How to Make Networking Work for You

There are people who would rather have a tooth pulled than go to a networking event. The idea of being in a room full of strangers, having to start a conversation and then gracefully exit when appropriate is daunting for college students and seasoned professionals alike. Whether you’re going to an upcoming career fair, invited to a networking mixer for a company you want to work with, or meeting new group members for a class project, here are some tried and true ways to make the most of the experience:

Give a firm handshake– No matter who you’re getting ready to meet, make sure your handshake is firm. Don’t give the other person dead weight or a knuckle-crushing handshake. Beforehand, be sure to switch any beverage glasses to your left hand so that your hands aren’t too hot or too cold. Likewise, put your phone or any other objects away so that you don’t fumble when it’s time to go in for the handshake.

Don’t hesitate to introduce yourself first– Now that you have this person’s hand and attention, say hi, let them know who you are and that it’s a pleasure to meet them.

Look people in the eye– When we’re in new situations, we can tend to look around the room while talking instead of at the people we’re talking to. Make eye contact, it lets your audience know that you’re present and paying attention to them.

Smile– Smiling will help make you and the person or people you’re talking to feel more at ease. You’ll also come off as more open and willing to engage.

Follow-up– When someone shares their contact information with you, it’s crucial to follow up with them in a timely manner. Sending them a quick note to thank them for their time and reflecting on a part of your conversation will go a long way in helping them remember you after your initial meeting. For Example, ” Hi Jim, It was great meeting you at the Finance Industry Night yesterday. Thank you for taking some time to share your story with me. I would love to connect to speak further about how you used your internship to get a full-time job with Chase. How does your schedule look to grab coffee next Thursday?” The email doesn’t have to be long but make sure you reach out to move your initial conversation forward.

There are ample opportunities to both practice your networking skills and build your network whether it’s with classmates or potential employers. The next time you meet or are introduced to someone new, keep these tips in mind to help you leave a lasting impression.

By: Hannah Tall

Hannah Tall is a Regional Recruitment Manager with City Year. She is passionate about youth development and education and is using her work with City Year to help young people become change agents within schools and communities across the country.

How an English Professor Infused Career into the Classroom

When DU English professor, Donna Beth Ellard, wanted to make her First Year Seminar (FSEM) course an engaging and meaningful experience she began to ask herself “How can poetry assist a student over four years by helping them decide what their profession may be?” Thinking outside the box, Donna Beth wanted to find a way to bring an idea of “Poetry in the Professions” theme into her classroom. The goal was to have students learn how to be meaningful as they pursue and explore career paths.

Donna Beth has heard numerous parents say to their child that they “can’t be a Humanities major…there are not many careers in the humanities!” She set out to prove that theory wrong by infusing career professionals who majored in English into the classroom. She mapped out her syllabus with four distinct professions for students to learn more about through research, interviews, poetry readings, and class presentations. These four professions were law, medicine, public relations and social work. Donna Beth taught the FSEM students the “close reading” skill practiced across the humanities. This method teaches a student to learn to listen to other voices, to be patient, to build emotional awareness and how to be empathetic. Developing these skills are necessary to be successful in many occupations regardless of industry.

Along with assigned readings, Donna Beth had a lawyer, a PR executive, a social worker, and an OB/GYN medical doctor speak in the class room. The practitioners spoke about how their undergraduate English degree helped them to be successful in graduate school as well as in their current positions. For example, the medical doctor explained how her undergraduate degree in English helped her tremendously in medical school by developing skills such as patience, emotional awareness, and empathy. This doctor credits the “close reading” skills she learned as an English major as a key component of her success.

Donna Beth’s biggest challenge for this course was the amount of time it took to prepare. Identifying and reaching out to practitioners was very time consuming and Donna Beth coordinated all of these details on her own. Today, Career & Professional Development along with other career offices on campus, have grown their capacity to support faculty in bringing alumni and employer guest speakers to the classroom. If you would like to integrate career into the classroom, we encourage you to reach out for support!

If You’re Interested in Start-ups, You MUST Attend This Event

Denver’s backyard isn’t all mountains and ski resorts. Did you know Denver is home to “the largest free entrepreneurial event of its kind in North America” – Denver Startup Week?

“Denver Startup Week (DSW) is a powerful showcase of the strength of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Denver,” said Ben Deda, event co-founder and vice president of marketing at Vertafore. “No matter your stage of business, company role or industry, Denver Startup Week provides the tools, resources and community support to help you start-up and grow a successful business.”

Sessions at DSW include topics on how to start your own business, how to get jobs in startups, and how to grow your career in startups. The event managers are also always looking for volunteers to help coordinate the event. What a great way to get to know the movers-and-shakers in the industry and get behind-the-scenes access to employers and entrepreneurs that you can learn from and connect with!

Check out volunteer opportunities and learn more about this annual Fall event on the Denver Startup Week website!

Health Studies Career Night, February 15 2017

Prepared by Alexandra Jones, CAS Career Advising Team Assistant

Did you miss the Health Studies Career Night, but are still interested in the information provided? Well, although you did miss the opportunity to directly communicate and network with professionals working in what may be your future career field, this blog post may help you.

The panel, moderated by Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Studies (DHS) Kathleen Holton, and co-hosted by DHS and AU Career Center, consisted of four alumni:

Annika Bergstrom, TB Investigator at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Ryan Paquin, Research Scientist at the Center for Communication Science at RTI International
Elizabeth Prevou, Clinical Practice Manager at GWU, and
Justin Morgan, Research Assistant at the Health Policy Center at the Urban Institute.

Each speaker talked about the most and least favorite aspects of their careers, as well as gave advice to aid students’ future success, which is shared below.

How do you get your foot in the door?

