Home > Newsletter > Volume 2, Issue 3 (November/December 2003)

Volume 2, Issue 3 (November/December 2003)

Brave Opportunities
Where Today's Braves Look to the Future
Volume 2, Issue 3
November/December 2003

Inside this issue:
“Six Feet Over” Open House a Huge Hit!!
From the Director’s Desk
Career of the Month: Interior Designer
“Six Feet Over” Open House Pictures
In Every Issue: Career Bloopers, Job Search Tips, Ask Zelda, Little Known Facts, & Upcoming Events
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Career Center Info:
Location: University Center, Ste. 210, 521-6270, cs@uncp.edu, www.uncp.edu/cs
Hours: 8:00 a.m.— 5:00 p.m. Appointments may be made for Career Consulting, DISCOVER, Resume Critiques, Mock Interviews, etc.
Staff:
Dr. Denisha Sanders, Director
Lori Bumgarner, M.Ed., Assistant Director
Lisa Chavis, Student Services Assistant

“Six Feet Over” Open House a Huge Hit!!
Over 150 students attended the UC 2nd Floor “Six Feet Over” Halloween Open House sponsored by Career Services, Student Activities, SGA, and the UNCP Bookstore. The event kicked off the Career Center’s Career Development Week events, which were held Monday, November 3rd through Friday, November 7th.
Students showed up in costumes such as the Grim Reaper, a pig, and a few superheroes. They had their palms read and their futures told by Zelda, the career psychic. Even Tommy Hawk, our campus mascot, showed up to have his wing read.
Others bobbed for jobs such as caving instructor, tiger trainer, designer, landscape architect, lighthouse steward, ski resort employee, wildlife biologist, and sports anchor. But not everyone was so lucky. Some ended up bobbing for jobs that no one would want such as artificial inseminator of farm animals, shark baiter, nuclear warhead sensitivity technician, and pound puppy executioner.
There were also some brave souls who took the Interview Fear Factor Challenge and won prizes such as calling cards, free movie rental cards, and Food Lion cards.
The grand prize, a DVD player, was given on the last day of Career Development Week. A drawing for the prize was held for those who attended at least one event each day of the week. Congratulations to the grand prize winner, Kelly Velez, a sophomore psychology major.
The Halloween Open House and Career Development Week were such a success that the Career Services Center has planned to make them annual events.
The Career Center staff would like to thank everyone who helped make this possible, especially the Student Activities staff. We hope to see everyone again next year at the 2nd Annual Halloween Open House so we can find out if Zelda the career psychic was right!
Lori Bumgarner
Pictures: Career Services and Student Activities staff members in costume. Tommy Hawk, our campus mascot, with Lori Bumgarner, Assistant Director of Career Services, as Zelda the Career Psychic. Tommy Hawk in the body outline. RIP: Resumes In Peril.

From the Director’s Desk
Are you wondering what you can actually do with that Art degree? Curious about how to prepare for a career in Social Work? If you have been asking these questions, or questions like them, then you need to visit the Career Center’s website at www.uncp.edu/cs and click on “What Can I Do With a Major In…?” There you will find career-related information for more than 50 majors and areas of study. This resource provides areas of specialty, job titles, and prospective employers for these majors and gives you specific strategies for what you can be doing during college to prepare yourself for the career field of your choice.
In addition to the information you will find on our website, the Career Center houses a career library full of information on a variety of careers. In the career library you will find information on career trends, salaries, how to prepare for certain careers, prospective employers, and professional organizations related to specific careers.
Don’t waste time wondering about careers and how to prepare for them! Visit our website or our career library and have all of your questions answered. If you would like to schedule an appointment to talk about your options, please call us at 521-6270.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Denisha Sanders

Register for CAR 101, Intro to Career Development
Spring 2004
2 credit hours
Tuesdays & Thursdays
11:00 a.m.
Schedule subject to change

Career of the Month: Interior Designer
Interior designers plan the space and furnish the interiors of private homes, public buildings, and commercial establishments, such as offices, hotels, hospitals, stores, restaurants, and theaters, and transportation vehicles, such as trains, subways, and yachts. They may also plan additions and renovations.
With a client's tastes, needs, and budget in mind, interior designers develop designs and prepare working drawings and specifications for interior construction, furnishings, lighting, and finishes in compliance with all building and life safety codes, as well as federal accessibility standards for persons with disabilities and for the elderly. Increasingly, designers use computers to generate layout plans that can be easily changed to include ideas received from a client.
Interior designers coordinate colors and select furniture, floor and wall coverings, and window treatments. They also design lighting and architectural details such as crown molding. Interior designers may specialize in areas such as health care, hospitality, ergonomics, environmental design, or lighting.
Quick Facts:
Interior designers indicate that they like working in a field that allows them to use their artistic and creative talents, seeing the results of their plans, working with all types of people, and earning good salaries once they are established in the field. However, they say the drawbacks of the job include the long period of training, evening, weekend, and holiday work, a lot of competition for employment, dealing with difficult clients, and the pressure of meeting deadlines.
Related Majors: Fine arts and art studies, visual and performing arts, design and applied art.
Salary: The Economic Research Institute reported the following:
Starting Salary: $26,500 ($12.75/hr); Average Salary: $41,000 ($19.75/hr); Salary w/experience: $57,500, ($27.75/hr).
Required Traits/Skills: Problem-solving skills; an ability to communicate ideas both visually and verbally; artistic talent, creativity, and imagination; good business sense and marketing ability; mathematical skills; an ability to understand technical documents applicable to contracts, codes, laws, and drawings; an ability to accept criticism; initiative; long-term planning skills and needs assessments.
For more information, contact:
American Society of Interior Designers
608 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002-6006
http://www.asid.org/
Source: DISCOVER Online. To learn about thousands of other occupations, you can access DISCOVER via our website.

