The recent article in the Amherst Wire titled “It is None of Your Business” speaks on the issue of the differences in job preparation between UMass’ Business School, Isenberg, and the rest of the schools within the University. Case in point of the story: the University prioritizes Isenberg students and leaves the rest of the students to fend for themselves in a job market that seems desolate. Valid or not, the keys to which you can secure a job is the ability to market oneself (which Isenberg students seemed to be groomed to do.) Employers want to hire students who will help represent and spread their brand. If you don’t know how to market yourself to them, how can they trust you to market them to other people?

So for all you Non-Isenberg students, here at Chikmedia we decided to compile a list of tips to help you all market your way into a secured job of your choice before graduation:

#TIP 1:

• SET UP LINKEDIN

Research shows that employers are using LinkedIn in order to market themselves more with the increased attention of digital marketing.

If you want to expand your network and make yourself known, make one.

PLUS: employers will most likely end up googling you anyway, might as well CONTROL what they find. Deviating your name on Facebook is a good tip too.

#TIP 2

• DRESS THE PART

Before entering a career fair or an interview, understand the types of jobs you are looking at and to cater your wardrobe to each industry.

If you are expecting to enter a corporate setting, a well-fitted suit with classic detailing is a must. Make sure it fits you and stick to blue, blacks, and beiges for colors. This is not the place to show Fashion Weeks’ newest trends or show up with a wrinkled top.

For a more relaxed setting, business casual is the way to go which means you should wear a pressed shirt/dress pants/skirt/dress/blouse.

Ladies: leave the 5”heels you can’t walk in at home. Employers want competence and walking like you are stumbling with heels that you go out drinking in does not exuberate competence. 3” or less should be the shoe of choice.

#TIP 4

• FOLLOW UP WITH YOUR RESUMES

Anyone can send a resume to a company, what is so hard with clicking a button? You need to show companies that you are really interested in the position and following up with an email a week later shows that you took the time to make sure your resume was received and you are being considered.

NOTE: Don’t follow up a “DO NOT REPLY EMAIL,” they won’t reply and might not like that you didn’t listen.

#TIP 5

• DON’T BE AFRAID: APPLY AND SHOW THEM HOW YOU THINK

Unless you are applying to engineering jobs when you are not an engineering major, many employers actually look for candidates from various majors so long as you can show them how you think differently and get the job done.

Reach into your resumes and show them accomplishments or instances in which you have been quick, savvy, and efficient.

Hope all this helps, good luck millennials!

-Jackie Tan, chikmedia Intern

One of the most anticipated TV programs aired yesterday. No, it was not the Super Bowl; it was the 86th Academy Awards. This is the biggest awards show of the year in which small golden figured heads all named Oscar were presented to actors and actresses for their portrayal in films that were deemed by the Academy as most noteworthy in the year 2014. 40.3 people on average tuned into the program but none of that 40.3 took home what all of the attendees took home that night. That something was called Swag Bags.

Swag Bags are the goodie bags that every celebrity sitting in the Kodak Theater will be leaving with once the awards are over. Products backed by multi-million dollar companies are usually the typical products seen in these bags, but this year, there is a new product that is making a splash.

The product is called the “DrainWig” and it is not your typical dream vacation or spa treatment, it is an everyday tool made by an everyday stay at home mom. This interesting contraption is designed to place into a drain in order to collect hair at the bottom of the drain to avoid clogging. Clogging the drain could mean thousands of dollars worth of damages and time for many people, even celebrities.

The product’s designer is just as interesting as the invention itself. Jennifer Briggs, a stay at home mom could not be more thrilled. She never would have thought that her product, retailed at 12.95, would ever see the insides of a Swag Bag. Briggs said of the experience, as “Words can’t express how exciting that was for me.”

We can all take a look at the “DrainWig” and revel in how lucky Briggs was to land such an opportunity. But more importantly, we should take the time to reaffirm ourselves that products do not need to be made with the most cutting edge materials and reinvent how we live our lives. Products such as DrainWig show consumers that simple designs that subtly improve everyday life are considered revolutionary.

-Jackie Tan, chikmedia Intern