Can I have your Facebook password?

If, “of course not,” was your answer, how would you tell this to a potential employer that is interviewing you? Yes, in recent news this question is being asked in interviews. How would you respond to this question and is the job worth giving up your personal information?

The article, “What to Do When a Potential Employer Asks for Your Facebook Password,” offers some advice of how to approach this situation. Companies doing this have a reason and that is to “get better insight on who you really are.” Some interviewers will ask you to take them through a tour of your Facebook right on the spot. Would you be willing to do this? You would think this would be banned, and currently it is, but only recently in the state of Maryland.

Since you do have the right to your own privacy and personal life, here are few suggestions of how to respond eloquently and respectively to an interviewer that wants the password to your computer from the above article:

• "I am very careful with my personal, private online persona and do not feel comfortable giving out any passwords. But you can feel free to look at my profile as it appears to you as a company right now, if you would like."
• "I would never participate in social media on the organization’s time and ask that the organization will respect my personal social media rights outside of work."
• "My LinkedIn network is a great place for you to review my professional experience and see the professional connections that I have that may be of benefit to your organization."
• "Is that something that is required to move forward with this job interview?"

As stated before, it is your personal life and your privacy so it is your choice of how you will respond to what I consider one of the toughest interview questions. In the end you really have to think about whether the job is worth it. Like the article asks, “Is it really worth it to you to have a job where you will be watched all the time?”

This is a recent issue and only one state has taken a stand, so with that being said, be prepared… you never know whether your future employers might want the password to your Facebook account.

Sharol Miller

Career Educator

I Love My Major, But...

So you’ve done your research, found your passion and settled on the major that seems like it was calling your name.  That is all great and exciting, but now are you asking yourself, “What can I do with this major?”

Don’t let that get you down.  There are several ways to get on the right track and start preparing for your career.

Research

Look up all the different options you have with your major.  It’s probably a lot more than you think! We have tons of options here at Career Services like, “What Can I Do with a Major In” handouts, assessments you can take and access to research websites like Chronicle Career Library. 

Informational Interviews

Find juniors and seniors in your major and ask them what they are thinking about doing when the graduate.  Don’t stop there, find professors and people in different occupations and ask them questions about what they are doing on a daily basis.  See if these things interest you.

Job Shadowing

Once you have found different occupations, job shadow someone in the industry.  This is one of the best ways to see what you could potentially be doing.  You’ll find that it might be a lot different than you originally expected. 

I have been in this boat before.  Many people go through it.  I did my research, interviewed many people and did job shadowing.  All of these things helped me more than I ever expected and it can help you too!

Ashley Salim
Career Educator

Photo Credit: http://www.brockport.edu

Business Cards?

Many students are uncertain as to why business cards will be beneficial to them when it comes to job hunting and networking. I assume that most college students feel that business cards are meant to be distributed by savvy CEOs and aggressive attorneys, but not by them. This is simply not the case. Business cards are a marvelous way to market yourself to employers and may give you a competitive edge over your competition. For collegiate students, a business card should maintain the concept of professionalism and never be anything too over-the-top or extravagant. It should include, at the very least, details such as degree, majors, minors, and the chosen contact information that you would like to provide. It is also a great idea to create a Linkedin profile and insert a Linkedin profile link on your business cards alongside your basic contact information.

According to 6 Ways Your Business Card Can Still Pack a Big Punch, a fairly new and innovative company known as MOO, creates and sells business cards that are about the size of a stick of gum and have seen amazing growth in the previous years. The company was founded in 2004, and has since seen an annual growth rate of over 100%. Richard Moross, the CEO of MOO, states that even though many of today’s information is communicated via mobile devices, “there is still something important about real-world tokens, though. MOO’s mission is not just to transfer information, but to keep it.”  


Shayla Frinks
Career Educator

What is My Communication Style?

We all have a communication style. Have you ever wondered what yours was? Knowing which style is most like you can enhance both your professional and personal encounters with others. If you have never done any research into what your particular style may be, you hopefully would have discovered it by the end of this article.

There are three typical communication styles:

Passive

Assertive

Aggressive

If you have a passive communication style, you avoid expressing your feelings. You put the rights of others before your own, which minimizes your own self-worth. With this communication style, you are implying that you feel inferior to and less important than others. You typically do not express your needs or true feelings. You are soft spoken and display submissiveness.

If you have an assertive communication style, you have no problem expressing your feelings as long as it is not disrespecting or hurting another person. You generally express your true needs and thoughts with ease while maintaining self-respect and the respect of the other party/parties involved. You display higher self-esteem and imply feelings of equality to whoever you come into contact with.

If you have an aggressive communication style, you typically stand up for your rights while violating the rights of others. You feel as if no one else’s opinion is as important as yours and you believe that you are superior to others.

