The Key is (in) The Vault
So as you all know, a few months ago the CCD portlet was added to your Portal pages with the goal of grouping together important sites and insights from the Career Center in to one location.I’m going to go ahead and call out something else on the CCD Portlet that I think a lot of people aren’t using, which are the Vault Guides.
If you have never checked out a Vault Guide, stop reading this now, go to portal.babson.edu and click on “Vault” under useful links in the CCD Portlet.You will not be sorry.Vault Guides are these amazing downloads that walk you through the ins and outs of an industry/job/employer – depending on which guide you are looking at. They can give you anything from industry trends, to sample questions, to employee testimonials, and it’s all FREE!
So why do I love Vault Guides? Let me count the ways:
There are a million of them (or maybe a little over 90, but still that’s a lot). There are Vault Guides offering up insights into industries (i.e. The Vault Guide to Advertising or Private Equity, or Green Programs, etc… ), employers, (i.e.Vault Guide to the Top Health Care Employers), and the basics, (i.e. Vault Guide to Resumes, Cover Letters, and Interviews or Vault Guide to Case Interviews). Basically, if you are looking for any job, there is a Vault Guide out there to help you. (There are even Vault Guides for Grad Schools
Unsure about your career plans? Check out a vault guide! Let’s say you know you want to do something in “marketing” but not sure exactly what. You can read several different vault guides to figure out whether what you are looking for is more of a career in advertising or a career in media, or a career in ___(insert industry here)___. The guides will walk you through different types of positions, the pay scale, the interview process, and what types of skills you need in order to get a job in that field.
They are sooo comprehensive. Take for example, the Vault Guide to Resumes, Cover Letters, and Interviews. This guide walks you through everything from what to do, to what not to do, when it comes to these three topics. It gives you good examples, and bad examples. It’s like having your own personal career counselor, but just on a computer screen.
The Vault guides are also extremely easy to read. They are written in a conversational style that makes you feel more like you’re reading an email from your best friend rather than a comprehensive guide on a career-related subject. Take for example this simple discussion about resume fonts, and how cutely Vault puts it:
Don’t get creative. Really. What you want in a font is not a decorative design choice, but a simple, easily read font that shows you mean business. In other words, when looking for a font, think gray suit.
That’s way more fun to read than a staunch old publication that says, “Use fonts such as….”
You know how there’s that Austin Power’s character, Fat Bastard, who yells, “Get in my belly!”?**Well now picture him staring you in the face yelling, “GET IN THAT VAULT GUIDE!”