Practice Presentations
As a reminder, there will be three practice presentation review sessions coming up on February 5, 6, and 20 in the Student Center Room 301 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Your faculty mentors should have reserved a day for each team to present in front of a panel of judges.

• Define the purpose and aims of your presentation.
• List what you intend to get across to your audience
• List what the audience will have achieved at the end of the presentation.

• Research your topic based on your project
• Visual aids, samples, and handouts can all enhance your presentation.

• Rehearse and time the presentation, keeping in consideration the amount of time each group member is going to require.
• In case you need additional equipment other than a computer and a projector screen, call Cindy Hershman at 285-2436 to request the necessary equipment
• Don't read from a script. It might be easier to make note cards instead.
• Speak clearly; ask if you can be heard at the back of the room.
• Don't rush your delivery.
• Leave a couple of minutes at the end for questions.
• Practice answering questions.
• Thank the audience and panelists as you finish.

• Introduce yourself.
• Explain what you are talking about and why.
• Outline the order of your presentation.
• Give a preview of your findings and conclusions.
• Present your ideas in a logical order.
• Restate the main points, stress your conclusions, and invite questions.

New Books Available in the Career and Experiential Learning Resource Lab, Lucina 235
250 Best-Paying Jobs by Michael Farr and Laurence Shatkin
This resource is based on the latest government data and helps the reader identify the best-paying career options through unique lists. The 250 job descriptions are packed with details on salary, responsibilities, skills needed, education required, growth, and best-paying metro areas and industries. There are more than fifty lists organized by growth, openings, education, metro area, gender, industry, age, interests, personality type, part-time employment, and self-employment. The best-paying jobs list based on personality types uses the Holland code personality types.

Adams Cover Letter Almanac
This resource contains 600 cover letters in all industries and positions from entry-level to senior executive. Sample letters are written in response to help-wanted ads, online ads, classifieds, and blind ads, as well as unsolicited letters, “cold” letters, networking letters, and follow-up letters. Information is also included about electronic résumés and cover letters.

How to Find Work in the 21st Century by Ron McGowan
Author Ron McGowan describes the twenty-first century workplace and how it has changed. He also concentrates on helping the reader identify what he or she has to offer an employer. This book differs from many other job-search books in that it has an extensive section on how to market oneself. McGowan also gives college seniors a detailed plan to follow to find work before they graduate, along with sample marketing tools specifically designed for them.

301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions by Vicky Oliver
Do you know the best answers to these questions?
• It looks like you have been fired twice. How did that make you feel?
• Do you know who painted this work of art?
• What is the best-managed company in America?
• If you could be any product in the world, what would you choose?
• How many cigars are smoked in a year?
• Are you a better visionary or implementer? Why?
If you don’t, this book will tell you. Author Vicky Oliver draws on the experiences of more than 5,000 recent candidates to show you how to finesse your way onto any company’s payroll.

The Intern Files by Jamie Fedorko
This resource does more than offer the basics of helping you find internship leads, providing information on acing the interview and making a great first impression. It goes a step further by including information on office politics and etiquette, dealing with difficult bosses, making the most of time-wasting assignments, and drawing a line between being helpful and being a doormat. Written in an entertaining style, The Intern Files will teach you how to enjoy the view from the bottom of the ladder as well as to help you start climbing rapidly to the top.

What Makes the Hoosier State Great . . .
Most Affordable Housing Markets
The National Association of Home Builders’/ Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index shows that more than 90 percent of homes sold in Indianapolis in the first quarter of 2006 were affordable to families earning the area’s median household income of $65,100.

Lowest Cost of Living
Terre Haute ranked sixth on a nationwide survey of cities with the lowest cost of living.

Best Working Environment
A study conducted by the University of Massachusetts— Amherst looked at such criteria as job opportunities, job quality, and workplace fairness; Indiana ranked seventh.

Top Twenty-Five Arts Destinations
Indianapolis ranked twenty-first in the nation by an American Style magazine readers poll in the big cities category moving up three places from last year.

Good Expansion Sites
Four Indiana cities were on a list of metropolitan areas considered good expansion sites for midsized businesses as determined by a “quality of life quotient” by Expansion Magazine. The metro areas of Bloomington and Lafayette received five-star ratings, the highest award possible. The metro areas of Evansville and Fort Wayne were honored with four-star ratings.

Life Sciences Leader
Indiana was ranked fourth as a life sciences leader in a report by Battelle Memorial Institute.

Source: Grad Magazine

Fun activities to start thinking about for this summer . . .
July 8 - 16—150th Gibson County Fair, Princeton.  Billy Currington, Demolition Derby, Tractor Pulls, Phil Dirt & The Dozers, Cruise-In, Motocross. 

July 21 - 29—Elkhart County 4-H Fair, Goshen. Free grandstand shows, more than 9,000 4-H exhibits, large midway, and Food Row!

August 9 - 20—Indiana State Fair, Indianapolis. Three-quarters of a million people can't be wrong about fun! There is something for everyone. 

August 10 - 13—Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival, Nappanee.

Source: www.thingstodo.com