CAST-GNY Career Development Series: Resume and Interview Tips

On March 19, 2017, in a joint effort, CAST, TJUAA and CUMC-CSAA conducted the first of a series of job hunting workshop for both students and professionals at Columbia University Medical School.

In the first part of the workshop, our guests Ms. Heather Wei Lu and Mr. Anatoli Semenoff shared their thoughts on job hunting. First on resume, both guests emphasized that the resume needs to tell what makes you. Secondly, the resume needs to be accurate and professional. Thirdly, the resume needs to show a level of career progression that is meaningful and reasonable. Lastly, the resume demonstrates communication skills.

On interview, both guests stressed the importance of a 30-second elevator pitch: how to introduce yourself, your strength, and create the conversation with fluent English. In addition, Mr. Semenoff pointed out that attention to details and being able to answer any questions about anything on your resume.

In the second part of the workshop, Mr. Chris Houchins talked about how to think about job hunting as well as interview preparation. After sharing his own career path, Mr. Houchins asked the job-hunters to understand the difference between a job and a career, and how such understanding can help you better prepare for your job searching.

When preparing for interviews, Mr. Houchins talked about accuracy of the resume, and advised that the candidates arrive earlier for the interview, always have a spare resume handy, and be prepared for questions such as self introduction, 3 strength and weakness, why do you want to get this job or degree, and why do you want this job, etc.

Edit: Wanlu Li

Translate: Guotao Lu

 March 19, 2017