October 2004

Michigan News

Class of 2004 graduates have one last chance to revisit college life—the 2004 Michiganensian yearbooks are here. If you ordered a book last year and never picked it up, come by the yearbook office in the Student Publications Building, located at 420 Maynard St. in Ann Arbor. The office is open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Out of town? No problem—the yearbook staff can ship the book to you for $10. Call 734.764.9425 to have your book delivered to your door.

And, if you didn’t purchase the 2004 Michiganensian, there is still a limited quantity of books available for $55 each. Order yours online. Yearbooks from other years are also available.

In the Know

Bad credit is scarier than any ghost or goblin you might face on October 31—and it will haunt you for even longer. Don’t fear—egrad.com offers some tips on how to establish a good credit history and salvage a bad one.

To establish good credit:

• Pay your bills on time.
• Limit credit-card purchases to emergencies only.
• Check your credit report once a year for accuracy. (Order it from myfico.com or check with your credit card company to see if it provides the service.)
• Report stolen or lost cards immediately.

To fix past mistakes:

• Do not pay a credit repair service to "fix" your history. It will charge you money just to inundate credit reporting agencies with disputes. If a dispute is unanswered for more than 30 days, the blemish will be stricken from your record—but it will resurface if the original claims are reinstated.
• Pay off accounts that show a balance on your credit report.
• To re-establish credit, take a collateralized loan with a bank or credit union and pay it on time each month.
• Open a credit account with a retail store or gasoline company and pay it off on time each month. (These cards often have low limits and balances that must be paid in full every month.)

Association News

inCircle, the online networking tool for exclusively for Michigan alumni, is the best place to make valuable connections for social and professional networking. You can use inCircle to reconnect with college friends, find others who share your interests, send messages to other Wolverines and network with alumni in your industry. Click here to get started today!

Career

It may only seem like “stretching” the truth, but even the slightest deception on your resume can have far-reaching consequences. You could be asked in an interview about something that’s not true and flub an answer. If offered a job, you might be asked to perform a skill you falsely listed on your resume—and get fired. Such actions can snowball, following you through your career. Alumni CareerPort partner Monster.com suggests asking the following questions to determine if you need to revisit your resume:

• Did you exaggerate your academic performance?
• Did you invent a degree or other industry-related credentials?
• Did you stretch employment dates to cover gaps?
• Did you fabricate experience that never occurred?
• Did you overstate skill levels?
• Did you substitute a more favorable job title for any of your positions?
• Did you exaggerate accomplishments or job duties?
• Did you use creative wording to embellish your experience (e.g., saying you were the company’s top salesperson when you were the company’s only salesperson)?

Consider beefing up your resume (and doing something worthwhile, too!) with volunteer experience . Check out the Volunteer Opportunities Web site, where the Alumni Association, schools and colleges, alumni clubs, museums, hospitals and a host of other affiliates list their open volunteer positions. Opportunities include docents, alumni society board members, career coaches, webmasters, peer counselors and patient care volunteers, to name a few of the positions currently posted. You're sure to find something that will broaden your horizons or employ your skills. See all the volunteer opportunities available. Contact the office listed for information.