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Resumania: Alumni Helping Students Begin Careers

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Job prospects for 2016 Keene State College grads look promising. Employers say they plan to hire 11 percent more fresh college graduates for US jobs this year than last, according to a survey of 201 employers from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which tracks college hiring.

“We want to give Keene State students every opportunity to compete for those positions – and where you start is the resume,” said David Westover, a 1972 KSC grad living in Walpole, NH. “That’s going to determine whether you get an interview or not.”

Westover was among several Keene State graduates who took part in Resumania, a two-day Career Week event that matches students with alumni, who review and refine and offer valuable tips on putting together a resume.

According to Beverly Behrmann, a career advisor in the Academic and Career Advising Office and one of the organizers of the event, this is the third semester that Resumania has been offered in this format. “We build energy around it as part of Career Week,” she said. “It’s a great way for students to connect with a variety of alumni.”

“Alumni understand the KSC experience and the education, and they also know about transitioning out into the professional world,” added career advisor Louise Ewing. “They’re mentoring students and giving them invaluable guidance.”

While alumni answer questions on topics ranging from fonts to format, Susan Fortier, a 1986 KSC grad and program director at Meeting Waters YMCA in Bellows Falls, VT, stresses the importance of making a good first impression. A resume “has to be clear and concise and highlight the important things they’ve done here,” said Fortier, who recommends that students start building their resumes as early as possible. “Get involved,” she said, “because you can’t put things on your resume that you haven’t done.”

“We want to make sure that they are portraying all of the good stuff, and that’s far-reaching,” added Westover, who is now retired after working many years in the insurance business. “You wouldn’t think that working at a donut shop is that important, but an employer is looking for someone with work ethic, so having a work history during high school and college can be beneficial.”

Bennett Evans, a 2005 KSC grad who works for Triumvirate Environmental, a Somerville, MA, provider of waste management and environmental services, said he returned to campus to help students, but also to keep an eye out for prospective employees. “One key reason I came back is to help students get a better grip on what the realities of work in the real world look like,” he said. “I’m also in recruiting for the company so it’s a benefit to see more students and get more of a name on campus.”

Several students said the event was very helpful. “It was nice to get a different perspective with my resume and help with consolidating,” said Sally Levenduski, a senior management/architecture major from Clinton, CT. “I got a lot of good comments, so I’m definitely going to go back and revise my resume.”

A junior film major from Cheshire, CT, Nick Molnar, got suggestions from Westover. “I showed him the resume that I’ve been working on since I was 16 years old, and he gave me some pointers,” said Molnar. “He showed me a lot of stuff that I can improve on – small stuff like fonts and words, but small stuff means a lot. If his pointers help my resume catch an employer’s eye, then it’s a good thing.”

One of the many events that took place during Career Week at Keene State, Resumania helped students prepare for a career and internship fair later in the week that included many Keene State grads representing various companies and organizations. “It’s wonderful,” said Behrmann of the numerous Career Week events. “I feel like the fairy godmother overseeing this amazing transition taking place – from student to graduate to job holder. I think it’s really important for our graduating students to particularly see the younger alumni who are just one or two years older who have jobs. It gives them the confidence that they can get a job too.”

“The major goal of your resume is to get an interview, and if you’ve done a good job then you have a good chance of landing a job,” said Westover, who also teaches a one-credit course, Transition to the Workplace, that focuses on resume building, interview preparation, and cover letter composition.

Over the years, Westover and the Academic and Career Advising staff have seen their hard work pay off. “It’s priceless when I get an email back from a student saying, ‘Mr. Westover, I just got my first job.’ It makes it all worthwhile.”

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