OSGA Tiger Talk focuses on Career Services

By ALICIA FEYERHERM

Tiger Media Network

Online Student Government Association (OSGA) hosted its fourth Tiger Talk on Thursday. The Tiger Talk series aims to connect online students with resources at Fort Hays State University. This talk featured Career Advisor Abby Kennemer with Career Services. 

Kennemer reviewed online services available to students starting with Handshake. Handshake is similar to Indeed or Linkedin but is specifically for university students and alumni. 

“You can see any of the companies that have attended our career fairs or hired alumni from Fort Hays,” Kennemer said. 

Big Interview allows students to virtually practice interviewing skills and techniques. The platform also provides questions tailored to the student’s major and areas of interest. Within Big Interview is a newly launched Resume AI tool that provides feedback on your resume within minutes.

This tool can be particularly helpful when trying to incorporate keywords into your resume. Kennemer said several organizations use an applicant tracking system as a first review for a resume. These programs scan the cover letter and resume to ensure the candidate meets the requirements before sending it on for human review. 

“Don’t fluff around it,” Kennemer said. “Don’t walk circles around the word. If it says marketing, use the word marketing. It’s going to help you in those applicant tracking systems to help push you through those.”

Kennemer then reviewed best practices for resumes and cover letters. Proper formatting is important for cover letters. 

She said the cover letter should start with your contact information and then the employer’s contact information. After the greeting, the first paragraph should be focused on your qualifications including your degrees and other companies you have worked for. 

The middle paragraph highlights specific skills you have and how you would be a good fit for the role.

“What did you learn in your degree at Fort Hays that’s going to make you a good candidate for this position?” Kennemer said. 

Kennemer recommends incorporating keywords from the job description into this section. 

The closing paragraph should summarize the other two paragraphs as well as thank the reader for their time and indicate that you look forward to speaking with them or interviewing with them.

With resumes. Kennemer emphasized only including relevant information. 

“Any personal information like marital status, social security number, religion, keep those off,” Kennemer said. 

Career Services has examples of major-specific resumes available at https://www.fhsu.edu/career/resumebymajor/.

If students want specific feedback on a resume or cover letter, they can schedule an appointment with Career Services. Career Services Staff can also conduct mock interviews.

OSGA President Heather Flick encouraged online students to take advantage of the resources available. 

“As somebody who spent 20 years in sales prior to going back to college, my resume was very outdated,” Flick said. “So don’t just rely on a quick Google search. Use the resources that are available to us as FHSU online students.”