Search Results matching tag 'career'

Non- Traditional Student

cjhudd55 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:02:19 GMT

Hello my name is Carrie and i am 55yrs. old i have an Associate Degree and i am seeking futher education into my Bachelors Degree.

I will be majoring in Psychology/ Substance Abuse Counseling is the concentration point for my academic and career goal.

I do not have the Financial Aid i need to pursue a full academic education, however, i will not give up on trying to win a Scholarship to an online University some day.

Pursuing MBA online, Will I get a high-paying job?

judylynch — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:14:23 GMT

Currently I am working in a private banking sector and also pursuing an online MBA course form an accredited university. Will it get equal weightage like an on-campus program? And after my couse, will I get a high-paying job and if yes, what are those?

I have an ailing mother to look after. That's the reason why didn't join a on-campus couse. I have research a lot and found out accredited institutes are good enough. What's your opinion?

What you SHOULD do at a job fair

Cajun — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 01:20:00 GMT

In my last post I had several suggestions for what not to do at a job fair. This was after experiencing my first ever non-law enforcement job fair, which to say the least taught me a lot. Well let’s get to it then shall we?

First let’s set the stage, you will wait in line for anywhere from 20 minutes to a few hours just to hand your resume to a recruiter who may or may not know exactly what they are looking for. In my case I couldn’t tell you the difference between a java developer and a coffee bean, but I did know that there were key words I was looking for on each resume handed to me. One thing I did know was project management, but I didn’t have to know all that much about it to be able to figure out if the person I was talking to knew anything about it or not, so again, key words, specific turns of phrases, etc. was what I was looking for.

So here’s what you should do:

1.) List your best qualifications and skills right at the top. Have you ever heard from some recruiters that putting “PMP” or “MBA” after your name is pretentious? Well I’ve got news for you; it’s so competitive out there now that you don’t have room or time to be humble. Put your best stuff right at the top. If not letters after your name then be sure and have a summary of skills and qualifications at the top or something.

2.) Secondly hand your resume to the recruiter and say something to the effect of “hi my name is bob, I’m an IT project manager with 10 years experience, I’m project management certified and I have obtained a masters of science in information systems from (name your school)”. Just spit it right out. This isn’t normal English conversations we’re having here, this is selling yourself in 30 seconds or less. Heck you could even say “hi my name is Bob, I’m a certified PMP, have 10 years experience in technology projects and I am a killer project manager”. Yeah that sounds like bragging, but it ain’t bragging if it puts food on the table, savvy?

3.) Third you need to have an objective and know what you do. Make sure you have your skills focused which brings me to…

4.) Look at the companies that will be at the job fair, research them look at their available jobs listed on their website and write a resume specifically for them. Do it for all the recruiter tables you plan on stopping at then write a general resume for the rest of the fair.

5.) Multiple page resumes are common, parsing your life down to one page probably will not help you in this type of environment. We took a big box of resumes back to the office where they will be sorted through one at a time, a snap shot or synopsis resume will look woefully inadequate. Again, have that summary of qualifications on page one to introduce yourself then go ahead and get more detailed later. Try not to exceed two pages if possible, never exceed three.

6.) Make an impression that will last, I spoke to one guy that I went looking for his resume the day after the fair; he made an impact on me to be certain. I took 15 to 20 minutes out of my day today on a break to go talk to our recruiter about him and help her sort through a few hundred resumes in an effort to find his.

7.) Realize that part of a job fair depends on luck, if you don’t make it don’t change up your whole game, give yourself a reasonable assessment instead to see if anything NEEDS to be changed, then change it. It can be a confidence shaker to go to several fairs and get no leads, but it does happen. Realize that there are a lot of unemployed highly qualified individuals out there.

8.) Tell the company what you can do for them. Try to approach everything as if they are a customer and you are going to sell them a service. Don’t look for what they can do for you and certainly don’t mention salary or benefits during a cattle call (job fair). Instead they’re focused on what you can do for them, so should you be.

9.) Be sure to dress nice. Real nice. Men, coat and tie are not optional for professional jobs, even if it’s a 100 degrees in there KEEP THAT COAT ON. Trust me it presents a way more professional image.

