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Resource of the Week
Online Job Search Engine: Vault.com
Career Opportunies
Google, Federated Insurance ...
Internship Opportunities
ArtOnWater Gallery Internship
Service Opportunities
LVC Information Session ...
Scholarships
The Wellstone Fellowship, The Villers Fellowship ...
Workshops
Identifying Vocational Interests, Interviewing Skills...
Events
Making it in the Arts Conference, Public Service as Vocation Panel
Job Humor
Doughboy's Fate
Online Job Search Engine: Vault.com
Are you looking for a job? Do you ever wonder what it might be like to work for a specific employer? Vault.com is an excellent online resource that allows you to get the inside scoop on a variety of different career paths. Employee surveys provide information about workplace culture, compensation, hours, diversity, and the hiring process. There is also a Vault job board with 1,000s of top job listings. The CEL highly recommends this resource as a great starting point for anyone looking to beginning the job search process.
Career Opportunities
This Week in Recruiting ...
Google
Various Positions Available
Tuesday, October 16, 7:00-8:30 p.m., Sayles Hill 251, Carleton
Stockamp and Associates
Analyst
Thursday, October 18, 7:00-8:00 p.m., Leighton 304, Carleton
* Bring a paper copy of your resume to all Carleton information sessions of interest, and introduce yourself to the recruiter after the event. These positions are NOT listed in OleRecruiting. The recruiter will follow up with you directly at or after the session if he/she is interested in pursuing your candidacy.
Upcoming Resume Deadlines ...
Target Headquarters
Business Analyst, January Business Analyst Intern
Monday, October 15
Target Technology Services
January Technology Leadership Intern
Monday, October 15
Heath Care Futures
Analyst/ Research Associate
Monday, October 15
Federated Insurance
System Developer, Underwriter-Commercial, Accounts Analyst, Actuarial Analyst, Associate Accountant, Claims Representative, Sales/Marketing
Wednesday, October 17
RBC Capital Markets
Global Debt Markets Rotational Program
Friday, October 19
All resumes for St. Olaf on-campus recruiting events must be uploaded and submitted to each individual company of interest via OleRecruiting.
New Job Postings this Week ...
Edward Jones
Financial Advisor
Resume Deadline: Monday, October 22
See OleRecruiting.
Thrivent Financial
Actuarial Interns and Actuarial Assistants for summer 2008
Monday, December 3
For more information go to: http://www.thrivent.com/careers/ and click on 'Search Corporate Job Openings'. You can apply directly from the job description.
ArtOnWater Gallery Internship
The ArtOnWater Gallery, located in downtown Northfield, is looking for an intern for the fall. The student would be a part of a team of gallery staff, exhibiting artists and would assist in the preparations for the gallery's re-opening.
Lutheran Volunteer Corps has scheduled the following visit, facilitated by Rachel VanScoy ’05:
LVC Info Table
10am-2pm, Stav Hall
LVC Information Session
4:30pm, BC 144
Finstad Grant
The Finstad Grant program awards grants up to $3,000 to St. Olaf students or teams that develop the best business plan for entrepreneurial proposals with social and economic potential. To obtain an application, visit the CEL website.
Deadline: October 19 and December 7 (all class years) and February 18 (underclassmen only)
The Wellstone Fellowship
Aims to advance social justice through health care advocacy by focusing particularly on the unique challenges facing communities of color. Through this fellowship, established to honor the memory of the late Senator Paul D. Wellstone, we hope to expand the pool of talented social justice advocates from underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups.
The ideal candidate must demonstrate an interest in health care policy and racial/ethnic health disparities. Additionally, we are looking for an individual who displays the potential to contribute to social justice work after their year of hands-on experience as a fellow. You can find more information, including a downloadable application form, on our Web site: http://www.familiesusa.org/about/wellstone-fellowship.html
Questions or to request hard copies of the application brochure, email wellstonefellowship@familiesusa.org.
