Real Talk With BELLA + Carla Carstens
Real Talk With BELLA + Carla Carstens
The BELLAs chat with Carla Isabel Carstens Career Coach and Founder of FreeFashionInternships.com on getting a virtual internship during quarantine. Internships in the workforce, especially in the Fashion Industry, are changing because of Covid-19. Carla shares insights on how to find the right internship and most importantly, how to be prepared for interviews, in person or via zoom, to nail the job of your dreams!
Our interview with Carla went beyond our podcast. It was so good, we asked her for more! Check out her recommendations below:With everything going on with Coronavirus, people are being laid off left and right, how do we cope with it and prep for our next career move? Use this time to take inventory of your previous career. Was even something you loved? Maybe this is your opportunity to consider a career-change, or even just re-focus your career priorities and goals. Is your industry still thriving in today’s world? Do your best to understand the market and focus your efforts toward companies that have the capability to continue business (to the best of their abilities) through this crisis.Once you have an idea of what types of jobs you are seeking, evaluate your materials. To optimize your search, compare your cover letter and resume to potential job opportunities. Tailoring your resume and cover letter is a must, not an option. Once you identify a job posting you’d like to apply to and are an actual candidate for, scan the listing and apply relevant keywords to your resume and cover letter. Address any requirements, skills, and qualities you possess, that are also in the job posting.If there are skills missing from your resume, now is the time to learn them! A great use of time would be taking advantage of all the free knowledge being offered by various educational institutions and businesses. There are tons of courses now being offered for free, or heavily discounted prices. Not so great at Photoshop? Adobe is offering free short-term access to some of their programs. The online world is your oyster - taking advantage.Lastly, shed the guilt you have surrounding having more free time than usual. As long as you are diligently doing what you need to do, allow yourself to savor this free time to pursue long lost hobbies, organize your apartment, read, or lay around with your dog. Who knows when you’ll have an opportunity like this again?What should we focus our time on while we are quarantined? Our health or our career or how do we focus on both? Both. I think this is an excellent opportunity to reset and try to achieve that healthy balance that is so hard to find when we are constantly being bombarded by “hustle porn” and “she’s got it all” imagery. COVID-19 has taken everyone down a few notches, and created an incredible sense of community. Let’s take advantage of that. Be kind to yourself. Start that project you’ve been dreaming of, or take that nap at 2PM, work schedule permitting!What should the younger generation/college students be doing to continue an internship or their college education if they can’t physically complete it? It’s absolutely possible to get an excellent internship experience through a remote internship opportunity, it comes down to the intern and her/his supervisor working together to facilitate that awesome experienceBeyond experience, the point of an internship is to expand your network in the industry you’re hoping to be a part of post-college. You want that person to have your back, serve as a reference, and let you know of any great job opportunities. That comes through connection, which can be hard to foster when you’ve never met your supervisor! Encourage and stay true to a weekly Zoom or FaceTime call to go over your priorities, as well as bond with your employer.In your opinion, what are the top 4 resume deal breakers?
Not tailoring your resume and cover letter to the job you’re applying for. If you’re not explicitly showing them why you’re qualified for that specific job, why are you even applying?
Using an overly creative resume template. It’s just too risky, not to mention potentially distracting!
Not using quantifiable data when showcasing your professional experiences. Meaning, tell us not only what you did, but what the results were. How much did you grow that social media account by? How much did engagement increase? Work retail? What were your sales goals, and by how much did you surpass them? That’s what’s interesting to recruiters and hiring managers.
Misspellings and grammar - straight to the garbage!
What should College graduates and the post-grad job market - expect during this difficult time, how should they adapt?There are a lot of great jobs and companies hiring, so there is no excuse to not be actively applying once you have graduated.Just note that employers may be taking some time to answer questions that may affect their conversation with you. You may get an interview, and not hear back for a while. You can’t go into this job market with expectations. This is uncharted territory, and while some businesses have a clear game plan, many don’t as the impacts of this are unknown.Be patient and continue to check-in on potential job opportunities at reasonable, and empathetic intervals. Everyone is going through it one way or another. Everyone is affected by this. The emails you send those applications and cold emails to? They are opened by humans just like you and me! Don’t forget that. Did you answer every email you ever received? Didn’t think so.While I love old fashion proactive behavior, it’s truly not the time to be cold emailing, especially small businesses. Be strategic about the companies you target. Is the business you're contacting part of an industry thriving during COVID-19? Have they posted other opportunities?Bottom line, focus on making yourself and your work capabilities and availability known within your community, apply to jobs that have been recently posted online, read that dusty book, invest in yourself and your well-being. But, most importantly, trust that everything is gonna be alright.
