Thanksgiving Hiatus

Dear Readers,

I will not be posting during the week of Thanksgiving, but check back on Monday, December 1st for continued posts!

Best holiday wishes,

Adele

Verbs to Highlight Your Skills

Here we go:

accomplished
achieved
activated
administered
analyzed
approved
arranged
attained
budgeted
built
changed
closed
conceived
completed
consolidated
conducted
constructed
created
coordinated
customized
converted
counseled
dealt
defined
decreased
delegated
delivered
designed
directed
distributed
discovered
devised
developed
effected
encouraged
engineered
established
enlarged
evaluated
estimated
expanded
facilitated
forecasted
formulated
founded
generated
governed
improved
implemented
increased
influenced
initiated
innovated
inspected
instituted
instructed
integrated
introduced
interviewed
investigated
invented
launched
led
maintained
managed
molded
monitored
motivated
negotiated
operated
performed
persuaded
presented
presided
processed
produced
programmed
projected
promoted
proposed
provided
purchased
recruited
related
reduced
recommended
redesigned
reshaped
researched
reevaluated
reviewed
revised
reorganized
selected
sold
simplified
strengthened
solved
sorted
staffed
started
streamlined
stressed
stretched
structured
succeeded
supervised
supported
taught
traced
tracked
traded
transferred
trained
traveled
transformed
trimmed
uncovered
united
unified
updated

Financial Aid Calculator

Useful tool from LA Times Homeroom Blog:

Financial Aid Calculator

No More New E-mail

Today's college students already have their own digital identities, so Boston College won't be giving out new email addresses. Will other schools follow suit? Read about it here, from Read Write Web:

Colleges Stop Giving Students New Email Accounts

Common Resume Mistakes

Here is a handy list of resume DON’Ts:

Don’t write a general job objective that reflects what you want from life, such as “a challenging position that will let me learn and increase my skills.” Instead make your objective fit the job you’re applyling for exactly. It should be brief and to the point, even if you are not sure what that entails. The recruiter wants to know what you will do for the company, not what it will do for you.

Don’t list your salary requirement, except when explicitly asked, and even then, only state a range of what is normal, after you find this out from your career counselor.

Don’t include your GPA unless it is impressive.

Don’t reveal any personal information, such as what you look like, your religion etc…

Don’t use jokes or gimmicks. In most cases an off-format resume will just annoy the person sifting through resumes by creating more work for them. Most likely they’ll toss it before they even read beyond the gimmick, so just resist the temptation.

Don’t be afraid of sounding too strong. This is not a time to be modest and hope some recruiter can read between the lines and see how smart your really are.

Don’t have any typos, misspellings, sloppy language, or smudge marks, which will almost certainly disqualify you. This is the easiest mistake to avoid but it is surprisingly common! So proofread, proofread, proofread then give your resume to somebody who will proofread again with fresh eyes.

Next up, a list of verbs that you can use to highlight your skills.

10 Most Expensive Colleges

CNN Money published this list today:

10 Most Expensive Colleges

Resume Smarts

A resume is a document stating that you exist as a real person who has gone to college and experienced some kind of responsibility. Think of the resume as a qualifier that allows you entry to any job search.

Your resume has to look professional. In other words, it has to look like most of the resumes of those people who are already in the workplace. For guides, look at sample resumes for the industries you are interested in; there are dozens of resume books in the career center, libraries, bookstores, and online. Use good sense, too. Submit your one page resume on white paper and/or online with one font and one type of bullet.
List and group your recent accomplishments in categories such as “Work Experience,” “Education,” and “Skills.” Specify what you have accomplished academically, including honors and awards, as well as your relevant accomplishments in co-curricular activities. Don’t pad your resume with phony club memberships or awards. Only include items in which you truly learned, grew, or were rewarded for your genuine hard work.

Your resume should fit on one page. Keep in mind that if you are applying for a competitive job, the person reading your resume will be receiving hundreds of resumes. They will not be scrutinizing each resume closely, so keep yours concise, and highlight the most important accomplishments.

Finally, stay away from resume templates such as Microsoft Word’s Resume Wizard. This is an instant red flag that you are inexperienced. And, before you submit your resume anywhere, have an experienced friend or adviser proofread it for you.

Your resume should be tailored to the job for which you are applying. Although the basic document will remain the same, you will want to emphasize certain skills for certain positions. Take a close look at the skill requirements and responsibilities listed in the job posting, and edit your resume accordingly – and, of course, truthfully.

Next up will be a list of common resume mistakes. Check in tomorrow!

A Breakdown of Your First Job Search

After you have selected a few organizations or fields in which you’d like to work, it pays off to organize the job search process, as well as you can. It will take planning and time – if you do not do excellent and precise work on your resume, cover letter, and letters of recommendation, then you probably will not get an interview.

Here’s an overview of the entire job search process that you’ll be going through:

Prepare a focused and clear resume to suit each job for which you are applying.

List five references from your professors, coaches, sponsors, and employers. At the end of your resume, state that references are available. Write the list on a separate sheet labeled “References.”

Get five letters of recommendation from professors and employers.

Learn all you can about the many kinds of organizations and the wide variety of jobs within them from your career counselor, professors, internships, research papers, the web, and from libraries or bookstores.

Research the organization before you interview with them. Demonstrate that you are familiar with them and can meet their requirements.

Write a cover letter to explain why you are applying for the job.

Demonstrate that you know and can meet the requirements for the job through classwork and real work experience from internships, part-time jobs, volunteer work, and/or a fellowship on or off campus.

Learn about the structure and art of interviewing through workshops and practice with career counselors to improve your self-presentation.

Convince the employer of what you can do for the company, rather than ask wht it can do for you. Get coaching from yo9ur career counselors about best and appropriate questions and answers.

