training for two triathlons and one half marathon.
I just applied to the Strava Human Resources internship, and was wondering if I could talk to you about your experience at the company. Thank you!
Best,
Eleven
Example 2:
Dear Jim,
As someone who is very passionate about social justice and immigration reform, I greatly admire your organization, the Immigrant Defense Project. I started my application to the Development Associate role at your organization and was wondering if you had any advice on how I can make my application stand out. I would be very grateful to either talk to you on the phone for 10 minutes or correspond by email.
Thank you in advance,
Will Byers
Step 5: Track it
Put it in your tracker. You can use this Google Sheet (link to document) or some people like to use Trello, a project management app.
Set a reminder 4 business days from now to reach out to the person again if they don’t respond.
Step 6: Talk to them
Get them talking about their work, their problems, projects.
Listen to their pain points so you can position yourself to help them with those problems.
At the end of the conversation, ask if there is anyone on the team you applied to who would be good to talk to.
Step 7: Send thank you email within 24 hours.
Step 8: Repeat the process.
Each week, you want to touch on every phase of the job process:
Apply to 2-3 jobs (or whatever you decide with your Eastside Career Coach).
Find people and reach out to them.
Schedule and/or talk with above people.
85% of people find jobs through referrals.
So, let everyone possible know what you are looking for. Although this is most people's’ least favorite way of finding a job, it is usually the most effective. Referrals make up about 40% of all new hires!
Step 1. Talk to people you already know.
Think of all of the people in your network:
Current/prior teachers and professors
Current/prior bosses and co-workers
Friends and classmates
Family members
Mentors
Let them know what you are looking for via:
Email, phone, or the best, in-person!
Ask if they know anyone who does similar type of work or works at organizations that you’re interested in. Are they willing to connect you?
Step 2. Get out and meet people at:
Conferences for your industry/functional area.
If you volunteer for the event, you can sometimes get in for free/reduced entry fee.
Some have scholarships.
On-campus networking events and company information sessions.
Meetups in your area. You can find them through social media, Meetup.com, mailing lists, etc.
School alumni events. Follow your school’s alumni association and attend their events
Volunteering events with organizations and topics that relate to your interests.
Step 3. Find people at organizations you are interested in (even if they don’t have jobs posted).
Create a target list of dream organizations that you’d like to work at.
Put them in the tracker. link
Find someone similar to this process. link
Reach out and talk to people.
Build the relationship so that:
They create a position for you, or
When they do post, they think of you first.
Example of an email to send someone who you spoke with before and now they have a job posting:
Dear Dr. Brenner,
How are you? I wanted to update you a couple of things:
Since our last conversation in December, I started taking Organic Chemistry. While it is extremely difficult, I’m enjoying the content.
I applied to the Research internship in your lab and was wondering if you had any advice on how I can set myself up for success in the recruiting process.
Thank you,
Lucas Sinclair
Your college tuition is paying for an entire staff of people and resources to help you get a job and internships. Take advantage of it!
Your School’s Job Board
What it is: Job postings specifically for students at your school.
Two kinds of postings
On-campus recruiting (OCR)- When companies come to campus and interview all day to hire. Career centers often facilitate the recruiting process, making logistics easier for you, the student. It also helps companies build brand awareness and create a talent pipeline.
Regular postings- When companies post jobs and/or internships and will interview over the phone. Usually these are on a rolling basis, so apply early. If companies find the right candidate, they’ll hire (even if it’s before the deadline)!
How to find these postings
Go to your school’s career center website.
Look for the section for students (not employers or grad students).
Look for the link to jobs and internship; many schools use a service called, “Handshake.”
Career Advising
What it is: Access to one-on-one coaching sessions with a career counselor at your college/university.
Although Eastside provides career support, we believe you should use your school’s career advising in conjunction with ours!
Company presentations or events
What they are: When companies come on campus to talk about their organizations with groups of students. Sometimes they run workshops like how to write a resume or prepare for interviews and other times it will be just be a presentation about the roles that they are hiring for.
Check out the career center calendar or your job board, like Handshake. Usually these happen in the beginning of the year or the start of each term.
Even if they aren’t interviewing, you should go!
Companies keep track of who shows up and applies; it helps companies know who’s truly interested in them.
What they are: A job fair with many companies who are looking to hire.
What to expect
A large room with different tables and company representatives from human resources (and sometimes from roles they are hiring for) at each table.
TONS of students. At some career fairs, students wait in line for an hour to talk to one company.
Emphasis on opportunities for juniors and seniors (usually), but it’s great for freshmen and sophomores to go and test it out and begin building relationships.
Events at the start of each term and school year. You can find the dates and information on your school’s career center website.
Advice- Check out events happening off campus as well. National conferences are a great place for recruiting and networking. These can be focused on a career path and/or affinity group.
Examples: Grace Hopper (women in tech), Tapia (Latinx in tech), or People of Color Conference (education equity)
How to prepare
Research the companies that will be attending, which will be listed on the career fair’s website.
Prioritize the top 5-10 that you are most interested in.
Research and write down what those top choices do and what interests you about them.
Check for job postings at companies that will be at the job fair (This can help you prioritize the companies you want to talk to at the fair).
Apply to any you are interested in. This speeds up the process, so you can tell the contact that you already applied and ask what else you can do to make your application stand out.
Alternatively, block time on your calendar to apply after the fair and then follow up with the recruiter after you’ve applied.
Prepare talking points and questions for your top choices.
Set goals on what do you hope to get out of it. Do you want to learn? Make contacts for next year? Practice networking? Source interviews?
