Providing career and professional development opportunities and resources to job-bound and graduate/professional school-bound ACES students.

 News

More on Job Shadowing - Have You Applied Yet?

The ACES Job Shadow Program provides students with the opportunity to learn about professional opportunities within their discipline. Students will be introduced to potential career paths and observe a "day-in-the-life" of a professional in the field. The ACES Job Shadow Program is open to all students within the college; however, freshmen and sophomores are especially encouraged to apply.

Job shadowing experiences are provided by employers that regularly hire ACES graduates for intern and full-time positions and ACES alumni choosing to be part of the program. The date of the experience will likely be during winter break. The data will either be listed in the job shadow posting or will be mutually agreed upon by the student and the host. 

Sound interesting? Check out more information here. The deadline for resume submissions is November 15! Students will be notified of their match in early December.

Here are companies offering job shadows. Please view the specific job shadow descriptions and more information on NACElink.

• Accounting and Finance Job Shadows: Monsanto; CNH America; 1st Farm Credit Services; Northwestern Mutual Financial Network; Martin, Hood, Friese & Associates; John Deere
• Business and Sales Management Job Shadows: The Andersons Inc.; Gavilon LLC; Wyffels Hybrids; The Parks Companies; Birkey's Farm Store, Inc.; Adayana Agribusiness Group; John Deere
• Communications & Public Affairs Job Shadows: CNH America LLC; Illinois Soybean Association
• Food Industry Job Shadows: American Blue Ribbon Holdings; Kraft Foods; Roquette America, Inc.; Newly Weds Foods; Diageo
• Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences Job Shadows: USDA

Dining Etiquette - The Rules of Eating

Roughly 80% of second round interviews involve a business meal. Do you know the ins and outs of dining etiquette to impress your future employer? Here are some tips:

• Start eating with the implement that is farthest away from your plate; remember to work from the outside in.
• Dip soup away from you; sip from the side of the spoon.
• Keep hands in your lap unless you are using them to eat.
• Season food only after you have tasted it.
• Pass all items to the right.
• While you are speaking during a meal, utensils should be resting on the plate.
• Don't chew with your mouth open or blow on your food.

Stop by the Career Services Office in the ACES Library to pick up a Career Development and Graduate School Guide, which gives more etiquette tips and much more!

GRE Preparation Starts Now!

The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) General Test is a standardized examination that graduate and professional schools use along with an application to admit students into their graduate programs. Along with the general GRE, there are 8 subject-specific GRE tests.

Test format:

• There are 4 sections to the GRE: A written portion, a quantitative portion, a verbal portion, and an unscored section (used to test new questions). When taking the test, you are not told which section is unscored, so do your best on every section!
• The GRE is a Computer Adaptive Test, which means each question is graded immediately after you answer it. The test then adjusts the difficulty level of the next question dependent on your previous answer. Is it advised to get as many questions right as possible in the beginning of the test to get a high score.

Preparation:

• There are many ways to prepare for the GRE. You can get practice books, visit the ETS website to download free materials, or enroll in a prep course. Beware of some websites that run scams for GRE prep materials.
• Allow yourself at least 3-4 weeks to study for the test and get familiar with the information the test covers.  Taking the test without proper preparation is not the best method to getting a high score.

For more information on the GRE, visit The Career Center or Educational Testing Services (ETS).

Coming Next Week:

Start Planning for Spring Recruitment
Making the Most of Fall & Winter Break
GMAT Prep

Job and Internship Leads

Postings from the Illini NACElink Network:

• Mossy Oak Properties (AgriRec Land Company) is seeking a Land Specialist - Real Estate Sales Associate
• Pacific Alternative Asset Management is seeking a Risk Analyst
• Kansas State University has two Extension positions available
• Syngenta is seeking a Research Associate
• Pioneer Hi-Bred International is seeking an Agronomy Intern
• Land O' Lakes is seeking a Cattle Marketing Intern

*Note: There are over 420 internships on NACElink, nearly 30 of which have been posted in the last 10 days! Also, there are over 830 entry-level full time positions on NACElink, 60 of which have been posted within the last week! 

Postings from simplyhired.com:

• Siemens is seeking a Procurement Intern
• The YMCA in Chicago is seeking a Youth Development Intern

Postings from opportunityknocks.com:

• The ACPI/VOCA is seeking a Food Security Project Assistant

Important Dates

The Art & Science of Job Offer Negotiation
Wednesday, November 4, 1-2:30 pm
407 Illini Union

Job Search Strategies
Wednesday, November 4, 5-6 pm
Education Building, Room 2

Internship Essentials
Wednesday, November 4 at 7 pm
The Career Center Conference Room

Personal Statement Workshop
Tuesday, November 10 at 4 pm
Room 257 Undergraduate Library

Career Paths: Making the Next Step
Thursday, November 12 at 7 pm
The Career Center Conference Room

Job Shadow Submission Deadline
Sunday, November 15 

Exploring Careers in the Federal Government
Monday, November 16 at 5 pm
The Career Center Conference Room

Professional Etiquette #2 - Corporate Culture
Tuesday, November 17 at 7 pm
The Career Center Conference Room

Networking Your Job Search
Wednesday, November 18 at 3 pm
The Career Center Conference Room

Archive of Previous Career Connections