Monthly Archives: March 2012

Alumni Speaker Series continues with exhibits, ESPN, and engineering!

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By Kim Brown, Alumni Programs Coordinator

A former SU football player turned vice president of the company that designed the Melo Center’s Orange Basketball Hall of Fame…

An ESPNU host and play-by-play announcer who got his start at WAER and was a finalist on ESPN’s reality show Dream Job while studying at SU…

And a 2009 alumna who is now a reliability and maintainability engineer for Raytheon, with some great perspective to share!

We are thrilled to welcome three more alumni back to campus as our Alumni Speaker Series wraps up for the semester. Why attend these events? Because our alumni have career connections that can help you; they have advice on what you can expect when you’re coming out of SU and trying to land your first job; and they bleed orange like you wouldn’t believe and are anxious to help students with one of the most important parts of your life – your career!

Brian Tarrant
Wednesday, April 4th, 5:30PM
Tobin Lab, Melo Center
Brian Tarrant ’96 was recruited to SU to play football and studied sociology as a student here. He is now Division Vice President at MC2, a leading event and exhibit marketing company. His company designed the Orange Basketball Hall of Fame at the Melo Center. Brian will share his career path and offer advice/inspiration to students at 5:30 p.m. inside the Melo Center’s Tobin Lab, with a reception to follow in the Hall of Fame area.
**SPACE FOR THIS EVENT IS LIMITED AND STUDENTS MUST SIGN UP IN ORANGELINK. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND AND DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO ORANGELINK, PLEASE EMAIL KIM BROWN AT kmbrow04@syr.edu***

Anish Shroff
Friday, April 20th, 2:30PM
Herg Auditorium, Newhouse 3
Anish graduated from Newhouse with a degree in Broadcast Journalism in 2004 and is now an ESPNU Host and play-by-play announcer for ESPNU Thursday night college football games. Shroff was featured on ESPN’s second season of the reality show Dream Job in 2004 and advanced to the final three contestants. He will share details of his career path with students, as well as offer advice on finding success in the competitive world of sports broadcasting. We look forward to welcoming him back to campus as part of our Alumni Speaker Series in partnership with Alumni Relations and the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month planning committee.

Jennifer Zhao
Monday, April 23rd, 7:00PM
Hall of Languages, Room 107
Jennifer Zhao graduated from LC Smith in 2009 and is now a Reliability and Maintainability Engineer for Raytheon. The students who are part of APA month planning are truly excited to welcome her back to share her career advice at this event. More details coming soon!

Hope to see you at one or more of these great events! Remember what we always tell you in our office: networking is a must. :)

Don’t forget – The Syracuse Downtown Tour is Friday April 13th from 10am-6pm. Visit companies in the Syracuse area and learn more about what it’s like to live in Syracuse as a young professional!  Check out OrangeLink for more information!

DC Immersion Experience – An awesome Spring Break complete with Orange Fever

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By: Kathryn Banzer, Class of 2014

Instead of packing my bags and hopping on a plane to a Caribbean destination this Spring Break, I had the terrific opportunity of exploring the best places and meeting the finest Syracuse alumni in Washington, DC. Courtesy of The Paul Greenberg House in Washington, DC, Alumni Relations, and Syracuse University Career Services, 19 other students and I enjoyed a jam-packed, yet mind-expanding five days in our nation’s capital.

There is everything and more to love about DC. The city is so young and vibrant, yet cultured and well-established. During our trip, we were treated to the best of the best. The weather was warm and sunny and the beautiful cherry blossoms were just about in full-bloom, creating picturesque scenery. We stayed in the grand Omni Shoreham Hotel and feasted on DC’s most delicious cuisine, including Georgetown Cupcakes and Armand’s Pizza. Our itinerary included trips to the Cato Institute, Capitol Hill, and the Peace Corps. We met with prominent alumni at Google, the FBI training facilities, and the National Zoo. Additionally, Young Alumni Dinners provided the chance to speak with recent graduates who are up-and-coming in their careers. For me, meeting the alumni and other professionals was the most beneficial part of the experience. Not only was it an opportunity to network, but also there was a chance to ask questions.

Another aspect to adore about DC is the Syracuse pride. Although it is Hoya territory, the color orange bleeds true. There is not only SU paraphernalia on the desks of our alumni, but also a very delightful smile appears on their faces at the mere mention of the Orange. It is contagious!

I would like to extend a big thanks to everyone who made this experience so incredible, especially Tracy Tillapaugh, Ellen King, Mike Cahill and Ann Donahue Yockey.

The experience was phenomenal. I gained a tremendous amount of insight on the life and culture in Washington, DC as well as ideas for my future career path. After this trip, two things are for certain: I have never been more proud to be an Orange woman and I will be moving to DC as soon as I graduate.

Location, location, location!

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By Shannon Feeney, Employer Relations Coordinator

Not just a realty slogan, but one for your job search too!

Courtesy: ycda.com

Students have varying degrees of preference when it comes to where you plan to live and work after graduation.  Whether it’s going back home, getting as far away from home as possible, or moving where you think the most opportunities are, there are some key things to keep in mind when figuring out where to go next.

1) Cost of living – Your cost of living includes everything from groceries to housing and obviously varies from city to city.  According to the Wall Street Journal, Manhattan and Brooklyn take the top two spots as most expensive places to live.  This plays into salary offers as well.  Living in Syracuse on $40,000 is definitely different than $40,000 in New York City.  Sterling’s Best Places offers a cost of living calculator to compare cities and salaries.

