Professional Skills Training Event
Eighteen marine/environmental science students and one former (graduate) student from ASCC, NMC, and COM-FSM attended a two-part professional skills development training session in February and March. All students learned the difference in writing a resume and curriculum vitae (CV). The Education Specialist, Ms. Wetzell led both events. She also modified a Google plug-in and integrated it into a Google form survey. This tool aided students in developing their CVs. All students had a CV by the end of the training session. In the second training session, students were taught several application strategies including how to: (1) read actively, (2) prioritize gathering the application criteria, (3) tailor the CV (or resume) to the job/internship, (4) create an effective outline for a cover letter. Students were to bring a job or internship vacancy of their choice and work together on a response.
Each session included a question and answer session with panelists. Two former graduate students from ASCC, Alphina Liusamoa and Fuamai Tago, who are in their sophomore year at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo joined the first training session. They shared their internship experiences and lessons learned regarding preparing their applications. They also helped the students during the break out sessions cultivate their CVs. Ms. Andrea Ventim, Marketing Director for Jack Canfield (author of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series), carried out an activity where the students explored their personal strengths. This output was integrated into their CV development.
The second training session was joined by Mr. Motoyuki Tomita, UH’s Regional Director for International Recruitment, and Mr. Diego Davis, Western Region Manager for Xylem Analytics at SonTek. Mr. Tomita provided a detailed presentation on the application process for UH and broke down many of the tedious requirements into bite size tasks. Xylem-SonTek has committed to hiring two NSF ATE student interns, when it is safe to resume face to face contact. Mr. Davis shared the wide range of internship experiences with the students and went through the application process with them.
The students participated in a short survey during a break out session and then they discussed their responses in a focus group format. They all agreed after the sessions (1) they now knew the difference between a CV/resume and when to use which one, and (2) improved their professional skills knowledge. They felt the application session was efficient in the amount of training provided and they felt confident in carrying out the strategies learned during that session. They also would like at least two additional professional development training sessions regarding how to write a cover letter and perform on an interview.