10.) If you’re young and fresh out of college don’t fake years of experience. It’s fairly easy to spot, instead sell your energy, your enthusiasm and flexibility in scheduling, etc. Sell the things that make you attractive to an employer, a fast learner, team player, high energy and positive attitude.

11.) If you’re older it’s still good to have high energy and a positive attitude, trust me it won’t hurt but you have the advantage when you sell your experience but remember that’s not the only thing that’s valuable about you. You also are likely to seem more company loyal, dependable and stable and overall have your career path sorted out. If you are older make sure your career objectives are sharp and focused.

12.) Keep your skills sharp. If you get a job make sure you never stop learning. Read trade magazines, books, learn new skills, DIVERSIFY for Pete’s sake, branch out. I don’t know how many well established professionals who over the years found a relatively good paying job doing niche work unique to that employer only to lose the job in a bad economy have few currently marketable skills. Time doesn’t stand still, things change and so should you. Make learning a life long commitment.

What NOT to do at a job fair

Cajun — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:21:00 GMT

So I worked my first job fair as an IT professional. It was different than doing so as a cop for many reasons. First is police work attracts a very predictable crowd for the most part. Education is usually not as much of a priority as it is a box to be checked off. We don’t care if you’re a cop already, we’re going to train you, we looked for the personality and mentality as a whole.

Fast forward to the IT field and it’s “what can you do” and “how well do you do it”. Here’s the scenario, 12 employers, 9 of whom may potentially be offering professional level jobs from what I could tell and there were almost 1,500 people registered to apply and interview. It was the very definition of a cattle call. I didn’t get to spend more than 30 seconds to 2 minutes with anyone an I had virtually no chance to get to know them on any level. It came down to “what’s your name” and “what do you do”. I’d take a resume and match it to a job field, shake their hand and into the stack it went with hundreds of others. I only had moments to go over their resume and I had a few key things I was looking for but I don’t really have time to go over everything I learned from that experience in just 1 blog post. So I’ll post on how I think you can make the most in a situation like that. In the span of 2 hours I think I interviewed about 90 to 100 people if you want to call it that, screening may be more appropriate of a term. Anyhow these are some things I observed people doing and/or saying that were immediate turn offs.

1.) Print your resume on good quality paper using a full ink cartridge and make sure your resume is at least centered on the page. I received one or two that were what we call in Texas, catiwompus… or tilted, off, just not right. It looks terrible and shows you didn’t put much effort into it. Why wait in line for hours to make a 30 second impression only to blow it with a crappy looking resume.

2.) Don’t hold your resume in your hands. Keep it in a folder or portfolio until you get to the front. Handing over a resume you’ve sweated on for an hour is off putting. I know it’s hot, I know you’re nervous, heck I’m hot and nervous too, but seriously it’s hard to touch a wet resume.

3.) Don’t call the recruiter names, even jokingly. I’m amazed that I have to write this but there you have it. I know none of my readers would ever do this; it’s almost so dumb I’m embarrassed to give advice not to do it.

4.) If the recruiter doesn’t shake your hand don’t take offense. Personally I made a point to at least try, but I shook probably 150 sets of hands in the span of two hours, some dry, some sweaty, all with germs. Afterwards I felt like I needed a bath and I had a pump of hand sanitizer to use after shaking the hands of some particularly questionable people but not all recruiters may be willing to go to that extreme.

5.) Wear deodorant. Wear a lot. Wear deodorant like you’re about to be forced to wear a wool suit with tie, crammed into a room with a thousand people shoulder to shoulder with an inadequate AC and placed into a highly stressful scenario, because that’s exactly what it was like. Some people were less than prepared.

6.) Eat a mint or a Tic-Tac before talking to a recruiter. Maybe your breath doesn’t stink, maybe it does and you don’t know it. Maybe that double chili-cheese and onion burger with a side of dirty socks you had for lunch made you immune to your own brand. Just trust me on this, have a pocket full of mints. Here’s some hints, if a recruiter stops talking long enough to eat a mint either they’re really dry mouthed from talking so much or your breath stinks and they’re having to mask it with their own. Another hint, if a recruiter takes a step back, don’t step forward, (personal space maybe, bad breath, likely).

