Career Savvy: New tools for your job search

It’s been a busy summer at the Hegi Family Career Development Center, where we’ve been hard at work to help make your career planning easier.

Online: We’ve launched a new and improved MustangTrak. Alumni and students now can register with the Hegi Career Center, manage an on-campus interviewing schedule and keep up with career events through the online service, as well as search the 5,000 positions from 300 employers that are currently posted.

To get started, visit the online orientation at www.smusaddleup.com, where you’ll learn how user-friendly and useful MustangTrak can be. And stay tuned for more new alumni tools in the months ahead.

On campus: Mark your calendars for this fall’s big event: The Career Fair is from noon to 4 p.m. September 26 at the Hughes-Trigg Student Center. We’re expecting more than 90 employers representing all majors to attend.

Other on-campus events include the Brown Bag Series, where professionals discuss their fields and offer advice over lunch (October 3, 9, 17 and 24); and the Homecoming Alumni Network Tent (November 10). Check MustangTrak for a complete listing.

More tools: Graduates of SMU’s Bachelor’s, Master’s and doctoral programs also are eligible for career counseling by phone or in person from the Hegi Career Center staff. (Graduates of the Cox School of Business M.B.A. program are referred to the MBA Career Management Center and law graduates to the Dedman School of Law Career Services Office.) Counselors use a variety of assessments and resources that can help alumni explore career options, in addition to offering support with résumé and cover letter development, interviews and networking.

For more information, visit smu.edu/career or call 214-768-2266.

A word to the wise: MySpace and Facebook don’t always mix well with job searches. What you post today will be stored online for years. A recent national news story profiled a young graduate who had been offered an investment-banking job on Wall Street. He had a $175K position waiting for him, pending a background search. The first place HR looked was MySpace, where it found photos that led to his offer being rescinded. His reputation with other investment banks was tarnished. He’s selling insurance now … for $27K.

Post professional information that will make you look good to employers. Post interesting information that will promote you as an outstanding citizen. But most of all, POST RESPONSIBLY.

Written by Troy Behrens, Executive Director of the Hegi Family Career Development Center