In my job search, as well as in my life, the most important things to do are to stay focused and to stay positive. There are distractions in the world, such as the opposite sex and drugs, which can alter your mind-set, if you let them. My parents taught me that if I stayed focused on God and my education that good things could happen in the future. Life threw me a curve ball on September 11, 1997 when my father passed away when I was 13 years old. While this situation was hard to deal with, personally, I knew it was important to try and concentrate on school, and keep a positive attitude on life. My mother continued to raise me well and has seen me graduate from high school and college. Now, I must maintain that same focus and positive attitude in my job search. By doing so and keeping my faith in God, the right opportunity will come sooner or later.

Posted by William F on August 31, 2007 at 12:03 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

We all know that it can be extremely hard to make that transition from being a college student to having a full-fledge career. What problems can you expect to be facing?

1. You're not used to the schedule.

It can definitely be hard getting used to a new schedule. In college, you get to choose your schedule, and your classes can be separated and spaced out. When you start a career, you will most likely be working a full day schedule, five days a week. It will definitely be a shock at first!

2. You're not sure if it's the right job.

It can be hard to decide if the career you start is right for you. It could take a long time for you to decide, but you're already at the point where you need to know what you want to do. In college, you can change your major, to a certain point, but in the "real world", you can't just change your career as easily.

3. Learning to be professional.

It's not uncommon for college students to be heavy on partying and drinking, as we all know. Of course it doesn't apply to everybody, depending on the college. A hard challenge for some students may be going from an environment where it is acceptable to be a bit wild, to an environment where a certain amount of professionalism is always required.

Of course there are many other problems left to be faced, but I believe that these are three of the most prevalent today. Feel free to leave comments if you have other suggestions about transitional problems between college and career!

Posted by Jewel on August 30, 2007 at 12:44 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Because I haven’t contributed to the blog for over a year now (last post was in July 2006), I wanted to re-introduce myself.

My last post here (on “Work Parties”) was just before I started my first job out of college, which was my second full time job. My background is diverse. I worked retail with increasing responsibility from the ages of 15 to 21, and spent 3 of those years in commissioned sales where I managed to pay for college without going in debt. I graduated from college with a B.A. in English: Creative Writing, with an almost-completed minor in Marketing. The job I took last August was in advertising/media sales, mostly outside sales to local businesses, and I left it at the beginning of June.

I could write 100 posts on this summer (and I just may eventually), but it’s been a myriad of experiences: a return to retail for a few weeks when times were tough, a seemingly great new job that didn’t work out, many interviews, a return to a former employer, networking and developing consulting work, much soul searching, and finally getting 2 job offers last week. Those are just the headlines.

Some people transition smoothly after college. Some people search for a long time and get stuck in retail or temp jobs for months or years. Others take the kind of path I’ve taken so far – 2 steps forward, 1 step back, with a lot of turbulence.

Anyway, the whole process (and this year in general) has me thinking about choices.

I used to view a resume as a compilation of experiences and achievements, and I’m still sure that those are important, key points. However, I think a resume actually presents our choices and values even clearer than it presents our strengths. Sure, nobody has unlimited options and sometimes we don’t get to choose exactly what we want, but part of me thinks the paths we choose to take and the choices we make – with schooling, career, activities, etc – are actually the “loudest” part of any resume.

For me, at this point in my life, I want to make career choices based on learning. Simply put: I’ll pick the job where I’ll learn the skills I think I’ll need to build a better me and enhance myself as a “product” in the workplace. Money, benefits, time, excitement – and even advancement within the company – are all secondary to, “What job will teach me what I need to learn?”

Because most of all what this first year out of college has taught me is what I don’t know and what I think I need to know.

As such, in addition to whichever of the 2 new jobs I choose, I’m also going back to school for an MBA (for the knowledge – whereas if I had gone back last year, it would have been for the degree), keeping up my network and my consulting jobs, and doing everything possible to build the brand of “Alison” inside and outside of the company I choose.

Questions answered...

1. What profession would you like to try?

Besides progressing in the things I've already tried (sales, advertising, marketing) - and shifting gears entirely - part of me still wants to be a professor or a novelist.

