In Transition

To all incoming members of The George Washington University Class of 2016, congratulations! If you haven't already received notification, you should within the next few days. For more information, be sure to check out the Office of Undergraduate Admissions website.

For everybody reading, I wanted to write a brief note about the admissions experience.

Waiting for those college acceptance letters can be tough. I still remember how concerned I was during the college admissions process. From my perspective, four years later, the most important thing about the experience is to learn as much as you can from it.

Stoicism is noble; it also fulfills general curriculum requirements

Even if I hadn't realized that decision letters were going out, I might very well have ended writing on this topic: it turns out graduating from college brings some of the same excitement, and the some of the same stress, as one feels going in. Waiting to hear back from prospective employers about interviews isn't easy--nor is waiting to hear those graduate school acceptances. Even when you are admitted or hired, financial considerations can complicate matters further.

There's no easy answer for any of the challenges life throws at us. But the same things that make college applications competitive--hard work, an early start, and perseverance--can really make the difference going out as well.

Whether you're at GW or another institution, that admissions season feeling will keep cropping up. Just keep working hard, and everything will work out.

Adam
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Next Time: More on my job search. For admitted students, I'll also share my personal "Top Ten Reasons to Choose GW."

The Great Senior Job Search

Good morning Readers,

Sorry it's been a while since my last post! I have been immersed in a job search to make sure I'm a productive member of society following graduation (as of tomorrow, two months away).

On the bright side, I have a lot of great experiences to share with anybody interested in how GW can give you a leg up in this important task. Here's a brief outline of how I've leveraged GW's resources over the past month.

1. Start with the basics: The GW Career Center was my first stop. I realized that, while targeted resumes are great, it really helps to make sure they're targeted to the right employers! I also sent in several cover letters for review and got some very helpful feedback form the Career Center staff through the 24-hour Resume Critique Service.








2. Research: Professors and employers have been very valuable in pointing me in the right directions, proving the concrete value of the community GW students enter. GW's employment database, GWork, is also a great place to find jobs ranging from summer house-sitting to full-time research positions. I can't count the number of hours I've spent researching prospective employers. Since GWork contains employer profiles, it's a great springboard and a valuable resource.

3. Apply: I'm proud to be able to list a GW education at the top of my resume. Particularly in International Affairs, there are very schools that can compare to the quality of the Elliott School's academic programs. The number of high-ranking officials who have chosen to associate themselves with GW bears this out. In the Obama Administration, this number includes the Under Secretary of the Navy, who taught at GW, and the Assistant Secreatary of State for Arms Control, an alumna. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell received an MBA from GW, and many flag and general officers in the U.S. Armed Forces have also graduated with GW degrees.

4. Follow-up: The time has come, and I have to make those follow-up calls this week! It's very exciting (though sometimes a little intimidating), but I'm confident that things will go well.

Adam

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Coming soon: a history of the jobs I've held while at GW, and how a GW education can help you secure some great positions!

As always, feel free to send me any questions or comments at ash1290@gwmail.gwu.edu.

The Big Job Hunt and GW's resources

Hey folks,

Thought I'd pick up where I left off last time--with a discussion of the specific resources GW offers its students in finding jobs.

As anybody who knows Washington, D.C., can tell you, this is the city of internships. Almost everybody I know has made searching for internships a principal focus of their undergraduate careers. For more on that front, I highly recommend looking through our archives here at the GW Admissions Student Blog--my colleagues have written some great pieces on the diversity of their experiences.

As a second-semester senior, I want to offer a bit of a different perspective: that of a soon-to-be-graduate looking for work. (I also have graduate school applications in, but that's a story for a different post.)

Freshman and parents probably want to know the answers to the following two questions:
1. How well does a GW education prepare you for employment in general?
2. What kind of resources are available to assist the job search itself?

My last post talked more about question #1. From my experiences over the past ten days, I can offer two data points on question #2:

Career Fairs: GW offers two big general-interest career fairs. Our first fair this year was held back in the Fall; our Spring fair just happened on Wednesday, February 1. I attended the Spring fair this year, and I have to say I was really impressed with the breadth of opportunities available. Many employers were looking for students with strong written and verbal communication skills to fill spots immediately, and most were accepting resumes.

I admit it: I'm not going to be designing submarines for this GW Career fair perennial--though many of our outstanding SEAS students do work for outstanding companies like this one.

One comment I frequently hear from my fellow humanities students after job fairs is "What about me?" I have to say, I think this criticism is unfair. It's only natural that a disproportionate number of employers actively hiring will be looking for engineers--technical fields are the country's main growth sectors. This is certainly reflected at our job fairs, but humanities majors need not lose hope: with a little research, you too can discover those hidden opportunities. (More on my personal experiences next time.)

