Section 1 - Getting The Job

1.1 Advertising My Availability

Advertising your availability is one of the key factors in finding any job or internship and it starts with preparing a well designed resume.  To complete my resume I used two resources available at James Madison University.  First I discussed techniques and design ideas with my TSC 210 professor.  This I found was the most helpful resource, because I was able to get one-on-one advice to help me complete my resume.  Then I attended one of the free resume clinics offered by the Career Development department at James Madison to gain further insight into the art of resume writing.  These clinics are extremely useful, they give you resumes to read and use as templates and they discuss ways to improve and personalize your resume for your career.  After I completed my resume I started to distribute it to potential employers in the area I wanted to work.  Most of the people I contacted and gave copies of my resume to were people I already knew from school or other activities.  This allowed me to get an internship at the pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. INC during the summer of 2001.  Which in turn lead to my internship this summer at the EREN Corporation.

1.2 Finding Out About Job Openings

For me finding a job opening was not hard at all.  Because of my work during the previous summer for Merck & Co. I had made an impression on members of the EREN Corporation staff.  They contacted me and requested that I come work for them part time during the school year and as a full time intern during the summer of 2002.  I found this extremely beneficial for two reasons. I gained actual work experience in a field of study I was interested in, and I had no stress of finding a job for the summer.

1.3 Landing My Internship

Landing my internship as I mentioned above this was not difficult at all.  My employers had already viewed my work and abilities first hand.  I have found that no matter where I am working or what I am doing, I need to put all of my effort into my job.  Someone may be watching who may be able to help me with Job opportunities or promotions later, and the greatest reference is someone who has witnessed my work and talents.

Created By Rodney W. Lam    Email Address: lam2rw@jmu.edu