There are various ways to go about entering a career in the health field. This information was posted at https://www.vocationaltraininghq.com/how-to-become/home-health-aide/ for longevity and so people that did not attend could peruse online. While Bergstrom simply applied through USA Jobs, this may be difficult as it is a competitive process, in which your resume has to stand out to employers from hundreds of others. Other panelists recommend that students work their networks to obtain a job lead, or get connected to someone from the organization you are interested in.

At times, your personality may be enough to get your foot in the door; the issue is displaying your character to employers. Before starting a new job you should talk to Labor Law Compliance Center, and make sure you are not working for less then what you should be. Morgan managed to get an interview with the Urban Institute by calling the institution and talking to an executive. This allowed him to add a personal touch to the application process, which cannot always be included in a resume submission.

How to be strategic with your internships?

Panelists recommend that students complete internships and treat each internship as a learning experience and utilize all connections gained. Internships can also clarify your career goals and preferences. Prevou said, “Knowing what you don’t want to do at times is just as helpful as knowing what you do want to do.” At the same time, all panelists agreed that students should not jeopardize their peace of mind and sleep to work multiple internships at one time just to buff up a resume.

What skills make students valuable and wanted in the workplace?

No matter your desired job, all panelists recommended that students obtain basic research skills and knowledge of statistical programs, such as SAS, SPSS and Excel. AU offers courses and access to some of these programs through the Center for Teaching, Research and Learning (CTRL) if you have not learned them already.

Knowledge of medical terms and anatomy also allows easy communication across job fields. While this may not be stressed in the interview, such knowledge may be necessary to learn on the job – so why not pick it up sooner rather than later?

Lastly, knowing email etiquette and how to follow-up may be the most beneficial and necessary job skill in any field. Email are often the first form of communication between an employer and employee. Therefore learn how to make your emails sound professional and friendly, but with a hint of your personality.

Were you prepared for the workplace post-graduation?

While there will always be a learning curve when entering a new job, panelists stressed that students should not be nervous about it. After all, they did hire you! Still, be ready to put in the necessary effort to grow in your career. Listen, ask questions and do your best.

Working for a startup

Many of you reading this post will be considering taking the well-trodden path through grad schemes once you graduate, though many will also be weighing up the possibility of joining a startup. The very word ‘startup’ has become a more prominent feature in our collective lexicon over the past decade, as shown by Google Trends data, which displays search volume over time (as a proxy measure for interest):

Some sources place the number of new companies started worldwide at 100 million each year. So there’s plenty of job openings at companies trying to shake up the status quo, and if you’re lucky enough to find one that’s going places, you can even retire by age 30.

Without further ado, we’ll tell you a little about what it’s like working at a startup, with reference to our company, Funeralbooker, a comparison site for funeral services in the UK.

What even is a startup?

A startup is a young company with a growth plan, designed to scale the business quickly. Some of the world’s largest and most ubiquitous companies were once startups and have now reached a high level of market saturation (Snapchat, Uber and AirBnB come to mind).

Why would I want to join a startup?

There are pros and cons to joining a startup, as with joining an established company. Below we’ve listed some of the most obvious juxtapositions.

Salary: When you join an established company as a graduate, you’ll typically get a fairly large salary. At a startup, the salary will often be lower, but you will often receive an equity stake in the company which you can cash in at a later date. Depending on the startup and its growth potential, this can be equivalent to several years of a higher salary which you get all in one go.

Working hours: At a corporate employer, you are typically held to rigid hours, such as 9-5:30, though most people will regularly work later. It can be a battle to work from home, for instance if you have a doctor’s appointment, a house viewing, your boiler breaks down or any of the other pieces of life admin that you struggle to squeeze into the weekend. You may find yourself subject to a disciplinary if you regularly take long lunches, or come in 15 minutes late in the morning. You are however, entitled to a holiday allowance, which is typically around 25 days a year in the UK, excluding national holidays.

At Funeralbooker, as at many other startups, we operate a ROWE (Results Oriented Working Environment) policy. This means that as long as you do your work within the expected time, you can do it whenever and from wherever you wish. We also don’t have any holiday days apart from national holidays. We are free to take time off whenever we wish, so long as the work has been done. What this means in practice is that if you pulled a 16-hour shift on Monday and Tuesday and got through your entire workload, you can take the rest of the week off as holiday.

Opportunity to learn on the job: While every company is different in this regard, generally speaking, at a larger company you will have been hired to fulfil a specific role, and it can be difficult to move to another department. People often complain about being ‘siloed’ or restricted to doing one specific job, and that only.

Conversely, at a startup, you’ll have to wear a lot of hats. There are less people at a startup, so everyone has to pull their weight and contribute their opinion on major aspects of the business, whether that’s the way the website looks, recruitment matters, or PR and even sales. Furthermore, at a large company you’re unlikely to see much of the CEO and the upper echelons of management. At a startup you will interact with the senior management on an almost daily basis, and pick up plenty of valuable knowledge about the day to day running of a business.

Sign me up!

If you like the sound of the startup life, it’s worth remembering a few things before hitting that apply button.

You will need to work hard and be accountable. There is no one for you to hide behind when something goes wrong.
Working at a startup, although exhilarating and more relaxed is less secure than working at an established company. The whole thing can come crashing down.
If you work on a ROWE system, be prepared to work weekends and evenings in exchange for taking Wednesdays and Thursdays off.
Things can be a bit ramshackle at a startup, with the latest slimline laptops, ergonomic keyboards and large expenses claims considered a luxury that can be spared.
Finally, if you don’t believe that the company can grow, don’t join it.

