All in a Day’s Work at World Dairy Expo

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Jordan

Jordan Ebert Showing Siemers Goldwyn Goldie-ET, Picture by: Semex

The entire arena at the 2012 World Dairy Expo was pitch black, except for three spotlights circling the seven contestants. The suspense was building for Jordan Ebert as he held his cow, Siemers Goldwyn Goldie-ET, on the orange-colored shavings. Finally, the Reserve Supreme Champion of the Junior Show was selected, the spotlight turned to the Red and White Holstein.  Ebert blew a sigh of relief that his cow wasn’t chosen. The spotlights circled again and the crowd cheered with anticipation.  Finally, the announcer recognized the Supreme Champion of the Junior Show…

Jordan Ebert had been working his entire life for this moment; he started showing cattle at an early age.  “Our county fair had a ‘Kiddie Showmanship’ class, I can’t give you the exact age, but I want to say five to six years old,” said Ebert. “We started showing at a county fair level bringing our unregistered Holstein cows and heifers. Our first purchases of show cattle were Jerseys because my sister and I were pretty small people, so we started with smaller animals.”

Ebert, a freshman Dairy Science major, has grown a lot since his first time in the show ring, particularly during his first few weeks on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. He has become involved with Badger Dairy Club and works as a Student Manager for the UW Men’s Basketball Team.

“It has been an awesome experience so far,” explained Ebert. “We do some of the behind-the-scenes work, preparing for practice, miscellaneous things during practice, tearing down afterwards and some office time.”

Ebert hopes to bring his experiences at UW-Madison back to his family’s 3,000 cow Holstein farm in Algoma, Wis. “My plan is to go back to my farm and work my way up through the ranks into a management position where I am making some decisions, learning what it takes to run the farm through my dad and eventually take it over,” said Ebert.

When asked what the showing has done for his professional development, Ebert mentioned the value of networking and the interactions with professionals in industry. “My success in the showring has gotten my name out there a little bit. I have met people along the way and am a familiar face. I feel comfortable talking with them and introducing myself.”

The 2012 World Dairy Expo was an experience Ebert will remember forever.  He didn’t even expect to be  in the showring for the selection of the Supreme Champion of the Junior Show and actually had other plans on Saturday.  “Saturday of Expo I had quite an interesting day.  I had to work at the UW-Madison football game until kickoff at about 3:00 p.m. because the UW Men’s Basketball program uses the games for recruitment. Afterwards my dad picked me up and brought me over to World Dairy Expo, I put on some whites and had just a little time to breathe before we went in.”

The spotlights were circling and Ebert hoped his cow would be chosen for Supreme Champion of the Junior Show.  Once the Red and White Holstein was selected for Reserve Supreme Champion, Ebert thought “ok, maybe we have a shot at this!” The announcer resumed and began to announce the Supreme Champion, “The 2012 World Dairy Expo Supreme Champion of the Junior Show… is Siemers Goldwyn Goldie, the Holstein exhibited by Jordan and Whitney Ebert from Algoma, Wisconsin!”

“They called her [Siemers Goldwyn Goldie-ET] name and the place lit up a bit. I got the goosebumps and stuff like that, but it was pretty cool,” said Ebert explaining how he felt in that moment. “Once you got out there, it was like nothing else.  All of the lights were off except for the spotlight and they were announcing everything.  That was the coolest experience I have had for showing and just the way they made it a ‘show.’  It was an adrenaline rush.”

Video of Jordan Ebert, freshman at UW-Madison, winning the Supreme Champion of the Junior Show at World Dairy Expo.

Posted in CALS Stars, Campus Involvement | Leave a comment

Acing the Behavorial Interview

Posted on October 17, 2012 by CDueber

Round Two interview around the corner? Are you prepared for the behavioral portion of your interview? Here is some advice from www.theladders.com

Traditional interviewing calls upon the candidate to state opinions: “Tell me about yourself.” “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” “Why do you want to work for this company?” By contrast, behavioral interviewing requires job candidates to relate stories about how they handled challenges related to the skill sets the company requires for the position.

For example, if a job requires strong communication and team-building skills, an interviewer might ask candidates to recount past experiences where they explained new plans that brought a team together. Behavioral interview questions often start with phrases like, “Tell me about a time when …” or “Describe a situation in which … ” or “Give me an example of …”

While your skills and experiences could be a perfect match for the position, you could lose out if you can’t validate them with relevant anecdotes.

So how do you prepare for a behavioral interview?

First, you’ll want to put yourself in the shoes of the employer and imagine what the ideal candidate for the position would answer from the interviewer’s perspective.

Then, take the time to review thoroughly the job description and research the company and its culture. Look for cues about skills necessary for the job and valued by the organization. Next, think about the sorts of behavioral questions an interviewer might ask to determine those skills.

