CHEM-465 CHEMISTRY SENIOR SEMINAR Job Hunting Assignment Due Wednesday, September 28, 2011

As a senior you will need to do more than think about what you will be doing after graduation. Ten or fifteen years from now, when you look back on your senior year, you will see that the decisions you made and the actions you took this year will likely have had a significant influence on the course of your life. "Taking a year off" after graduation has become a way to defer decisions and actions by many college students. Now is the time to take stock of your options and make some commitments. While these are things only you can do, Chemistry Senior Seminar and this assignment will help you think through some of the possibilities, provide focus to your actions, and hone skills you will need.

Many of you are, or soon will be, looking for employment. This assignment is intended to help you in that effort. Exercise your job fantasy. Look for that dream job on the Internet, at the Career Services Center, in magazines, or in newspapers. Find one advertized job that looks like a position you would like to apply for soon or after further education.⁽¹⁾

Then

1.    Draft a one-page informative cover letter applying for the job.  It should convey why the position is interesting to you, what qualifications you have for the position, and show that you have done some homework on the hiring company or laboratory.

2.     Draft a one-page personal resume to accompany the letter. The resume should be honest and reflect your relevant abilities and experiences in a well-organized and easy to read format.

3.    Turn in your letter and resume at the beginning of class, Wednesday, September 28. Please append a copy of the advertized position and indicate its source. Be prepared to discuss your assignment in your group and with the class.

Some related material you might be interested in reading:

The March 14, 2011 article in Chemical and Engineering News discusses salaries and the status of employment in chemistry.

ACS Professional Employment Guidelines

ACS Career Services for members

For biochemistry majors, a new job search location on the Internet might be of interest.

¹ One of the department's 1998 graduates is employed in a job she found as the result of this CHEM-465 assignment.