FYE – Why These Assignments?

Plan Now to Have Options Later

Post-Graduation Options Return to your home country US Job, requiring a US work visa (e.g. H1B1 status) US Graduate School

Are you 100% sure you’re going home and won’t need US contacts?

We want you to have options!!

What Are Employers Looking For? Each year NACE, National Association of Colleges and Employers, distributes a survey asking employers to identify the skills they look for on a candidate’s résumé. What do you think are the top 5 skills desired by US employers? Highly likely that students will identify job/career/money as reason. Explain we’re going to examine what employers say they want

What Are Employers Looking For? Problem-solving skills (82.9%) Ability to work in a team (82.9%) Written communication skills Leadership Verbal communication skills/Work ethic

What influences an employer’s decision to hire one candidate over another? Academic major Leadership roles Participation in extracurricular activities High grade point average

FYE: Three Main Components Practicing Verbal English Creating Networks/Gaining Professional Skills/Planning Accessing Resources Exploring Campus Resources presentation Create Your Own Assignment presentation Event presentation Class Participation American Student panel Involvement Fair Event Presentations Resume assignment Parts I and II American student panel Expert Presentations Exploring Campus Resources presentations In-Class Topics (e.g. Plagiarism, Citation)

Networking/Professional Experience Building Involvement Fair Get you connected to clubs/organizations Academic organizations may help with internships/career Potential leadership opportunity Event presentations Network with American students and faculty Learn more about the local culture Résumé assignments Identify areas where you are making good progress, but also where you are lacking Will be used when applying for internship/jobs/requesting letters of recommendation Update at end of each semester Use to plan next four years at UConn Now is the perfect time to be developing the skills that employers say they want! These two activities will help get you started.

Practicing Verbal English Exploring Campus Resources Requires you to interact in English with Americans Increase your skills related to working in a group Practice giving oral presentations Create Your Own Assignment and Event Presentation Practice giving oral presentations by yourself For the Event presentation, provide information to your fellow students Class Participation Builds your comfort/confidence in using verbal English Allows us to hear your opinions, problem-solving, and questions (important in US University Classes)

Assessing Resources Campus-Partner Presentations and Exploring Campus Resource presentations Introduces you to campus resources that could be useful Builds contacts for you in these offices In-Class Topics Introduces academic skills expected of students here (e.g. plagiarism, works’ cited) Identifies helpful campuses offices and resources (e.g. Q-Center, Academic Achievement Center)

Questions?