POP QUIZ: What do Mars, Mohawks and MINI coopers all have in common?

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) hosted the NACE Face2Face on Friday, April 26. Assistant Director of Employer Relations, Emily White and I  jumped on the southbound 101 bright and early destined for Pasadena. We were eager to connect with SoCal colleagues and recruiters as well as learn more about employment opportunities at JPL for UCSB students. We spent the first part of the day with Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director, who shared interesting trend data and insights on the future of college recruiting.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a federally funded research and development center and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) field center, has been recruiting at UCSB for several years. JPL is managed by the nearby California Institute of Technology (Caltech) for NASA and its primary function is the construction and operation of robotic planetary spacecraft, though it also conducts Earth-orbit and astronomy missions.
 
You may have heard of JPL’s recent Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. The Curiosity Mars rover, the most technologically advanced rover ever built, landed in Mars' Gale Crater the evening of August 5, 2012 using a series of complicated landing maneuvers never before attempted. View JPL team member’s riveting account of the Curiosity Mars rover's final minutes and the challenges faced with landing on the surface of Mars. ‘Challenges of Getting to Mars: Curiosity's Seven Minutes of Terror’ [VIDEO]. Curiosity's mission is to determine whether the Red Planet ever was, or is, habitable to microbial life. The rover, which is about the size of a MINI Cooper, is equipped with 17 cameras and a robotic arm containing a suite of specialized laboratory-like tools and instruments.

From inside the mission control room in the Space Flight Operations Facility, we got a glimpse of all that was involved in the tremendously complex Curiosity Rover mission. We sat in the seat where JPL Director, Dr. Charles Elachi, collaborated with rocket scientists and project managers and saw where MSL Flight Engineer Bobak “Mohawk Guy” Ferdowski played an integral role in the Curiosity rover’s landing sequence. It was truly an eye-opening experience and a wonderful chance to learn more about exciting job & internship opportunities for UCSB students.
 
Pursuing a non-technical degree but interested in a career with JPL? Aside from a pool of talented scientists and engineers, they also have positions like business analysts, facilities specialists, human resource practitioners, public outreach communicators, and administrators to ensure their success. Check out the JPL website for job information specific for college grads and check GauchoLink to find out when they’ll be on campus again.

 Ignacio Gallardo
Director, Career Services

UCSB Selected as One of Twelve Universities in U.S. Where Oracle will Recruit to fill 450 Positions!

Are you graduating in June and looking for a job? Oracle is hiring 450 June graduates now! We recently had our Oracle rep on campus to meet with a select group of student leaders and our Career staff to learn more about the positions as technical sales consultants and pure sales positions available. The Oracle team will be on campus over the next several weeks for Resume+ (4/10 from 2-4pm), an Information Session (4/10 from 5:30-7pm), the Spring Career Fair (4/18 from 12-4pm), and other events to continue recruitment for these amazing positions—so put your best foot forward and apply soon!

Oracle is currently recruiting 300 students for pure sales positions with exceptional communication skills, a passion for the digital world, a competitive mindset and a BS or BA degree in any major. Graduates with an athletic background or those who are driven to win usually excel in this position.

Do you have a BS or BA degree in science or engineering and an interest in working with the latest business software and hardware products? Oracle is also recruiting 150 students who are passionate about computer technology to work as technical sales consultants!

All selected hires will spend the first three months at Oracle headquarters in

Redwood Shores—just 20 miles outside of San Francisco—training alongside your peers on all aspects of sales and technology to ensure that you are equipped to thrive in your new role. Basically, you will have the chance to experience the excitement of a “start-up” feel on your team with the stability of an extremely established company. After training, positions will be in their Boston area, Austin and Redwood Shores offices.

Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity. Email your resume to: salesgrads_us@oracle.com.

Network Your Way to Internships

For a successful internship search and experience, it comes down to these things: 1. Network 2. Gain relevant experience 3. Find a need and fulfill it 4. Did I already mention networking?

We may each complete the steps differently, but we have to professionally and proactively tackle them to show we are competitive and qualified candidates. The more important piece? We just need to get out there and meet people; attend campus panels, local events, and talk to people standing next to you in line. You truly never know where a conversation may lead you.

