Summer Career Accelerator


What is it?The Summer Career Accelerator, sponsored by the Boerigter Center and the Van Wylen Library, is a program to help you jump start career preparation activities you may have been putting off. It will include hands-on learning activities, such as:

  • Researching career tracks and top employers in your field
  • Networking with alumni and others
  • Crafting a well-polished résumé, cover letter, and online profile
  • Earning micro-credentials inTableau,Salesforce, and/orIntercultural Fluency(click on links for more info)
  • Completing early interviews with recruiters at key organizations

Who is it for?This program is geared toward current juniors, sophomores, and freshmen that have declared a major (in any discipline) and are ready to actively pursue internships and jobs next year. If you haven’t yet picked a major and are still undecided, no sweat. Plan on applying next summer.


它是什么时候?The program starts May 9 and runs through August 11. Most activities will be self-paced on your own time, so you will be able to work around your job, studies, or research commitments. We will want you to hold the days of August 9, 10, and 11 for live online events involving events with Hope staff, alumni, and employers who want to meet you.


Where will it be held?This will be 100% virtual, so you can do it from wherever you are this summer.


How does it work?申请截止日期为2022年4月25日(星期一)下午5点。如果你被录取，我们会很快通知你。你将被收取250美元到你的希望学生帐户，作为你承诺继续执行该项目的方式。好消息是，当你完成时，你会得到全额退款!此外，如果你在6月底前完成所有作业，你将获得希望书店赠送的30美元礼物。您无需为微证书支付额外费用(Hope将承担这些费用)。


Why should I apply?顶级机构会在秋季招聘暑期实习生和应届毕业生。我们希望你能脱颖而出，成为这些职位的主要候选人!这个项目将让你做好准备，为你的未来提供一个良好的开端。

TL:DRCheck Out a Brief Video About the Program

It is a Fulltime Job Looking for a Fulltime Job

Are you a senior who is looking for work? Then this is for you! Do you feel frustrated and overwhelmed with your job search? Are you not quite sure where to start or which direction to go? Does it feel like you are spending so much time yet getting nowhere? These are all normal feelings for those looking for work but if this is your first time seeking fulltime employment you may not know this. THERE IS HOPE, pun intended! There is a team of folks on campus who have years of experience doing just this-helping students and alumni process, plan and look for work. We are the Boerigter Center for Calling and Career. OnApril 7thfrom 5-6pmwe are hosting a session for seniors. I will give you more details in a minute but first I want to tell you a story.

Long ago, in the ancient land of 1989 there was a soon to be Hope College graduate named Amy. She was a good student, had studied abroad, completed the Philadelphia Semester Program, had a Psychology/Sociology Composite major with an English minor, and a strong work ethic. It was March, two months until graduation, and she was ready to leave college and start adulting. BUT she had no idea how to do that!

She had a resume, compliments of the Philly Semester, so signed up for a couple of on-campus interviews. Nothing happened. She continued to search newspapers, remember, it’s 1989 so we still did that, and applied for a few random things. And got discouraged. She needed a plan. What were her goals? She knew she didn’t want to return home to the small south-central Michigan town she was from so what did she need to do to be independent?

First, she needed money and a place to live. Amy had a waitressing job so was able to add hours and start to cook to make more money. Second, she and a friend found an affordable brand-new apartment. They didn’t have much furniture and Amy didn’t have a bed, but it was a safe roof over her head. After two weeks of sleeping on the floor her dad drove to Holland and co-signed for her first credit card so she could purchase a bed. Success!

While she liked her waitressing job, she really did need to put her college education to the test and get a “big girl” job. Maybe her resume needed some tweaking. She paid $60, a lot of money back then, and had someone help her strengthen her resume and cover letter. She knew she wanted to help people so started randomly applying to non-profit faith-based organizations, finally managing to secure part-time work that included healthcare benefits three months after graduation. Success!

After 9 months of hard work and picking up a lot of extra shifts, she got promoted to a full-time salaried position. Success! She had also gained new friends through work and was able to move to Grand Rapids, where she was working, and live with a colleague. More success! Amy purchased her first car, joined a volunteer group and made more friends, and after a couple of years purchased her first home all by herself. Major success! The story goes on with changes in career paths, continued discernment of what that should look like, marriage, kids, graduate school, etc… Successes but not without some failures too. Believe it or not the failures, while hard, are often the most informative learning experiences; who knew! After graduate school she found herself called to return to Hope College where she works to help students find their life and career paths. The End… but not really.