2. What was your best interview experience like?
I loved the interview process with the alternative newsweekly where I sold advertising (for about 10 months from last August to this June). It was fast-paced, with 4 interviews spread over a little less than 2 weeks last July, and very thorough. They had a phone interview, an in-person interview with the hiring manager, an in-person interview with the hiring manager and the publisher (some of which was redundant, but it allowed for meeting more people and developing the questions and dynamics on either side), a professional personality test, a follow up on the personality test, and an offer made in writing and explained in-person. That's the only place that has had an offer "put together" for me and gone over it in-person, rather than sending it out via e-mail and speaking over the phone. For me, that still stands out as a huge plus. I also appreciated the discussion about the personality test, as it helped me better understand myself, their needs, and how to succeed.

3. Where do you hope to be in five years?
I have no idea. I think planning details 5 years out is impossible to do honestly. I used to consider 3 year, 5 year, and 10 year plans. Now, I really don't think I can look at more than 18 months with any sort of sincerity, and I've told employers as much. I know I want to have an MBA by then, because I know I want to go back for that to gain the accounting and business foundation that I think would round out my sales and marketing skill set. I know I want to have a stronger network. I know I want to have furthered my experience in marketing and also know a lot more about podcasts, blog marketing, SEO, and other web marketing functions - since I have a stronger background in traditional media and direct mail at the moment but an aptitude for understanding internet functions. However, as far as where I see myself? Happy and stronger are the only two words that come to mind.

4. What would a movie about your life be called and who would play you?
Right now, I'm taken with the word "berrieh" - which is a Yiddish word for "woman with remarkable energy." So, perhaps that would be the title. In traditional Leo fashion, I'd like to play myself. If I had to pick a Hollywood actress, perhaps Natalie Portman. I think she has a "complicated" sense about her that I've always admired.

Posted by Alison H on August 28, 2007 at 6:28 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

1. What profession would you like to try?
In a way I would like to try all kinds of professions from professor to aquarium worker to psychologist to actor. I suppose it is because I am still in a transition sort of phase but also because I think that more experience in different arenas would give my writing more depth.

2. What was your best interview experience like?
While I have had some good professional interviews, I think my best one was an interview for a residential liaison position that I had my senior year of college. I was settled on my choices and the interview was relaxed and we were able to joke around. And I got the job.

3. Where do you hope to be in five years?
Ack. I want to do so much in the next five years. I want to have traveled to some faraway place and had an adventure. If I have decided on grad school, then at that point I would like to be done and have a collection of short stories published. I don't know if I want to be married at that point but I want to have a realistic partner with the idea of marriage in mind. I want to own a house. All in all, I want to be more at peace with my choices and be more settled.

4. What would a movie about your life be called and who would play you?
A movie about my life thus far would be called Muddy Water... lol
I would love for someone like Drew Barrymore to play me because she is energetic and playful but has a more serious side.

Posted by Amy S on August 28, 2007 at 2:06 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

I decided to answer some personal questions about myself and my own career goals, as a recent college graduate myself. I would also like to provide some advice for those in similar situations.

1. What profession would you like to try?
I would love to be a psychologist. I was a psychology major, and I'd really like to apply that to something for a career. I would recommend doing something that you feel most comfortable with, even if it has nothing to do with what you majored in.

2. What was your best interview experience like?
My best interview experience was actually recently. The employer (now my boss) was actually really nice and very polite. I was ready for all the questions, and the whole situation was completely comfortable. If you'd like a similar experience, I'd recommend just remaining calm and collected. Don't stress over it - you'll do fine if you remain professional.

3. Where do you hope to be in five years?
In five years, I would love to be married and starting a family. While doing this, I'd like to maintain a career. I don't want to stop working to have my family, and I'm sure that I can do it. Ambition is the key.

4. What would a movie about your life be called and who would play you?
Hmm... I'm not exactly sure what I would call the a movie about me. I'm sure I could thing of something creative on the spot though. I'd really like Scarlett Johansson to play me, but if she couldn't , I'd choose Evan Rachel Wood.

5. What's your dream job and is it in line with your major?
My dream job is to be an elementary school teacher. As a psychology major, it isn't directly in line with being a teacher, but it is related. I most likely will not become a teacher, just because it requires a certain amount of patience that I don't believe I have.

6. What did you like about the best manager/boss you’ve had?
I've had a couple of really good bosses and managers, and they've all been nothing but professional with me. They've made me feel comfortable at work, all the while maintaining a professional relationship with me.