The Villers Fellowship
Aims to improve access to health coverage for all Americans, especially for low-income and other vulnerable communities. Specifically, Villers Fellows will conduct research on a range of health care policy issues, and write and contribute to publications that are relevant to current health policy debates. In creating the fellowship, Mr. Villers aspired to develop a network of young leaders who share a passion for health care justice. The ideal candidate will demonstrate a commitment to health care justice work following their year as a fellow. Additionally, in order to encourage the development of future leaders, Villers Fellows must commit to mentoring at least one person over the course of their careers. For more information and application form visit:
http://www.familiesusa.org/about/the-villers-fellowship.html
Questions or to request hard copies of the application brochure, email villersfellowship@familiesusa.org.
Both fellowships are year-long, full-time, salaried positions in Washington, DC. Each year, one candidate will be selected for each fellowship. Selected fellows will receive a compensatory package that includes an annual stipend of $35,000 and excellent health care benefits.
The Kloeck-Jenson Scholarship for Peace and Justice Internships
You've read about some of the amazing peace and justice internships done by Oles. In 2007 students worked with Global Youth Connect, Caracas, Venezuela; Lutheran World Relief's Women-to-Women tour in Tanzania; Horizon Urban Ministries, San Diego, CA; American Social Health Association, Delhi, India; and the U.S. Embassy, Oslo, Norway. Check it out if you think this might be for you:
http://www.stolaf.edu/services/cel/kloeck/index.html
Application Deadline: November 1 for Interim internship
Government Fair Prep Session
Learn how to present yourself effectively at the fair! This session is required for all students attending the Government Job and Internship Fair on October 22 at the University of Minnesota.
Thursday, October 18, 4:00-5:00 p.m. CEL Modular Village
Identifying Vocational Interests (Part 1 of 3 part series)
Understand how your VISA (Values, Intersts, Skills, and Abilities) relate to specific career options. Workshop will introduce two assessment inventories to help you decide which major or career path might be right for you.
Thursday, October 18, 11:20-12:35 p.m. BC 143
Interviewing Skills
Drop by during community time and learn some valuable interviewing skills to help you land your dream job!
Thursday, October 18, 11:30-12:30 p.m. BC 144
Making it in the Arts Conference
This inaugural Making it in the Arts one-day conference provides a forum for cross-disciplinary discussions on issues facing all artists whether performing, visual or literary. This day-long event brings over fifteen nationally-recognized arts professionals including keynote speaker Ward Sutton '89, cartoonist and free-lance artist.
October 27, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Ballrooms
For a full schedule and to register online, click here.
Public Service as Vocation Panel
Featured panelists: Ember Reichgott Junge '74 a former state senator, Steve Sviggum '73 a former republican speaker of the Minnesota House, and Kari Nelson the chair of the Northfield School Board.
Monday, October 29, 7:00 p.m., Viking Theater
Government Job and Internship Fair
Coffman Memorial Union, Great Hall, University of Minnesota
Monday, October 22, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Pre-register in the CEL by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 17. Registration is free.
Mandatory Prep Session: Thursday, October 18, 4:00-5:00pm in the CEL Modular Village
Visit the website to explore and research organizations of interest prior to the fair. http://www.stolaf.edu/services/cel/students/govjobfair.html
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Student Spotlight on
International Internships:Katie Parent
Where and what was your internship? How did you find out about it and apply for it?
My internship was at the US Embassy in Oslo, Norway. The standard length of State Department internships is 10 weeks, and I was there for just about exactly that long!
How I found out about it: I had been talking to my adviser Margaret O'Leary in the Norwegian department about my interests in Norwegian and political science, and how I wanted to study abroad. She mentioned that a St. Olaf student was an intern at US Embassy Oslo last summer and I was able to apply via a link on the Norwegian department site, so I followed that and applied online. It was pretty simple--all I had to do was create a generic resume and then complete an online form which included an essay. There are hundreds of internships to choose from, most of them in Washington, D.C. at various State
Department bureaus but many at Embassies around the world. Later I had to go through a security clearance process, which can take months so they ask that you get started early.
What was a typical day of work like for you?