Here are a few examples of skill sets and some behaviorally focused interview questions aimed at surfacing them.

Decision Making and Problem Solving

  • Describe a situation in which you used good judgment and logic to solve a problem.
  • Give me an example of a time when you had to be quick in coming to a decision.

Leadership

  • Have you ever had trouble getting others to agree with your ideas? How did you deal with the situation, and were you successful?
  • Describe the most challenging group from which you’ve had to gain cooperation.

Motivation

  • Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty.
  • Give me an example of a situation in which you positively influenced the actions of others.

Communication

  • Describe a situation in which you were able to communicate with another individual who did not personally like you (or vice versa).
  • Describe a time you had to use written communication to convey an important argument or idea.

Interpersonal Skills

  • Give me examples of what you’ve done in the past to nurture teamwork.
  • Give an example of an unpopular decision you’ve made, what the result was and how you managed it.

Planning and Organization

  • When scheduling your time, what method do you use to decide which items are priorities?
  • Describe how you’ve handled a sudden interruption to your schedule.

Once you’ve determined which behavioral-based questions you might be asked during an interview, look back on your past experiences and develop stories to answer those questions. Your stories should be detailed yet succinct, and they should always include the following three elements:

  1. A description of a specific, real-life situation or challenge you encountered.
  2. A description of the specific tasks and actions you took to overcome that challenge.
  3. A summary of the results of those actions. (Try to quantify these results whenever possible.

Here is a sample answer to a behavioral interview question that incorporates each of these elements.

Question: Give an example of a goal you reached, and tell me how you achieved it.

Answer: Due to cuts in funding to our adult continuing education program, we faced the daunting goal of drastically reducing our promotional budget without sacrificing our media presence in the community. As program director, I researched alternatives to the effective, yet costly, course brochure, which was produced and distributed biannually to about 60,000 residents of our service region. I was able to negotiate with two local newspapers to produce and distribute a new course brochure that increased distribution by 33 percent, to 80,000 residents, and decreased costs by 50 percent.

Familiarizing yourself with the behavioral interview style, crafting and practicing your stories and doing some homework on the position you seek will ensure that you won’t be caught off guard should you encounter a behavioral interview.

Remember just keep calm, take a deep breathe and be HONEST.

Posted in General, Interview Success | Leave a comment

Featured Bucky Intern (FBI): Kevin Cleary

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Jordan

Kevin Cleary is a senior majoring in Biology with a certificate in Global Health. Last summer he completed an internship with TEAN Australia at the University of Sydney.  After graduation, he plans to pursue a masters degree in public health.

Q: What did you do at your internship?

A: At the University of Sydney it was my responsibility to perform immunohistochemistry on various biochemical markers in the development of colorectal cancer. To prepare for the upcoming day’s experiment, I spent countless hours doing online research to determine concentrations that I would be using later in my own experiment. Once this information was obtained, I then went into the lab and actually performed the experiment. A full experiment had various minute steps along the way, so a full experiment would ultimately take all day long, with analysis being taken the following day. Analysis included visual inspection through a normal microscope, a microscope with the ability to create a digital image, and ultimately, the digital image would be used in Photoshop or a scanning program to determine the percent of antibody that we were specifically looking for. Often times I found myself repeating experiments because the desired antibody wasn’t stained, or was stained incorrectly. Just as in any other scientific experiment, there are variables that can affect results, and repeated experiments are warranted in cases that do not give the desired result.

Q: What type of student organization and research experiences did you pursue to enhance your resume and help improve your professional skills?

A: Luckily for me I have held a variety of internships, and research positions while at UW. I had my first internship following my freshman year at a local hospital back home as a neuro-oncology intern. This helped me pave the way to get into research the following fall and through the fall of my junior year. Following my neuro-oncology internship, I worked as part of a clinical research group interested in radiation in head and neck tumors. I soon found myself wanting to experience laboratory science, so I opted for my own research project under the direction of Dr. Kevin Kozak, which I worked on for a year, and ultimately led to publication this past February. Starting in May 2011 I was also part of a clinical research team investigating the effects of Vitamin D intake in post-menopausal women and its effects on bone density and muscle fitness.

In addition to my research positions, I am also a member of the Undergraduate Neuroscience Society, National Society of Leadership and Success, Tri-Beta National Biological Honor Society. From these organizations I have been in contact with various healthcare professionals which helped me bridge the gap between my mentor and myself.

Q: In what way was your internship valuable to your professional development?

