North Carolina Central University Career Director Warns Against Underselling Skills
By Jill Randolph
March 2, 2011
The following is an interview transcript with Donna Hembrick, Director of Career Services for North Carolina Central University since 2008. Prior to serving in this role, she was Assistant Director of Career Services at Peace College and an employment recruiter at UNC Chapel Hill.
NCCU Career Services strives to assist students in identifying, articulating, and leveraging their strengths, skills, and interests into meaningful work experiences that satisfy their career goals. In addition, they integrate one-on-one career counseling and technologies to equip students and alumni with the skills needed to manage their careers upon graduation.
North Carolina Central University, a comprehensive university in Durham, North Carolina, was the nation's first public, liberal arts institution founded for African-Americans. Programs are offered at the bachelor, master, professional, and selected doctoral levels. The most popular fields of study are nursing, biology, business administration, political science, and psychology. The University is home to more than 120 registered student organizations and over 10 honor societies.
Jill Randolph: Do you think that most students should consider relocation when searching for a job because of intense job competition?
Donna Hembrick: Many students initially prefer to stay here until they are fully immersed in their job search and realize they need to cast their net further. They must be open and flexible because the ideal opportunity may not be five minutes from their hometown. Opportunities are much broader outside their local community or where they went to school. To find success, they have to be flexible and think broadly.
Jill Randolph: When relocating, how should students build their network in target cities?
Donna Hembrick: Once students graduate and are in a new city, they should identify familiar areas. If they were active in Greek Life, they can connect with Greek organizations. If they play tennis, they can join tennis groups. Whether through volunteer organizations, seminars, or a church, they can connect by isolating affinities.
Before they arrive, they should research professional organizations to join. By investigating beforehand, they establish future connections. Often, they already know someone who knows someone else, or we can contact alumni in the area. This is beneficial because they have their alma mater in common.
Jill Randolph: What advice do you give students regarding traditional networking versus social networking?
Donna Hembrick: We focus on traditional networking because face-to-face contact delivers the best results. Students need to learn traditional networking first before transferring those skills to the social media forum. We advise students on how to successfully navigate Facebook and LinkedIn.
On Facebook, many students post inappropriate pictures when they should be using it as a tool to post internship information and pertinent experiences. Another issue is less savvy students are aggressively pursuing people for jobs on LinkedIn. This is not an effective strategy.
Jill Randolph: Do you have any specific advice for candidates submitting resumes online?
Donna Hembrick: Candidates need to have multiple versions of their resume available because the technology at every site is not the same. They must choose the appropriate digital format for a particular site to ensure their resume is screened. This will maximize their access to opportunities.
Beyond formatting, making sure keywords are captured in their information is important. We always talk with students about their experience and skills before looking at their resume because students often undersell themselves. They will omit information they do not feel is relevant, but it may be valuable.
Jill Randolph: What are the most common mistakes students make in their job search?
Donna Hembrick: When the economy started to decline, instead of portraying confidence, students revealed panic and desperation. Instead of selling themselves for positions, they made it clear they would take anything.
The other mistake is focusing on a small group of positions. Their skills will translate to other areas, so they should not pigeonhole themselves. We encourage students to be flexible. There are majors that require specific skill sets such as nursing, but most students have broader opportunities than their major may indicate. In addition, employers are often more focused on skills rather than one area of study.
Jill Randolph: How has the job market changed over the past year? Have you seen any signs of improvement, and if so, in which areas?
Donna Hembrick: I have not seen much improvement. Employers are coming to campus to establish relationships, but they do not have jobs. The news is hinting that the economy is recovering, but I have not seen this from the private sector. There has been a stronger response from federal and government agencies that are hiring, but in terms of industry, it has been very slow.
Jill Randolph: Do you think your proximity to Raleigh has an impact on this?
Donna Hembrick: No, I think the recession is the cause. We are in the heart of Research Triangle Park where there is solid growth as well as industry. There are also a number of educational institutions and hospitals that are large employers or have been large employers in the past.
Hiring has scaled back due to the recession. The other challenge is that our area has 12 schools within a 30-mile radius. The competition for new graduates is tough, which is compounded with lay-offs in the existing workforce.
