Overview

In order to use the services of the Career Services Center at the GSM, all students are required:

• To attend the Career Services Orientation Workshop.
• Participate in the Mock Interview program during the fall quarter of their first year at the GSM.
• Provide one hard copy resume, an electronic résumés and complete all associated forms for the GSM Résumé Directory.
• Publish a résumé on eRecruiting.com
• Post a Web résumé to the GSM Web site (should you take issue with posting to our Web please make an appointment with the Career Services Staff)
• Complete all three Career Leader self-assessment tests as a prerequisite for Career Development counseling
• Conduct yourself professionally at all times.

These requirements will provide students with a foundation for their job search and assure they receive the maximum benefit from services and resources available. It is necessary to complete all seven requirements and remain in good academic standing in order to utilize Career Services during your tenure at the GSM.

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CAREER SERVICES REQUIREMENTS

Résumés for Directories

The Graduate School of Management publishes an annual MBA Résumé Directory every fall. The directory is sent to various companies and recruiters in the Sacramento region and Bay Area. All of the GSM Business Partners and companies attending the GSM Career Fair receive complimentary copies. 
All students who plan on utilizing Career Services need to submit one hard-copy résumé to the Career Services Center (AOB IV #206) and one electronic resume along with all completed associated forms no later than Tuesday, October 9, 2007.  These deadlines are strictly enforced due to the tight turn-around timeline to publish the directory. 

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Publish a Résumé to eRecruiting.com

Publishing a résumé on the Career Services software application called eRecruiting.com is necessary in order to participate in Career Services. You may create and upload as many as 10 different résumés, but you are only required to publish one PDF résumé to eRecruiting.com's general résumé book. eRecruiting.com is a relatively new Web-based software application that incorporated some customization requested by the GSM, and is a work in progress. eRecruiting.com is a secure, password-protected application, so only companies and recruiters known to the Career Services staff will be allowed access. Résumés should be published no later than Tuesday, October  9, 2007.

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Posting a Résumé to the GSM Web site

We require, need, and expect each student to post a résumé on the GSM Web site. Our relatively small school size compared to other top MBA programs is accentuated when recruiters search our résumé directory and find less than 55 résumés in each class. We need your help creating a critical mass and making a strong impression, but, more importantly, you need to help yourself to gain the most exposure possible. Your Web résumé can be expanded to a maximum of four pages. Web résumé guidelines and a workshop will cover the "do's and don'ts" of what is permissible and in your best interest.

• Post or Update a Résumé to the GSM Web site

NOTE: If you have any concerns about  posting your résumé to our Web site, you may want to remove your home address and phone number for confidentiality reasons. We have been very fortunate in the past and have not experienced any difficulties with Web site résumés being misused. If you feel as though you would like to take precautionary measures, we suggest identifying only an e-mail address for contact purposes (you may use the generic GSM Career Services e-mail address: careerservices@gsm.ucdavis.edu. If you still have issues with posting your résumé to the Web please make an appointment with a Career Services staff person.

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Career Leader

No two students entering our MBA program are exactly alike and graduates from the GSM have pursued a wide variety of business careers. The question is not what are the best MBA jobs, but rather, what is the best business career for you. To help you answer these questions the GSM has made available to you (at no cost) Career Leader, the premier online business career self-assessment program for each GSM full-time student. If you haven't by now, you must complete the self-assessment program Career Leader (all three inventories: Business Career Interest Inventory, Management and Professional Reward Profile and Management and Professional Abilities Profile) as a prerequisite for Career Development counseling. To access Career Leader you will need a password provided by Career Services. 

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Professional Conduct

Professional behavior is expected! You must conduct yourself professionally at all times when using Career Services, and in order to utilize Career Services.  We expect professional conduct at all GSM professional type events (Dean's Distinguished Speaker Series, Company Information Sessions, Alumni Day, etc.) Professional conduct will be discussed during each GSM Workshop.

Honoring Interview Appointments

Twenty-four hour notice is required to cancel a scheduled interview. If, for any reason, you have to cancel or miss an interview appointment you must, within three working days of the scheduled interview, write a letter of apology to the recruiter and send a copy to the Director of Career Services. Failure to do so will result in revocation of your interviewing privileges and the use of other services offered by Career Services Center until this letter of apology to the recruiter and a copy provided to the Director of Career Services.