A: As a student personally invested in healthcare and medicine at a national and global level, my internship really put me at the forefront of research and medicine. I interned as part of a pharmacological research team interested in colorectal cancer, which happens to be the third most common cancer amongst both men and women. Being in lab or behind a computer screen all day caused me to be very isolated, with minimal contact with other members of my team. As an extroverted individual, it was difficult for me to work in an environment like mine for the mere fact that I was alone much of the time. Having worked in a very introverted environment, I have come to the conclusion that lab science is not what I want to do for the rest of my life, as I like the communication and I guess marketing part of medicine, more importantly how they play into public health. From this internship experience I now know what goes on more of a biological level, which I really appreciate, and I hope to bridge the gap between research, like mine, to making it understandable to the general public.

Q: Do you feel your internship experience was important to your career development? If so, why?

A: It would be hard to argue how my internship was not important to my career development. Not only did it finally convince me that laboratory research was not for me, but it really showed me how passionate I am towards combating cancer. Instead of trying to fight cancer by finding a cure, I am going to fight cancer on the preventative front. Cancer, although it has a genetic component, is very much dependent on peoples lifestyle behaviors, and it would be my duty to shape those to prevent the development of cancer. I am grateful that I learned the biology behind tumor progression and treatment, and I hope to bridge the gap between research and prevention.

Q: Who do you feel helped you the most in your professional development and why?

A: It is really hard to pinpoint one exact person that helped in my professional development. I would not have had the experiences I have had if it were not for my mentor, Dr. Hendrikus Krouwer, whom I interned with after my freshman year. He helped me get into my first research job at UW with Dr. Kevin Kozak. Ultimately I believe Dr. Kozak has been the most influential in my professional development. He was the one who trusted me as a sophomore to work as a clinical researcher on his team, and he was kind enough to allow me to do laboratory research when I had wanted to switch. Kevin also helped me get involved in the clinical research regarding vitamin D, and ultimately my research in Australia. Through all the experiences he afforded me I was able to finally set my aspirations on graduate school in pursuance of my masters in public health.

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Does career services really help? An employer’s perspective

Posted on July 9, 2012 by mmcginnis

By: Maria McGinnis, CALS Career Services

I often get asked, “Is career services open during the summer?” Without a doubt – the answer is a resounding YES! In fact, the summer is when we prepare and recruit for important upcoming events like the UW Fall Career and Internship Fair coming up on September 20.

Newly Weds Foods (NWF) located in Chicago, Illinois is a long-time fixture at CALS events including career fairs. I had the chance to ask Tom Kubica, Senior Director of Research and Development, a few questions about why he uses career services at UW and other schools as a means to recruit talent.

There are many ways employers can interact with a campus. Some will attend career events sponsored by career services, while others might work directly with faculty or staff. There are also employers who have connections to a student organization and might never even physically come to campus. Regardless of their chosen method, we try our best  to make sure employers connect with great students who will have an impact. NWF hires mostly Food Sciences majors from UW for internships and full time positions – below Mr. Kubica provides an employer’s perspective of career services.

Describe your interactions with career services – at UW and beyond.

We have a mixed bag across the schools that we deal with on a regular basis.  They range from lower profile programs to extremely visible, active and helpful.  More of the latter. To be fair, it is our responsibility to build relationships with key people at the schools where we look to recruit. There are a few schools that we have just begun to work with on a more frequent basis and we have had representatives from career services introduce themselves and offer assistance.  Time will tell how this changes, improves or stays the same.  In one of these instances, we have just hired a student that we had met and interviewed on campus.  Hiring a student from a new school is generally the best way to start a relationship with that school.

Do you see a difference in students who have worked with career services versus those who have not?

That is a tough question.  There does seem to be some degree of difference in how students approach us or do follow up that is consistent with the activity level of a school’s career services unit.

Describe your recruiting experience on campuses where you have a strong relationship with the career services unit versus no relationship…or little relationship.

On campuses with very active career services, such as the University of Wisconsin-Madison, we see a very active approach in having students directed to come meet with us during career fairs or our Job Shadow day during Winter break.  There is also communication through out the year via e-mail.  This is very helpful.

We have similar relations with a few others.  With Chicago being Research and Development headquarters, there are more of us to work with some of the local schools as compared to our other satellite labs that are not similarly staffed and do not have the opportunities to devote the time as much as we would always like.  Having an awareness of limited staff time for recruitment allows us to plan and do a better job with the time we have.

From your perspective, do career services offices further your recruiting objectives at NWF?

Easy – YES!!

Speaking of recruiting talented students – Check out the accomplishments of UW-Madison, CALS Food Science Students at the IFT Product Development Competition!

Blogger’s Note – If you are an employer looking to engage with UW-Madison, CALS students, contact Maria McGinnis at mmcginnis@cals.wisc.edu or 608-262-3460. Students wishing to make an appointment with a career advisor should log into their BuckyNet account or email career@cals.wisc.edu

Posted in Employer Spotlight, General | Leave a comment