How to Make Your Career Plan after Graduation

There are two options in terms of work when you’re done with school. You can start a job or launch a career. The difference? It’s quite straight forward. The former is all about making some money now, while the latter is all about where you’ll end up in the future. In other words, it’s about growth prospects. A job in a bar is just that. An entry-level position in a big firm can be so much more.

So what do you want to do? Do you want to bum around for a while uncertain of what you’re going to do or do you want to try to get somewhere in life?

Choose a direction

This is where it starts. You need to choose your industry. Now, do note that your choice isn’t necessarily hammered into stone. When you choose a direction that does not mean you can’t change your mind later. For one thing you never know what opportunities life will throw your way. For another the experience you’ve picked up trying to build your career will almost invariably carry over to other fields. So don’t stress yourself out!

But you know what they say, ‘no wind blows in favor of a ship with no direction.’ And if you’re rudderless and adrift, without a destination in mind, not only will you not know what choices to make, you might not recognize the opportunities that life throws in your path for what they are. So choose a path!

Know your strengths

Self-knowledge is the name of the game. This will help you choose what industry you should choose and it will help you present yourself correctly when you arrive there. So take some time to really think about what makes you special. Ask friends to help you out by listing your strong points and your weak points.

Now remember, you’re not here to have somebody coo about how special you are. That might feel good in the moment, but that won’t help when you’re actually trying to make something of yourself in the world. So ask people to be honest.

Once you have an idea what your strengths are, make sure you know how to utilize them correctly and where they can matter the most. Look them up online and see what tips people have for you. Here is how you can use being introverted. Perhaps your strength is that you’re unassuming and humble? Then find out how to use that. Or maybe it’s your confidence that makes you stand out. It’s all out there. All you need to do is look.

Work on your resume

You know how you always see business people handing out business cards? Well your CV is your business card into the world of your choice. The big difference is that while business people have their company’s reputation to back them up, you’ve only got your history.

And so, you’ve got to make your CV shine. Don’t commit the standard CV mistakes. Read over it a number of times and make certain that there are no grammar and spelling errors. Even better, get somebody else to read over it. After all, when you read something that you wrote the ghost of what you wanted to say often ends up concealing what it actually says on the page. As other people do not have these preconceptions, they will be much more likely to pick up on your mistakes.

Think about an internship

If the industry you’re trying to get into has a lot of applicants, you might want to consider taking an internship. This will get your foot in the door and, as long as you are committed, can often lead to something more permanent in that company. Even if it doesn’t, you’ll have something to put on your CV. Even better, it’s in the industry that you want to work in and so will be far more likely to impress whoever else you might approach later on down the line.

Not all internships are unpaid. Obviously it’s far more interesting for you to get a paid position, especially if you don’t have any financial support to carry you through while you’re trying to get started in the industry you’re in.

Play the numbers game

A lot of fresh off the boat graduates make the mistake of only sending their CV off to a few businesses, thinking they’re special enough to land a position. Here’s a hard truth for you: You’re only at the center of your own world. With everybody else, especially human resources who receive hundreds of applications, you’re at the periphery.

What that means is that though you might have agonized over your CV for hundreds of hours that doesn’t mean they’ll give it more than a few seconds. Heck, you might even get unlucky and they’ll flick by your CV without ever truly registering it due to something going on around them. You know, like how you sometimes don’t even register an internet page before you move on because something else grabbed your attention?

That’s why you’ve got to send your CV off to dozens if not hundreds of jobs. It’s called the numbers game and it relies on the idea that even though you might only have a small chance of landing a specific job, if you multiply that by enough applications you’re bound to get lucky.

Even better, if you get invited to several interviews then you’ll be far less nervous in each individual interview, as you know you’ve still got the other ones if this one goes south. And that extra bit of confidence can make a world of difference!

It’s in your hands

The next few months might not be easy. After all, you’re transitioning from a life where people were trying to make you better, to a world where people are mainly focused on trying to use you to make themselves better. You’re transitioning from a life where you were being told what to do, to a life where you’ve got to make all those decision for yourself. It’s possibly one of the biggest transitions you’ll encounter. That can be quite overwhelming.

At the same time, people don’t expect you to know what you’re supposed to be doing, so they’ll generally cut you some slack. What’s more, remember that bit where I told you that you’re not at the center of everybody else’s world? Well that also means that if you screw up people probably won’t notice! There’s this thing in social psychology called the spotlight effect. It means that people pay far less attention to us than we think they do. So feel free to experiment! For unless you were raised with a silver spoon in our mouth nobody is going to bring you your chosen career on a silver platter.

And that’s alright, because if they did, you wouldn’t appreciate it anyway. So go out there and take what you want and make the best of it!

Trends In Networking: Expanding Your Mindset

Many of us tend to think of networking as only something that you do at events that are labeled “networking events.” This is one view of networking, but it is actually much more. The trend in

networking is to expand your thinking and consider networking as something that you do on a day-to-day basis. Here are 5 suggestions for expanding your mindset:

- Sit next to someone you don’t know in one of your classes or at a meeting. Introduce yourself and start a conversation. That’s networking!
- Join a club or organization there are many at DU! How about the kayaking or the tango club? This is a great way to meet new people and to network!
- Volunteer for a cause that interests you. Check out Center for Community Engagement & Service Learning (CCESL) for ideas. This is networking!
- Connect with DU alumni and learn about their careers. This is a great way to get personal advice ideas for professional development and career insight. Join the DU alumni community on Pioneer Connect. This is another way to expand your network!
- Send an email or connect on LinkedIn to someone who you met at a conference or professional event. Update them on what you have been doing professionally. Staying in touch with those you have met is networking!

By expanding your views about networking you will start to build meaningful relationships and connections. Networking is not just about going to scheduled networking events, it is a lot more. It’s an effective way learn more from your community, your fellow students and alumni!

