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Get the advice you need to successfully start your career.

This blog presents guidance on topics such as making the most of 1stGig, writing appropriate cover letters and resumes, developing solid interview strategies, negotiating a starting salary, deciding about graduate school, and much, much more. It is interactive as well as informative: If you have questions or comments about what you read here, or if you have ideas for topics you’d like to see covered, just let us know.

Keyword: profiles
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What can I do to improve my chances of making relevant connections through 1st Gig?

By Susan M. Katz
May 23, 2016
While you have no way of knowing which employers have posted jobs on 1stGig.com that would interest you, you should have some idea of the type of job that you’re hoping to find. The more you know about that type of job, and the more you are able to provide evidence showing that you meet requirements for those jobs, the more likely it is that you will get matched with one or more employers looking to hire someone with your attributes. (Read more)
Keywords:
attributes | employer requirements | job research | profiles |

How do I emphasize my skills and attributes on my 1st Gig profile?

By Susan M. Katz
March 29, 2016
One of the goals of your 1st Gig profile is to make you stand out from other potential hires while, at the same time, showing how you fit in with an organization. The way you do this is by emphasizing your skills and attributes so that the employer can learn as much about you as possible from a profile. However, you need to be sure that you provide those details concisely. (Read more)
Keywords:
attributes | profiles |

What are employers looking for when they review my profile?

By Susan M. Katz
March 29, 2016
When you get a match from a 1st Gig employer, there are going to be a wide variety of criteria that have led to that match. The employer has established those criteria for each position, and your match means that 1st Gig’s algorithm has determined that there are significant commonalities between your profile and the employer’s preferences. But then an actual person will review your profile. (Read more)
Keywords:
attributes | employer requirements | profiles |

What is a good way to describe my attributes with a narrative?

By Susan M. Katz
March 29, 2016
For many people, any kind of writing task is challenging; being asked to write about oneself is even more challenging. Writing about your attributes can easily come across as arrogant (one extreme) or overly modest (the other extreme), neither of which is productive. Learn how to use the STAR method to produce a narrative that avoids either extreme. (Read more)
Keywords:
attributes | profiles | star interviews |

Why should I use 1stGig?

By Susan M. Katz
March 27, 2016
1st Gig is different from other websites that offer to help you find a job because 1st Gig wants to do more than that—it wants to help you get started on a meaningful career in an organization where you can thrive. How does it do that? (Read more)
Keywords:
attributes | career matching | profiles |

What are my attributes?

By Susan M. Katz
March 27, 2016
There are myriad ways to learn about yourself and your attributes, but one good way is to do an online aptitude test. While the results of these assessments often suggest specific careers, they can also give you some very good ideas about your personality that you may not have considered—or that you may be shy about promoting. (Read more)
Keywords:
aptitude tests | assessment | attributes | career matching | profiles |
Susan M. Katz
Student Career Placement Consultant

Susan M. Katz, PhD, is 1stGig’s Student Career Placement Consultant and the author of Start Your Career: 5 Steps to Finding the Right Job after College.  She is also Associate Professor of English and Internship Coordinator at North Carolina State University, where she developed internship courses for both undergraduate and graduate students. Her courses help students prepare for the job search process, identify their strengths, and consider a variety of potential career paths. Her first book, The Dynamics of Writing Review: Opportunities for Growth and Change in the Workplace, describes some of the processes that newcomers must go through as they enter the workplace and adapt to organizational conventions.

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