Expand Your Search Beyond Career Gear
Networking
A lot of people find jobs through the people they know. Your family and friends want to see you do well, so reach out to them.
From an employer's stand point, the hiring process is a bit of a gamble. Will the new hire be a good fit, will they have the right skills, aptitude, and work ethic. Hiring someone you know or getting a referral through a common acquaintance reduces uncertainty.
Go to our COB Career Services website for some networking suggestions.
Job Skills
Required skills vary with the job. Common required skills and knowledge for entry level finance jobs include:
- Knowledge of Excel and other computer applications like PowerPoint and Access. Being very good with Excel can pay off. Many entry level positions require extensive Excel knowledge.
- Understanding financial statements very well. An additional couple of accounting courses can set you apart.
- General finance knowledge
- Problem solving skills
- Team work skills
- Selling skills
- Leadership skills
- Communication skills - verbal and written
You can use some of the Additional Resources for Choosing a Career Path to find more information about required skills for various jobs.
Resume
Employers often get hundreds of resumes for a single job posting. In their initial filtering, a recruiter may spend less than 20 seconds looking at your resume. If the resume is not laid out well or has grammatical errors, it quickly goes into the reject stack.
Allow time to fine tune your resume. Have at least a few people review your resume.
Resources for resumes.
Interviewing
Good interviewing takes practice. Consider doing mock interviews and prepare for behavioral questions. Research the companies you interview with ahead of time.
Resources for Interviewing Skills
- Career Services for the College of Business can provide mock interviews and interviewing tips.
- Vault.com: Select "Career Advice"; has interviewing tips. You might want to browse their "Career Advice Videos" as well.
Resources for Company Research
- The company's website
- The company CEO's letter to shareholders in the firm's annual report
- ValueLine -- ValueLine equity analysts provide a one page evaluation of publicly traded companies. Has industry surveys also. Visit our library's website to access. We have a paid subscription.
- MorningStar: Similar to ValueLine. Library website.
Expand your employment or internship search beyond Career Gear
By all means, take advantage of jobs listed on Career Gear. These employers have targeted AppState students. However, many, many more jobs are out there.
Job and Internship Resources
- Career Gear
- Your network of contacts
- Websites of companies that interest you
- LinkedIn: has a job/internship search engine. In Advanced Search mode, you can specify entry level or internship under Experience.
- Indeed.com: internships and jobs
- InternJobs.com: internships and jobs
- Idealist.org: opportunities at non-profit organizations
- Internships.com
Current Events
Following current business news can
- enable you to converse more intelligently during interviews and ask better questions
- demonstrate your level of intellectual curiosity to employers
- deepen your understanding of business