• Cancellation of more than two interviews may result in permanent loss of interviewing privileges.
• Failure to show up for more than one scheduled interview without prior notice will result in permanent loss of interviewing privileges. This includes changing your eRecruiting.com access to inactive, essentially preventing you from fully utilizing the system.

Interviewing Policy for WP Transfer and Joint MBA Students

Every year a varying number of employers come to the GSM to interview students. Some companies request in advance to interview Working Professional students. Only Working Professional Students with Career Services waivers on file are allowed to participate in on-campus interviewing. Working Professional students are limited to a one-time, consecutive 12-month-long period. They may only interview on employer-requested, pre-approved Career interview schedules.

Note: All GSM students (including WPs with waivers, WP transfer and Joint MBA students) are only allowed to interview with the same company once for an internship and once for a career position.

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PROCEDURES

Mock Interviews

All full-time GSM students are required to participate in the Mock Interview program during their first quarter at the GSM if they wish to use the Career Services Center. Each incoming student must apply and participate in one mock interview. The mock interview schedules and job descriptions will be posted to eRecruiting.com. There are 13 different "Mock Interview Schedules" with each schedule assigned an interviewer and a feedback participant.

The first mock interview is scheduled for Wednesday, October 17. All mock interviews are scheduled on Wednesdays or Fridays to avoid conflict with first-year core classes. You will be expected to submit a résumé for your mock interview at least one week prior to your interview date. Those of you who sign up for the first mock interviews should have time to attend a Résumé Writing workshop and an Interviewing workshop. If you have not completed polishing your résumé prior to your mock interview, do not be concerned; one added value of the mock interview is for résumé feedback.

On the day of your mock interview, please be on time and dressed appropriately -- just as you would for a professional job interview. It is expected that you are familiar with the job descriptions and have researched the company of the interviewer as if you were applying for an internship or career position. In addition, to be prepared to answer with poise, polish and confidence the predetermined questions provided to you in advance.

Please check-in with the receptionist in AOB IV Room 206 at least 15 minutes prior to your interview start time.  Proceed to the interview room AOB IV Room 213. The interviewer will then introduce himself or herself and place the disc in the video camera and start recording.

After 20 minutes of interviewing, the interviewer will stop the tape and provide some immediate and brief feedback for 20 minutes. You will then be given your interview disc to take to AOB IV Room 215 for 40 minutes of professional feedback. We have included in your Career Services Packets the evaluation sheet which each of the Mock volunteers will be completing.  However, the feedback from our Mock volunteers is not limited to the evaluation form.  They may or may not include feedback on personal presentation and/or your interview style, additional interview questions and possibly a résumé review. This is also an opportunity for you to ask the feedback person questions regarding their company and how your résumé fits with current opportunities. Remember you only have 40 minutes with each interview/feedback person.

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Interviews

While maintaining established relationships with large and small employers throughout the United States, Career Services develops new recruiting relationships reflecting changing student interest and current MBA trends. These relationships create a wide variety of internship and career employment opportunities.

Company recruiters conduct three types of interview schedules: open (first-come, first-served), pre-selected and mixed (combined open and pre-selected). It is imperative that each student is aware and understands what type of schedule he/she is applying and interviewing for. All GSM on-campus interview schedules involve different procedures and deadlines. All on-campus interview schedules and their respective résumé deadlines will be posted on the eRecruiting calendar and announced in the GSM Career Services Newsletter. Reminders may also be sent out via e-mail. You will apply online through eRecruiting.com for the GSM on-campus interviews. Final schedules will be posted both on-line via eRecruiting.com., and on the Career Services Bulletin Board outside of AOB IV Room 206. As with the mock interviews, please check-in with the receptionist in AOB IV Room 206 to let him/her know you have arrived on time for your interview(s).

Open Schedule: "First-come, First-served." Each interview schedule and résumé deadline will be posted (in a timely manner if the opportunity permits) on the eRecruiting calendar and announced in advance via e-mail and/or the Career Service Newsletter. The first students to submit their résumés, meet the employers' job requirements and/or citizenship restrictions and secure an interview time will be interviewed. Because we want every recruiter to be able to review every résumé submitted, we will forward all résumés turned in by the deadline whether or not you were able to secure an interview time. Many times we're able to persuade a recruiter to add another interview slot at the end of the day, or if the interest level is high enough for both students and employers, we can often offer a second interview schedule. In some cases, candidates are invited to interview on-site with the company. We will work very diligently to provide you with the most exposure and access to recruiters as possible.