我分享这个故事，因为我是活生生的证明，你们也将从大学过渡到职业生涯和现实世界。它不会没有坎坷，它会有成功也会有失败。记住，每个人对成功的定义都不一样，所以要努力理解成功对你意味着什么。Boerigter呼叫和职业中心想要帮助你在这个过程中导航。我们有自己的故事和多年来的经验，帮助学生继续在职业和职业方面的下一步甄别过程。

We invite you to attend a session onApril 7 from 5-6pm in the Martha Miller Center Room 158where you will hear about the process of job seeking and discerning and leave with import steps to take to be successful in this next chapter. Please use thisHandshakelink to sign up for this new event! We know you can be successful and want YOU to know we are here to help you step toward that success!

The Secret to Acing Your Next Interview

Interviews are a huge step toward landing a job, but the process is often accompanied by anxiety surrounding what to say, how to dress, or what steps to take after the interview. This week’s Career Camp focused on frequently asked interview questions and provided helpful tips from Dale Austin and Hope alumni, Morgan Seiler ’15. They covered a broad range of topics, beginning with how to dress and ending with closing remarks after the interview.

Something that stood out in this presentation was the discussion on in-person and online or over-the-phone interviews. In today’s world, students must be ready for any interview format. The session did a great job of discussing various interview types and how students can best adapt. This Career Camp was great and left every participant with a feeling of preparedness and confidence to bring into their next interview.

The Job & Internship Search

Hope的招聘会即将到来，现在是学生们开始准备与雇主见面，寻找符合自己兴趣的实习机会的时候了。本周的职业训练营邀请到了来自凯洛格公司的Niki Ramírez作为演讲嘉宾，她讨论了如何让学生自信地进入招聘会，并准备好与雇主交谈。Niki强调了人际关系、简历准备、电梯游说以及参加完招聘会后应采取的步骤的重要性。

A great way to prepare for conversations with employers is by researching their company to have a general overview of the company values as well as what positions they are looking to fill. Students should come dressed in business professional clothing and bring copies of a newly updated resume to hand out. Being confident and genuinely interested in a company is the best way to stand out and show employers you are excited to hear more about their company and potentially working with them.

Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?

“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” is an ongoing question asked in interviews and opportunities by employers. In this Career Camp session of “Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years,” Kamara Sudberry (’15) and Dr. Raquel Mendizábal Martell (’15) both encourage that the answer of this question can be identified in what each individual seeks for their future in terms of work-culture, values, and identity. We discussed the importance of workplace culture investigation and the purpose of corporate social responsibility.

Dr. Raquel Mendizábal Martell (’15) suggests that seeking growth opportunities in the organization or company is also a method to answering this question. Touching back on the mission and value of the organization or company is also essential, says Kamara Sudberry. We were left to reflect on what is to come and what we will become stem from our awareness of what we want in the future.

Not Your Average Online Profile

当你找工作的时候，在网上创建一个形象可能是帮助你从其他求职者中脱颖而出的最有价值的工具之一。虽然创建一个与商业相关的社交存在有很多好处，但如果你不知道从哪里开始，它会变得非常令人不知所措。在这次职业训练营课程中，15岁的校友Hadley Roy和Megan Scheldt一起讨论了建立在线个人资料的最佳方法。

For many, the biggest question for online networking is “Where do I start?”; thankfully, Megan and Hadley had some pretty great suggestions!

Financially Savvy Students: Current Plans & Future Goals

What steps can I take right now to be financially secure? Starting to save money and opening a checking account are the first steps, but there is even more you can do today as a student. In this Career Camp session Dan Osterbaan (‘91) and Amanda Root (‘02) taught us how to be financially savvy and secure.

Love of Learning: Your Guide to Applying for Grad School

Graduate school — what a daunting and thought provoking topic. What is graduate school? Is it the right fit for me? When and why should I apply? These are just some of the many questions undergraduate students have about this next step in their academic journey. On Tuesday, September 7, we had the privilege of hosting Rachel Van Den Broek from GVSU’s Graduate Programs and our very own Dale Austin to help us grapple with these questions.

First and foremost, the path towards graduate school is not a “one size fits all” process; rather, each route is different and unique to its applicant. Some students, for example, choose to attend graduate or professional school in order to start their career. Others attend in order to enhance their career, while others yet to change their career completely.

