The HBCU Career Center celebrates 15 years!

Checking in for 2022!

So much has happened as we have continued to grow The HBCU Career Center. Hard to believe we just celebrated 15 years!

I invite you to find me for career updates and insights on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn with

I am really excited about the possibilities that these newer platforms offer to connect us with more people and stay interactive!

Best wishes!
Dr. Marcia F. Robinson, MBA SPHR
Founder, ©BullsEyeResumes and ©BullsEye Careers

3 Common Mistakes Older Job-Seekers Make

Mary Eileen Williams has a great article about the 3 Common Mistakes Older Job-Seekers Make.  I love the article because the #1 mistake she cites is wrapped up in a personal statement I make all the time about avoiding competency complacency.

Here are the three common mistakes Williams cites:

1. The appearance of complacency
2. Hesitancy to toot your own horn
3. Allowing the media hype to get you down

Please read the complete article for her great insight and how to overcome these mistakes.

Other resources for older job seekers:

• Ms. Williams' book - "Land the Job You Love; 10 Surefire Strategies for Jobseekers Over 50"
• Career re-Entry Tips for Mature Professionals
• FAQs about Age Discrimination at Work
• State Agencies for Discrimination issues

Make a Difference – Be a Registered Nurse!

The United States Department of Labor said that the career outlook is bright for Registered Nurses up to 2020.   The expectation is that over 1.2 million job openings for Registered Nurses will become available during that time.  

It seems there are two reasons why.

1. Many nurses are baby boomers who are getting ready to retire.
2. The US population is aging and there will be great need for health care practitioners.

There are many options to train to become a Registered Nurse. 

There are tons of nursing programs and so you should do your research to find one that is a good fit for you.  

- Look for schools that have a focus on health care training.  

- If you are looking at large colleges and universities, look for those with collaborative relationships with medical centers and hospitals.

- If you are looking for smaller, for-profit career training schools, look for those recognized by the state’s Board of Nursing.  For example Medtech offers an RN program at three of its campuses.  

If after your research you decide being a Registered Nurse is not for you, use these other career resources to expand your career and industry awareness.  

Evaluate Key Support Services When Choosing a Career Training Program

Career training is a great for job seekers get practical job skills that will help them be more competitive in the job market.  

I recently wrote an article for Yahoo Voices about some of the key support services that career training programs offer and how to evaluate them.

Here are three things to evaluate as you look for a career training program.

Ask About Career Advising 

• Does the program allow you to meet with career advisors before you begin the program?
• Do they assist with job search skills such as resume writing or conduct mock interviews?
• Do they allow students to connect with successful alumni?
• For how long will graduates have access to career advising after graduation?

Ask about ESL (English as a Second Language (ESL) Classes) 

• This is relatively new for career training programs.  For example Medtech offers an ESL program for Spanish speaking individuals at two of its campuses in the Washington DC region.   

Find out about Financial Aid Services 

• Ask if qualified financial aid counselors are readily available for in- person visits?
• Can you get answers to emails or even communicate via text messaging?
• Are they willing to speak with only you or will they discuss financial aid impact with your family as well?

Read - Choosing a Career Training Program? Evaluate These 3 Key Support Services 

Is your Resume all Fluff and No Flavor?

Professional resume writers are not the only ones being bombarded with resumes from job seekers who are having no luck with their job search. Recruiters are too.

Too many of those resumes contain more fluff than flavor and really do not stand a chance. When you have 20-30 seconds to impress a recruiter or hiring manager as they complete a power scan of your resume, fluff won't help your resume make it to the "keep" pile.

Here are 3 resume writing tips to ensure that the top 30% of your resume packs a lot of punch, offering less fluff and more flavor:

1. Limit name, address and other contact details to two lines maximum. That is all you need. This may be harder with college resumes with a temporary and permanent address or some addresses in other countries. 20 Ways to Audit Resume Contact Information so Recruiters Can Find You

2. Audit your resume objective for relevance and focus. Get to the point! Guidelines for Writing Resume Objective Statements

3. Try a powerful summary of qualifications. One trick to writing a powerful summary of qualifications is to write it last. Pump up Your Resume with a Summary of Qualifications

The key is to make sure there is nothing in that top 30% that will make the recruiter stop reading.  Your goal should be to help them get to the other 70% of your resume where you share relevant skills, education and talk about outstanding outcomes.

What to do while you wait for your dream job

You wrote an awesome resume, performed well in the job interview and now you are waiting to get the job offer from your dream company.  As you wait, check out these three tips from the Salary Reporter about how to stay professional while you wait:

1. Say thank you through a thank-you letter.  The last statistic I read said that only 15% of job seekers do this.
2. Don't stalk the company.  The last thing you want to do is irritate the recruiter and HR staff.
3. Don't put all your eggs in one employer. Be thinking about alternatives.

Two other tips:

1. Connect with anyone you know who might be connected to the company.  You might be able to network your way to an offer.  Tread carefully though, here.  Recruiters don't want to feel pushed.
2. Think about their competitors in the same industry.  Explore employment opportunities there as well.