2) Consider all options – There are opportunities in almost every field, everywhere!  In some cases, there may be more opportunities in specific industries.  If you are set on being in television, working at a studio, you’re most likely to find jobs readily available in Los Angeles.   Keeping an open-mind will work to your benefit!  Doing a quick Indeed.com search for ‘entry level marketing’ revealed more than 1,400 opportunities ranging in cities from Metairie, Louisiana to Draper, Utah.  Thought you couldn’t work in the fashion industry because you live in Massachusetts and not New York City?  Think again!

3) Research – Just like you would research a company when you’re applying for a job, research cities too!  If you’d die without access to skiing, make sure the place where you decide to hunker down is close to a mountain.  A great tool like ’CuseConnect can help you connect with alumni in that area or ask questions before you make the commitment to move.  Also check out the city’s Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Bureau, and local newspaper to learn more about what’s happening in the area.

And don’t rule out Syracuse!  Interested in learning more about living and working in Syracuse?  Join us for the Downtown Tour on Friday, April 13!  We’ll tour and meet with staff from O’Brien & Gere, Eric Mower & Associates, and KS&R, enjoy a delicious lunch at Lemon Grass, and talk with staff from the Downtown Committee to learn more about living in ’Cuse!  Interested students can email me (scfeeney@syr.edu) for more information on how to register.

Happy birthday to ‘CuseConnect! Are YOU connected?

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By Kim Brown, Alumni Programs Coordinator

We have a lot to cheer about these days! Our basketball team’s winning, this summer-like weather has the Quad PACKED, and…‘CuseConnect is now seven months old!

What’s ‘CuseConnect? It’s the LinkedIn group that Career Services launched on August 19th, 2011 to connect SU students with SU alumni, as well as alumni with fellow alumni, for career advice and job/internship opportunities. In the past seven months, we’ve grown to nearly 2,700 student and alumni members! Are YOU one of them?

Students do need to attend an orientation here in Career Services before your request to join will be accepted. You can sign up for an orientation in OrangeLink (accessed through MySlice). If the times don’t work for you, just give our office a call at 315-443-3616 to set up an orientation with me (Kim Brown) at a time that’s convenient for you.

Alumni are accepted to the group as soon as we see your requests to join. Joining the group says that you’re willing to be contacted (via LinkedIn messages) by students and fellow alumni as they explore different careers, opportunities at your companies, advice on what it’s like to live and work in certain cities, and more. It’s a phenomenal way to “give back.” I can’t tell you how many students have e-mailed me to say what great connections they’ve made or have stopped by my office with bright eyes to share the story of a great informational interview they had with an SU grad they found in ‘CuseConnect. THANK YOU to our alumni who’ve already come on board!

Courtesy: LinkedIn

The top industries represented in ‘CuseConnect (but our group certainly isn’t limited to these!) are:

  • Marketing and Advertising
  • Information Technology and Services
  • Public Relations and Communications
  • Financial Services
  • Higher Education
  • Law Practice

What you’ll find inside the group is a vibrant discussion board filled with all kinds of career-related topics. Under the “Jobs” tab, click on “Job Discussions” to find (and post!) job and internship opportunities for our ORANGE family.

If you’re on Twitter, we’re also using #HireOrange when we post jobs/internships from SU alumni specifically for SU students and fellow alumni. Be sure to check it out!

Do you have a SUccess story to share as a member of ‘CuseConnect? Have suggestions on how we can make the group more useful? Please let us know by leaving a comment below!

Spring Break Tips

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Stop and smell the flowers AFTER following up on this advice!

By Jeff D’Andria, Graduate Assistant

At Career Services, we understand the importance of resting up during spring break, but here are a few small things you can do to make a gigantic impact on your future. After all, your future doesn’t take breaks.

Your spring break to do’s:

  1. Add one new person to your network. The best tool for researching and contacting persons of interest is LinkedIn. Check out two groups on LinkedIn: ‘Cuse Connect and the Syracuse University Alumni Network. Once you’re accepted to these groups, click on the “members” tab and identify people you’d like to contact for an informational interview. Outside of those two groups, you can utilize the “advanced” search function to find people that went to S.U. and  currently work at the companies you’re interested in. Reach out!
  2. Reconnect with one person in your network. After you make contacts, it’s important to keep in touch. Send an email to catch up by asking what they’ve been up to and be sure to inform them of your latest updates. There’s a big difference between being in touch three times a year vs. once a year. You don’t want to be “that person” asking for a favor after being completely out of touch. Check in!
  3. Apply to one position. If you’re graduating this May and looking for a job or simply need a summer internship, the time to apply is now. For the job search, check out indeed.com and many other job search engines on our website. For you internship seekers, NYJobsource lists companies and organizations to intern with in New York City. Here are a number of other internship sources on our website. And no matter what, remember to customize your resume and cover letter to the positions you’re applying for each time you apply.

After completing these to do’s you’ll have made one new contact, reconnected with another and applied to one dream opportunity. Get these things done and you’ll be way ahead of your competition that snoozed during the break.

We’ll be in the office over Spring Break so stop in if we can help! Drop Ins are Monday – Friday from 1-2:30pm and appointments are still available.

Don’t fall off the interviewer’s radar!

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By Tracy Tillapaugh (and Katie Conrad)

Write a thank you note.  Why, you ask?

  • It gives you a chance to remind the employer that you’re still interested
  • It shows your maturity and professionalism
  • You will stand out from the other applicants-many people don’t write thank you notes!

Don’t be tardy for the party…
Send the note within 24 to 48 hours of the interview via email to ensure that the employer receives it. Mailing a thank you letter is helpful but might not reach the interviewer in time.

Just say it!
Say thank you directly and restate your interest in the position.

Reaffirm the match.
Whether you send your thank you note via email or snail mail, send something specific that reaffirms why you’re a great candidate for the position.

Good luck!  It’s good to know that you’ve done all you can!