Weekly Digest 10/7

Hello all!

I hope you had a great weekend and are ready for the week ahead! As always, we’re here to support you in your career journey, and we’re excited to share some new resources, alumni insights, and upcoming events to keep you moving forward.

Launching the Upright Resource Hub

We're thrilled to announce the launch of our Upright Learner & Alumni Resource Hub! This is a centralized space where you'll find Learner and Career Services Help Centers, Upright contact information, links to Prentus and your curriculum, career services booking calendars, and more. Within the Career Services Help Center, you will find job search best practices, job search material recommendations and resources, information on how to make this experience work for you, and more. 

This is your "one-stop-shop!" 

This platform will continue to evolve over the coming weeks as we add more and more content to it, but we wanted to release it today because it's too helpful not to share. 

If you have any questions or need guidance on navigating the hub, don’t hesitate to reach out—we’re here to help!

Alumni Survey Insights: Time & Applications

Thanks to those who completed our recent alumni survey! Your feedback has been incredibly valuable, and one insight we’ve gathered is the need to focus on optimizing job application time. On average, folks reported that they are submitting 7 applications per week and committing about 9 hours to the job search each week. With this information in mind, here are a few basic recommendations (and stay tuned for additional resources in the CS Help Center): 

• Regardless of how much time you can commit to your job search, you should split your time 50/50. 50% of the time you should be spent on submitting applications and 50% of the time you should dedicated to maintaining/developing your skillset. 
• To an extent, the job search is a numbers game. While you can certainly "game the system" back by building and harnessing your network, you simply need to submit a lot of applications. The fewer applications you submit each week, the longer the job search will take. Book a time with us to discuss how to make the most out of the time you have and let's come up with a plan to win the game. 
• You are all one another's greatest assets, but folks reported that peer engagement was very low. We know folks' schedules vary greatly, but Discord presents a great place to communicate on your own time or find folks who have similar schedules. Do not underestimate the power of working alongside someone who understands the experience. If you need help finding these people, let one of the CS team members know. We're happy to help!
  

Big Push Before Thanksgiving

With the holidays around the corner, now is the time to ramp up your efforts. Hiring tends to slow down a bit after Thanksgiving, so take advantage of the next few weeks to get in as many applications as possible. Whether you’re applying to full-time roles, freelance gigs, or even volunteer positions, making your move before the break can significantly increase your chances of landing a job.The time is now! It is important to note that hiring will not stop after Thanksgiving, but it will likely slow down during the holiday season. 

Resume Template Reminder 

• UX/UI Template
• Data Analyst Template
• Software Development Template
• Digital Marketing Template

Upcoming Events This Week

Our Career Services team is here to help you stay organized and focused. Join us for one (or all) of these events this week. Check out any or all of these events and access the Zoom information on the Career Services Calendar.

• Monday 5:00 - 6:00 ET: Job Title Exploration 
• Tuesday 5:00 - 6:00 ET: Resume / LinkedIn Roast 
• Wednesday 12:00 - 1:00 ET: Career Services Drop-In Clinic
• Wednesday 5:00 - 6:00 ET: Interview Bootcamp 
• Thursday 4:30 - 5:00 ET: Application Accelerator

Resource Share

The #community-resource-sharing channel in Discord is a great place to share resources, but we also collect recommendations from individual coaching calls throughout the week. Here are two resources that were flagged and shared last week: 

• MarketerHire – Great for digital marketing freelance work. There is a current wait list, but all DMB graduates should consider joining the list. Freelance work is not often the end goal, but it is a great step along the way! 
• Compunnel Job Search – A platform for finding contract and freelance gigs in tech and beyond.

Have a great week, and remember, we're just an email or Discord message away if you need any help or support.

Anna Paschall
Director of Outcomes
Upright Education