7. What are you most passionate about?
I'm most passionate about my education. My favorite thing to always remember is that education is the one thing that nobody can ever take away from you. Education is the one thing that you will always have. Educate yourself!

If anybody has any other questions for me, feel free to comment!

Posted by Jewel on August 27, 2007 at 7:25 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

I am a bit of a late starter in terms of the proactive job search. I have been doing a lot of writing, both freelance and for a potential novel, and have yet to have the real, steady 9 to 5 job. This spring I applied to some residential education jobs at local colleges in an effort to use some of my college experience to land a "real" job and unfortunately this idea did not work out. Although I had a couple successful interviews and felt sure about the position and my adequacy for it.

It is a real bummer to really try for something and not get it but that is an essential part of the job search especially for entry-level positions. That is why career sites often stress to keep your job search active while you wait to hear about a position because as much as it may seem like a perfect match, you might not get the job and you don't want to have wasted time just waiting for it to work out. If I have learned anything about job searching this year, it has been that it is a job to be actively looking for the job. It takes time, energy and much more commitment than you might believe.

Of course it is disappointing to not get the job you wanted but it is more important to take some lessons from that job search to try and get a feel of what you did right and what you may want to change for your next interview or resume that you send out. Also, it is important to keep in mind that you may have done everything right and perhaps were an excellent candidate for the job but there were other factors that changed in the company and the position may not have been available to external candidates. In short, the best tool for a successful job search is perseverance.

Posted by Amy S on August 27, 2007 at 6:08 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Below are questions about your interests. Please post your answers or comments to any of the following questions. If you have other questions you would like to see answered by other bloggers, feel free to create a new post:

1. What profession would you like to try?

2. What was your best interview experience like?

3. Where do you hope to be in five years?

4. What would a movie about your life be called and who would play you?

Posted by Lisa Colbert, CollegeRecruiter.com on August 24, 2007 at 11:06 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

I recently read about three, young successful entrepreneurs with web based businesses (all in their 20s). These individuals represent a new breed of business executives, who are using their passion and technological know-how against experience and education. They have chosen to take the initiative in life and are inspired by the prosperity of entrepreneurial role models, programs, and of course, the Web. Their youthful bravery, and decreasing employee loyalty in the workplace (from merger layoffs and downsizing) greatly influenced their decision to create their own businesses online.

Success stories in this field are common for young CEOs, where entrepreneurs depend on the anonymity, the universal access, and the low overhead costs of the Web, which are the operating expenses of a business. These young men say that potentially, you have a chance to build your company at a young age and establish a reputation as someone who does their job well.

I know this career path isn't for everyone, probably including me, but it is inspiring to see young people have early success in life by choosing to take charge of it.

Posted by William F on August 24, 2007 at 10:59 AM | Leave a Comment (1)

Often, the first glimpse that an employer gets of a potential employee is their resume. From a resume, the employer can obtain relevant information, and make the decision to call you for an interview. It's important to nail that first impression with a strong resume. There are several key elements that any resume should include.

Contact Information
It’s very important to include your full name (of course), address, phone number, and possibly email address. Make sure that the address you use is permanent, because you don’t want to miss any mail! Also, if you choose to include your email address, make sure it sounds professional. You don’t want to submit a resume where you’ve stated that your email address was something like “sexybaby2001”.

Objective
Including an objective in your resume is important because it gives the potential employer a summary of the work that you expect to perform. It also lets the employer know your goals, and what you expect to achieve out of the job. Be sure to tailor your objective towards the interests of the company you hope to work for!

Education
If you don’t have much work experience yet, which is common in college students or recent graduates, include the education section before the work experience section. Be sure to include your most recent schools first. Also, make sure to include the school’s name, the degree that you obtained, and your majors and / or minors. If you have a high GPA, it might be wise to include that as well. Remember that you are trying to impress this person as much as possible.

Work Experience
Always start with your most recent job first. The following items are important to include in this section:
Your title - What was the name of your specific position?
Name of company / organization - Who did you work for?
Location - Where did you work?
Dates - When did you start working, and when did you quit working?
Responsibilities - What were your duties on the job? What, specifically, did you do?

Other
If you don’t have much else to brag about, it might be necessary to go straight to your references. If not, there are a number of other things you can include in a resume, such as special skills and hobbies. If you’ve had volunteer or leadership experience, it might be a good idea to include this as well.

