We are excited to announce that Sant’Anna Institute is providing up to $350,000 in scholarships for Golden Key members who wish to study at the Sant’Anna Institute in Sorrento Italy. The Professor Jeff Johnston Study Abroad Scholarship will be made available to Golden Key members who […]
On Thursday March 30th, 2017, Carleton University’s Golden Key Chapter hosted their first annual New Member Recognition Event. At 7:30pm over 200 students, along with their family and friends arrived at the Carleton University’s Bell Theatre. The Chapter was fortunate enough to have the company […]
Win the Job You Want
Brad Rainey, Executive Director
Golden Key International Honour Society
If you are a student at a university or college, you are most likely working to prepare yourself for your first job or a better job. The overwhelming number of respondents to a poll conducted by Harris Poll and commissioned by New America in 2014 cited job and employment opportunities as their top reasons to attend college. The best jobs for recent college graduates, the jobs you want, are ones that have to be won. If you want a great job with a great employer, you have to compete… and the better the job, the more competition you will face. If you are going to win, you have to be ready and the time to get ready starts when you enter university.
Based on my experience hiring graduates and helping grads get hired, I would like to offer some observations. Let’s break the process down into two parts:
Getting the interview
Winning the interview
Leadership positions are readily available on every campus. Every honor society, club, fraternity, sorority and organization has a need for officers. They also need leaders to chair projects. Take advantage of these opportunities and use them to demonstrate real leadership. Join an organization that will provide you with opportunities to grow through participation in worthwhile projects. Chairing a committee that planned and executed a community service project demonstrates real leadership and other skills which employers seek in their new hires. Golden Key International Honour Society chapters provide exactly these types of opportunities.
Dream jobs exist and you can land one. Your chances of landing your dream job will be greatly improved if you prepare. You attend college for an education and to prepare yourself for a career. Studies and grades should be your first priority. Those required courses and Gen Ed requirements are important. Freshmen composition and speech are essential. Be active on campus. Join an organization and serve as a leader. Land an internship that is directly tied to the job of your dreams. Take advantage of what your campus offers and let those things help you prepare to get and win the interview that lands you the job of your dreams.
Read more about the New America College Decisions survey findings here.
Find out if you qualify to join Golden Key International Honour Society here.
Doing an internship abroad through The Intern Group can enrich your life in a number of ways. It’s a unique opportunity for you to earn valuable professional experience while traveling and immersing yourself in a new culture. The different ways you learn and grow during […]
With all of the resources available, you might have overlooked another valuable Golden Key resource on the Golden Key website . . .
It’s that time of the year! Golden Key kicked off its Regional Summit season with its first of three arriving to the Lone Star state; Dallas, Texas from February 3rd – 4th. Attendees got to enjoy the benefits of having their conference in the largest Starwood hotel in the country, the Sheraton Dallas. This summit not only gave students, advisors and members the chance to explore the captivating city life that is Dallas, but also the opportunity to make lifelong friends over discussions on how each individual can enhance Golden Key to impact their campus communities.
The hustle and bustle started early Friday afternoon when Golden Key members started arriving. To kick off the event, Golden Key’s University of Texas at Dallas chapter organized a “photo hunt” for all attendees to participate in. The photo hunt gave everyone the chance to meet other attendees and catch a glimpse of what makes Dallas unique.
After a few hours of adventure, attendees returned to the Sheraton Dallas for the Regional Summit Welcome Session. Golden Key staff kicked off the welcome with a vibrant roll call, a recap of the year operationally and news about upcoming opportunities for all members. The Welcome Session ended with an outstanding icebreaker facilitated by Region 8 Council of Advisors representative, Kathryn Clifford (California State University, Sacramento). The activity broke down barriers for everyone in the room which resulted in not only new perspectives being brought to light, but also new friendships. The evening ended with a small thank you for Golden Key’s Advisors in the form of a reception, where advisors got to mingle with one another and reflect on the impacts they’ve made so far on their respective campus.
Golden Key attendees wasted no time on Saturday, as everyone rose early for breakfast before the show began. Once full of energy, attendees began to immerse themselves in a plethora of workshops for the next three hours. Dallas Regional Summit workshops offered an extensive variety of content this year, including topics such as Golden Key chapter best practices, detailed strategies on marketing and recruitment for student organizations, as well as the basics of what goes into running a supply chain management organization.
After a morning inspiration, attendees turned to empowerment as the Golden Key Think Tank began. The Think Tank randomly broke up attendees into 3 rooms to have genuine conversation about what Golden Key means to them and their campus, learning what all of them can to do enhance the Golden Key experience on their campus. Attendees were given a “take away” sheet to write anything that empowered them to go back to their campus and start making a difference. Once concluded, attendees went their separate ways to re-energize with a bite to eat and then met with Golden Key staff separately to discuss heir vision is for Golden Key in 2017.