Resume Hacks: The Time-Saving Magic of Tab Stops

We’ve all been there—messing around with countless settings in Google Drive or Word trying to make the resume look just right. Especially when it comes to aligning locations and dates to the right margin, it can seem like a delicate balance of not-too-many tabs and just enough taps on the space bar.

Fortunately, there is a much easier way, and one that will save you enormous amounts of time as well. Behold—the tab stop!

Tab stops are a feature in word processing programs that let you set a point along the line where the text will align after hitting the tab key, rather than the default setting which moves your text along in half-inch intervals with each tab. You can use tab stops for all sorts of fancy alignment tricks, but most useful of all may be the way that tab stops can help out with your resume’s right margin.

Check out these video tutorials and see for yourself the near-mythical power of this hidden gem:

Public Health Student Weighs in on the Challenges of Wiping Out Malaria

As malaria claims hundreds of thousands of lives each year in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, there are fears that efforts to eradicate the disease are being undermined by funding shortfalls and fragile health care systems.

While there has been progress to prevent the spread of malaria, the World Health Organization says more needs to happen to eliminate the disease. According to the 2016 World Malaria Report, children and pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa have greater access to tools that stop the transmission of malaria. Diagnostic testing for children and preventive treatment for pregnant women has risen dramatically across the region over the last five years, and the use of bed nets treated with insecticide has expanded rapidly.

Still, significant gaps in the number of people with access to preventative measures and the fragile health systems that exist in many countries are stymying progress, according to the World Health Organization.

Malaria causes flu-like symptoms that can lead to severe complications and death. In 2015, there were 212 million new cases of malaria and 429,000 deaths worldwide, mostly children in the African region.

We talked with Matt McLaughlin, a UVM Master of Public Health student and program manager of Stomping Out Malaria in Africa, a Peace Corps program that aims to support the international malaria eradication program, about the challenges to eliminate malaria.

Matt has worked for a decade on bed net distribution. Consistent use of bed nets can reduce malaria transmissions by as much as 90 percent, according to the Nothing But Nets organization. However, according to WHO, a fifth of households in sub-Saharan Africa did not have access to bed nets in 2015, and fewer than half the households had sufficient insecticide-treated nets.

Why are bed nets not consistently used?

Of the people not using a net, the vast majority of them, the reason is that they just don’t have one. This is not to dismiss the issue of under utilization by those who do have a net. Some of that happens, too. But despite lots and lots of work on net distribution and lots and lots of progress we remain far short of a scenario where everyone who needs one has one.

What are the obstacles to getting nets to people?

One strategy for net distribution is the mass campaign where you distribute them all at once across a country. It is a devil is in the details kind of challenge. Senegal—which where I work the most, so I’ll use that as an example—when I last did a mass distribution there they had 13 million people, and there is an average of two people per sleeping space. So, you’re talking about distributing 6.5 million nets, which is just a huge logistical challenge with lots of devilish details. Nets have to be warehoused at the national level, shipped to regions and warehoused there, loaded on smaller trucks to get to clinics. Sometimes it’s putting nets in canoes or on the backs of bikes or—and I’ve done this—climbing up a mountain with a bale of nets on your head because there is no actual road to a village. And before all this can happen you need an accurate count of how many people actually need nets in these communities and that means a comprehensive census. You do all this work and after about a year, some nets get ripped or burned by candles and then they’re no longer effective. Another year goes by and more nets taken out of commission.

What is the life span of a bed net?

Two years and change is the consensus of how long bed nets last. The insecticide on the nets will last through 20 washings.

How else are the nets distributed?

If you’re pregnant, you can get a free net at a clinic. Children at a certain grade level will get a free net at school. There are some community organizations that distribute small numbers of nets on an ongoing basis. Those ancillary channels are good, but I don’t think they’re sufficient.

What are some ways to educate people about using bed nets?

There is more that we can do with utilization. For example, there is a belief that if it is the dry season, there are no mosquitos and therefore no risk of malaria and people are less likely to use the net. Yet, we know that people are getting malaria even in the dry season. And net care and repair is important, too. You need to wash them with regular soap not detergent and make sure they hang in the shade to dry. You can also sew bed nets if they get holes for longevity. Educate people around these issues and we might see better net longevity.

Can you tell us about some other projects you are working on?

I also help identify and evangelize flagship projects. The current most important project is called PECADOM+. It’s a French acronym for home-based care, and the “plus” is a unique addition that Peace Corps and our partners have identified—weekly door to door sweeps by community health workers looking for malaria cases.

We’re now doing a variant of the PECADOM+ projects in schools because schools are such a natural place for low effort and high impact. One of the pilot programs in Senegal provided the same basic training to school administrators that a community health worker would receive for the door-to-door program. As a result, administrators were finding many malaria cases, even in places where there were existing community efforts to eradicate malaria. The school officials also identified many malaria cases in the dry season, disproving the belief that there is no malaria at that time.

In your work, do you find that the world is becoming complacent because of the many gains in fighting malaria?

Total donations have flat-lined over the past five years. That is worrying. When you’re making progress, everyone is excited and they want to push hard and take part. But when your progress slows—because the end is always harder than the beginning—it’s harder to muster that same excitement from political leaders. The funding growth is slowing down, and with that, so are the gains—that’s the first warning sign of complacency. That said, the funding level donations have plateaued at is quite high. The U.S. and others are still donating billions to this cause and that is heartening. Also I am convinced that we can make bigger gains with the money we have if we’re smart about it. There is room to make improvement

Women in Craft Beer: Heather Pilkington on What it Takes to Succeed

(Photo by James Lee/Flickr)

By Tera Dacek

Traditionally, dating back to ancient times, women were the brewers, crafting ales out of their homes. In more modern times, women were often featured prominently in beer ads, but not as the ones creating the beer. Today, we’ve come full circle. As the craft beer market continues to grow, we see many women who are a part of this industry.

