Looking for a Job?

One of CAFNR’s greatest opportunities is the chance to secure a partime job within your major. Especially as an animal science student, I know there are an incredible number of jobs where you can learn more about your interests while outside of the classroom and better yet get paid to do it.

My freshman year I worked with the University Soybean Breeders. While I worked at South Farm and Bradford Research Farm, I gained firsthand knowledge of two of our University’s main agronomical research facilities. More importantly, I learned one of the methods by which new varieties of soybeans are bred, and gained a larger appreciation for the work that goes into it.

As I began preparing for my sophomore year of college I was interested in a job more directly related to animal science. All it took was a simple request to my advisor and he put me in contact with Dr. Randy Prather. A short interview later and I was working with Dr. Prather’s research team as a pig caretaker. Since working there I have gotten the chance to work with green pigs which glow florescent green under a black light, Cystic Fibrosis pigs which exhibit the same symptoms as humans and thus will serve as our first truly useful nonhuman model, pigs which produce the healthy Omega 3 fatty acids that are typically found in fish, as well as the pigs which could be the first step towards whole organ transplants into humans.

The most rewarding aspects of my job are reading about the research I’m helping with in magazine articles, and getting the chance to talk with fellow students about the exciting research projects the animal science division is conducting.

I would urge every student to pursue a job opportunity inside of your division or even just inside the college. Take advantage of this rare opportunity where the University will pay you to learn instead of the other way around.

-Chris Perry

Junior, Animal Sciences

Looking for valuable campus job like this? CAFNR Career Services is here to help. Stop by Ag Building 2-64 or call 573-882-0088 for help today!

More than 75 employers on campus TOMORROW!

Starting the search for your summer internship or a full-time career? Tomorrow's CAFNR Career Fair is for you!

Stop by Reynolds Alumni Center from 12 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, October 8th to see what employers have to offer. Dress to impress in professional attire, and be sure to bring copies of your resume to share with recruiters you're interested in working for!

See you at the fair!

Rippin’ the Resume

It seems that when it’s time to turn in applications, every single one needs a resume attached. It also seems that a resume can never be perfect enough! October for me came quickly—and it has also come with many deadlines. Scholarships, applications for various awards, and new job opportunities take advantage of the new fiscal year as a great due date.

My roommate and I have been filling out many of the same applications the last few weeks. In preparation for the applications, I had the honor of ripping apart her resume! English has always been my favorite subject, but editing a resume goes beyond just looking at grammatical errors.

When revising your resume, the most important thing to remember is consistency! Consistency fixes so many problems. If margins are even and every single item is formatted the same, the resume will have a neat, attractive appearance. Even in the activities or accomplishments have little relevance to the job you're seeking, consistency with the presentation and organization will “wow” your reader.

The modern, up-to-date resume today has to grab the employer’s attention. On my resume, I actually have my name and heading in royal blue. The blue is not Legally Blonde’s resume on pink paper by any means, but it does add that little pizzazz which (hopefully) will cause an employer or scholarship critique to take a second look at it.

With the help of the CAFNR Career Services, I have worked on continuously on editing my resume. They can help you too—set up an appointment with Stephanie Chipman to get your resume ripped apart today!

-Charlotte Jackson
Sophomore, Agricultural Education

The Power of an Internship...or Three!

Last week I shared my thoughts on the importance of good interview skills. One of the places those good skills can take you is to a great internship.

As a CAFNR freshman it felt like everyone shoved the importance of internships down my throat....and they were right. Over the past three summers, I have had three very different internships, each with something unique to teach me.

My first summer was spent with Monsanto Company in St. Louis. This was quite a jump for a girl from a town of less than 400. While I did spend a small part of my summer scared to death, the bigger part of my time was spent learning invaluable lessons. My job was to travel to Monsanto test plots all across the county and photograph the effectiveness of different products. My travels took me all the way from Tennessee to Idaho and introduced me to a valuable network of agriculture professionals.

In my second summer of college, I shifted gears and went to work for Brownfield Radio Network in Jefferson City. I was hired as a Promotions intern, but the Promotions Coordinator took a different job a week after I arrived, so I basically took over her role until a new coordinator was hired 5 months later. My work at Brownfield included planning and assisting with promotional events the network put on such as showmanship contests at state fairs and 4-H youth awards. I also updated the web pages about these events and conducted interviews to with participants. Brownfield also provided me the opportunity to contribute to the daily news program by writing and broadcasting some stories of my own. I was offered an extension on my internship and stayed with Brownfield through the fall semester. This experience exposed me to a whole new side of ag journalism and taught me a wide variety of skills that I know I will continue to use throughout my career.

This summer I worked here in Columbia with Cummins Consulting. My primary responsibility was to help coordinate the judging for the American Ag Editors Association annual critique contest. This experience exposed me to many different aspects of farm publications and concluded with a trip to Florida for the awards ceremony where I met many of the leaders in agriculture journalism.

All of my internships have been in very different fields of my degree program, but share the commonality that they prepared me to make a decision of where I want to go with my future in agriculture journalism.

-Taryn Dameron

Senior, Agricultural Journalism

Looking for valuable internships like Taryn's? CAFNR Career Services is here to help. Ask CAFNR students about their experiences at the Internship Panel TONIGHT, October 1st at 5 p.m. in 154 Eckles! Need an alternative? Don't miss the Career Fair on Wednesday, October 8th to find your summer internship!