Yesterday in the Daily Nexus you had the chance to read about fellow Gaucho Trevor Zehnder’s networking success story. Trevor networked his way to a local internship with UBS and is now a graduating senior with multiple job offers. He is a prime example of powerful networking and his eager work ethic paid off. Now is your chance to begin, or continue, your road to networking success by attending Internship Week! Meet recruiters who hire interns annually and get to know what they look for when hiring. Ask our panelists about their career paths and tips for success, and don’t be shy—a simple question can lead to a new professional contact and beyond! Check out the employer lineup below.

Internships and volunteer positions help us gain experience for our desired positions. Networking during these positions is essential and Santa Barbara is home to many professional organizations and events that are perfect for this! We are all familiar with the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which is a great event to get involved with locally, but undoubtedly the signature event within the advertising community is the Coastal California ADDY Awards hosted by the American Advertising Federation of Santa Barbara. This is an epic night when professionals from near and far gather in celebration of the power of creativity and acknowledge the achievements in all media, giving recognition to brilliant individuals and companies. Sounds like the place to meet talented people, right? Well, you are in luck! AAF Santa Barbara is seeking volunteers for the ADDY Awards gala to help display the entries, direct traffic, greet guests, and help set up the event. This is a great example of a networking opportunity to mix and mingle with business owners, agencies, and all aspects of the media and community leaders! Get your professional introduction ready.

The ADDY Awards gala will be held Wednesday March 13^th 2013 at The Contemporary Arts Forum as well as Center Stage Theatre at Paseo Nuevo Mall. Interested in volunteering? UCSB students can contact Ariana Rubio at aafsantabarbara@gmail.com or 805-882-3905.

Internship Week: Employer Line-up  

Monday, February 25^th

• Technical Internships for Engineering Majors, 3-4:30pm: Belkin, Raytheon, Visus, and Citrix
• Internships in Music at 5-6:30pm: Santa Barbara Independent, New Noise Festival, MUSIC! The Sounds of Santa Barbara 

Tuesday, February 26^th

• Experiences in Teaching, 3-4:30pm: City Year, Partners in Education, Americorps, and UCSB Pre-Professional Education Program
• Internships in Communications, Marketing, & PR, 5-6:30pm: Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Davies Public Affairs, and UCSB Health & Wellness Programs

 Wednesday, February 27^th

• Internships in Health Care & Wellness, 4-5:30pm: UCSB Health & Wellness Programs, Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care, UCSB Alcohol & Drug Program, and Clinical Care Extender Program

 Thursday, February 28^th

• Management, Sales, & Leadership, 4-5:30pm: Enterprise, College Works Painting, and Target
• Sustainability, 6-7:30pm: City of Goleta, Green 2 Gold, Community Environmental Council, and UCSB Department of Geography

 (for panel descriptions and more workshops, visit our website)

Citrix Online

Talk about an insiders look, Citrix Online, Career Partner with UCSB, gave me a tour of their campus and I got some great pics and received information just for Gauchos.

First, for those of you who aren’t familiar with Citrix Online, let me give you a little background. Founded in 1997 by a UCSB professor and two graduate students, Citrix Online is the online services division of Citrix Systems, Inc. Citrix Online offers web-based, support, and collaboration software and services. Its products are GoToAssist, GoToMeeting, GoToMyPC, GoToTraining, GoToWebinar, Podio, and HiDef Corporate. Every month, more than 17,000 new customers start using Citrix GoTo cloud services to work from anywhere with anyone – using their remote-connectivity and online collaboration solutions to save time, get more done and connect to others around the world.

Now, onto some more good stuff. Citrix Online is located in Goleta out by the Butterfly Preserve. In fact, part of the Butterfly Preserve is on their campus so during your lunch break you can go see the beautiful monarch butterflies, if you’re into that kind of stuff. Speaking of lunch, Citrix Online has a delicious cafeteria and a kitchen area in each building filled with beverages, coffee and snacks! They also have a full gym that’s open 24 hours to their employees and an outdoor basketball court! Did I mention that you can bring your dog to work too? I mean c’mon, how cool is that?

They’re offices are set up in a collaborative style format where you can see the people you’re working with and you get the opportunity to work with employees at all different levels. So this means the entry-level people aren’t all just grouped together; you get to learn from mid level and senior managers. And, in their sales area, you can walk into a red phone booth at anytime to hear a live sales call in action.