For our first profile in a series of four women in craft beer, we introduce you to Heather Pilkington.

UVM Instructor Heather Pilkington.

Heather has over 15 years of experience in craft and large-scale breweries, with time spent at Labatt Breweries (AB InBev) earlier in her career and now with First Key Consulting in Vancouver, where she is currently in the role of Director of Projects. To address the challenges facing breweries in the fast-paced world today, First Key has assembled some of the most talented, interesting and globally experienced brewery consultants and malting experts to provide clients with independent evaluations, as well as comprehensive and integrated solutions in every area of their business.

First Key’s clients include Founders Brewing Company, von Trapp Brewing, Gordon Biersch, Beau’s all Natural Brewing, Creature Comforts Brewing Co. and many more. Heather will also be an instructor for UVM’s Business of Craft Beer Professional Certificate Program, which kicks off in February 2016.

I am sure you’re asked this all the time, especially around this topic, so let’s just get right to it: What’s your favorite fall beer?

I am sure you also get this answer all the time: So much great beer, so little time! Tonight I enjoyed a Muskoka Brewery Harvest Ale from Muskoka Brewery out of northern Ontario.

Can you talk about what barriers, if any, you’ve faced throughout your career in a male-dominated industry?

Early in my career, the biggest challenge was figuring out ways to network and collaborate in an industry that did not have many women. Historically, every sector in every industry has evolved its culture to include more women in decision-making roles, and the brewing industry was no different. Today in my current role with First Key Brewing Consulting, I have the pleasure of working with breweries coast to coast in a variety of settings, with nothing but positive and constructive experiences. It’s a great time for women in the craft brewing sector.

What do you see as the biggest hurdle for craft breweries today, and what can they do to overcome it?

I am fortunate to have a great bird’s eye view of the challenges that craft breweries are facing today. What I see are many creative and dedicated brewers wanting to turn their passion into a successful business. The craft brewing sector is becoming more competitive. Start-up craft brewers now face stiffer competition for local distribution rights from expanding craft breweries that may be building secondary breweries, from an increasing number of other local craft breweries, as well as from the largest commercial breweries. As consumers become more educated about craft beer, they not only expect a distinctive product, but a very high-quality product delivered with great consistency. To meet the challenges of the complex issues facing breweries today, having the foundational business skills and operations systems in place, in addition to a passion for their craft, are key to success.

How did you land your first job in the beer industry, and is this the industry you knew you wanted to be in?

After completing an undergraduate degree, I saw an inspiring lecture given by a female leader within the brewing industry and knew that was where I wanted to be. I aligned my graduate education to this goal with great passion and determination. I was able to get a foot in the door as an unpaid intern at the experimental facility within the local brewery of my hometown. I was like a kid in a candy store, learning about brewing and fermentation, how to swing a wrench on 10L and 16 hL scale equipment, and how to translate that knowledge to larger-scale breweries. Eventually, they started to pay me, which was even better.

What traits have you found to be successful for you professionally?

Being curious and able to dig into problems has served me well, learning from a great network of talented people in the brewing industry. Going a little “out on a limb,” trying something I’m excited about, putting energy into it, and eventually realizing some benefits from the effort.

Any advice for those who want to pursue a career in craft beer?

Think about what unique qualities, personal history, and strengths you bring to your craft brewery and use them with passion to build and contribute to the community of the craft beer industry as a whole.

Reinforcing my earlier points, you need to have strong business acumen, operational systems, and discipline, in addition to your passion and creativity.

This is our first post in a four-post blog series introducing you to just a few of the amazing women in the beer industry right now. Cheers to these women and their accomplishments, with hopes that all beer lovers who have been considering a career shift into the beer industry will begin to follow their passion.

Tera Dacek is a consultant and freelance writer. She most recently worked as Marketing Manager for Alchemy and Science. When she unplugs, she can be found at her local mountain or one of the many wonderful breweries in her home state of Vermont

What is Craft Beer?

By Joel Hueston

As a brewery consultant, the question I get most frequently is, “Hey, what is craft beer anyway? What’s the definition?” It’s a really good question. The answer is subjective, and I certainly have my own opinions. I decided to do some digging and analysis to see if I could come up with a definition that makes sense and rings true.

So, what is craft beer?

If you visit the Brewer’s Association website, you’ll find that the definition of a craft brewer encompasses many things, including:

Size: 6 million barrels or less annually
Ownership: Less than 25 percent owned or controlled by a non-craft brewery
Ingredients: A majority of its total beverage alcohol volume is in beers whose flavor derives from traditional or innovative brewing ingredients and their fermentation

Those categories and definitions are fine, but they don’t capture many of the intangibles that make craft beer such an interesting category.

Size

What’s keeping one of the big guys from making a truly awesome craft product? They have the best equipment, the best brewers, and the best quality control on earth. No one can say with a straight face that the big guys aren’t capable of brewing a great craft beer. Of course they are.

However, their world is based on huge volume. The more you sell, the more revenue you generate to offset those massive overhead costs. Craft brewers want to sell their beer and make money, too, but their modest overhead costs don’t require that kind of tonnage to thrive and survive. They can be more experimental and play around with crazy flavors.

The big guys are targeting session drinkers—the guzzlers who gather around the big screen to watch Monday Night Football—and that’s not really a craft thing. In my opinion, the big guys are capable of brewing a Ballast Point Sculpin or a Deschutes Fresh-Squeezed IPA. They just choose not to because it’s not a priority. It doesn’t pay the bills, and it doesn’t appeal to their customer base.

