Graduate students were schooled on getting into the academic employment market.

The event, “Navigating the Academic Job Search,” was held Friday and was co-hosted by the Career Development Center and the Graduate Community of Scholars. Students in attendance received interview advice and resume tips in the New University Union.

Wren Fritsky, the main speaker at the discussion, discussed a range of topics varying from interview tips to matters of attitude and reputation “off the field.”

Most of the students in attendance were graduate students seeking jobs in the field of higher education.

Fritsky spoke candidly about the importance of professionalism in the academic job market.

“On and off campus, you are being interviewed,” said Fritsky, a career counselor at the CDC. “Everything that you do is an example of your work.”

She also noted the importance of keeping positive relationships with alumni, former employers and career counselors.

“Employers want people they know, people they can trust, people who they know they don’t have to train,” Fritsky said.

Fritsky’s philosophy on getting a job centered on the importance of personally marketing one’s skills to peers over impersonal resume-tailoring to employers. A good reputation in a field can only help a candidate’s ability to network, and having reliable sources for recommendations can make much more of an impact on an employer than one’s experience.

“The event showed me that I have to negotiate with employers, and I have to be my own kind of advertisement,” said Arianna Stimpfl, a graduate student studying anthropology.

Fritsky also discussed the power one has as a prospective employee. Of course, a potential candidate wants his or her resume to blossom and show his or her skills, but giving employers “just enough” will leave them wanting to find out more.

“There’s a science to it. But it’s really an art. It’s not a position hiring a person. It’s a person hiring a person,” Fritsky said.