Prepare with your Eastside Career Coach.
Day of career fair
What to wear
Comfortable shoes! You will be walking/standing a lot.
Business professional/business casual attire. (link)
What to bring
Padfolio, folder, or notebook
Pen
Copies of your resume
An “elevator pitch” or talking points when a recruiter asks you about yourself or what you’re looking for
Written out notes to remind you what each of your top companies does
How to approach a table:
Smile!
Strong handshake, look them in the eye, introduce yourself
Engage them and build rapport. Remember that they’re normal people too!
How’s your day going? You’d be surprised at how many students DON’T ask recruiters about themselves.
Have you visited our campus/this city before? If they’re new to the area, give them local recommendations for places to eat!
Is this your first time at this conference?
I’m really excited that your company is here! I love X,Y, and Z about it.
Transition to asking them what they are hiring for.
Be ready to talk about how your background is relevant.
Ask other questions as they come up.
Ask for an interview.
Mention that you are very interested in their organization and would love to pursue employment opportunities.
Ask if they are doing interviews while visiting and if it would be possible to interview.
If not, ask for advice to put your best foot forward in the process.
Closing
Ask for their card, email address, or name to connect on LinkedIn.
Thank them.
Shake their hand.
After
Take a picture of their card in case you lose it.
Within 24 hours, send a thank you email and connect on LinkedIn.
What it is: The Eastside Career Pathways Program is a three-part career exploration program starting in high school and continuing through and beyond college.
High school programs
The Eastside Career Coaches teach workshops starting in sophomore year to introduce high school students to career concepts such as resumes, networking, and interviewing and provide a foundation of the career design process they’ll receive once they’re alumni.
Alumni career coaching support
Since 2014, each graduating Eastside senior has been assigned a Career Coach to provide one-on-one personalized career advising using the career design process.
Coaching covers topics such as:
Career exploration and Career Design process- space to reflect on experiences, brainstorm careers, advice on new careers to consider, coaching through choosing careers
Professional development- advice on how to develop skills for on the job such as communication, relationship building, managing up, time management, etc.
Career development- advice on types of roles to pursue, skills to develop, etc.
Job search- customized, strategic advice, structure, accountability and best practices
Networking- customized advice and best practices
Job offer decisions- frameworks, space and coaching to make difficult decisions
Offer negotiation- frameworks, step-by-step advice on how to approach negotiations to maintain relationships
On the job- advice on topics such as how to handle difficult situations with co-workers, how to ask for more challenging projects,
Other career related challenging situations- anything from how does graduating early impact my job search to what do I do if I messed up a relationship with a mentor
Resumes- revisions and advice on how to tailor to different roles
Cover letter- revisions and advice on how to tailor to different opportunities
Interview preparation- mock interviews, advice on how to best tell your stories, feedback on delivery and content
We would love to have a coaching session with you. You can set up an appointment with your Eastside Career Coach here.
If you do not know who your Eastside Career Coach is or were never assigned one, please contact Eun-Mee.
Eastside Internship Program
Each year, organizations partner with Eastside to access college students for their internship needs. Recruitment usually starts over winter break.
How to participate
You must be in regular contact with your Eastside Career Coach.
What it is: Within Career Pathways is a program for Eastside alumni interested in internships.
Eastside provides resumes of students to organizations based on the organizations’ needs and the students’ interests. The organization chooses who, if any, they would like to interview and drives the communication and recruiting process.
Any opportunity we inform you about is PAID, unless clearly stated that otherwise (e.g. scholarship or unpaid).
What it is not: a guarantee that you will get an internship or that you will get exactly what you’re looking for.
You should search for positions using other channels as well.
The needs of organizations change every year, so not all internships that were previously available will be available the following year.
Expectations
In order to participate in the Eastside Internship program, you must follow these rules:
Meet with your Eastside Career Coach over winter break to discuss your internship interests.
Update your resume before the recruiting season starts and edit resume and write cover letters in the time frame required (when necessary).
Respond within 24 hours to text/emails from your Eastside Career Coach. Even if you can’t address or answer the question completely, we need you to acknowledge that you’ve received the message.
Complete required tasks in a timely manner or proactively communicate any delays.
Set up voicemail on your cell phone in order to receive messages from recruiters.
Be in touch with Career Coach about specifics to prepare for interviews.
Inform your Career Coach about any offers within 24 hours of receiving them.
Reach out to your Career Coach if you have questions at any point.
Provide your College Coach with access to your latest transcript, as some organizations have educational criteria we need to filter for.
Hiring managers expect that you are taking full advantage of the career coaching services and often look for our endorsements of candidates. We want to be your advocate and provide a strong referral. If you have poor follow through, it is difficult to offer a strong referral on your behalf.
What they are: Third party companies who are hired by other companies to find good talent. For example, Google will hire a third party executive recruiter to bring them candidates to interview for open roles at Google. When they hire the candidate, Google will pay the third party executive recruiter a percentage of the hiree’s salary as a finding fee.
Who they are good for:
Full-time hires (not interns)
Technical people/engineers
Contract roles in any function (which companies are increasing)
Sometimes for other types of roles (marketing, sales, etc.)
Advice
Don’t be afraid to respond to a LinkedIn message or take a call if someone reaches out to you. If you are interested in the company and not the role, you can let them know what you are looking for so that they keep you in mind for any future positions.
Red flags
Never pay someone else to get you an interview. The hiring company will pay the recruiter.
Never give personal information like banking information or any part of your SSN.
When in doubt, reach out to your Eastside Career Coach!