Ownership

In my opinion, ownership may or may not be an issue. It all depends on how the relationship is managed. So far, what the big guys have had trouble doing is keeping their little mainstream fingers out of the craft pie and allowing their acquisitions to operate independently without interference. They haven’t been able to leave craft brewers alone to do what they do best: deliver that craft authenticity and attitude that permeates the category. For some reason, all the craft brands acquired by the big guys end up looking shinier, more omnipresent, and more corporate, and therefore much less authentic.

Ingredients

So what about ingredients? Well, they all have access to the same ingredients (unless you believe the big guys really are hoarding all the hops). They use different ingredients to make the products they need for their target consumers. One ingredient is not necessarily better than another. They are just different ingredients for different products that appeal to different consumers. I know some will bring up the purity of the brewing process—such as using additives–but now I think we’re digressing.

I am a self-admitted craft beer lover, but I refuse to be a big-beer basher. I cut my teeth on big beer and quaffed many a Coors Light over the years. In fact, that’s one of the few dynamics in the craft community I don’t buy into at all. Many craft beer supporters say big beer is bad beer. I respectfully disagree. Mainstream is not the kind of beer that craft lovers prefer, but that doesn’t make it bad. A mainstream beer drinker will reject a glass of Pliny The Elder, but does that make it bad?

My journey into craft has probably been similar to yours. I don’t drink as many beers as I used to, so when I do kick back to enjoy one, I want to treat myself. After a lot of sampling over the last few years (hey, I’m a brewery consultant), my palette has evolved to the point where it demands flavor and aroma. At this point, IPAs are my go-to, but I’m open to the odd Imperial Milk Stout or Pale Ale. That doesn’t mean I won’t order a Coors Original on occasion, as a change-of-pace.

Flavor and Attitude

Let’s cut to the chase. I believe the true essence of craft is rooted in flavor and attitude. I am not a trained brewer, but I know great beer and I know average beer, and great craft beer is hard to find. I won’t get into brand names because that gets people riled up, but in my opinion, the list of truly outstanding craft products out there is very short. They all have one thing in common: they smell, taste, and look awesome every single time. I think most people can agree that a final meal of world-class steak would be preferred over a hamburger. That’s how I feel about great craft beer. It’s a treat and a reward.

Now let’s talk about attitude. The craft attitude is many-faceted, but there are a few elements that most craft brewers share. Craft brewers care about their local community, their doors are always wide open, and they help each other out. I love that about craft brewers. They lend each other equipment, they recommend each other’s products, and they brew collaborative beers. The big guys don’t do that.

For the most part, you can drop into a craft taproom anytime to chew the fat and sip a cold one. A lot of the large breweries are like fortresses. Good luck even getting past the reception desk! Then there’s the local community. I’m not saying the big guys don’t care about community, but they are more about manipulation than inspiration. They don’t really do local, and they are more focused on national or global reach. Many craft brewers embrace the local community. They are often skilled philanthropists who give back to the environment and try to make the world a better place. There’s camaraderie among craft brewers and their customers that the big guys just can’t replicate. In this materialistic world, it’s a truly refreshing and inspiring approach

Health Studies Career Night, February 15 2017

Prepared by Alexandra Jones, CAS Career Advising Team Assistant

The panel, moderated by Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Studies (DHS) Kathleen Holton, and co-hosted by DHS and AU Career Center, consisted of four alumni:

Annika Bergstrom, TB Investigator at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Ryan Paquin, Research Scientist at the Center for Communication Science at RTI International
Elizabeth Prevou, Clinical Practice Manager at GWU, and
Justin Morgan, Research Assistant at the Health Policy Center at the Urban Institute.

Each speaker talked about the most and least favorite aspects of their careers, as well as gave advice to aid students’ future success, which is shared below.

How do you get your foot in the door?

How to be strategic with your internships?

What skills make students valuable and wanted in the workplace?

Were you prepared for the workplace post-graduation?

For 2nd Year in a Row, UVM Secures Top Spot as Best Online Digital Marketing Program

UVM’s Digital Marketing Fundamentals program continues to be the highest ranking online digital marketing certificate program by BestDegreesMarketing.org. The website ranks the 20 best online digital marketing certificate programs and was established to provide research and insight into current marketing education.

UVM secured the number one spot two years in a row, followed by Duke University and DePaul University. The 2017-18 list was based on tuition and core course content, including content marketing, email strategies, pay-per-click platforms, SEO and SEM, mobile marketing, social media, and data analytics.

What Makes UVM the Best Online Digital Marketing Program

The 12-week UVM Digital Marketing Fundamentals Certificate program requires about 8-10 hours of course study per week. Taught by seasoned professionals, the program is designed to accommodate professionals looking to jump start their careers in digital marketing, whether they are starting from scratch or making a change mid-career.

“To be a successful digital marketing professional in today’s changing landscape requires more than a blog, Facebook page, banner ad or email address. Success is based on understanding how to connect with a customer’s needs and wants,” says Erik Harbison, CMO at AWeber Communications and lead instructor for the UVM program. “This course is designed to educate students on the core and emerging channels of digital marketing. Students will gain a new understanding for the ‘how’ behind these channels and why these channels are critical for solving the marketing challenges of brands today.”

“I decided to enroll in the UVM Digital Marketing Fundamentals Program to learn new ways to grow the Trimaco business with one of our key customers, The Home Depot,” said Digital Marketing student Bill Dunwoodie. “The diversity of background and experience of all my instructors provided far more insights than I anticipated. I can now plan with a fresh confidence and deeper insights our digital / online business with Home Depot. I highly recommend the class. ”

UVM was given the top spot on the BestDegreesMarketing.org ranking because it’s one of the most affordable and fast-paced programs on the list, offering a tuition rate of $1,695

What does work-life balance look like? It’s different for everyone!