This leads us to the question of “How do you find the right fit?” when it comes to graduate school. If everyone’s experience is so unique and so different, how do we determine what is best for us? Rachel explained that the best way to dive deeply into this question is to do some self reflection and ask ourselves where our greatest strengths, excitements, and passions lie. From there, we can compare these personal assets to our short- and long-term career goals and ask our academic advisors (or BCCC team!!!) for guidance and advice.

此外，在决定我们“最适合”研究生院时，重要的是要考虑几个机构特有的因素，包括毕业生的记录、人口统计和文化、教师出版物和研究、招生要求和资金。世界杯12强预选赛赛程将所有这些因素与我们自己的期望、兴趣和价值观进行比较，将极大地帮助我们缩小搜索范围，找到最符合我们个人需求的学校。

We understand that figuring out all things graduate school can be confusing and intimidating, but have no fear! There is a plethora of resources available to you, and we are more than happy to help you along your journey. For more information about graduate school, check out the BCCC’sGraduate Schoolpage!

Under Construction: Your Resume/CV and Cover Letter

当你申请实习或工作时，如何进入面试环节?拥有一份优秀的résumé，个人简历或求职信会让你通过筛选程序，出现在招聘人员的办公桌上。In thisCareer Campsession we learned how to create and improve these documents. We were also able to answer some current students’ questions.

先从最常见的文档résumé和CV开始，然后解释它们之间的区别。We discussed the sections to include on both, formatting, construction, and where resources can be found onHandshake. Then moving onto the less common cover letters. We discussed the reasons employers want them, and how to write it so it matches your purpose… landing that interview!

Spotlight on Experiential Learning

虽然今天是全国实习日，但我们不能忽视其他参与非实习体验学习机会的Hope学生的努力，比如今年夏天参加SHARP的学生。暑期希望学术研究项目是一个很好的机会，让学生在学习的同时获得他们的学术领域的实际经验。

Olivia Jackson and Madeline Heter

Assistant Researchers on MMMI Accuracy of Test Weights Study

Madeline and Olivia are both working on the Mothers Milk for Michigan Infants Accuracy of Test Weights Study. Olivia states that she feels that the biggest thing she is getting out of her experience is improving her communication skills with participants which will help her when she communicates with patients in the future. Planning and scheduling have been quite important for her.

Madeline elaborates more on how this opportunity is “ preparing me for nursing work experience by learning how to interact with patients and how to utilize the nursing role of education. I have learned how to teach moms about their breastmilk through my human milk analysis project. The milk analyses that I conduct measure the specific gravity, creamatocrit, fat, and calorie content of the milk samples. I would advise students to get to know other student researchers and professors in order to become more involved in the Hope College research community.”

Evan Thomas and Hannah Gray

Assistant Researchers on Study on Neurogenesis in Zebrafish

汉娜和埃文今年夏天在生物系工作，研究斑马鱼的神经发生。汉娜谈到了这次经历是如何为她的未来做准备的，她说:“我们正在使用许多技术来确定斑马鱼的大脑是如何再生的。这段研究经历帮助我决定了我想要走的职业道路。一定要参与其中，申请尽可能多的实习或研究岗位，因为没有什么比亲身实践更重要了。”

Evan’s thoughts bounce off of Hannah’s statements nicely, “This research is preparing me for work experience by allowing me to get valuable hours working in the lab while also exposing me to new areas of biology that I haven’t explored. It is nice waking up and being excited to go every day, and finding something that you’re interested in will make the experience a lot more fulfilling and enjoyable.”

Yeageon Song

Assistant Researcher on Biomechanics of Patient-Handling Activities

这个人说:“我在大学工程系做暑期研究。我正在从事的项目叫做病人处理任务的生物力学。在美国，30%到60%的护理人员都患有某种腰痛。这是由于病人在处理体力工作时，腰部受到压力造成的。在我们的团队中，我们正在验证使用计算模拟模型来评估这些任务期间护理人员下背部的压力。我打算大学毕业后进入生物医学工程领域。这项研究给了我宝贵的见解和经验作为一个生物医学工程师意味着什么。我在我的研究网站学到的最令人惊讶的事情是，没有什么(几乎没有!)是直接解决和完成的。在研究结果的背后，是无数个小时的故障排除和回顾过去的工作。报道的结果只显示了研究人员努力工作的一小部分。”