Halloween Open House Pictures
Melanie Clark, Director of Leadership and Community Service, as “scary” Little Red Riding Hood.
Tara Spoonamore, senior social work major, as a pumpkin.
Monique Patton-Phipps, senior social work major, as a prize-winning pig.
Tommy Hawk raiding the Halloween candy.
Lori Bumgarner, Assistant Director of Career Services, as Zelda the Career Psychic.
Abdul Ghaffar, Director of Student Activities, as Laker Man Kareem Abdul-Jabar.
Body outline: “The job search can be murder if you’re not prepared.”
Zelda the Career Psychic with Denisha Sanders, Director of Career Services, as a pirate of the Caribbean.

This Month’s Cool Jobs Listing
Marine Fish Conservation Network Outreach Coordinator. Recruit members, maintain website, produce outreach materials. Washington, DC
Hydrogeologists. Oversee field investigations, collect and analyze samples. Mahwah, NJ
Center Director for the new center at Jones Beach State Park. Albany, NY
Ski Resort Communications Manager. Coordinate PR for the resort, supervise snow reporters, prepare snow reports. Mount Snow Resort, West Dover, VT
Senior Interpreter for Nantucket Historical Association. Implement/evaluate interpretive and educational programs offered at the museums and historic sites, provide tours/lectures. Nantucket, MA
National Programming Internship. Develop documentaries for PBS national broadcast. Boston, MA
Zookeeper II. Care for a large avian collection, develop collections/conservation programs, design exhibits, supervise. West Palm Beach, FL
Director of World Wide Explorers Program. Required experience in working with students. Carol Stream, IL
Website Producer for “Speaking of Faith” weekly program. Maintain the website, coordinate the weekly email newsletter. St. Paul, MN
California Policy Advocate/Lobbyist for a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of endangered species and their habitats. Idyllwild, CA
Editorial Interns for San Francisco Magazine. Part-time. Research, fact-check, report, copy, edit. San Francisco, CA
Assistant Pastry Chef for Lucas Films. Prepare dessert and high volume morning pastries from scratch, plan dessert menu. San Rafael, CA
Registrar/Collections Manager for Mount Vernon. Maintain collections, coordinate exhibits, etc. Mount Vernon, VA
Full job descriptions and application procedures are listed exclusively in the Career Services Center Library.

Brave Ideas

“I can’t believe you did that!” and Other Career Mishaps
A candidate tried to sell grooming products to other candidates while awaiting the interview.

Dear Zelda,
I’m not sure if I want to go to grad school after I graduate or not. I’m thinking about it because I don’t know what I want to do with my Bachelor’s degree and I don’t think I can bear facing a bad job market right now? Would you recommend graduate school? Signed: Confused
Dear Confused,
If that’s what you are, then no, I don’t recommend graduate school right away. Unlike college, graduate school is not the place to try to “find yourself.” You must be very certain of your career decisions and career goals if you plan to go to graduate school for several reasons. First, you will be focusing on one subject in depth, so it better be a subject you have a genuine interest in learning more about. Second, graduate school is too expensive, both financially and emotionally, to not be serious about it. Graduate school is a big commitment and is not a decision to take lightly. I recommend coming into the Career Center to speak to a Career Consultant before making any decisions regarding further schooling. Zelda
Got a career or job search question? Ask Zelda at cs@uncp.edu

Zelda will be spending the holidays Down Under in Australia, but will return in January

This Month’s Job Search Tip:
Application procedures for graduate school vary from institution to institution. You will need to check with each graduate program for required entrance exams and deadlines.

Little Known Facts
There are a variety of ways to pay for graduate school. Check out the CSC library and the following websites for info: www.gradschools.com and www.finaid.com.
CSC Career Unscripted Workshop Guide

Remaining Fall Workshops:
(Wednesdays @ 3:30 pm in the CSC, UC 210)
11/12 Six Months Behind
(Last Minute Job Search)
11/19 Trading Spaces
(From Classroom to Office)
COMING IN SPRING 2004!!
8 Simple Rules for Working a Career Fair
UNCP Career Fair
“Where Are They Now?” Alumni Panel
(Homecoming Week)
Teacher Education Fair
Business Etiquette Dinner
...and much more!!
Check the online master calendar for details.

Career Center Events
CSC Career Unscripted Workshops, Every Wednesday, 3:30 pm, UC Suite 210

Alumni Relations Events
Fever Night Alumni Party, Friday, 11/7, 10 pm - 1 am, UC Lounge (after Saturday Night Fever production)
Senior Brunch, Wednesday, 11/12, 10-11:30 am, UC Lounge
Travel: "The Miracle of Christmas" Amish Country, December 4-6 Norwegian Majesty 7-Day Western Caribbean Cruise, December 13, 2003
(ALL TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES ARE OPEN TO ALUMNI, STUDENTS, AND FRIENDS)
Alumni Holiday Drop-in, Friday, 12/12, 7 pm

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