INTERVIEWING IS HARD

As an applicant, you come prepared with the stories and examples you’ll share to prove you’re the best person for the job. But, as you may’ve experienced, interviews don’t always go as planned. I’m referring to the times when you realize this role might not be the right fit on your end.

For example, I recently read two stories about CEOs testing a job applicant’s work-life balance (or lack thereof). According to The Cut, Barstool Sports CEO Erika Nardini admitted in a recent New York Times interview that she reaches out to candidates on Sundays, “…to see how fast [they’ll] respond.” That same week Business Insider reported that Vena Solutions CEO Don Mal asks candidates if they’d “…leave [their] family at Disneyland to do something that was really important for the company?”

The similarity is striking: Both of these CEOs want to know that a new hire won’t just put work first when they’re in the office, but anytime it would benefit the company—even on your day off.

First things first, it’s important to note that—for some people—this isn’t a bad thing. You could be in a stage in your life and career, where (especially for a certain role), you expect to be available 24/7 and you’re OK with it.

If that’s the case, distinguish yourself in the interview by making it clear. Say something like: “I recognize what a unique opportunity this is, and at this point in my career, I’m comfortable putting the job first. I’ve already thought through what that would mean. For example, I’d make sure I have internet access, and—if needed—a way to be in the office, 365 days a year, regardless of if I was off or traveling.”

And if you’re not willing to make those sacrifices, that’s important information as well. Side-stepping this question—while it may get you to the next round—would also set you up to work at a company with values you don’t agree with.

In which case, pick the option below that is truest to your actual work style and preferences:

To Answer the Disneyland Question

“Before I left for Disneyland, I would bring all projects to completion. As for ongoing work, I would fill in my colleagues in advance of leaving and make sure there was a clear point of contact. If for some reason that wasn’t enough, I’d find a way to hop on a quick call or communicate over email to troubleshoot whatever was necessary.”
“I pride myself on giving 100% of my attention to the task at hand. So, I’m not the kind of person who’ll be checking Facebook or taking personal calls from my desk. But I apply that same thinking to my time at home or on vacation—giving my [family/hobbies, etc.] my full focus. I’ve found that allows me to recharge so I can give my all during the workweek without burning out.”

To Answer the Sunday Text

“My initial thought is [one line]. I’ll have more time tomorrow morning to review and send on additional ideas.”
“I’ll review this first thing tomorrow morning and send on my thoughts by [time on Monday].”

Then, when you do share more on Monday, you can intro your work with a line that says, “I’m always happy to answer as quickly as I can during the workweek, however I reserve weekends for [time with family/recharging/etc.] With that said…”

The most important thing to keep in mind is that the interview process is an audition—for you and the company. So while telling them what they want to hear might get you to the next round, it’s not worth it if you prize the ability to leave work at work.

Be honest about who you are and what you’re hoping for in a future role. While it might take you a bit longer to land a job, you know you won’t be kicking yourself every time your boss texts you.

BALANCING LOOKS DIFFERENT FOR EVERYONE

How many times have you heard advice to draw boundaries between work and home, to set up a separate study space away from where you relax, or keep meticulous track of your time? And how many times have you said, “That sounds great, but it doesn’t work for me”?

When it comes to work-life balance, there are as many pieces of advice for the magic solution as there are people. As more coaches and thought leaders have been sharing in recent years there’s a reason for that: work-life balance is something that will look unique to each person, since “work” and “life” mean something different to every individual.

In his Huffington Post article, “Work vs. Life: Balance, Integration and Alignment,” organizational culture consultant Eryc Eyl examines these different meanings:

When we say, “work,” what do we mean? We typically mean the thing we do for money. We sometimes mean, as Mark Twain put it, the thing we are obliged to do. At other times, we mean the thing we’re called to do. And occasionally, we mean the thing we do that makes us who we are. Whether it’s a job, a career, or a calling, “work” is the thing that constitutes our professional life.

Then what do we mean by “life?” Typically, we mean everything outside of our professional life. Life is our family, our friends, our community, and the worlds that exist within our bodies and minds. It’s parenting, hobbies, passions, clubs, churches, volunteer work, dating, hanging out, […] whatever floats your boat. Life is the thing we do when we’re not working.

Depending on the priorities and values you hold related to work and what you do outside of work, the balance you’re looking for could be wildly different from the balance your best friend or a coworker is looking for. Do you see your work as “just a job” or do you see it as a passion, something you would do regardless of compensation?

Work-life balance often calls for a rigid, perhaps even equal, split between work and the rest of life. With each of these two spheres kept separate, a sense can emerge that extra time spent in one “takes” time from the other. But how realistic is this not just in our tech-heavy, interconnected society, but also with increasing attention paid to meaningful work that fulfills our priorities and values? What if you don’t want to keep them separate?

Two newer approaches to this question of managing work and life are called “integration” and “alignment.” In work-life integration, the idea of boundaries, of separation, is replaced with blending the two concepts. In a TEDxMileHigh talk, former executive Teresa Taylor describes merging her work and family calendars together, and making intentional choices about where to spend her time and to be completely engaged and focused in her choice, whether that’s dinner with a client or a night in with the kids. Work-life integration sees life as one whole with many parts that can all fit together seamlessly.

Work-life alignment goes a step further than integration, focusing on the big picture: what are your goals for your life? What is your personal vision, mission, or sense of purpose for your one life? Doing the introspective work to understand or decide the answers to these questions can lead you to a personalized approach to work-life balance or integration that ensures that your work, your relationships, your education, and all other facets of your life are in alignment with this overarching theme or goal. If you are a values-driven person or especially attuned to your personal or spiritual growth, work-life alignment could be an ideal approach for you to create a personalized sense of balance or what speaker Dan Thurmon describes as off-balance.