Posted by Jewel on August 23, 2007 at 6:39 PM | Leave a Comment (1)

There was some talk that an aide was not coming back to fill her position for the following school year, at the school where I work as a substitute. I called the school and talked to the administration, and I was told that she did not quit yet. Now, the people I heard this "talk" from are reliable people that I work with.

I would like to know if this person is planning on leaving because I am interested in her position. The school and school board have known for months that I am interested in the job full-time. I have made calls to the school itself, wrote two letters of interest, had a letter of recommendation sent, sent my references to them, and I talked to a school board member.

I have been searching for other jobs in the meantime, until further notice, but I really want this job. My family thinks I should call my co-worker and ask what her plans are. I'm not sure if I want to do that. Is it any of my business and not my place to ask or should I call? If I call, how should I ask her?

If she is planning to stay, I don't want to keep wasting my time hanging onto this position.

Posted by Jill E on August 14, 2007 at 8:36 PM | Leave a Comment (1)

After thinking over the jobs I've had since I started working, I would have to say that my job at the elementary school, the one I have worked at for three years, has my favorite boss.

I work as a substitute teacher's aide for disabled and autistic students. This job can be very demanding, especially when I'm not there the entire during the school year. I always do my best when I work with the students and I try to follow specific directions given for each student, but the thing that helps give me more confidence and security in my job is the teacher, the manager of the classroom.

She is always very positive and works well with the students. Her attitude and positiveness rub off and stick to me. The teacher makes me feel comfortable by showing me, in a kind manner, how to do something, and speaks to me as if I work in her room year round.

My boss lets me know how well I am doing at my job. I don't expect to be told or even reminded of how well I work, but for me, it's more like an incentive. It's something that let's me know I'm doing a good job and helping the students. And that's the most important thing I can give the students. I have taken my boss's example and I am providing them with the tools they need, an education.

Posted by Jill E on August 14, 2007 at 8:06 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Below are questions about your interests. Please post your answers or comments to any of the following questions. If you have other questions you would like to see answered by other bloggers, feel free to create a new post:

1. What's your dream job and is it in line with your major?

2. What did you like about the best manager/boss you’ve had?

3. What’s the ideal company to work for?

4. What are you most passionate about?

Posted by CollegeLMC on August 13, 2007 at 9:46 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Recently, a famous restaurant food chain had preschoolers participate in a study showing how great an influence advertising has on the taste buds of young children. They discovered that even regular food tasted better when wrapped in its' signature trademark. Children sampled identical food from the establishment in both name-brand and unmarked wrappers; the unmarked foods always lost the test. The study involved 63 low-income kids from ages three to five years old. It is believed that the results probably would have been the same for children from wealthier families also.

One study author commented that the children's perception of taste had been "physically altered by the branding". The research for this study should appear in August Archives and Adolescent Medicine, and may create more debate concerning a movement to restrict advertising to young children. The before mentioned restaurant wants to promote meals containing fruit, and having less calories and less fat to kids.

Another individual believes this study says enough is not being done to reduce marketing towards children. It seems that advertisers want to create an almost "obsesssional desire for a particular brand-name product".

The restaurant's food items used included hamburgers, chicken nuggets, french fries, and store bought milk or juice and carrots. Each child received two identical samples of each food on a tray, one in the brand's wrappers or cups and the other in plain, unmarked packaging (some didn't taste all of the foods).

The bottom line is that the name-brand labeled samples were the clear favorites in every test. I wonder if this marketing strategy would work on older kids, teens, and adults too. By the way, I apologize if I made any of you hungry (ha ha).

Posted by William F on August 10, 2007 at 9:09 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

I haven't been here in a while (and let me say a while because I don't remember). I recently moved to Chicago to go ahead and get a second bachelor's degree in the field of my choice which is Publishing. Columbia College Chicago is an awesome school to get this degree from. It's an artist's dream school and the community is wonderful. I can only go part-time right now with 6 credits, but I have time to finish. I thought I wasn't going to get any financial aid, but I did and have some money left over. That money is going to pay off interest or fees that I can get out of the way, especially with the ones I already have to pay off. Getting older, I now realize that I screwed up my credit history with those credit cards and the car (which I needed at the time to get to school and to work). However, the bankruptcy did help in a lot of ways, but I DO NOT recommend going that route unless you're really in a pickle and can't get out.