Jill Randolph: There are a number of unemployed, overqualified people currently applying for jobs. What should students or recent graduates highlight about themselves in order to outshine the competition?
Donna Hembrick: They need to analyze the job description, target keywords, and make sure those are reflected on their resume. Their resume should be tailored to the organization and position. Frequently, applicants send cookie-cutter resumes with cookie-cutter bulleted items for every position. They are anxious and frustrated and send out as many resumes as possible thinking that someone will call them.
Students need to be focused, intentional, and strategic with their resume so that it matches the job description and organization offering the position. Since "job search websites" may not have a direct person to contact, understanding how to use the internet to build connections is invaluable in ensuring their resume is picked up by a human being.
To give students a visual, I have them highlight everything they know how to do in the job description. Then, I look at their resume to see if those items are included. If they are not there, the likelihood of hearing back diminishes greatly.
Jill Randolph: People commonly forget to consider the employer's point of view and focus instead on what they bring to the table. If they do not think about what the employer is looking for, are they not marketing their resume effectively?
Donna Hembrick: It is like creating a profile on a dating site. I use the example that if a girl is seeking a guy who is six-four, bald, lean, smart, likes soccer, and drinks lattés on Saturday, but a guy who is five-two and reads poetry contacts her, she probably will not pay attention to him.
The employer is doing the same assessment. The employer is asking for A, B and C, so if they see X, Y and Z, they will not to be interested.
Jill Randolph: What about job descriptions that read like the kitchen sink? It seems the more demanding job titles want applicants to do A through Z with the caveat that the job description is subject to change. How does a student market him or herself for those types of job postings?
Donna Hembrick: In this scenario, they should look for repeating themes and pick the most important ones to highlight in their resume and cover letter.
The majority of job descriptions begin with the most important functions and work backwards to the least important, so a smart tactic is to focus on the top half of the job description.
Students need to include quantifiable information as well. As a former recruiter, I looked for keywords beyond the summary of qualifications. If a candidate told me that he or she had several years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, I wanted to see specifics of what that person did and how he or she did it.
The other key piece is leadership experience. Many students downplay their campus involvement. We encourage students to always use their experience in leadership roles on their resume.
Jill Randolph: What if they have leadership experience, but it was in a church or a volunteer opportunity?
Donna Hembrick: Leadership is leadership, and students need to highlight any measurable outcomes. When students accept internships, volunteer opportunities, or on-campus work-study positions, they need to know what they aim to accomplish. They should have measurable outcomes when they complete the position. They must plan for end results in order to have an experience to sell.
Jill Randolph: If students with work experience and skills know their ideal job, is it ok to use the same resume or should they adapt it every time they apply to a new opportunity?
Donna Hembrick: They need to take a fresh look with every opportunity. Changing the summary of qualifications and the objective and leaving the rest the same is not sufficient.
They need to tweak their experience to make it relevant to the position. There are parts they cannot change, but there are many instances where students can modify content to better suit a particular company.
Jill Randolph: Do you have any specific career related books or websites you recommend to your students?
Donna Hembrick: I suggest JobWeb, which is linked to the National Association of Colleges and Employers and has useful quick tips. Vault has helpful information as well.
Jill Randolph: What advice do you give students who are not sure what they want to do after graduation?
Donna Hembrick: It is not necessarily about what students want to do with their life, but where to start. Students who are in a state of confusion should complete an assessment to figure out their interests. If they still do not know, they can start investigating areas for volunteering which builds skills and connections for their network. We have a community service requirement for graduation, so we meet with freshmen at the onset to show them how community service is an opportunity to try different fields. If they have never tried something, they do not know whether they like it or not.
Jill Randolph: For someone who has experience and direction, do you advocate volunteering in addition to looking for a job or should they stay focused on the job search?
Donna Hembrick: They need to do both, because even if they have experience and spend 40 hours a week applying for jobs, they still have an employment gap. It should be a balance between volunteerism and job searching. If they volunteer in an area of interest, they can show a potential employer what they are capable of doing, versus just reading about it on their resume.
These face-to-face interactions give a better idea of a candidate's fit and ability to contribute. Volunteering also reduces anxiety by offering a sense of value, which is important when people are not employed. Being involved in a meaningful endeavor makes people feel like they are working towards changing their situation.