Waking up in an apartment in downtown Oslo, taking the tram to work, walking past the huge line of visa applicants, getting in with my badge...:)
Interns are generally placed in one of the main sections of the Embassy--my assignment was in the consular section, where I worked with American Citizen Services. In a typical day I would process passport applications, make emergency passports, remind the consul to sign things, fill out notarial forms on the typewriter, check to see if a parent's data allowed them to pass citizenship on to their child, and above all work answering
questions and checking forms at the customer service window. I learned a lot about American passport and citizenship law very quickly! It was a job I had never thought of but that I really enjoyed--it involved fast problem-solving, people skills and a very careful attention to detail, since even a minor mistake in a passport case could have huge implications for that person.
The other three interns were placed in different parts of the Embassy: one worked in management, where he helped with the daily
business of the Embassy, Aanother worked in the Political/Economic section, which does a lot of what we think of when we think of diplomacy, and the last one worked mostly in the Regional Security Office, which does an amazing array of security work for the Embassy.
I think each Embassy has its own intern traditions--you may be able to choose to work in your area of interest, but in the case of Oslo we were assigned. I'd encourage interns to try it anyway if they are given a post that isn't their life-long dream--you may be surprised! I was when I discovered that I really liked Consular work, although in some ways it did not fit my preconcieved notion of the Foreign Service at all. (It was a bit like being a clerk, a customs official, a detective, a policewoman and a guidance counselor all in one...)
I would also often run errands for my bosses to other parts of the Embassy, or attend briefings on the different Embassy sections specially prepared
for us (the interns) by the Foreign Service officers. They were not required to do this, but I found that Foreign Service officers were almost always eager to talk about their jobs, their education, how they got there and what they liked most about their work. Many of them had fascinating
stories from other posts--the Deputy Chief of Mission, for example, had been in El Salvador during the end of the civil war there and had met many of the major actors in that conflict, which I had studied at St. Olaf.
It was very interesting to be an intern--on the one hand, I knew I was the most junior member of the Embassy (which I remembered whenever I was asked to do something I had never done before, which seemed to happen at least once daily!)
On the other hand, I felt incredibly privileged to be treated like a real member of the Embassy community, to be doing some of the same work and trying to solve the same problems as my Foreign Service officer "colleagues".
Did you have to know Norwegian for your internship?
No. Two of the four interns spoke Norwegian, two didn't. I used my language skills daily but I could just as easily have spoken English. I think the language did help me in the selection process, but I would encourage anyone who is interested to apply. Many of my foreign service "colleagues" spoke little Norwegian, especially those in other sections where it was less necessary.
How did your views of international relations change because of your experience?
It was very, very interesting to see government and foreign policy from the inside out. I don't think I'll be able to do this question justice, but I'll try. For me, it was a special experience--I had lived in Norway before as a high school exchange student so I had some knowledge of the culture, but seeing it from the perspective of the Embassy was quite different.
How did you finance your experience?
Most State Department internships are unpaid, although there is a financial aid program available for students who receive government aid. I helped finance my summer by applying for two scholarships--the Sons of Norway King Olav V scholarship, which aids students studying Norwegian affairs, and the Kloeck-Jenson Peace and Justice scholarship which I applied for through the CEL. I was very grateful for their support this
summer! Embassies may or may not provide housing--in Oslo we received unfurnished housing for free, and were able to live quite cheaply in a very expensive city.
How has this internship changed your worldview?
I think it was hardest for me to write about how the experience changed my political view of the world because so much of it related to my previous personal experiences of Norway. As part of a group of Americans in Norway, I learned a lot, for better or for worse, about my identity as an American. It was an interesting and important contrast to my experience as an exchange student, where I tried to assimilate and "become Norwegian"--this time, I was able to experience and analyze Norwegian culture from within a group of Americans. It was also very interesting to compare their comments and experiences with my own experiences as a former exchange student--in a way I felt caught between two worlds. I was impressed by the diversity of opinions that Foreign Service officers had but at the same time their professionalism in enacting US Foreign Policy regardless of their personal opinions. Embassies gather information, make recommendations and daily decision, but their real "big decision"-making power still comes from Washington, and, if citizens choose to care about foreign affairs, from us.
It made me think about our democratic system and how important it is for us to care/be informed about what our country is doing abroad! Embassies represent the State Department, but they are also our representatives abroad. And, of course, the experience was a great introduction to the job world. If you want to have a job like those in the Foreign Service that involves a special lifestyle, community and mindset, I think an internship experience is invaluable.