Career Center Workshops: If fairs offer students a shot to impress employers in attendance, workshops give us a better chance of making each shot count. Everything from resume design to interview behavior is covered by our Career Center's staff.

Yesterday, I attended a guest lecture on interview behavior hosted by the Center. Some schools offer similar services, but GW really makes quality career support accessible. I learned a number of tips on how to improve my interview performance, and will definitely be going back for more help next week.

--Adam
Questions about the job search and life as a GW senior? Comments about this or other posts? Let me know at ash1290@gwmail.gwu.edu.
Next time: My personal employment experiences and my job search strategy.

Beginning My Wrap-Up

Wait, graduation applications are due on Wednesday?!

I've known people who say college goes by in the blink of eye, but for me, that hasn't been the case at all. Each one of my years here at GW--the last of which is now more than halfway done--has been unforgettable and packed with great experiences, from the time I began Colonial Inauguration to today, shortly after returning from break for my final semester as an undergraduate.

That said, what about about after graduation? How has a GW education prepared me for a viable career?
What kind of resources does GW offer, and how far can they take you throughout your undergraduate years? All of these are questions I hope to answer for prospective students, who sit where I was four years ago.

Today I'll start with the first question: is my particular GW degree, a B.A. in International Affairs, marketable?

Notwithstanding the tough conditions out there right now, I think the answer is yes. International Affairs is a major with a good number of options; some students use the degree as a stepping-stone to graduate degrees while others jump directly into the job market.

To a greater degree than some other fields, International Affairs requires students to focus their energy on developing skills. This is in part because the program offers so many choices-- even within functional and regional concentrations--that it's easy to learn a little about a lot. In today's challenging job market, employers seem to be looking for just the right person to fill a given job, so it's worthwhile to develop a focused set of skills.

It's early in my job search, but I'll keep readers apprised throughout the semester on how it's going to provide a realistic look. I tailored my class schedule over several years to give me some good background knowledge of East Asian politics and conventional military developments. In the process, I've learned some valuable research and writing skills that have opened up a number of opportunities already.






Now if you'll excuse me, I have some applications to fill out.

Adam

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Next Time: Making the most of GW's career resources.
Questions? Comments? Send them to me at ash1290@gwmail.gwu.edu.

Love in the Time of Appendicitis

Last week I had appendicitis, which wasn't so great. But along the way I learned some very important facts about GW, which was pretty great.

Let's explain this by the numbers:

0. The number of dollars it cost me to get EMeRG, GW's all-volunteer, student-run, on-campus paramedic and ambulance service, to drive me to the hospital.

600+. According to folks I've spoken to about this, the number of dollars it would have cost to have been driven two blocks from Student Health Services to the GW Hospital (if there was no EMeRG, I would have had to pay for a ride from DC Fire and EMS).

1. The number of operational ambulances EMeRG has right now.

Sweden's colors are the same as GW's...

So all in all, pretty great deal we have going here at GW. As a senior, I figured I'd never need to be hospitalized while still at college--but life has a way of surprising you. It's good to know that not only do we have a free ambulance service on campus, but we have a great hospital too. (If it's good enough for former Vice President Cheney, it's good enough for me.)

Coincidence, or Conspiracy?

For students with other problems, there's other support services too--Student Health Services for regular check-ups and outpatient care, the University Counseling Center for mental health issues, and a host of others.

In all seriousness, you'll probably never be provided for as well as during your time here at GW.

Adam
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Questions or comments about Stockholm on the Potomac? Send them to me at ash1290@gwmail.gwu.edu

Natural Disasters

Readers,

After a long and eventful summer, it's good to be back in D.C.--Except for the natural disasters.
I'm living off-campus in Arlington, VA this year, so I was able to move in this past Tuesday. As I was driving in the trusty family SUV, I felt this strange shaking in the ground.

Weird, I thought. This is the border between DC and MD; there aren't any subway lines around here...?!

Well, it turns out that I was right: there were no subway lines near my route. It was an earthquake, the largest to strike the D.C. region in quite some time. Luckily, though, this is a tectonically stable region--the quake was only 5.8 on the Richter scale, or less than 1/68,000th the size of the disastrous monster that hit Fukushima, so no GW property or people were hurt.

We're in for quite a storm this weekend, though, as Hurricane Irene rolls into town. Move-in was extended to start today rather than tomorrow for most on-campus students, so let's hope everything is all right...

Let's hope nobody else is hurt and little damage results.

What a way to start senior year. Looking back, I'll be able to say I witnessed snowpocalypse, the quake, and Irene--not to mention Inauguration, the Bin Laden announcement, and all of the rallies in 2010. No other place makes you a witness to history like GW does.
--Adam
Questions? Comments? Let me know at ash1290@gwmail.gwu.edu