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Career Resources for Online Students and Working Professionals

The Career Resource Center (CRC) has created and curated a number of resources to help working professionals and online students to reach their individual career goals. Try to make time every week to take action and move another step closer to your goals. Start today. Succeed tomorrow.

Every individual starts in a unique place. Think about where are you in the career development process. What do you require now?

I need to...

1. Build My Personal Brand

Today, it's more important than ever to stand out. Learn how to tell your personal story and communicate your brand to peers, supervisors, potential employers and business contacts. Start with your résumé and LinkedIn profile.

Résumé

A strong résumé is a critical tool for use in pursuing your career goals. To create an effective résumé, start with the CRC résumé template, which is based on industry standards and include a summary.

A summary highlights your professional experiences and skills, and shows how you bring value to an organization. It is a reflection of your personal brand and should be a powerful statement of who you are and what you do. Employers should be able to quickly see whether you are a good fit from your summary alone. (Objective statements have become outdated, and should no longer be used.)

Résumé Template for Working Professionals

Format

If you have at least 3-5 years of full-time work experience, then a Summary, Summary of Skills or Profile section should lead off your résumé. In this section give a brief overview of your relevant experience and showcase your skills or core competencies. Show how you can add value to the company or team. Use clear and concise language. Ideally, a summary should be no more than a few sentences or bullets. It could be formatted in many different ways, including a paragraph, a few phrases, bullet statements, general list or keywords. Or you can also use a combination of formats.

Example

Finance professional with 5 years of proven success in financial planning and project management. Highly skilled at increasing company revenue and productivity through detailed cost analysis. Excels in high-pressure situations and possesses excellent budget forecasting and financial reporting skills.

Writing a Summary

Before you write your summary, start by listing what accomplishments and skills you are most proud of. Next, take a look at the industry you are targeting—what skills and requirements do these employers most frequently ask for? Narrow down your list of skills to include your most impactful selling points, based on what you believe employers are looking for, and showing you are a good fit. Finally, try to incorporate your experience with the keywords you found from employers and job postings (that fit your own skillset) for a strong, impactful statement.

If your summary is too broad (leaving yourself open to multiple industries and positions), this can indicate a lack of career direction or focus. A résumé summary is an intersection of what you want, and what your target industry needs. You want to align your brand with the company brand you are applying to. Another way to write a summary is to think of it as a mini elevator pitch. Again, show how you bring value by stating who you are, what industry or area you work in, and how you performed with tangible results if possible. A summary should not just reiterate exactly what in on your résumé, rather it should be geared towards the employer’s needs as well as your own experiences.

Résumé Guide

Read detailed tips on résumé preparation based on the feedback the Career Resource Center has received from recruiters over the years.

LinkedIn

Create a professional LinkedIn profile by watching Advanced LinkedIn Profile Building by renowned speaker and owner of CareerQuest, Ross Macpherson. Access the recording in BizLink | Resources | Document Library.

Additional Resources

2. Explore Careers and Expand Your Network

Explore Careers

Understand your targets. What type of roles or companies are you focusing on in your search? Explore your options. If you are changing jobs it is important to do research before you jump, especially if you are pivoting in your job function. Networking can be a big part of your research. 

If you are limited by geography, then research that particular job market. Who are the big companies in the area? Who is hiring? What areas are growing? Some excellent research tools can be found here.

Expand Your Network

How to Network

Networking can be an enlightening way to explore your possible next career move as well as open leads to future opportunities.
  • Networking in a Virtual World (video)
    Get advice on how to network virtually and successfully from MBA alumna and former CRC director, Gwen Appelbaum. Access this recorded workshop (and more) in the BizLink – Document Library. 
  • Learn more about the process of networking through these opportunities and resources

Identify Contacts

Learn how to search for alumni in a specific geographic area using LinkedIn. Keep in mind that these contacts are not mentors. They are only alumni. But if you take a thoughtful approach and keep your request to information, you could start to build a relationship with the contact.

Do not overlook your personal network. Make sure you are connected to friends, family, classmates and professional contacts on LinkedIn. Then when you are searching for specific company contacts, use LinkedIn to see your first and second connections.

Once you know the types of roles you plan to target you can apply through different ways, including BizLink, Bullseye/Handshake, company websites, LinkedIn and many job search systems and sites.

4. Interview

Interview Guide

Read an informational guide on performing well in interviews based on the feedback the Career Resource Center has received from recruiters over the years.  

  • Practice interviewing 24 hours/365 days through Big Interview from UB Career Design Center. This online tool is free when you register with your UB email address.
  • Schedule a practice interview with your career advisor (through BizLink) to further prepare.
  • Case Interviews
    Learn about resources to help you prepare for case interviews.
  • Virtual Interviews

Prepare for technical interviews in jobs and internships for product management, software development, data analytics and more.

  • Exponent: Ace your interview by prepping with sample questions, mock interviews, coaching and courses. Much of this website content is free, but some requires a fee.
  • HackerRank is the market-leading technical assessment and interview solution for hiring developers. Learn how to hire technical talent from anywhere.
  • LeetCode is the best platform to help you enhance your skills, expand your knowledge and prepare for technical interviews.

Interview Research and Preparation Tools

Research the company so you better understand their mission, strengths and more. Here's an example of what to research.

  • Market share (size of organization in an industry) and competitors
  • Products and services
  • Potential growth
  • Annual sales growth, long term and short term
  • Organizational structure, management style and leadership
  • Recent developments via news stories

Use these job market and research tools to research companies before the interview.

After the Interview

Send a thank you email within 24 hours of your interview. Send an email to each interviewer.

  • Thank you: Tips and samples of thank you letters to create your own thank you to send after each interview.

5. Negotiate Salary or Manage Offers

Review information on managing job offers and compensation negotiation before you need it. 

You can also meet with your advisor to discuss your options and learn how to successfully navigate the negotiation process. Schedule an appointment through BizLink. 

Salary Resources

Research the typical salaries for the role and industry you are targeting. Have an idea about the salary you want before your first interview. 

  • Salary.com: Find salary information for various titles and determine cost of living comparisons between your current city and intended relocation city.
  • Glassdoor: Find jobs and see company salaries, reviews, and interviews – all posted anonymously by employees. You can create a free account and then report a salary yourself to gain access to all the salary information.

Cost of Living

It is important to understand how salary and expenses vary by city. In addition, the cost of living could be significantly higher while salaries are only slightly higher. This will affect how you live in a new city. Use the cost of living calculators below to better understand the differences for two specific cities and calculate what recruiters are paying in other areas compared to the actual cost of living.

Online students are welcome to make an appointment for one-on-one career advising through BizLink.

Bizlink logo links to Bizlink student website.

Contact Us

Frank L. Ciminelli Family
Career Resource Center
School of Management
University at Buffalo
308 Alfiero Center
Buffalo, NY 14260-4010

Tel: 716-645-3232
Fax: 716-645-3231
mgt-crc@buffalo.edu

Summer Office Hours
 Monday-Thursday
9 a.m. - noon, 1-4 p.m.
Friday
9 a.m.-noon.
If you have a scheduled meeting between noon and 1 p.m., please knock.

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