Read the full article from The Salary Reporter

Kiplinger's 10 Best College Majors for Lucrative Careers

Have you seen this list from Kiplinger?  Still trying to decide on your next career move?

The careers on this list are evaluated based on:

• salaries (median salaries below)
• training and education (look closely at education and training)
• projected increase in the number of jobs available

1. Pharmacist and Pharmacology ($105K)

2. Nursing ($48K)

3. Transportation Science and Technology ($68K)

4. Treatment Therapy Professions ($62K)

5. Chemical Engineering ($86K)

6. Electrical Engineering ($86K)

7. Medical Technologies ($58K)

8. Construction Services ($65K)

9. Management Information Systems ( $71K)

10. Medical Assisting Services ($54K)

Of course I always caution that just because the numbers ($$$$) look good to you doesn't mean it is the career for you.  This list is a good place to start your research.

How Vo-Tech Career Centers Can Use Twitter

Career Training and Vo-tech programs put a lot of emphasis on career planning and career advising with their students.  One of the best new tools that career centers are using to connect with students is Twitter.

Here are 7 ways that Vo-Tech career centers could be using Twitter.  Whether you are a career advisor or a student, Twitter could play a really important role in how you move through the job search: (Read the complete article here)

• Use Twitter to inform students; not stalk them 
• Twitter Lists can help students catalog information by subject
• Share information about career workshops and events as they happen
• Vo-tech students can help to market career center services using Twitter
• College students can tweet questions to presenters during workshops
• Twitter helps career advisors direct the research of career information by students
• Career centers use Twitter to connect with employers who don't recruit at their school

Why do Bright Employees Get Fired?

I first shared this list about 3 years ago when a colleague told me the story of a bright mid-career professional who was terminated for saying too much to a client.

No one, including her immediate supervisor, stood up for her. Why? They all felt she had it coming. Everyone felt it was just a matter of time before this bright employee imploded her own career.  It turns out the fired employee had told a client about some of the logistics issues her company was having delivering services. She actually encouraged the client to find a different provider, since her own company "couldn't seem to get anything done". The client called the CEO and the employee was fired.  This really bright employee had crossed the line and jeopardized her own career.

It turns out that bright employees get fired all the time.  Sometimes for making dumb mistakes.  Here is my list of why bright employees get fired. After 13 years in the career management field, I think I might have seen all these before.

1. Someone else who is better connected wants their job.
2. They don't know when to stop talking and say the wrong thing to the wrong person.
3. They are too cocky to learn anything new. They have all the answers.
4. They are in the wrong job and under performing.
5. They refuse certain assignments they think are beneath them.
6. They show no respect for the corporate culture or chain of responsibility.
7. They mix work and play and have Facebook running on their desktop all the time.
8. They whine about everything from salary, to assignments, to co-workers
9. They have offended so many people, no one is looking out for them.
10. They wait too long to get a mentor.

10 Reasons Some College Graduates Can't Find Jobs

We are fast approaching graduation season.

Although the economy is bouncing back a bit, it will still be challenging to find a job.  New graduates from vocational or career training programs need to remember that job search success requires constant effort.  Use this list as a checklist to ensure you are doing everything you can with every job opportunity that comes your way.  This list of the 10 reasons some vocational and career training graduates can't find jobs can keep yourself on track.  In most cases, you can do something about a job search if things are not working out.

• Using bad resumes and cover letters.  Find sample resumes at TheHBCUCareerCenter 
• Not using their college resources.  Check out the alumni network and VISIT the career center.
• Overlooking internships after graduation. Internships are still possible after college.
• Engaging in negative social networking. Clean up your online persona.
• Resumes show a lack of leadership experience from college.  Not all experience has to be paid.
• Not understanding what employers want. Do your research.
• Poor networking skills.  Networking doesn't just mean asking for help.  It means helping as well.
• No job interview preparation.  Find a way to do a mock interview.
• Little or no follow-up.  Every lead is important.
• Too much career ambiguity.  If employers think you don't know what you want, they might not hire you.

Resumes for STEM Majors Should Include These Items

There is huge demand for students, college or vocational, to focus on education in one of the STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).  The career prospects for students in these majors are very good.  So says the US Department of Labor.  

As STEM students seek internships or jobs after graduation they should be thinking about how to include information on these four things in a STEM resume.   

PROJECTS - Include relevant information from non-trivial projects.  Don't forget to add information about what role you may have played on a team or what lab equipment you used.

RESEARCH - Lots of STEM majors collaborate on research with professors on and off their college campus.  Add information on research methods etc.

INTERNSHIPS AND CO-OPS - Successful STEM majors do their share of internships and co-ops.  STEM students should know that employers want students who have completed internships.

SUMMER FELLOWSHIPS - Many STEM majors spend summers during summer fellowships.  This is a great way to show employers and graduate schools that you have had productive summers.