Top Reasons To Take a Temp Job!

Top Reasons to Take a Temporary Job
Many companies utilize temporary staffing agencies to bring in extra help when they need it—and when they need it quickly. However, many job seekers tend to avoid finding a job through a temp agency, when in fact, temporary jobs can be a great way to land your next full-time job, pick up new skills or try out a different career.

Here are the top 5 reasons to take a temporary job:

1) Taking a temporary job can be a source of income while you’re searching for your next gig.
2) A temporary job could turn into a full-time job, if you’re a good fit for the position and if the company needs a person full-time. In fact, some companies do most or all of their hiring through staffing agencies, so it could be the only way to get into those companies.
3) By taking a temporary job, you can avoid gaps on your resume. Seeing large gaps on resumes can be questionable to some employers, but by holding temporary jobs between permanent jobs, you'll send the message that you continue to work hard – even without a full-time job.
4) Temporary jobs also can be a way to test out a new field if you’ve been thinking of a career change. You’ll have the ability to use that temporary time to discover whether that career path is right for you, or if it’s not a good match.
5) You’ll network and meet a lot of new people in a temporary position that may be able to discover a full-time job opportunity, or give you an awesome recommendation.
So don’t dismiss temporary jobs while performing your job search—they may be the way to your next full-time position!

From Simply Hired Blog: http://blog.simplyhired.com/2010/11/top-reasons-to-take-a-temporary-job.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nov30

5 Sales Tactics to Use for Your Next Interview

By Cathryn Vandewater on November 30, 2010

Interviews are often intimidating, but they can get a lot less stressful (and more successful) if you develop a salesman's approach to handling them. You'll never be able to predict the questions you'll be asked, but if you've honed your key selling points, studied the company's needs, and perfected your attitude, answering will get a lot easier.
Try these five tips and watch your batting average soar:

1. Develop a Pitch (or Two, or Three)
Imagine you're the head of a company whose products you truly believe in. You don't need to oversell your products—you just need to connect with the potential buyer and let your faith and enthusiasm in the product shine through.

Interviews are a lot like a sales meeting, with you as the product. Just as you might prepare a presentation of strengths and uses for merchandise, make one for yourself. What are your core strengths? Who are you as a person and how does that reflect in your work? Once you've developed your "story," you can answer any interview question in a way that underscores your key values.

Read entire article here

Student & Alumni Art Exhibition-Opening Reception

Apply to be an Ambassador

Are you looking to meet new friends on campus? Would you like to be a part of Orientation, Graduation and other fun events on campus? Interested in developing your leadership skills? Now's your chance!

Deadline to apply to be an Ai Ambassador is THIS Friday, November 19, 5pm.

Pick up an application in room 178 or contact Jenny Kressel, Lead Ambassador Advisor, for more information jkressel@aii.edu .

AiCASD-West Elm Student Showcase

Friday, November 19th

6:00-8:00 p.m.

west elm

Mission Valley West

5080 Mission Center Road

San Diego, CA

RSVP  by November 16 to:  http://www.wesdartevent.com/ or  877.781.1052

How to Dress for the Office

The Unpaid Intern-Legal or Not?

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE

Published: April 2, 2010

With job openings scarce for young people, the number of unpaid internships has climbed in recent years, leading federal and state regulators to worry that more employers are illegally using such internships for free labor.

Convinced that many unpaid internships violate minimum wage laws, officials in Oregon, California and other states have begun investigations and fined employers. Last year, M. Patricia Smith, then New York’s labor commissioner, ordered investigations into several firms’ internships. Now, as the federal Labor Department’s top law enforcement official, she and the wage and hour division are stepping up enforcement nationwide.
Many regulators say that violations are widespread, but that it is unusually hard to mount a major enforcement effort because interns are often afraid to file complaints. Many fear they will become known as troublemakers in their chosen field...Read More

Hilton- November 3rd

Career Week-Carnival

Thanks to everyone who came out for all of our Career Week events.  We finished out the week with a bang and our Carnival was a success.  Here are a few photos from todays event. 

 Angie preparing for the crowd.

 Carly and Bill manning the popcorn machine.

 Jenny & Jeanette hanging with the gnome.

 Caramel Apples!

Your Career Services team!

Fall 2010 Workshops

Here you will find the Fall 2010 workshop schedule.  Workshops are free for current students and alumni. 

Job Fair & BBQ-Fall 2010

Alumni Mixer/Happy Hour

How to Leverage Social Networking to Get Your Next Job

You've heard again and again how important networking is when you are looking to take the next step in your career. But does that include social networking? Can you "like," "tweet" and "2nd degree connect" your way to a fabulous new position?

Career and online experts recommend leveraging social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and (especially) LinkedIn as part of a job search. But, they say, social networking should be used as a complement to, and not a replacement for...

How to Leverage Social Networking to Get Your Next Job

Job Fair & BBQ-Fall 2010

Portfolio Show-Summer 2010

RSS Feeds

RSS Feeds are very helpful for your job search. If you have not used them before here is a video to show you how it works. Here in Career Services, we use RSS Feeds all the time. We have set up feeds from sites like www.indeed.com www.simplyhired.com and www.craigslist.org It’s great because we don’t have to keep revisiting these sites, the postings are automatically updated into our inbox.

