When designing a path toward launching successful careers, everyone could use a little guidance. Mentoring is an optimal tool for candidates to utilize on the career planning path.

A cover letter is a professional business letter that introduces you to prospective employers and should always accompany a resume. In the form of a narrative, it provides depth to your resume, highlighting your strongest qualifications, stressing how you can meet the employer’s needs.

Career fairs present ideal opportunities for both students and employers. For students, having dozens of employers essentially come to them is a golden chance to make great connections. For employers, they're given a chance to meet and screen candidates for possible internships and post-graduate jobs.

Here are eight best practices for students to consider as they prepare for career fairs on their campuses.

As soon as students start their college courses, they are placed on a track to pursue personal and professional success. No matter the field of study, each student seeks employment as soon as they graduate. While the courses of study are designed to prepare eventual graduates for success in the workplace, there are a number of resources designed to develop these students into outstanding leaders.

The cover letter is a very important part of your job application. While the resume gives the employer a good idea of your skills and experience, the cover letter describes why you should be considered.

Reviewers scan resumes in under 15 seconds. That's not nearly enough time to grasp a decent picture of your skills. By using select keywords, you can capture the reader's attention long enough to focus a bit more time on your resume.

Exceed your interviewing goals by learning more about the business or non-profit organization prior to your interview.

The idea of career planning is very intimidating to many college students. Whether you’re a freshmen and not entirely consumed with taking the right steps, or a senior facing the imminence of post-collegiate life, the thought of career development can fill students with varying levels of fear.

Rather than approach your career with fear and intimidation, be proactively positive and confident. The experience and knowledge you acquires during your college years, both in and out of the classroom, will develop skills that will be applied in careers and employment settings.

If you wish to land a job successfully, post-interview etiquette is as important as how you perform during the interview. If you follow proper etiquette after an interview, it ensures that the potential employer won’t forget you. In fact, staying in contact with the interviewer after an interview provides you with an opportunity to reinforce that you’re interested in the job.

We strongly advocate for the building of relationships. Personal networking is the ideal way to develop relationships. It adds significant value and tools you will use in your everyday life.

Attending career fairs seldom result in immediate hires. However, they present golden opportunities for both students and employers.

The Holiday Break couldn't have arrived at a better time. Finals are over and you're able to enjoy free time with family and friends. It's also a great time to recharge your batteries for a big spring semester drive.

The building block of successful career development is comprised of four components: skills, values, interests and personality traits. Personality traits are distinguishing qualities or characteristics that are the embodiment of an individual habitual patterns of behavior, temperament and emotion.

Thanksgiving week gives us an opportunity to appreciate the many great people and experiences in our lives. Whether it's related to school, work, community, or home our lives are surrounded by greatness. As you're celebrating the week with family and friends, take advantage of the opportunities to provide a boost to your career planning.

Homecoming is a great time to celebrate the University's history, returning alumni, and big football game. It can also be an incredible opportunity to take career planning to an entirely new level, just by connecting with alumni.

15 seconds. We hear it from frequently from recruiters. If all they give is 15 seconds to review a resume, one way to catch their attention is by using strong action verbs.

Are you confident that your resume is ready to be seen by employment recruiters? Do you even have a resume? This seemingly simple task can be intimidating to many job-seekers. We have tips to help you prepare this important document to get you to the interview phase of your job search process.

A recent article in Forbes magazine piqued our interest, as it closely resembled a blog we posted two years ago about things you should not say in a job interview.

A very interesting article was features in Forbes' digital magazine yesterday, which identified four habits of effective networking. One of the ways, as written by Michel Theriault, was of particular interest.

We recognize that career fairs can be intimidating and difficult to navigate. Whether you’re a freshman, who’s attending to “window shop” and gain an initial understanding of the fair, or a senior looking to find the ideal first job, we want to make the career fair experience fun and meaningful for both students and employers.

Knowing the career interests of each candidate will go a long way towards connecting to outstanding employers and ideal employment opportunities.

The best way to get your job candidacy considered by employers is to be totally on top of your career planning game. Through Greek Ladders, job-seekers are introduced to employers through career events (workshops, networking receptions, etc.), personally recommended, and viewed through your online career profile.

Job-seekers finding the greatest success of the Greek Ladders Career Network regularly visit the website, update their career profiles, utilize the resources, participate in the surveys, and reach out to Greek Ladders staff for advice and connections.