7.) Don’t say things like “I’m a jack of all trades master of none” and don’t say the words “I just need to do something” or “I just need a job” even if it’s true. Have an objective, be focused on what you want and know what you can do. Walk up say, “Hi, I’m Bob Smith and I’m a Data Architect with 10 years experience working in Java, SQL and I’m a killer Project Manager”. Now that’s a guy I want to spend more than a few seconds with if for no other reason than to find out if he’s full of it. Which leads me to…

8.) Don’t fake it. Look almost all of us have to work to survive, but don’t fake it to get ahead. If you schmooze me and everyone else over with your 10 years as a Data Architect and killer Project Manager line you had better be telling the truth. To show up to work and within the first serious meeting you have you put your foot in your mouth you may look like an idiot. The second and third time you don’t sound like you know what you’re talking about or that you’re not contributing, you may be back in the job line. It doesn’t do you or the company any good. If you really want to be that guy, set a goal for yourself and do it. Work at the 7-11 or as a security guard or something that you can do really well and get ahead the old fashioned way, by working for it.

9.) Don’t worry about looking pretentious on your resume. You need a resume that gets attention immediately. If you’re a PMP, put that sucker right there at the top. I must have interviewed 20 MBA’s but the MBA just isn’t enough in this job market. I need to know that you have hard skills that I am looking for. You do Java, slap that right at the top. Can you do project management? I need to see that. I’ll get more into the resume stuff later though.

10.) Lastly don’t cut in line. It’s seriously is rude and the recruiters will notice it even if they don’t say anything to you about it.

That’s all for now…

“You should be svelte (thin) to be a kindergarten teacher”

torimitch — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:20:00 GMT

This is the blog that I have been dreading! This experience was so embarrassing that I can barely write about it. In my last semester at Drexel University, I needed to complete my student teaching in order to apply for Pennsylvania state licensure. I had been dreading this because I needed to coordinate baby-sitting just to make this possible. It was difficult, but doable.

I started my first day in a suburban school outside Philadelphia. Whatever you may have heard about a "teacher shortage," it's not the reality in the wealthier suburban school districts.

Teachers are literally on the waiting list to teach in schools.

I started my first day of kindergarten and was very excited about the prospect of teaching in the district that my husband attended as a child. I knew from the moment I met my host teacher that something was wrong. I could see on her face that she was not happy to see me. Maybe it was because her original student teacher suddenly quit or maybe because I was a Puerto Rican woman in a predominantly Caucasian school district.

To put it bluntly, this teacher treated me poorly. She was constantly dissatisfied with whatever I did. She would say "paint that bulletin board green," and I would paint it green. Then she would say how much she hated the green bulletin board. So, everyday I would wake up knowing what I was going to face the next day.

The final straw came the day I was sitting in a small kindergarten chair. I jokingly asked my host teacher how she could stand sitting in these small chairs all day long. She said, "Honey, if you were svelte like me, it doesn't bother as much. Good kindergarten teachers should be svelte."

So, now I was ethnic, and fat! I was so distraught by her hurtful comment that I ran to my advisor and told her I wanted out. I was willing to risk my graduation just to get out of this abusive situation. This was one of the most difficult decisions of my life. I had put so much effort into coordinating baby-sitters, getting approval of the student teaching placement, and in my mind I was ready to walk in the big June ceremony. I couldn't even tell you how hard it was for me to tell my advisor that I needed out.

But this story had a happy ending. Thanks to the efforts of my advisor, she quickly called everyone she could (literally while I was sitting in front of her sobbing) and found me a placement at the school I did my pre-student teaching. I was placed with the most wonderful teacher of 32 years, who taught me everything she knew. Ms. Robinson was the most gracious and wonderful host teacher anyone could ask for.

She was very warm and extremely helpful. She asked me to eat lunch with her coworkers, where they shared personal experiences. My horrible experience in the suburban school, made me appreciate the experience in the Philadelphia school district.

To this day, I still keep in touch with teachers in Philadelphia. I truly had a great experience.