As is tradition, Golden Key ended the Dallas Regional Summit in style. Attendees traveled up to the 37th floor Saturday evening to break bread with new friends at the Gala Dinner. While dressed up and looking fly, attendees brought up children’s books that were collected for the Golden Key Kiddos Camp back in Atlanta, GA. The books will be used for the summer camp in May and will significantly help to revitalize the camp’s library.
As everyone finished grabbing dessert, Golden Key welcomed its Regional Summit keynote speaker, Linda Rutherford (Texas Tech), VP of Chief Communications Officer for Southwest Airlines. Linda imparted a powerful message onto everyone in the room on the importance of effectively communicating and active listening to not only those in the work place, but in your day to day life. She ended with an impactful Q&A where she offered outstanding advice cited from her journey that led her to Southwest.
Linda Rutherford was inducted into Golden Key has an Honorary Member as a thank you for exhibiting the values of academics, leadership and service that Golden Key upholds through its mission. Once closing remarks were given by Golden Key staff, Linda’s messaged resonated as attendees continued to discuss amongst one another, recalling their own journeys and their goals for the upcoming chapters in their lives.
Golden Key’s Dallas Regional Summit was one for the history books! From sight-seeing adventures in downtown Dallas to inspiring workshops, impactful conversations and a powerful message delivered by Linda Rutherford to conclude the summit, these two days will surely be unforgettable for all who attended.
We look forward to seeing everyone at the 2017 International Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada this July! Don’t miss out! For more information, click here.
Interested in joining Golden Key? Find out if you qualify!
A Golden Key membership offers many benefits – awards and scholarships, exclusive study programs, opportunities to study abroad, and more. But many members feel the opportunity to get involved with local Golden Key chapters is one of the most valuable benefits of all. When […]
There is nothing like learning the value of Golden Key from the members themselves – students who joined and are now getting so much from their memberships.
Doing an internship abroad takes guts and grit. An international internship demands open-minded, hard-working professionals who are up to the challenge of adjusting to a new culture while earning real-world professional experience in their industry. By pursuing an internship abroad, you’re holding yourself to a higher standard and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. The extra effort will pay off not only during your time abroad, but years after as you reap the professional benefits.
There’s something very unique about having an international internship under your belt. Many young people still hesitate when it comes to seeking international work experiences. Showing your dedication to having diverse experiences and overcoming challenges abroad will make a hiring manager realize that you’re the kind of person who brings something special to the table.
Interns can develop their own network of international professionals in addition to personal contacts. As you start to make connections both at your office and at The Intern Group meetups, you will become more connected to the professionals in your industry all around the world. These kind of international connections are much harder to establish through an internship in your home country.
An internship abroad presents the unique opportunity to immerse yourself in another language in a professional environment. Being proficient in a second language at the office is an incredibly useful skill to list on your resume. As our economy becomes increasingly globalized, it’s more and more important to be able to speak other languages as companies expand operations in emerging markets.
An internship abroad offers a young person the chance to test out their career by interning in the field of their choice. Earning industry experience, interns hone professional skills and learn the ins and outs of their field. Leaving your internship abroad, you’ll be more skilled and plugged into your field.
Whether or not you’ve decided exactly what you want to do with your life, having international office experience under your belt will help boost your resume for many types of job opportunities. Having taken a risk and sought out professional experiences outside your comfort zone and in a foreign land, you’ll be seen as a gutsy, dedicated professional.
The experience of going abroad causes young people to become more worldly and open-minded. They learn how the different countries around the world interact and exchange goods and ideas. Naturally, going to another country forces you to learn about the world in a new way, soaking in a new culture and working through differences. Through this kind of international exchange experience, interns develop increased acceptance of others, making for a more globally-minded, informed and tolerant person.
Employers are seeking people who already have work experience in an office and know what it’s like to work from 9 to 5. After having completed an international internship, interns have a greater understanding of the demands of the professional world. They are better prepared to take on those responsibilities and challenges.
Golden Key is proud to partner with The Intern Group, the leading provider of international internships in London, New York, Europe, China, Australia and Latin America. As a member of Golden Key, you benefit from a 5% discount off of all programs. For more information about their programs, click here.
Want an exciting way to enhance your personal and professional life in a short amount of time? Study abroad! Why is studying abroad so important? If you ask Golden Key member Sherma Noble, she will tell you that “it gives one a wider perspective on […]
GK SCHOLARSHIPS: Ather Sharif
GK Scholarships: Logan Thornton