Networking ideas for college students
College students should take advantage of on-campus networking and recruiting events to get ahead in a job search, career expert Sandra Long writes in this blog post. She also advises talking with career counselors about internships and getting involved in professional associations on campus. Blogging4Jobs (12/11)

Use the "STAR" method to answer interview questions
Answer behavioral questions, such as those that start "What would you do if ..." by deploying the STAR method, or Situation, Task, Action and Result, Joe Konop writes. This method helps you organize your answer by first thinking of a situation in which you had to think on your feet. You then state that task, explain the action you took to solve the problem and state the result of your efforts. Next Avenue (12/12)

Other News

Higher Ed Employment Trends

Colleges urged to improve conditions for postdoctoral students
Postdoctoral researchers need better pay, mentoring and career development, according to a new report published by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine. The report's authors urge colleges to improve working conditions, and they counsel postdocs to look beyond academia for employment, as tenure-track jobs remain scarce. The Chronicle of Higher Education (free content) (12/11), Science magazine (free content)/Science Careers blog (12/10)

Higher Ed in the News

Proposal offers 3-year degree to save students time, money
Students could save both time and money if more colleges offered three-year undergraduate degree programs, according to a proposal by Johns Hopkins University professor Paul Weinstein. He acknowledges colleges would lose money in the short term, but notes that they could regain the revenue by enrolling more students. Some colleges such as Wesleyan University in Connecticut have such programs, but they remain rare. Los Angeles Times (tiered subscription model) (12/10)

Higher-education enrollment drops by 1%, report shows
Fewer students are attending higher-education institutions, according to a recent report by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Overall higher-education enrollment numbers fell by 1% -- or 250,000 students. The Hechinger Report (12/11)

Other News

Diversity Focus

Study: Women and minorities more likely to eschew faculty positions
Women and underrepresented minorities are 36% to 55% less likely than white and Asian men to report high interest in pursuing faculty positions after earning their doctorate, according to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE. Researchers say colleges interested in maintaining diversity must do more to address the concerns of minority students to keep them interested in joining the faculty after graduation. InsideHigherEd.com (12/11)

HERC News

HERC offers free jobseeker webcasts on demand
Want to learn how to target your cover letter, resume or CV for faculty or non-faculty positions? Care to enhance your preparation for the campus visit and interviewing for faculty positions? Interested in learning more ways to expand your career networks? Look no further. Visit HERC's on-demand webinar page.

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