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CAFNR Connections December 2007: Vol. 2, No. 3

Warm Winter Wishes!

I can't believe that we are well into December. Students have taken finals and a wintery mix covers nearly every outdoor surface in mid-Missouri. What an exciting and fast fall this has been! From watching the football team to our own CAFNR Tigers, we have seen much success. The job market for our students remains strong, with many seniors and underclass students already committed to jobs and internships next June.

A special thanks to all of you. Your willingness to help our students sends a powerful message, representing the family-like atmosphere for which we in the college are so well known!

Resumes 101

CAFNR sophomore, Rachel, proudly displays her new and improved resume!

Sept. 5

For the third year, the Resume 101 program paired students with professionals for one-on-one resume reviews. It again was wildly popular.

Kellie Bohr represented our corporate partner, Bartlett and Company, and shared tips to help students write impressive resumes.

Following Kellie's tips, students had the opportunity to review their resumes with CAFNR Connections mentors and professionals including Kent Haden, MFA, Inc; Candace Bias, Missouri Department of Natural Resources; Heidi Griswold, CAFNR Advancement; Joe Dubbert, Winfield Solutions, LLC; Dawn Shellabarger, Boone County National Bank; Tony Weldon, Cargill Meat Solutions; Lisa Balty, FCS Financial; Brian Grimm, Sarah Hirschinger and Kellie Bohr, all of Bartlett and Company; and Stephanie Shampine, Molly Rice and Chelsea Dean from Archer Daniels Midland.

Publicity was competently led by Alpha Gamma Rho and resulted in 84 students attending, 11 more than last year!

Kellie Bohr reviews a resume with CAFNR senior, Brandi.

New This Year: Online Reviews!

Following the formal Resumes 101 program, 38 resumes were submitted for electronic review by 27 Connections mentors. The following is a thank-you note sent to CAFNR Career Services:

"Thank you so much for forwarding my resume to those professionals. They all had very constructive and insightful comments. I am going to take their advice in revising my resume. I hope to have it in top shape for the Career Fair. Thank you so much!"

Many thanks to the following Connections mentors who reviewed one or more resumes online: Melanie Acklin, Specialty Fertilizer Products; Bob Bestgen, Marriott; Zach Crews, Golden Harvest; Julie Deane, JDeane Restaurant Services; McKenzie Disselhorst, Missouri Cattlemen's Association; Joe Dubbert, Winfield Solutions, LLC; Kristen Durham, UC Berkeley Energy and Resources Group; Cheston Easter, Anheuser-Busch; Sarah Gehring, Missouri Department of Agriculture; Julie Jenkins, AG Edwards and Sons, LLC; Larry Knipp, Rabo AgriFinance; Brendon Lueck; Dow Agro Sciences; Lane McConnell, Missouri Department of Agriculture; Roger Morrison, Cargill; Hannah Nelson, AFA; Leigh Nutter, City of Columbia; Stephen Parsons, JP Morgan; Natalie Scherer, Experient; Kyle Search, Central Bancompany; Dawn Shellabarger, Boone County National Bank; Jaime Steiner, Central Bancompany; Sarah Stratman, FCS Financial; Bill Vaughn, AgriLabs; Nathan White, FCS Financial; and Gene Wiseman, State Milk Board.

On Sept. 11, 54 students attended Interviewing Strategies, presented by Catherine Becker from corporate sponsor Monsanto. "Think about a time you felt really good about an accomplishment. This is the feeling I want you to have when you leave the interview," said Catherine. She provided a number of excellent tips—from careful company research to the requisite thank-you note—to better prepare attendees for fall interviews.

We all know that practice makes perfect! Following Catherine's tips, 24 mock interviews were conducted by mentors Kelly Marchbanks, MU Vet School Advancement; Bob Bockserman, Conatech Consulting; Candice Bias, Missouri Department of Natural Resources; Colleen Cook, FCS Financial; Brian Smith, self-employed grain merchandiser; Kyle Search, Central Bancompany; Roger Morrison, Cargill; Larry Knipp, Rabo AgriFinance; and Catherine Becker, Monsanto.

A CAFNR student who participated in the program commented, "I now feel much more confident!" Those of us who have interviewed once, twice, or more, know how important confidence is and may even remember how nerve-wracking the first few professional interviews were.

Thanks to Catherine of Monsanto, the mentor interviewers and student organization sponsor Sigma Alpha for helping students to gain interview skills and confidence!