Remember, your communication style may make or break your relationships with others. If you are not currently communicating the way you would like to, it is not too late to work on a new style!

Keisha Francis
Career Educator

The Hidden Side of Law School

If you ask people what are the “best” careers, two of the answers you will hear the most will be doctor and lawyer, for good reason. Traditionally, doctors and lawyers have been well respected; pillars of the community. Both careers require respected, well known professional degrees. And both are lucrative; the median annual salary is $166,400 for physicians and surgeons and $112,760 for lawyers (according to the BLS). Therefore, it would seem pursuing either career would be a good decision.

The aging of the population, combined with increased access to healthcare, is likely to ensure a strong demand for doctors in the future. But what about lawyers? Contrary to conventional wisdom, the decision to pursue a career as a lawyer may not be as lucrative as many assume. The field has changed, and there are many factors prospective lawyers need to consider.

• HIGH Tuition - Law School is EXPENSIVE. According to U.S. News and World Report, in-state tuition for the University Of Georgia School Of Law is almost $16,000. Out-of-state tuition is worse; for the University Of Florida it is almost $36,000. Private universities? At Emory, tuition is over $43,000 per year. Why is law school tuition so high? Law schools are a major money-maker for the universities that house them. Lawyers are relatively cheap to educate – classes usually aren’t especially small and specialized equipment isn’t needed. The profit made from law schools covers costs over the rest of the university. So when paying law school tuition, you’re paying for not only your education, but someone else’s too.
• Increasing Tuition - Try to rank the following in terms of highest inflation on average (prices increasing the fastest): Health Care, Undergraduate Tuition, Law School Tuition. The answer: 1) Law School Tuition, 2) Undergraduate Tuition, 3) Health Care. That’s right, the price of law school tuition is increasing faster than regular undergraduate tuition and even much-discussed health care costs. Considering the already-high tuition rates, that’s a scary thought for prospective lawyers.
• High Debt Loads - With law school tuition as high as it, most students not related to Mitt Romney are likely to graduate with a lot of student-loan debt. Say you graduate with $100,000 in debt (easily obtainable). If you consolidate that into a single loan with a 6.8% interest rate (standard federal rate) with a 25-year repayment plan, your monthly payment would be $694.07 per month! If you graduate from law school when you’re 25, that would be $694.07 per month, every month, until you’re 50!
• High Underemployment - The high debt loads are fine, if it’s worth it. Plenty of students will graduate and go on to great jobs at big firms and make lots of money. Those students, however, are likely to have top grades and graduate from highly ranked law schools (think Ivy League). Middle and lower rung students aren’t likely to land the big job. They’re more likely to take jobs as low-paying public defenders, or even positions that don’t require a J.D. Nothing wrong with that…unless you have a monthly student loan payment that takes out a significant part of your salary.

The point here is not to bash law school. Many who go to law school will go on to have very successful careers, but some won’t. The more informed you are, the more likely you are to make the best decision for you.

Landon J. Latham

Career Educator

FOCUSing on the Perfect Major for You!

Are You in Love… with Your Major?

Did you come to college excited and eager about your major but have now fallen out of love? If you answered yes to this question… are you now stuck and unaware of what major is the perfect match for you? If so, have you taken the FOCUS Career Assessment?

The FOCUS Career Assessment is a tool you can use to help you with your career exploration. It provides assessments in five areas: work interests, leisure interests, skills, personality and values. After taking these assessments, the program will match you with numerous careers based on the results from the test.

If you are a Georgia Southern University student or alumni, then this assessment is available to you for free! You can find the link at Georgia Southern’s Office of Career Service’s website. After taking the FOCUS, it is highly recommended that you schedule a meeting with one of our Career Advisors. Our advisors at the office can interpret your results so you can fall in love with the major or career that is perfect for you.

Career Educator

Sharol Miller

From PowerPoint to Prezi

Many students grew up learning the tips and tricks to all the Microsoft Office programs including PowerPoint.  I remember learning it as early as 5^th grade and now it’s almost ingrained into me.  I sometimes think I could close my eyes and still have the ability to create a PowerPoint presentation.

Last summer my eyes were opened when I started my new job here at Career Services.  Could it be, there was a new, potentially better presentation tool out there?

It seems like every one has seen the same presentation over and over…and over.  With “Prezi, a free and easy to use presentation tool that enables you to create visually engaging and unique presentations with little technical knowledge, this is no longer the case,”(forbes.com).  It’s easy to create these twisting, turning and eye catching presentations for your class or business presentations. 

Have you tried it yet? If not, I suggest you check it out.  It’s a free tool, there is free training and once you learn it is free fun!

Ashley Salim

Career Educator

http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2011/03/23/stand-out-from-competitors-with-prezi-presentations/