6 Ways to Make the Most of Your Internship – John Coleman

Sep 192016
 

6-waysAround 75% of college students, at some point, work in an internship. These experiences can be tremendously valuable, providing young workers the opportunity to build skills for their resumes and meet people who are working in their preferred industry. Increasingly, they are the likeliest route to full-time employment and are even offered year-round rather than only during summer months. But they can also be difficult adjustments for young people who have little to no experience in professional offices. It can be hard for someone to stand out and make the right impression during a three-month stint spent adapting to such a new environment.

How can interns learn what they need to know, impress those they work for, and secure a job recommendation or full-time offer in such a brief period of time? I consulted 20 professionals who have worked with or supervised interns in higher education, business, law, and nonprofits, and compiled the most valuable advice for interns from their stories, my own observations, and management literature. This advice won’t cover everything, but it does offer a starting point for interns.

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Ten Books That Can Help Your Career – Diane Stafford

Sep 122016
 
ten-booksOld standards and newer books provide timeless career advice.

Summertime “best book” lists usually focus on easy, beachy reads — thrillers and bodice rippers that temporarily engage you but are easily forgotten. Here’s a list of career-minded books that should stay with you.

First a caveat: No book offers a sure menu for success. What you take away from reading is only as good as what you practice once you get out of the deck chair.

That said, here’s a totally arguable selection of career advice books that might be of use. First on the list, two old but gold standard recommendations:

“How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie: This is all about being nice to people, but not so nice that you’re a doormat. It prescribes a non-Machiavellian — or at least subtle — way to get along and yet get results you want without making people hate you.

“Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey: Business students the world over can recite the habits. If you don’t know “sharpen the saw,” it might be time to open the Covey toolbox.

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Tech Pros Share Advice For New Computer Science Graduates – Ann Bednarz

Sep 062016
 

Tech Pros ShareComputer science graduates are in demand. Last year, 76% of computer science graduates were working full time within six months of finishing school — the highest full-time employment rate among new college graduates and well above the 58% average across all majors, according to a new report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). But as veterans in the tech world know, earning a degree is just the beginning of a new professional’s education. To help this year’s newcomers navigate the transition from academic life to the professional world, we asked tech pros to share their best advice for computer science graduates entering the workforce. Here’s what they had to say.

Have fun and ask questions

“Find a career you enjoy. There is nothing better than getting up each morning looking forward to your day at work. Once you’re on the job, never be afraid to ask questions. Too many times I see people just starting out who are afraid to admit they don’t know something. I’ve been in technology for 18 years and I’m still learning and asking questions.” – Jacob Ackerman, CTO of SkyLink Data Centers

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Don’t Take That Job Before Doing This – Stacy Rapacon

Aug 292016
 

Don't Take That JobWhether you’re a new grad eager to enter the world of work or a seasoned pro ready for a new opportunity, know what you’re getting into before accepting that job offer.

“The job market is strong across the board,” said Dawn Fay, district president of staffing firm Robert Half International. “It’s really become more of a candidate’s marketplace. If you’ve got some sought-after skills, you’re probably going to wind up with more than one job offer.”

Indeed, with a low national unemployment rate of 5 percent and positive hiring outlooks, the odds are in favor of job seekers. Salaries overall also are expected to be 4.1 percent higher than they were in 2015, according to Robert Half’s 2016 salary guide.

So how do you decide whether an opportunity is worth taking? Very carefully. And it all begins long before you get your offer. After all, your job is where you are going to spend the majority of your waking hours.

“For the employer, it’s a commercial decision,” said Kim Seeling Smith, founder and CEO of human resources training and consulting firm Ignite Global. “For you, it’s a life decision, so you have to put a lot of thought into taking the next opportunity.”

The first thing you should do when approaching a job hunt is figure out a three-year career plan, said Seeling Smith. This process should involve evaluating your personal goals, your career values, and your strengths and weaknesses. If you’ve figured this out, you can more easily determine whether your next job offer is the right step to take.

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5 Skills You Need to Work on to Get Ahead – No Matter What Industry You’re In – Antonio Neves

Aug 222016
 

5 SkillsWhen it comes to succeeding in the workplace, a college degree isn’t necessarily enough. Nor is years of experience on the job.

That’s because the most in-demand skills that employers crave are the elusive “soft skills”—the intangible but important qualities that enable you to work and interact with the people around you effectively.

These traits include leadership, self-awareness, communication skills, and emotional intelligence. In fact, an important criteria during the hiring process at Google is screening for “learning ability.”

Having great soft skills can be a huge game-changer as you go through your career. It can be the difference between getting people to believe in you or being forgotten, the difference between advancing a project or having it rejected, the difference between getting a promotion or finding yourself in yet another disappointing lateral move. These skills teach you not just to be a better employee but a stellar human being as well.

So, check out the five soft skills below that are essential for success—all of which you can teach yourself to practice in your daily interactions:

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  •  August 22, 2016
  •  Posted by at 10:05 am
  •   Comments Off on 5 Skills You Need to Work on to Get Ahead – No Matter What Industry You’re In – Antonio Neves
  •   Career Success, Social Skills

The One Question You Should Ask at the End of Every Job Interview – Peter Economy

Aug 162016
 

The one questionWhile we all know that resumes and applications–and anything else we submit on paper–take priority for getting our foot in the door with a new employer, there’s one thing that ultimately determines whether or not we get the job: The interview. How do we nail it? Read on to find the one question you should definitely be asking–and why it works so well.