Family Weekend and Senior Send-off

Sept. 15

Sept. 15 saw MU Family Weekend festivities and the Tigers' victory against Western Michigan on Faurot Field. It also marked our first Senior Send-off, sponsored by the Ag Alumni Association.

Over 300 students, family members and faculty and staff gathered outside the Bond Life Sciences Center for breakfast, black and gold beads, the music of the Afro-Cuban Jazz Band and a chance to win fabulous Mizzou prizes.

More than 40 seniors and their family members made their way inside for a short program on the CAFNR Connections career mentoring program.

Eric Aldrich, president of the SNR Alumni Association, and Bill Newham, president of the Ag Alumni Association, stressed the importance of connections and the willingness of alumni to help students!

Seniors received an MU embossed leather business card holder as a reminder to collect business cards and develop their network of alumni friends and professional contacts.

CAFNR Career Day 2007

Sept. 26

With more than 70 employer booths and 350 students, Career Day 2007 was a success! Connections were definitely made: more than 200 students were interviewed the day after the fair.

Employer evaluations were very positive as indicated by the following quotes:

"The students were very professional. It was very refreshing."
"I was very impressed with the level of professionalism that each student portrayed. I thought they were very prepared for the interview and for the working world."
"Some of the best prepared students in the country."

Internship Panel

Oct. 10

"How many people can walk through the grocery store and say, 'I made that'?"

This was the question posed by senior food science major Natalie who interned last summer with McCann Snack Foods. Natalie and six other upperclass students shared their internship experiences and encouraged their peers to "get involved and get to know people."

Senior Jennifer shared her internship experiences: "I learned confidence. You have no idea how much you can do until you're thrown in. You gain the knowledge that you can be flexible and do whatever you want to do."

The students also emphasized the professional responsibility they were given during their internships as well as a sense of pride in the projects they successfully completed.

A number of companies were represented at the Internship event and included ADM, Anheuser-Busch, the Boston Red Sox, Merial, Porto Cima and the U.S. Soybean Export Council. The message to all CAFNR students was clear: INTERN!

Does the Future Scare You?

Oct. 31

CAFNR Career Services hosted a Halloween Open House where faculty were invited to submit pumpkins for a carving contest. Congrats to Shari Freyermuth, Ph.D., biochemistry, who reigns as Pumpkin Carving Champion! Jan Dauve, Ph.D., agricultural economics, was a very close second place.

Etiquette Dinner

Nov. 8

In early November, more than 50 students learned from Chef Jett some of the finer points of dining. From tackling continental dining style to carving the cherry tomato, our students were ready!

John Kleiboeker, executive director of the Missouri Beef Industry Council, spoke for a few moments, sharing the benefits of beef as well as the importance of personal and professional development opportunities. Our sincere thanks to the Missouri Beef Industry Council for their generous sponsorship of the dinner again this year!

Networking Know-How

Nov. 15

How long does it take to meet 15 people at an event? Ask the 80-plus students who attended this year's program on networking!

"Not long at all," might be the response—that is, if you are involved in "speed networking!"

The networking program, sponsored by Steak 'n Shake, focused on developing networking skills and the importance of follow-up and follow-through in maintaining a network.

The program began with a rousing round of "speed networking."

Thanks to Kerri Kime and colleagues from Steak 'n Shake for sponsorship and participation.

Also, thanks to Justin Lueck and Alpha Gamma Sigma for being the student organization co-sponsor and to mentor participants Dawn Shellabarger, Brian Smith and Jaime Steiner.

Salary Savvy: The Art and Science of Negotiations

Nov. 13

Dallas Ford, owner of executive search firm Alpha Scouts and long-time Connections mentor, presented a workshop on negotiating salary and other aspects of a job to 25 seniors.

Dallas shared a number of excellent tips with students preparing for job search this season, including:

Do your homework and know what the market value is for the position you seek.
Hold off on negotiating until an offer is made.
If pressured to provide an acceptable salary, give a range.

The program was rated highly, with one student commenting that it was the best program he had ever attended.

Many thanks to Dallas and Alpha Scouts for presenting this incredibly helpful program!

As we look forward to 2008, we see more opportunities for the young people in our college to connect—with you and with our employers! Our mission is to help our students figure out where they wish to go and then help them get there.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for the critical role you play in this important mission.

Warm wishes for a happy, healthy new year!

Stephanie and Crew
CAFNR Career Services