The Greek Ladders Career Network is extremely unique in that it’s positioned to connect employers with students seeking internships and jobs. Acceptance into the network is based entirely upon membership in a Greek organization. This narrows the scope of candidates even more, giving students a greater chance of being recognized by potential employers.

Summer is a great time to decompress, recharge, and gear up for the next stage of your college or professional career. As you enjoy all that summer brings, be sure to be proactive about career planning opportunities.

Personal branding begins with understanding yourself. Characteristics, skills, experience, interests, and beliefs are all part of the mix.

We're constantly impressing upon students to expand their professional networks. Whether a college freshman or a seasoned professional, it's never too early to network.

The value of the Greek Ladders Career Network is determined by the number of individual job-seekers (aka candidates) completing online registrations. Much like the whole “chicken and egg” scenario, with the registration of every candidate, the likelihood increases of additional employers joining the network to find ideal talent.

Since the founding of Greek Ladders, there's one very consistent comment we receive from college alumni - "If I had this when I was in college, I would be..." The statement is always filled with former goals and hopes and dreams.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) released its Job Outlook for 2016. Two of the surveys revealed a high favorability to student leaders, particularly Greeks.

Now that you're in the groove of the new semester, career fairs are popping up everywhere. Are you ready for the career fair events on your campus? Do you even want to go?

Now that the Holidays are here, it's a great time for candidates to enhance your appeal to potential employers. By dedicating a few minutes out of your time, you can find yourself much closer to making strong career connections. Whether you're looking to get hired for an internship, first post-graduate job, or summer job, we want to help you start the new year in strong fashion!

When reading today’s issue of the Reno-Gazette Journal, the article titled, “Tips for developing your personal brand” caught my eye.

We feature a study conducted by the Barnes & Noble College, which assessed college juniors and seniors. Included are stats, an infographic, and a link for the full report.

An article in the October 29 issue of the Phoenix Business Journal, which offered body language tips for business success, could have easily been written to find a great job.

We feature a study conducted by Elance, which compares millennials to other generations, particularly Generation X. Included are stats, an infographic, a slideshare, and link for the full report.

An article written by Jason Kulpa, CEO of Underground Elephant, offers millennials with tips on how to prepare for success. Upon review of the informative article, “Snapshot of the millennial workforce: Setting yourself up for success,” we target two of the tips.

Reading an article posted on the Forbes website on October 26 caught my eye. Entitled “9 Ways to Network Without Leaving Your Couch” (via The Muse), the author (Kat Boogaard) identified ways to make career connections when not meeting face to face.

We introduce InternMatch and its 2014 Career Center Study. We provided a few highlights, an infographic, and link to the study. You're encouraged to click and learn more.

We feature a study conducted by Bentley University's PreparedU Project, to help prepare millennials for career and life success. Included are stats, an infographic, a slideshare, and link for the full report.

Career fairs present incredible opportunities to bolster one’s career. Most students will use the career to seek job and internship interviews, which is precisely why they’re scheduled. Others will also capitalize on the event to make lifelong connections, which will increase their opportunity for success in their future workplaces.

We're regularly asked how to prepare for networking mixers. While the questions usually revolved around what to wear, we have other advice, as well.

Tough situation. You're on campus and ready to meet with employers, but there no career fairs to attend. What do you do?

Employers have the ability to view candidate profiles as they seek interns and full-time employees. Use this quick and easy guide to increase the chances of getting noticed.

A unique feature of the Greek Ladders Career Network is Career Capital, a numerical representation of candidate interest and engagement.

Business and non-profit employment recruiters utilize the Career Network to find ideal candidates with whom to consider for internships and full-time jobs. They have access to candidate profiles on a regular basis.
 

An outstanding networking presentation was given by Zach Jones, the Director of Recruiting and Development for Northwestern Mutual (Arizona), to the members of the University of Arizona Fraternity & Sorority Life.

Yes, it's the most basic of questions you've been asked since arriving on campus. When it comes to connecting you to employers using the Greek Ladders Career Network, it's a very important question.

Intimidating, stressful, scared, uncertain are words that commonly, but shouldn't, be used to describe career planning. Quite honestly, it's a natural part of one's development, and can actually be fun and rewarding.

Networking is building contacts that are well-connected on campus, in the business sector, and in the community, who understand the power of personal referral and are willing to provide additional contacts. The tough part, especially as college students, is starting the process of getting connected. It can be a time-consuming process, but there are many benefits.