A few of the notable things everyone should know:

A cover letter should add color and personality. It shouldn’t summarize your resume.

Absolutely agreed. Talk about why you’re a good fit for the company/culture you’re trying to join, not just what you learned in college or have done in your professional life. Show a potential employer who you are, not just what you’ve done.

Everyone likes to receive praise, but the smartest young adults actively seek constructive criticism.

I used to coach youth basketball for five years in the town I grew up in, and through those five years I always felt we learned more about sports, ourselves, and life in general from losing than winning. Michael Jordan once said “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” Don’t be afraid to try new things and ideas, even if they are not successful.

Take LinkedIn seriously.

LinkedIn’s stock price started at just over $60. It is now at over $180 in less than two years. Facebook’s stock price opened at about $38. It is now at $26 in just about one year. So let me ask you this: what site are you spending the majority of your time on? Is Facebook going to get you a job?

You’re never too busy to write a thank-you note.

Whether it’s after a job interview, internship interview, after completing an internship, or after receiving a birthday gift, a don’t text, tweet, email or facebook your thank-you’s. Handwritten notes show you care.

Negotiate your salary.

Yes, you’re very excited to receive that entry level offer and you think you have no business negotiating a salary. Be grateful for the offer, but if it’s not what you were hoping to get or think it’s worth, it’s OK to ask for more. They won’t pull the offer of the table!

Don’t step into an interview room without research on the company and questions for the employer.

You’re smart enough to already know that, right?

…and my favorite:

You’re halfway through the most formative decade of your life. You don’t need all the answers, but you must keep asking questions. Start with this one: what’s something new that I can learn right now?

Read the rest of the article by clicking here, and let them know you like it by following NewsToLiveBy on Twitter.

Commencement tip #2: Ladies, leave the heels at home. Trust me on that one.

Commencement tip #3: Remember, left hand diploma, right hand shake. No wait, left hand shake. No actually it’s uhhh. Well, good luck with that.

Commencement tip #4: DO NOT lose your cap when you throw it in the air. Your mother will be EXTREMELY upset.

Commencement tip #5: Purchase some stock in Kleenex prior to walking. Seriously, call the plumber & get ready for the waterworks. 

That’s enough tips for now. But how are you going to get yourself amped up for the big walk? Here are 5 songs to consider before the big day:

5. Obviously had to lead with “Time of Your Life” by Green Day.

4. You can’t possibly go through this day without listening to “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey, right?

3. “One Step at a Time” by Jordin Sarks. There’s no need to rush…

2. “Send me on My Way” by Rusted Root

1. The #1 song to listen to (it won’t jazz you up, quite the opposite, but) “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus

In all seriousness, enjoy this day; be proud; and smile a lot. Best of luck to all graduates!

Sylvain burst onto the scene this year and made her presence felt on both ends of the court. Her energy was contagious and her individual performance was as well; the Lady Bulldogs fought hard every game and achieved a 15-8 record on the year, advancing to the NJCAA Region XXI Division II tournament.

Sylvain started 21 games this year for Dean and averaged 9.8 points per game, 4.7 rebounds per game and 5.3 assists per game.

She also was on fire from the perimeter, shooting 42.3 percent from 3 point land, good for 13th best in the conference.

On the other side of the floor, Sylvain was fierce, averaging 3.4 steals per game which was good for 16th best in the entire conference.

Congratulations to Vanessa Sylvian, Head Coach David Jollon and the rest of the coaching staff, and the entire 2012-2013 Women’s basketball team.

Stats from NJCAA: http://stats.njcaa.org/sports/wbkb/2012-13/div2/teams/deancollege?view=lineup

Julianne Pedersen O’Brien, Summer Dance Intensive:

I am excited to bring Jay T Jenkins to Dean’s New England Summer Dance Intensive! Not only will students train with New England’s best area faculty and university programs, but now they will have 3 inspiring days with Jay T.  Jay T Jenkins is a special guest artist with the emphasis on the word special. Why is he so special? He created the jazz funk dance style. He is an internationally known choreographer who has worked with Jennifer Lopez, Salt N’Pepper, and Prince. He is a on faculty at steps on broadway, Mountclaire University, and the Alvin ailey dance theatre. And, as if all that isn’t enough, he is an alumnae of Dean college.

This summer we bring back one of our own to train dancers who may become one of our own.

David Krasner, Summer Musical Theatre Intensive:

The musical theatre intensive has three goals.

1. To prepare students with audition material, both songs and monologue, for their college auditions.  Students will leave confident about their applications in musical theatre.
2. To provide a college experience in musical theatre, a preview of what it’s like to be on a campus studying musical theatre.
3. To connect students to many New England musical theatre teachers, so that they might bond with teachers as they think of applying to various schools.

Other faculty joining us this Summer have experience teaching at Boston Conservatory, Boston University, Harvard University. Brown University, Dean College, Salve Regina with more being added!

Check out the Intensives today!