Are you curious to try one of these new approaches for yourself? A method we recommend to get started is by evaluating the different parts of your life and your current satisfaction with them. The “Wheel of Life” is one version of a tool you can use to do this. Once you fill in the wheel, ask yourself:

Is there an area of my life in which I would like to be more satisfied?
Is there an area in my life in which I wouldn’t mind cutting back?
How do the different areas of my life interact with each other in ways that may affect my sense of satisfaction or balance?

Perhaps creating boundaries between work and the other areas of your life will help you achieve your goals and to move forward and make change. But if boundaries are less your style, drawing connections between different parts of the wheel might help you map a plan for integration or alignment.

[Author’s note: Parts of this blog were originally published in ” Good to Know: Work-Life Balance “Tests” Are a Thing Now in Interviews”- July, 2017, and ” Re-Think Your Approach to Work-Life Balance”- December, 2016 and have been updated for accuracy and clarity]

Avoid these Words in your Resume

Getting your resume right is the most critical step of getting the job you’re targeting. It gives a detailed information not only about your educational and professional but also about your personality, which is the reason why several job aspirants don’t even get a response from the prospective employers despite having outstanding credentials. To make your resume more impactful, don’t include the below words and phrases.

1. Resume

Several candidates have the habit of writing the word resume on top. The recruiter already know it’s the resume so you don’t have to announce it in large and bold font.

2. Punctual and self-disciplined

These are prerequisites for a job and not special qualities. Also, you don’t announce them on your resume but rather have to display them with your behaviour and actions.

3. Result oriented

When you work for a company, you’re expected to deliver results as per the basic job criteria. Also, it’s a very generic phrase. Instead, specify what outstanding results you’ve achieved such as contests won by you for exceeding sales target, or an excellence award for customer service or operational management.

4. Responsible for

As an employee, you’re supposed to be responsible for your assigned tasks. No job role allows you to be irresponsible. So, you don’t have to highlight it as a superior trait. It’s the basic requirement for working with an organisation.

5. Ability to think out of the box

It’s a phrase that has been used so much that it’s now a cliché and even the recruiter knows it. No point using it as it wouldn’t add any value. Rather, it will make your resume look very ordinary and lacking creativity.

6. Dynamic

Another overused phrase. In the modern knowledge driven economy, you’re supposed to be dynamic by default to adjust to the changes in the professional environment.

7. Detail oriented

Focusing on details is a basic part of the job. Every employee is expected to focus on details. So, this phrase doesn’t add any value to your resume. It will only make your resume look monotonous as several other candidates would have used the same phrase.

8. Successfully achieved

This is another generic phrase. Instead, specify exactly what you achieved by highlighting them. Recruiters don’t like to read general information. They need to see something that specifically highlights your achievements.

9. Ethical

Ethic is the most important trait that an employee must have. Organisations only hire people whom they consider ethical and honest. Specifying it on your resume won’t make it more attractive. Display it through your behaviour. If there’s a specific achievement such as receiving an award in your current or previous organisations for displaying outstanding ethical behaviour, highlight it, but don’t write a general sentence that you’re highly ethical.

10. Self-motivated

There’s nothing exceptional about this phrase. Mentioning it on your resume doesn’t add any extra credibility. It has become so common that most of the recruiters would just skip it.

11. Problem solving ability

In your workplace, you’ll face several challenges and problems which you’ll have to solve. It’s not something you highlight in your resume but rather prove it through actions. If there’s a specific achievement in this field, such as you improved the operational performance exceptionally in your workplace after you were assigned the responsibility, mention it. Be specific. A general phrase will only put off the recruiter.

12. Proactive

Again this is a general word that doesn’t give any detail about your quality of taking initiatives or being proactive. If you add this word to your resume, it can’t be quantified. Hence, avoid it.

13. Best among your peers or colleagues

How? You could be better than many, but it’s an exaggeration to claim that you’re the best. Recruiters won’t even bother to give this phrase any credence.

14. Salary is negotiable

You still haven’t been shortlisted so it’s illogical to talk about salary. Recruiters expect you to be flexible with the salary, else they won’t make an offer.

15. References available on request

Clearly mention the names and contact details of the references. You wouldn’t want to irritate the recruiters by asking for their names. Give it to them upfront.

These are some commonly used words and phrases that just don’t make your resume any better. Instead, they are the spoilers which will make the resume look pretty ordinary.

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What even is a startup?

Why would I want to join a startup?

Sign me up!

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Choose a direction

Know your strengths

Work on your resume

Think about an internship

Play the numbers game

It’s in your hands

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Why are bed nets not consistently used?

What are the obstacles to getting nets to people?

What is the life span of a bed net?

How else are the nets distributed?

What are some ways to educate people about using bed nets?

Can you tell us about some other projects you are working on?

In your work, do you find that the world is becoming complacent because of the many gains in fighting malaria?

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I am sure you’re asked this all the time, especially around this topic, so let’s just get right to it: What’s your favorite fall beer?

Can you talk about what barriers, if any, you’ve faced throughout your career in a male-dominated industry?

What do you see as the biggest hurdle for craft breweries today, and what can they do to overcome it?

How did you land your first job in the beer industry, and is this the industry you knew you wanted to be in?

What traits have you found to be successful for you professionally?

Any advice for those who want to pursue a career in craft beer?

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So, what is craft beer?

Size

Ownership

Ingredients

Flavor and Attitude

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What Makes UVM the Best Online Digital Marketing Program

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