How do you go about getting a job at Citrix Online? Well you can see most of their open positions on GauchoLink and on the career section of their website. You can also meet their recruiters at the Career Fairs and Information Sessions. They hire for both technical and non-technical positions and offer some great internship opportunities

Here’s a video I found that I think you might also enjoy  http://www.citrixonline.com/collaboration/careers

An Evening with Fisher Investments

Fisher Investments joined us last week for a very informative session. In case you missed, it here are some photos and highlights from their talk. Fisher recruits student for two positions: Account Executive and Investment Associate. The Investment Associates work on the operations side of the business in areas like client services, marketing and Account Executives work in sales with warm leads, no cold calling here! Both positions will spring board you into other areas of Fisher and many people progress rather quickly building a lifelong career. And, at Fisher you are promoted based on merit! That means if you do well, you’re compensated and able to move around in the company. Right now they are hiring for both their Portland and Bay Area offices.

Now that I have you interested, let me tell you about what they are looking for and how to land an exciting position at Fisher. First, you don't need any finance experience to work at Fisher and they don’t care about what major you're in. However, they are looking for students who are creative, have original thoughts and who will challenge conventional wisdom. They also want well rounded and academically strong students who are motivated and ready to be professionals.

If this describes you, then check our their open positions on GauchoLink and visit them at the Spring Career Fair on April 18^th and at their next Information Session on April 23^rd.

And, did I also mention they have internship opportunities? At the April 23^rd session they will be discussing their summer internship program!

Recruiter Tips to Prep for the Career Fair!

Seventeen employers and recruiters attended Résumé+ at Career Services on Tuesday, January 15^th to give students valuable résumé feedback. This event occurs quarterly the week before each career fair and it’s the perfect opportunity to make sure résumés are ready for the big recruiting event! We sat down with the employers before they began critiquing résumés so we could gather professional advice from industry leaders.

What catches your eye at a recruiting event?

“An engaging smile and approachable disposition. Students need to express that they are able and willing to work, and provide a résumé that is tailored. Communication skills are very important!” –Tyco representative

“Too many students approach recruiters and ask, ‘So, what does your company do?’ The applicant should show their knowledge and interest in the company by doing research.” –Kollmorgen representative

“It stands out when a student has an elevator pitch or strong introduction about what they are looking for so an employer can tailor their response. About one-third of students are well prepared at recruiting events.” –Enterprise Holdings representative

“Applicants approaching recruiters at an event need to be personable and able to talk about their internship experience and why it is relevant.” –Yardi representative 

Do you have expectations about professional attire at a Career Fair?

“Wearing a suit or professional attire indicates you are willing to assume the part and make the commitment. Professional attire and appearance also makes an applicant look more approachable.” –Chase Bank representative

“Although the field of engineering is a little bit different in the office we still look for professional attire at recruiting events such as a jacket and button-up shirt.” –Raytheon representative

“Dress professionally and appropriate to impress recruiters. Remember, you’re not going out to a club.” Kollmorgen representative

“It’s important to dress professionally but equally important to make sure you feel comfortable being yourself and expressing fit for the position.” College Works Painting representative  

What are some “deal breakers” when reviewing a résumé?

“Funky fonts, irrelevant graphics, and being unorganized.” –Yardi representative  

“An ambiguous objective statement.” –Kollmorgen representative

Thanks to our local recruiters for sharing such great advice! These tips will help students prepare for the career fair this upcoming Tuesday. Get ready for the Winter 2013 Career Fair and check out the list of participating companies who will be here on Tuesday, January 22^nd 1-4pm at Corwin Pavilion!  

Kollmorgen

I had the pleasure of visiting Kollmorgen right before the holiday break and got to see some Gaucho Alumni in practice. Kollmorgen is a local company that produces high performance motion control products. They are located in Goleta, biking distance from campus, and hire interns and graduating seniors from UCSB. Interns who excel at Kollmorgen are often offered full-time positions. You can see two Gauchos in the pictures below who accomplished just this.  Ryan, on the left if a Software Engineer. He graduated in June 2011. Dan is a Hardware Engineer that graduated in June of 2012.

What’s really exciting is that Kollmorgen has locations worldwide and once you’re in you have these opportunities at your fingertips! To find out some more information about Kollmorgen visit their table at the Winter Career Fair on Tuesday, January 22^nd at the Corwin Pavilion from 1-4pm or come get you resume critiqued at our Resume+ event on Tuesday, January 15^th at Career Services. Human Resource Manager, Kay Hoffman will be helping us critique resumes from 2-4pm.

Here’s an insiders look at Kollmorgen: