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Transfer Student Career Planning Timeline

Navigating Networking

Tailoring Your Resume

Student Perspective

AGENDA

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Career Planning Timeline Suggestions

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First-Year, first semester

Meet with a Career Counselor from the Career Services Center and find out what services are available.
Activate your Handshake account & update your profile with past experiences.
Follow us on instagram @usfcareer for announcements about career events.

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First-Year, second semester

Research different careers of interest to you.
Explore current occupational information in our online resources.
Go on an i nformational interview or job shadow someone in careers of interest.
Identify internships in Handshake and other Internship partner websites.
Take a leadership role in a student club or organization to build new skills and gain valuable experience.
Research study abroad options to see if this fits within your academic track.
Attend USF’s Employer Activities & Events like career fairs or pop-ins to network and search for summer internship opportunities
Meet with a career counselor and plan a strategy to maximize your senior year.

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Second-year, first semester

Meet with a Career Counselor to review job search strategies
Create a LinkedIn Profile, the online professional networking community
Connect with alumni using the LinkedIn Alumni Tool and NetworkUSF
Develop relevant job application materials (Resume, Cover Letter, References, Examples of Work).
Attend more Employer Activities & Events to network and discuss opportunities with Bay Area Employers.

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Second-year, second semester

Use Handshake to identify job opportunities.
Learn market trends and salary expectations for your industry and career of interest.
Attend the Career Fair to discuss full-time positions with employers.
Decide on a plan after graduation, and come up with one or two backup plans just in case.
Identify top skills/interests from past work experience to prepare for interviews.
Set up a mock interview session to practice your skills.
Meet with a Career Counselor to discuss salary and benefit negotiation strategies, and learn how to manage offers.

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Make an appointment with the Career Services Center for support on all the points discussed!

You don’t have to figure it out alone.

Virtual or Phone appointments:

Book on Handshake → https://usfca.joinhandshake.com/appointments

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Navigating Networking

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Networking

aka forming relationships

GOAL: To establish a relationship & eventually have

someone in your corner.

How?

Have a genuine conversation. Be excited to meet someone

new and learn about their path

Don’t ask for anything. Instead, clearly state who you are,

what you’ve been doing, and what you want to do

Ask who they’d recommend you connect and talk with next

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Where to start

Professors - Reach out not only to your professors but faculty in

other programs at USF, too, if applicable

Everyone You Meet - Tell everyone your goals. Someone might know the perfect person to connect you with for your next opportunity. No one can help you if they don't know what you need.

e.g. classmates, program staff, friends, family, neighbors
Don’t just tell people your major, tell them what you want to pursue - in detail!

Events/Mixers/Workshops - Attend (online) events that interest you and then connect with the speakers & other attendees

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LinkedIn Alumni Search Tool

On LinkedIn, search "University of San Francisco" to find 80,000+ USF alumni by...

what they do
where they live
where they work
their major/degree
& more...

...in order to find who is doing exactly what

you want to do.

Then reach out to them!

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What to say?

TIPS

First add a brief note to the connection request →

Then, send a follow up message after they’ve accepted:

Mention any commonalities (USF; same undergrad; frat/sorority, student club; major; mutual connection, etc)

If no shared commonalities, compliment them about something they’ve achieved

Call to Action:

Why you want to connect
How you want to connect (phone, email, in person)
When, where, and for how long you would like to meet

Hi [Person’s Name],

My name is _____ and I’m a student at USF graduating in 202X. I am very interested by the work you’ve done as a(n) ______ at ______. I’d love to learn more about your role and what your path was like after USF. Would you be willing to connect?

Thanks for your time!

Best,

Your Name

Add this note to your connection request ^^^^

MORE: Career Guide

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Informational Interviews

The 1:1 conversation

Learn more about the daily realities of that role, company, industry from their perspective

Understand what their challenges are and what problems they are solving

Examples of questions to ask (Link)

Clearly share who you are and what your future goals are (w/o asking for anything)

Use this as an opportunity to just connect and meet someone new

Don’t forget to seek their recommendations for who in their network you should contact next

the earlier, the better!!

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Keeping Track of Connections

Make a copy of this template to keep track of your own connections and to make sure you’re staying in touch in a timely manner

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Maintaining Connections

Keep them as your professional friend!

Don’t disappear...

Send a thank you note after your talk
Add value:

send them articles/resources you think they may be interested in
connect them with people from your network
offer assistance on a project or in research

Congratulate them on career progress
Send happy birthday messages
Share opportunities

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Recap

Establish relationships via your circle, events, LinkedIn, NetworkUSF, etc.

Have conversations with them (aka informational interviews)

Maintain those connections

Build your network & have potential referrals for future jobs

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Tailoring Your Resume

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Tailoring your Resume based

on a Job/Internship Description

Take a job/internship description and highlight every task you’ve done and skill you have.

The job/internship description is the rubric. It’s telling you what employers need and want to see, so use it as your guide to clearly show you have those skills and experiences.
Go to your resume and highlight where you have demonstrated it.
You may need to add more to your resume.

Reorder your sections and/or accomplishment statements to showcase your most relevant skills and experience first.

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Transferable Skills

Any skills you possess that are useful to employers across various jobs and industries.

Barista → Office Job

Good customer service ->

Maintaining positive client relationships

Making drink & food orders ->

Providing consistent results

Inventory, cleaning, & working the register ->

Efficient multi-tasking & organization skills

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Structure strong accomplishments statements (bullet points)

Accomplishment Statement Formula

ACTION VERB + OBJECT + CONTEXT + RESULTS

♦ Action Verb: planned, initiated, etc.

♦ Object: planned a meeting, initiated a program, etc.

♦ Context: interesting detail – who you did it for; time frame; number of people; size of budget; size of caseload; type of issues/population, etc.

♦ Results: the bottom-line effect of your effort. Quantify results whenever possible.

EXAMPLE: Collaborated with 10 other board members at weekly meetings to execute decisions regarding organization’s events & activities to ensure the fulfillment of mission

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Recap

Customize based on the role/job description

Keep everything on the resume relevant to the role you’re applying to -- keep it to one page if possible.

Don’t just list a task, list it as an accomplishment

Your resume is often the first impression that leads to an interview. Make it count!

Check out different resume samples in USF’s career guide & get it reviewed at the Career Center

Resume examples: https://myusf.usfca.edu/sites/default/files/general/career-center-guide.pdf

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Student Perspective

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Sana Allam

Transfer Student, Senior
Finance Major
TransferNation Club President
SLE Student Government Finance Assistant
V.P. of Finance University of San Francisco Marketing Club
V.P. of Events Accounting and Finance Association

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What internship(s) have you had during your time here at USF?

“I worked as a Finance Research Analyst for a startup called LongPlay and a part-time summer Analyst for a venture capital firm called Fernbrook Capital Management, both the summer of 2021.”

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2. How did you land your internship(s)?

“For LongPlay, I started off as a mentor for the USF Marketing Club externship program. My team of externs were working for LongPlay. However, the company liked my involvement and brought me on to help with pre-sales research for the startup.

For Fernbrook, my marketing professor, posted about a summer job opportunity. I talked to her more about the opportunity and applied. I had to go through 2 rounds of interview, a video call and then a technical test that checked my marketing and finance skills such as market research and excel. ”

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3. Were you offered a full-time position at the end? If so, how did that happen?

“When I started as a mentor, I didn’t realize that the entire semester of me working with the team acted as an informal interview. They were able to create a position for me that not only met my needs but the company’s need as well. That’s why my summer internship with LongPlay continued into the fall. I really liked working with the startup and it picked up in terms of growth.

I continued working until October and opted to leave from the role because of the time commitment. I also opted to explore other full time roles and apply into different areas before I decide to return to LongPlay.”

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4. What advice would you give to another transfer student who’s looking for an internship?

“Use your campus resources and build relationships with professors. You never know where an opportunity may come. Both of these roles presented itself towards the end of the spring semester when I started to lose hope and they ended up transforming my summer experience!

Professors also post job opportunities on canvas or email the class so there’s no harm in applying and finding out more. I had my professor review my resume and cover letter and the feedback was extremely helpful, especially since she knew what they were looking for in terms of the role and company.

Also be active on handshake. There’s a lot of opportunities to apply but more importantly to network for internships.”

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Location + Contact

UC 5th Floor

Hours: M-F, 8:30am-5pm

415-422-6216

careerservices@usfca.edu

https://myusf.usfca.edu/csc

Appointment Types:

zoom, phone

Make appts. via Handshake or call 415-422-6216

@USFCAREER

Virtual Drop-In Hours:

Tues/Thurs:

11:45am-12:45pm

VISIT US!

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