You can use Google Reader as a home base, take a tour here: http://www.google.com/help/reader/tour.html

Pizza With The Pros

The Career Services Department is proud to present a special Pizza with the Pros event featuring Josh Higgins, Creative Director at Departure Advertising. Josh is the founder of the Haiti Poster Project which is currently uniting artists around the globe to benefit victims of the earthquake in Haiti. He also founded the So Cal Fire Poster Project which raised over $30,000 for victims of the wildfires that devastated Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego Counties in 2007.

Please join us at 5:00 on Wednesday, September 1st in room 146 as Josh presents “Make: Design for the Greater Good”

ABOUT THE ARTIST Josh is a senior designer / art director who works across all disciplines including print, web, environment, identity and television. For over twelve years, he's been refining the art of connecting brands to people with a concept-driven visual style that has earned him national honors. A native San Diegan, with roots in both advertising and graphic design, Josh has done extensive work for brands including Fender Guitars, The Tony Hawk Foundation, Hewlett-Packard, Qualcomm, Asics Footwear, Museum of Contemporary Art SD, CBS Radio, Perry Ellis International, RedBrick Pizza, IHOP, New Castle Beer, PF Changs, Yamaha, Life Technologies, and firms, Miriello Grafico, Mires/Ball, Hollis BC, and Vitrorobertson.

With his involvement in the San Diego design community, Josh served on the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), San Diego Board of Directors, where he curated successful exhibits and lecture series with visiting photographers, designers and film makers. His continual work with AIGA and the larger creative community allows him to advance the cause of San Diego arts and culture, and mentor students in the creative industry.

How to Network

Networking is a very important part of your job search. It's not easy for everyone, so here are a couple videos to help get you started.

Grad Fest Reminder

GRAD FEST is on Friday, August 20th. Grad Fest will be held in room 147 in the North Campus. Please choose one session: 11:00, 12:00 or 1:00.

It is recommended that you show up at least 15 minutes prior to your chosen session to ensure your spot.

AT GRAD FEST YOU WILL:
· Receive mandatory paperwork for your upcoming graduation
· Meet your Career Advisor
· Get important information on the upcoming Graduate Portfolio Show
· Have some lunch and win raffle prizes!

Summer 2010 Workshops

With a new quarter brings a new workshop calendar. All workshops are free to current students and alumni. If you are an alumni and would like to attend please let Jeanette Buhagiar jbuhagiar@aii.edu know so she can notify the instructor.

Leveraging Social Media to Land a Job

By Marguerite Granat, Senior Recruiter with Sodexo.

Have you leveraged social media to land your new job? Do you take your online conversations offline?

I did. When I started using Twitter actively, I would have never dreamed that this would be the tool that helped me land my new job with Sodexo. When I started using Twitter, I encountered resistance from a number of people who did not see its value.

It was a leap of faith and I decided to explore this platform realizing that Twitter is another communication tool that can be used to connect with people both online and offline. This is no different than when we went from using faxes to emails or from the telegraph to the telephone. Twitter is not going to replace live conversations but...read more

Is it ok to do an unpaid internship?

We are always encouraging students to do internships. While they can be extremely beneficial, we want to make sure you that employers don't take advantage of students willing to work for free. Below is an excerpt from a great article that explains how an internship should work. You can read the full article here.

The Unpaid Intern, Legal or Not?
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
Published: April 2, 2010

With job openings scarce for young people, the number of unpaid internships has climbed in recent years, leading federal and state regulators to worry that more employers are illegally using such internships for free labor.
Convinced that many unpaid internships violate minimum wage laws, officials in Oregon, California and other states have begun investigations and fined employers. Last year, M. Patricia Smith, then New York’s labor commissioner, ordered investigations into several firms’ internships. Now, as the federal Labor Department’s top law enforcement official, she and the wage and hour division are stepping up enforcement nationwide.
Many regulators say that violations are widespread, but that it is unusually hard to mount a major enforcement effort because interns are often afraid to file complaints. Many fear they will become known as troublemakers in their chosen field, endangering their chances with a potential future employer.
The Labor Department says it is cracking down on firms that fail to pay interns properly and expanding efforts to educate companies, colleges and students...

You can find the full New York Times article here.

SU2010 Grad Fest!

Attention Ai SU2010 Graduates!

Congratulations on your upcoming graduation! Please SAVE THE DATE for GRAD FEST on Friday, August 20th. Grad Fest will be held in room 147 in the North Campus. Please choose one session: 11:00, 12:00 or 1:00. It is recommended that you show up at least 15 minutes prior to your chosen session to ensure your spot.

AT GRAD FEST YOU WILL:
· Receive mandatory paperwork for your upcoming graduation
· Meet your Career Advisor
· Get important information on the upcoming Graduate Portfolio Show
· Have some lunch and win raffle prizes!

Welcome To Career Services!

This is our first post on our new blog. We will be adding industry related events, Career Services/AiCASD events, and general career assistance articles and references. Please check back often, or follow this blog, for updates. Meet our team!