Re: Online Computer Engineering

frogman — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:45:28 GMT

I started my education working for an IT degree and like Steve decided it wasn’t for me. The degree it sounds like you are looking for is a web designer and there are several really good programs out there that will earn you a bachelors degree.

http://www.elearners.com/search/online-degrees/web-design.htm

These programs cover all of the grit of web design from TCP/IP to hosting protocols to web and server languages. Being you are in e-commerce there are several deep layers from behind the scenes like the database (I use SQL) and the interface language (I use ASP) as well as the final form page (the easy part). There is really a lot of technology to web site design and with the push to convert programs over to web hosted applications this should be a field with a potential for growth . There is also the art side of design which is really all everyone sees.

Prepping for the Praxis

torimitch — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:40:00 GMT

In education we have a licensure and certification testing process called the praxis. This is a two part series of assessments used to see if an individual has the basic skill set to be a public school teacher. The second series tests an individual's core knowledge of their specific area of expertise. I have already taken the first set of tests with the belief that I would someday be a classroom teacher, or at the very least find this certification to be of some benefit to me.

I am no longer sure that the certification process will still hold any benefit for me. It's like having a "fallback." I know that I want to become a professor so why go through all of the other things that might actually take me off of my focus on becoming a professor. But let's say that something happens on the way to me becoming a professor. I will always have the fallback of being a certified teacher. Right?

First, I should probably tell you all how much I am against these types of high stakes tests. I do not believe that they are an accurate assessment of someone's ability to do the job. I also do not believe that a high score on the SAT's or GRE's is an accurate assessment of the amount of knowledge a person possesses. Maybe the test taker was fortunate enough to be able to afford a great GRE prep course. So that being said, I am still back to the same problem. Do I take the test to certify myself as a public school teacher or do I continue on my road to professorship?

I should also confess that I am somewhat of a test phobe. I get so nervous when I have to take a really big test. I normally do well, but the stress I place on my mind and body is far worse then the actual test.

Next Steps

torimitch — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 14:30:00 GMT

Well everyone, I'm at a crossroads. I am so thrilled that I finished my B.S. degree but now what? As a sign language interpreter I am pretty well paid so getting a job ASAP is not really on my list. My future goal is to become a professor so I know that I am looking at a MFA or PhD. So for me this is going to be a long road.

I really like my alma matter's (I love saying that) program. They have the TLC program, the Teaching, Learning and Curriculum program that looks like a really great program. I have not yet decided. I am a little concerned about going back to school after such and intensive program. Being online does not make going to school any easier. The program at Drexel is very challenging. So now what do I do?

I am committed to homeschooling my kids so a full-time job outside the home is just not feasible. So I guess I am looking at online positions. I think I will start with the cyber schools. There are a few in Pennsylvania. I will be interested to see what kind of response I get. I'll keep you all posted. In the next few weeks I will also be applying to graduate schools to keep all my options open. I am going to look at the top 40 educations schools and see which ones are starting to lean toward online learning. I would also like to consider doing some digital and media work since I think this will be an important addition to online education.

Re: resume help

mderr2400 — Fri, 09 May 2008 18:52:23 GMT

I know you've gotten a lot of similar feedback, but I would encourage you to spend a little time and create your own--when you actually go to interview you'll be far more comfortable elaborating on it if you've created it from scratch. I recently came across this video series that was helpful to me--it's a bit dry, but incredibly informative: http://www.monkeysee.com/play/3738-how-to-write-a-resume

Anyway, I hope this helps, and good luck!

Matt

Re: Employers and online degrees

Victoria — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:10:20 GMT

LadyKT:

Ok - that's good to know. I mentioned something to my supervisor - she said she never heard of Kaplan Online, but most attorneys aren't tech savy nowadays. I'm hoping to eventually get a job in NYC, so hopefully NYC employers will recognize Kaplan's name and give me some credit towards teaching myself per se.

Hi LadyKT!

I've worked in NYC and the NYC metro area, and Kaplan advertises quite a bit around here, so it's recognizable. When I've conducted interviews and done hiring, I've always wanted to know about a person's current skills and work ethic. I can understand your concern, though. It would be really disappointing not to have your academic work recognized simply because potential employers aren't familiar with online coursework!