Always, always, always be prepared for opportunity

By Maura Gergerich, Toppel Peer Advisor

Now that spring break is over and done, the ever approaching end of the year is only a month away! Isn’t is scary how time flies like that? Hopefully, most of you know what activities you want to fill your summer with, whether its traveling, a job, an internship, or just a well needed break. If you still have no idea, that’s ok too! You still have time to get it together and plan for summer vacation. Now is definitely the time to start cracking down even though you may just want to slide by the rest of the school year. If you really want to find that great opportunity, make sure you have to right tools so you don’t stand in your own way.

Keep your resume updated

 

Just make sure to give that resume a once over every once in a while so that all your new experiences don’t pile up. Make sure you don’t forget anything by just updating as you go. It’s not a tedious task I promise!

Don’t have a resume yet?

We can help you there! A great place to start is with our resume guide. We have copies all around the office, but you can also get it here: http://www.sa.miami.edu/toppel/mainSite/Students/ResumeDevelopmentGuide.aspx

 

You can always come to the office for walk-in advising as well Monday-Thursday, 10am-4:30pm and one of our GA’s or peer advisors will get you on the right track. Once you have one started, make sure you upload it to HireACane.com so that you can apply for internships there. The sooner the better. If you attend one of Toppel’s career fairs its important that you have your resume uploaded ahead of time. They do take 3-5 days to get approved and you don’t want to be panicking when an employer wants your resume in our system.

Go the extra mile

Certain majors need more than your average resume. Majors like architecture, advertising, or art may need to have a portfolio on hand as well to showcase their work. Any sort of theater resume is done a bit differently than a professional one so it’s up to you to talk to your professors if you have any questions or concerns.

Always be prepared when an opportunity comes knocking. You never know, you could receive a random phone call interested in hiring an intern (trust me, I speak from experience). At the same time, don’t rely on this to happen. If you are positive you want some sort of internship make sure you apply to several just in case! But, should jobs suddenly arise in your path make sure you have the right tools to really sell yourself and make the most of it!

UShadow: Talia's Day in the Life of a...

By Talia Weintraub

UShadow has provided me with an enlightening experience in my continuing search for a profession that best suits my interests. I have been considering many possible careers paths, such as that of a nurse practitioner, a speech-language pathologist, and an industrial organizational psychologist. When I learned about the UShadow program offered by the Toppel Career Center as a chance to obtain a deeper understanding of one of these careers, I jumped at the chance. I was assigned to shadow a speech-language pathologist from the University of Miami Hospital. A speech-language pathologist, in short, is a highly-trained professional who evaluates and treats children and adults who have difficulty with speech, language, or swallowing. I really benefited from my UShadow experience and highly recommend the program for any student interested in learning more about a particular profession. Applying to the UShadow Program can help students gain a better grasp of what their career of interest may entail.

            I started my day of shadowing at 8:30am in the Mailman Center at the University of Miami Hospital, where I met the speech pathologist I would be shadowing for the day. We briefly discussed her type of work as we waited for her first patient of the day, expected at 9:00am. The patient was a young boy of about 10 years of age needing an evaluation for potential speech problems. I observed the evaluation and watched the speech-language pathologist at work with the child, flipping through booklets and asking the child to answer questions about and describe what was occurring in a variety of pictures.

            After the child left with his parents, my UShadow host took the time to answer all of my questions about the field of speech-language pathology, such as why she selected this type of work, opportunities for higher earnings in this field, the possibility of running your own business, and what opportunities exist for part-time work. 

I am quite thankful for the UShadow Experience organized by the Toppel Career Center, as the knowledge gained from my one-on-one time conversing with the speech pathologist could not be matched by any article, blog, or video posted online about the field of speech pathology. Shadowing a speech-language pathologist has helped me to realize that I would like a career that involves a bit more physical activity and more potential for higher earnings. A career as either a nurse practitioner or a nurse anesthetist would be a better fit, and I would still have the option of working with patients in a hospital setting. I highly encourage anyone who is curious to learn more about potential career paths to take advantage of this opportunity. Through the program, I have gained a unique, insightful perspective that has helped me figure out my desired lifestyle and professional ambitions.