Interviews are crucial for employers to put a face to a name, as well as to see whether or not they think the person would be a good fit for the company. That being said, it’s of utmost importance not only to put your best foot forward, but also to show that you can add something to their team. When interviews do fail, they leave so many applicants wondering just what they did wrong. The trick to circumventing this problem, however, is actually easier than it seems.

Sometimes, the solution is simply to ask.

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13 Social Media Power Tips for Getting the Job You Want – Matt Sweetwood

Aug 092016
 

13 Social MediaI believe that social media is the most effective tool for building your brand and business. That is true whether the brand is for business or is personal. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Linkedin have become commonplace in our culture and maybe the most popular forms of interaction today. In fact, Facebook has 1.5 billion monthly users. That’s one in five people on earth.

Job seeking has changed a lot over the past few years. Gone are the days of waiting for the Sunday newspaper to scour the job section for new opportunities. We have Monster, Ladders, Recruiter, ZipRecruiter and other dot coms which provide job listings and automatically deliver your resume electronically. So, do you need to use social media to find a new job? Does having a powerful personal brand give you an edge in the job market?

Related: The Easy Way to Get a Social Influencer Advocating Your Brand Is to Hire One

Let’s look at some statistics, courtesy of the September 2015 study done by the Society for Human Resource Management: 57 percent of companies hired from LinkedIn, 19 percent hired from Facebook and 65 percent of companies used some form of social media to hire.

Related: Build a Social Media Hiring Strategy

From the same study: Hiring managers thought it important for job seekers to have the following social media accounts: LinkedIn — 87 percent, Facebook 63 percent, Twitter 56 percent, and a blog 55 percent. The statistics tell us that if you are not using social media to help you find a job you are putting yourself at a huge disadvantage.

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11 Sloppy LinkedIn Mistakes That You’re Too Qualified to Make – The Young Entrepreneur Council

Aug 012016
 

11 SloppyA LinkedIn profile’s an awesome opportunity to shine beyond the traditional resume. Between your job history, publications, endorsements, and connections, potential employers scan your information to see what you can bring to the team that no one else can. But if your profile is riddled with typos or you don’t have an adequate picture, an employer isn’t going to see you as a viable candidate.

We asked 11 entrepreneurs and members of YEC to share the mistakes they see most often and how they hurt your professional image in an employer’s eyes. Here’s what you should avoid:

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12 Smart Questions To Ask At The End Of A Job Interview – Chris Jager

Jul 252016
 

12 Smart QuestionsMost job interviews end with a variation of the same question: “Is there anything else you’d like to know about this job?” This is an opportunity you shouldn’t fumble. An insightful and intelligent query will help you to stand out from other candidates. It lets the interviewer know that you’re genuinely interested in the business and have given the position considerable thought. Here are 12 questions that you should consider asking, courtesy of Search Party and JobAdvisor CEO Ben Hutt.

“Just as your potential employer needs to make up their mind about your fit in terms of skills and culture, you need to be sure that you’re making the right decision for you as well,” Hutt explained to Lifehacker. “That’s why asking questions in an interview is really important.”

In addition to helping you assess a job’s suitability, asking the right questions can also improve your chances of actually landing the job. When a prospective employer invites you to ask questions of your own, they’re not just being polite: they genuinely want to answer any and all queries about the position and the wider company. Coming up blank or only asking about holidays/salary isn’t going to be viewed favourably. As Hutt explains:

“Beyond understanding if a company is right for you, your other goal is to get them to hire you. This is where asking questions can also be helpful. Do some internet sleuthing beforehand and ask some specific questions about the company.

“Try to focus on positive things like interesting news coverage or recent product release. This shows that you’ve done your research and will set you apart from other candidates who prepare less than you.”

So what are the top questions to ask? According to Hutt, the most valuable questions fall into one of three main categories: work culture, career development and personal. Here are some examples of each.

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  •  July 25, 2016
  •  Posted by at 11:25 am
  •   Comments Off on 12 Smart Questions To Ask At The End Of A Job Interview – Chris Jager
  •   Interviewing, Social Skills

These Ten Mistakes Are Killing Your Resume – Liz Ryan

Jul 182016
 

These Ten MistakesAlthough most if not all of us were taught to write our resumes using horrible, zombie language like “Motivated self-starter with a bottom-line orientation,” it is easy to see that if your resume sounds like everybody else’s resume, no one will notice your brilliance!

You have to stand out, right in your resume. You have to sound like yourself.

You can’t pitch your resume into anonymous online recruiting portals. Those things don’t work. You could wait months to hear back from an employer when you apply for jobs online. You may never ever hear anything.

You have to take a different route to get a job these days, and contact your hiring manager (a.k.a. Your Next Boss) directly.

You’ll send two documents to your hiring manager and skip the online job application. You’ll send your two documents together in the mail, stapled to one another with one staple in the upper-left corner. The two documents are your Pain Letter, written specifically for this hiring manager, and your Human-Voiced Resume.

Your resume has to sound like a human being wrote it in order for it to catch your hiring manager’s attention. He or she is crazy busy the way we all are. Here are ten mistakes that will keep your resume from doing its job for you.

Make sure your resume isn’t holding back your career by failing to brand you as the capable and unlike-anyone-else person you are!

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