Global Scholars February Community Meeting

               The theme for this month’s community meeting was professional development. 3^rd year Global Scholars Bryana Banashefski, Rob Bronstein, and Emily Elliot-Meisel took charge of the program for the evening and made a presentation on how to present yourself professionally after graduation. Bryana started off the evening with a resume workshop with tips on how to perfect your resume. After a delicious interlude through a Mediterranean-themed dinner from Café Olé, we traded resumes with each other to correct the little mistakes that people often make on resumes. For example, periods! Don’t end one of your bullet points on a resume with a period and then not have a period for your next bullet point. Consistency is key; a clear and consistent resume makes a happy potential employer.

                Next up was Emily, who presented all of the different recruitment resources we have available at AU, such as the Career Center, the Office of Merit Awards, and David Fletcher, the SIS career advisor. Through these resources, we found many options for undergraduate students who may not want to enter the work force immediately, such as research and language fellowships and scholarships like the Fulbright and Truman scholarship. For those who are interested in getting jobs and internships with security clearance, however, Rob discussed the different intel internships available in the public sector, and the process of getting security clearance for these types of jobs. Often, clearance can take up to a year, which means that if you would like to join the CIA, it’s necessary to apply 1-1.5 years in advance. Planning is essential!

                Our final speaker for the evening was Hayley Darden, Search Director at Ashoka Innovators for the Public. Ms. Darden provided us with information on how employers think when recruiting for jobs or internships, and offered tips on how we should plan for our future outside school. With Valentine’s Day coming up soon, Ms. Darden advised us that the dream job is a lot like falling in love: it won’t happen immediately! There will be a couple of jobs that we may have to take for money or experience before we reach our dream job. She offered us some more tips on how to act in the workplace, how to interact with our coworkers as well as our superiors, and ended with a question to all of us: Whether it is money or meaning, what are you looking for in your first job?