Pre-selected Schedule: The recruiter will pre-screen all résumés before deciding who to interview on campus. We encourage all companies who come to campus to select an open schedule, or a mixed interview schedule. We do allow a few select companies to choose a pre-select schedule if their recruitment efforts and resources are limited, or if they are traveling from outside California. In general, this type of schedule is discouraged and is not the practice of the GSM, but is becoming more prevalent and insisted upon by recruiters.

Mixed Schedule (Half Open and Half Pre-Select): Mixed schedules are a combination of interview candidates who were selected from pre-screened résumés by the recruiter and candidates from the remaining pool of original job applicants who sign up on a "first-come, first-served" basis after the pre-selects have signed-up.

Recruiters will make selections for the pre-selected interview slots at least one week in advance. The remaining interview slots will be opened up on a first-come, first-served basis. Recruiters do not always give one-week advance notice for pre-selected interview slots so be prepared for very short notice. If you have been selected, the Career Service Center will make every attempt to notify you as soon as possible via e-mail, phone or a note in your student mailbox. Please continuously check the eRecruiting schedules online. Each student is responsible for knowing his or her own interview schedule. More information and details will be offered in the eRecruiting workshop.

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GSM Résumé Directory

All full-time students are required to submit one hard-copy résumé to the Career Services Center (AOB IV #206), one electronic resume, and completed all associated forms according to your class deadline.  The information on these required forms will be incorporated into an index for the GSM Résumé Directory and analyzed for internship and career recruitment. All students need to submit a polished and specifically formatted résumé that meets all of the following guidelines. Please read carefully.

GSM / MBAfocus Résumé Directory Format Guidelines:

• One page 8.5" x 11" (Crisp, white paper only.)
  
• Include name, address, phone, e-mail or Web site justified right at the top of the page for the hard copy only. (Street address and phone number are optional.)
  
• Use New Times Roman, Arial or other traditional fonts. We recommend that your name should be 16 point, headings should be 14 point and content should ideally be no smaller than 10 point. The right, top and bottom margins must be at least 1/2 " wide. (A 3/4" margin is necessary on the left for binding the résumé directory.)
  
• Use graphics to guide the reader, not to distract them. Make sure the critical information is at the top 1/3 of the page.
  
• Please attend the GSM Résumé Writing Workshop and refer to online résumé writing tips.  There will also be a MBAfocus training session and instructions provided.
  

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eRecruiting.com Résumé Book

Each full-time student is required to publish one PDF electronic résumé to eRecruiting.com and to be included in the general Résumé Book. The Career Services staff will enter each student's name, e-mail, username and password into eRecruiting's database prior to the eRecruiting.com workshop. Once you access the system, you can change your password at any time, however, Career Services ask that you please keep this written down somewhere secure. (To login, use Student Username (e.g. Smith1234) as your username and Birthdate (e.g. for a birthday of 02/04/78 type 020478) as your password)

Career Services can re-set passwords, but will not do so without just cause. Detailed procedures will be provided and explained during the eRecruiting.com Workshop.

Note: One of the advantages and benefits of an online system is that it utilizes the efficiency, the immediacy and the power of the Internet. But it can be a double-edge sword! This automated process will not allow for a late résumé to be submitted. Late submissions will not be bundled and sent to the recruiter to be reviewed along with other résumés submitted on time.

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GSM Web Résumé

Posting a résumé to the GSM Web site is now a requirement of all incoming students. We will offer two one-hour sessions on the "how to" and suggested formats as well as suggested tools.  There are numerous ways and tools to utilize such as Front Page, HTML, PDF Creator, and  Adobe Acrobat just to name a few.  You may choose whatever format you feel most comfortable and effective using.  The goal is to have the best presented resume on the web you can create.  Career Services will offer a workshop on how to post your web resume to the GSM web site to be included in our resume Directory for potential employers and recruiters

For more information, see "Web Résumé Guidelines" and " Post or update your résumé to the GSM Web site". 

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Go to Part II. of Career Services Manual