Internships 101

Started thinking about your summer plans? It's never too early to start looking for internships. According to a NACE Survey, 95 percent of college students have an internship before they graduate.

So what do you need to know? Join past CAFNR Interns to find out how to find the internship of your dreams.

Internship Panel
Wednesday, October 1st
5 p.m.
154 Eckles

The past interns will cover these areas and MORE!

• Biotechnology and research
• Animal and plant sciences
• Agricultural communications
• Sales and marketing
• Education
• Ag engineering.

Enjoy complimentary refeshments...and no need to dress up! It's a comfortable way to learn about your future! For more information, call CAFNR Career Services at 573-882-0088.

Small Achievement, Big Impact

CAFNR junior Kelin Kruse at Twilight Festival teaching children how to “milk a cow.” The college's organizations taught area families about agriculture.

It is CAFNR Week! After several successful events including Skit Night, Great Grill-Off, and Mud Volleyball, we can all tell that the CAFNR Week ball has started rolling. However, in the heart of CAFNR Week competition, sometimes it is important to step back and observe the real reason for all the week’s events. What is important? Is it winning the Super Farmer Contest? Or having the most attendance the CAFNR Week speaker? The CAFNR Week achievements that are the most important are the small ones that have the greatest impact.

I realized this myself last week at the first event of CAFNR Week—Twilight Festival. As the Agricultural Education Society’s Program Development Chair, one of my duties is to organize the educational activities for the club. Growing up on a dairy farm, I always hold that particular part of agriculture close to my heart. Realizing that many children in the Columbia area do not know much about Missouri’s top industry, I decided I had to come up with a spectacular idea for the Twilight Festival this year.

As I brainstormed educational activities, I decided to make a display of how milk gets from cow to carton. But really that was not enough, so I printed coloring sheets for the kids to take home. Yet, I still was not satisfied. My degree is in Agricultural Education for a reason! I want to educate people, and my ideas for Twilight Festival were lacking in creativity thus far. I did not want the activity to be boring so the Columbia’s kids would not think highly of agriculture. So… finally by the suggestion of my roommate, I added a “milk a cow” simulation with rubber gloves, and I also got chocolate and white milk half-pints donated by Central Dairy to hand out.

Sometimes when I’m stumped like I was with my Twilight Festival idea, I feel like I can never make an impact. Why do I do what I do? Although the milk display at Twilight Festival was a fun activity for all involved, fun is not all I (and all those present) got out of it. It is much more than that—the knowledge that through this minor achievement of mine, I made a small impact on someone who came to Twilight Festival that evening.

That small impact has a rippling effect. It starts small, but hopefully one child I taught about agriculture can pass it on to a friend or two. And they will pass it on to another friend or two. From that one night—which was a small achievement in my book—I know I made a big impact somewhere in the world.

-Charlotte Jackson
Sophomore, Agricultural Education

If you're stumped with your plans for the future, CAFNR Career Services is here to help. Set up an appointment with Stephanie Chipman to discuss the endless opportunities available for CAFNR students!

Interview Experts

Expectations. Life is full of them and it is up to us to rise up and meet them or let them pass by. Those expectations seem to be especially daunting when you reach that long-anticipated final year of college. Here I am: expected to either get a job, or go to grad school, find a house, pay off those student loans and basically grow up. But how does one fulfill all of these expectations?

As I start my senior year I am finding that one way to get started is by talking. Talking to the right people and asking and answering the right questions. Yes, I’m talking about interviews. Whether it is for your dream job, graduate school or a spot in CAFNR history as CAFNR Week queen (or king), every interview is important and you have to have the right tools to be successful.

Luckily for CAFNR Students, the resources to find those tools are never very far away. You can start by asking those around you. I have received invaluable knowledge over the past few years simply by talking to those who have been there before. Older students and college professors have more than likely been through the experiences that you are preparing for, and can give practical tips on how to put your best self out there.

Another great place to turn is to CAFNR Career Services. The name pretty much says it all. The office is filled with people trained to help get you where you want to go, and like I said, this starts with great interviewing skills. The website offers advice on how to dress for an interview, what not to do, how to handle different types of interviews and more.

Everyone here in CAFNR already knows that our students are the cream of the crop, now you all you need to know is how to make sure everyone else knows it too!

For additional resources, visit the website, stop by Ag Building 2-64 or call 573-882-0088 today!

CALLING all students...

Are you looking for a job or internship?
Submitting your resume?
Leaving your cell number for employers to call?

If you answered YES to any of these questions, take a look at the tips below to ensure you get a call!

DOs:

Do answer unknown numbers professionally. Example: Hi, this is John.

Do have a brief, and informative voicemail message. Example: You've reached Molly. I can't answer my phone right now. Leave a message and I'll call you back.

DON'Ts:
Don't have caller tunes blaring while the recruiter waits for you to pick-up the call.

Don't have a rude greeting. Example: This is Tom. If you think it's important, leave a message. If not, I don't plan to call you back.

Don't answer the phone in loud surroundings like at a party, bar, or basketball game. Solution: let it hit your voicemail and listen to the message. Then you can call back when you're in an uninterrupted environment.

We found a cool quiz that will test how savvy you are with cell phone etiquette. Try it out today!

Have more questions? Get out your cell phone and call CAFNR Career Services at 573-882-0088.