My 30-second commercial

If I was going to provide an overview of who I am, where I'm going, and what I'm good at in 30 seconds - it would go a little something like this:

Hi, my name is Eric Teske. I will be graduating in May with a degree in College Student Personnel. While attending Bowling Green State University, I worked as an intern for the Department of Recreation and Wellness in the Wellness Connection office. This role allowed me to serve as an advisor to undergraduate student organizations, coordinate large prevention programs, and organize health education outreach initiatives for the campus and surrounding community.

My experience at Bowling Green has given me the tools to plan, implement, and evaluate innovative student programs. With a focus on student development, I have a firm understanding of the challenge and support students require to learn and grow in a university setting. I am also proficient in the use of technology for marketing and assessment.

My career goal is to work at an institution of higher education as a health educator and eventually become a director of health promotion services. I possess excellent written and oral communication skills, with experience facilitating presentations for small groups and large audiences. I am a culturally competent and creative self-starter with a reputation for paying attention to details.

I think the "30-second commercial" activity is a great way to get into the resume / cover letter / interview mindset, and a great way to practice using expressive, precise language. Remember, like a good cover letter, your personal commercial should change based on your audience, and should be specific enough to include goals relevant to the position for which you are applying.

Twitter list of job postings in higher education

There are several good Twitter accounts to follow for frequent job postings, but why not follow them all at once?

The Bowling Green Student Development Association (@BGSDAonline) has compiled a list of the best higher education and student affairs job posting Twitter accounts.

Another great resource is the student affairs job announcement / job search hashtag #SAjobs. So what are you waiting for? Go get that job!

C3 at ACPA 2011 puts indoor soccer to shame

I took the advice of a second year in our program and volunteered to work C3 at ACPA. Not only did I get a warm fuzzy feeling by volunteering, I got a chance to see just how big Career Central at Convention really is!

This room, filled with hundreds of interview tables, was the size of an indoor soccer field! This was just the half of it (literally), because there was a room of equal size used for registration, mailboxes, and bullpens of nervous energy.

I can't decide if I'm going to interview at C3 in 2012. I suppose I will because it's a good chance to get several interviews out of the way at once, even though I'm only looking regionally for jobs.

How did one university choose to stand out from the crowd? A life sized Justin Bieber stand-up of course!

What I learned: Anything this big is allowed to be intimidating.