Daniel Giron (Guatemala, Guatemala) University Of Vermont:  All Conference Captain

Jason Rego (Seekonk, MA) Bryant University:  Captain

Chris Neil (Trumbull, CT) University of New Haven:  All Conference

Greg Smedberg (Plantsville, CT) American International College 

Boston Ballet is offering Dean students, staff and faculty discounted $30 tickets to their annual Next Generation  performance at The Boston Opera House on Wednesday, May 8 at 7pm. This special one-night only performance celebrates arts education and features students of Boston Ballet School’s Pre-Professional Program in collaboration with the New England Conservatory Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and Boston Ballet II. View video.

To purchase tickets, call the Boston Ballet Box Office at 617.695.6955 and mention you are a Dean College student, faculty or staff member. You will need to show your Dean College ID at the theater.

Julianne O’Brien Pedersen

Dean, Palladino School of Dance

 Jessica Pretty is a Senior Dance major at Dean College. She will be one of the student speakers at 2013 Dean College Commencement and her one night only-free to attend- show, The Infinites, will be on The Main Stage at Dean College Tuesday, May 7 at 8:00pm. The following was a blog written by Ms. Pretty.

Being a senior at Dean this past year has allowed me to set, prepare and accomplish my goals. I set out to do things that I didn’t think were possible, or were on a “Wish List” I had stored away. Yet, with the tools I have acquired from Dean, these goals turned from impossible, to possible over the course of this year. From setting out to apply to graduate school and getting accepted with one of the highest fellowships the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign could offer, to writing a speech late one night and ending up becoming the BA Commencement speaker. However great these goals are, one of my most accomplished goals at Dean however, is something that hasn’t even happened yet.

I got an idea in December during the Choreographer’s Concert auditions to produce my own show at Dean. I wanted to challenge myself, to do something different. I wanted to see if I could wear not only the hat of choreographer as I had done in the past, but to put on the hats of choreographer/director/costume designer/lighting designer/production manager/stage manager/producer. At the last minute, I pitched this idea to Joanie Palladino in the form of a senior dance internship and she said yes. Here I was getting ready to go off into the real world and choreograph and (hopefully) put on shows for the rest of my life, and I said, “why not challenge myself now?” I have the resources, I have the space, I have dancers….let’s give this a shot now.

Over winter break I did research on different dance history, reading books and scratching for new music to create this concept for this 30 minute piece I would create for my internship. I came across my Classic novels while at home and was instantly inspired by old mythology, more specifically Greek mythology. From there I created different stories and created text to go along with the story as I saw fit and this whole new world was created. I got back to Dean this semester and auditioned dancers, rehearsed almost every weekend this spring, created and obtained costumes, designed lighting (with the help of Jim Beau of course) and standing back now looking at everything before it is presented this Tuesday on the Main Stage, I am very pleased with myself and the work I was able to accomplish. So many people said to me; how did you get the idea of creating your own show? It’s such a bold step to take, especially to have it presented in the Main Stage…I say your goals are only as big as the steps you take to reach them. And having prepared for what’s next over the last four years, I learn to take bigger strides every day.

Jessica Pretty Senior Internship Show “The Infinites” is being presented at 8:00pm on Tuesday May, 7^th in the Main Stage at Dean College. There is no admission charge. 

I agree with many of these tips. An overriding theme seemed to be regarding what you dress. While I agree with “dress to impress,” it should also be stated that you should dress for the job you are applying for. Not all jobs are suit and tie jobs, and sometimes, SOMETIMES, a suit and tie may not necessarily be needed for a job interview. Going corporate? Yes, suit and tie. But what about a saavy technology startup in the city where the culture is jeans and a tee? Maybe go business casual? These are just things to consider and think about, and are just my own personal opinion.

-Building off the “company culture” mentioned before, don’t go into an interview and be a robot. Nobody is going to want to hire someone without a personality. Find some common interests with your interviewer, and show some personality. You’ll be spending the majority of your week with these people, and they should want to have a beer with you after a long day, not run out of the office with a headache.

-I like Emily Lyn’s comment above, “bring an extra resume and cover letter.” Don’t have much to add to that, just do it. The specific people and number of people you are scheduled to interview with can change at a moments notice. Be prepared for that.

-I actually really like Jeffrey Buchman’s answer, “ask for the job.” While you’ll need to be more diplomatic than that, make sure you are excited about the opportunity and you make it clear that this is exactly what you want to be doing. It sounds kind of obvious, but many candidates go into an interview and just go through the motions, never addressing their enthusiasm for the job. Your interviewer will appreciate it.

-Finally, and most importantly, here is a tip I give to every singe student I come in contact with at Dean College: bring a portfolio of your background and your previous work. I have been through many interviews for internships and jobs and would never think to go into an interview without a portfolio of my work. I studied & work in the communications industry, so it is only natural I have a portfolio of my work – blogs I’ve written, advertising I’ve designed, web sites I’ve built/maintained, press releases I’ve written.

If you can SHOW an interviewer what you’ve done rather than TELL them what you can do, you’ll put yourself right to the top of their candidates list for the job/internship.

Think about the opportunity you’re interviewing for and how you can put together a portfolio that shows not what your resume says you can do, but what you’ve actually done. Get creative with it.

I welcome anyone to agree or disagree with me in the comments section of this blog, or if you want to talk a bit about this, I’d be happy to hear from you. E-mail me at jsinger (at) dean (dot) edu.