The other thing I was fearful of was not finding a job. Transferring to another Barnes and Noble wasn't conducive in getting employment, so I had no job. I took the civil service exam for different titles, but kept getting Bs. I tried to apply to Bank of America and that didn't work, but something happened. I was sent an e-mail about a career fair for Bank of America. I went and applied for the Teller position and I got it! Also around the same time, a pet hospital called Banfield wanted a interview with me. I did it and had a second interview. The next day, I was hired! Two part-time jobs that pay $23.10 together. Bank of America gives me full-time benefits with my part-time position and that was something I needed because I have health problems. Moreover, working at Banfield will be fun because I get to be around pets and wear scrubs (oh, my god, I hate wearing business attire!) These two jobs will help pay for my apartment, utilities, and school!

Happy happy joy joy.

Posted by Rebecca N on August 8, 2007 at 7:35 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Hello, all!

I haven't posted in some time. I recently was hired by a very big and highly successful sports entertainment field. I was ecstatic when I received this position, even though it was a very low-end entry level position. I was hired into this position through an administrative staffing firm in March 2007. Though it took months, I finally received this position permanently as of June 2007. My work experience includes a vast array of administrative positions. This is due to working at these types of positions while putting myself through school. I have two bachelor degrees, but the one I would like to utilize is in Journalism. At the moment, I am getting ready to take the GRE and would like to pursue a degree in Mass Communications. I believe that this will only add to the knowledge I gained through my Journalism bachelor's program. Unfortunately, I have little experience in this field. I wrote for my college paper as a feature writer, but that's about it. I am trying to get going on sending out some query letters and possibly doing some work as a freelance writer. I would really love for this to happen, I just need to get motivated!

I am moving back and forth between this idea and my graduate school studying. This is not the problem. The problem is one that I won't do anything about at the moment, but is really feeling like a negative force right now. I am stuck in this entry-level position. Now, I wouldn't be complaining about this employment situation if I was in any type of administrative position but the one I am currently in, even if it wasn't related to my degree. I have 7+ years of work experience and yes, I took this position willingly. I work as a receptionist and data entry assistant and that is going down hill fast from my last position! I had a bout of unemployment and I was just so happy to get this job and the only, only reason I accepted this position is the company and that alone. I have had some hints dropped by a fellow staff member that a position could be "added" for a web site assistant since web site editing has been added to my responsibilities. I would love to have that opportunity present itself.

Added to this is the fact that I am a military spouse member to a reservist during a time of war ... I won't even go into the stressors that adds to one's career endeavors! Most likely I will be able to continue on as planned. The plan is to remain as residents in this area for 5 years. My wish is that I will be able to finish school and work in some great positions at my company during this time. After this point, I may not be able to have steady positions due to the constant moving patterns of the military, so I would like to concentrate on my writing!

Aside from all of this, I am constantly attempting to be humble and just hang in here! I hope that the company name is worth it and will add positively to my background and not detract from it due to the level of this position.

Despite, my apparent venting and stressed overtones in the aforementioned, I still cling to the positives and that this will work out for me, in the end!

Posted by Amy M on August 7, 2007 at 2:20 PM | Leave a Comment (1)

A hospital in my area recently concluded its summer Volunteen Program. Volunteens volunteer their time during the summer by helping care for sick patients at the hospital. Some are escorters who work in central admissions, where the goal is to escort every patient from the hospital, or make sure they arrive to their destination. Doing this helps the patients, who have much more on their minds. Others make their presence known by doing simple things like watering patients' flowers.

Volunteens are male or female high school students who hope to learn more about working with other people, and really enjoy doing volunteer work. This year, twenty-six local high school students worked within the program.

The Volunteen Program helped one student with shyness; he heard about the program from his sister, also a volunteen. This was his second year in the program, and he plans on coming back next summer. Another student said she enjoyed working at the hospital because she hopes to go into the medical field after college.

The Director of Volunteer Services says most volunteens do enter the medical field; others are not sure what they want to do and see the program as a good opportunity to learn how to make an informed decision in that respect. Former volunteens (a.k.a. candy stripers) have come back to work at this hospital after completing their educational ambitions. They give the hospital credit for their success along the way.

This is definitely great work from the local high school students in the community; I take my hat off to them. What a reminder these students are to me that helping people is a good thing to do.

Posted by William F on August 3, 2007 at 12:58 PM | Leave a Comment (0)