Practice interviewing through your career center’s on-campus program to polish your presentation skills.

If there are no jobs available at the company on top of your list, consider the second choice for a trial year, learning as much as you can.

Go to conferences; follow up with ideas and people, including attendees and speakers, as well as the placement room where jobs are posted.

Take the risk of linking with others, finding shared interests and values to talk about. This life skill will do more than just help you get the job: it will put more enjoyment into it.

You are going to be in charge of your career and will be solely responsible for yourself. You will get to shape your life from now on; no one else will. But for sure, you will keep returning to the job search process throughout your career. There’s no shortcut for the anxiety it brings. Over the next few weeks, I will elaborate upon the tips I’ve listed here, and tell you how to practice the lifelong skills you will use in searching

Hunting for Your First Job

The Boston Globe's Job Blog has some great advice for new or soon-to-be grads:

Job Search Tips List-O-Rama

How Much Do You Know About Your Health Insurance?

Are you getting adequate insurance through your school? How well has your school educated you about your policy, its terms and benefits? The information may be hard to find especially if your school is getting kickbacks from certain providers. Here's an excerpt from today's NY Times article on Attorney General Anthony M. Cuomo's investigation of the problem:

"The investigation by the attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, appears to be focused on the adequacy of disclosure of policy terms and costs to students. Investigators also appear to be looking into whether colleges are receiving any improper payments in exchange for requiring students to use a particular insurer."

Read the whole article here:

Cuomo Investigating Colleges’ Deals With Health Insurers

Need a Loan?

If you are having trouble paying your tuition or anticipate that you will, read this article from CNN Money. It may put forth some ideas that you haven't considered:

Five Alternatives to Borrowing from Banks

Financial Aid Becoming Scarce

Without the help of your institution or of Uncle Sam, this is the time to be resourceful and open-minded. From the NY Times, an examination of universities' struggle and perhaps failure to maintain need-blind admissions:

Colleges Struggle to Preserve Financial Aid

Students Look to Two Year Colleges

A pro pos of my last entry, here's an article from NYT:

Applications Surge for Courses at CUNY’s 2-Year Colleges

Why Community College Could Be Your Best Choice

At a time when tuition is rising and competition to get into well-known universities is stiffer than ever, the stress of choosing a college can be overwhelming. Some students will gain acceptance to their top choices but will wonder how they will pay for tuition. Others will be disappointed that they have been admitted only to their “backup” choices. Others will not apply to college at all, knowing that they will not be able to afford it.

These ambitious students often laugh off community college as the domain of their unmotivated, unfocused, or anti-intellectual peers. How wrong they are! Here are a few benefits of community colleges:

Low tuition – for example, Santa Monica College in Los Angeles charges $26 per unit. For a full course load of twelve units per semester, that adds up to $624 for a full year of courses.

Professor interaction – unlike at major research universities, community college professors are there for one reason: to teach.

Small classes – again, you will have ample opportunity to contribute in class and to form relationships with your professors and peers

Time to explore – you will have two years to take classes in a number of disciplines and to hone in on your major

Easy transfer to larger universities – many universities accept as many transfer students as they do new freshman. Often the acceptance rate of transfer applicants is higher.

By the time you transfer, you will be focused and ready to take full advantage of the large university where you will complete your last two years of study. You will have saved a huge amount of money during the exploration process of your two years at community college, and you will have forged close relationships with professors that will serve you for the rest of your career.

If you are worried about paying for college, or getting into your dream school, I strongly urge you to consider community colleges in your town, your state, or even out of state. You can take charge of your life, experience a new city, a new community, and a world of opportunities.

Economic Slowdown Reaches Harvard

The weak economy will likely impact tuition and the availability of grants and scholarships at major universities. From CNN:

SLOWDOWN REACHES HARVARD'S DOORS

Watch for my next entry about the benefits of attending community college before transferring to a larger institution.

Are You Thinking of a Career in the Arts?

CNN Money has some tips on how to make your creative aspirations work with your income needs after college:

YOUR HIGHLY EDUCATED DISHWASHERS

The "Good Student" Trap

"What can college do for me?" It sounds like a good question, and indeed we are programmed to ask it. Yet, successful people will tell you that it is the wrong question. It represents a common mistake that prospective college students make: to assume a passive stance toward their college experience. System dependency lies deep within us, reinforced by our teachers from kindergarten through high school. It doesn't change when we graduate, but lurks inside, keeping us back from being our best selves. Rather than learning the subject in our heart, we've learned it by heart. Such obedient disengagement is what I call the "good student" trap.

To avoid the "good student" trap, we must identify what excites us and actively pursue that, from college onward into our careers - it will make all the difference between feeling fraudulent and feeling alive. You can gain everything if your attitude is to expect more. Once you find that studying history or art or anthropology can be much more than just obediently following orders, your academic pursuits can lead you to new worlds of experiences, courses, contacts, and later, careers.

If you could describe your own expectations of college before you set foot on campus and compare that to what you actually experience, you might be as surprised as the many students who responded to my online survey. In that survey, as many students were disappointed that college was less intellectually challenging than they had expected as those students who found it to be more challenging than they had expected. More than half of those responding expected that college would be a difficult place to make friends.

Disappointment in college comes from misusing college, by treating it as school instead of life. To reframe your attitude, train yourself to approach college in the same positive, productive, active way that most successful people approach their careers, and in the very same way they approached college. Success is a result of taking charge of your life, including college, far beyond just passively accepting what is put before you.

In addition to lengthier articles about how to take charge of your college experience, watch for news clips and articles that I will be posting everyday about the college to career transition.

Beyond Talent

Talent, ambition, and technical ability – you possess the first two attributes, and you are on your way to achieving the third. And all three are healthy prerequisites for a successful career.

But there is another, hidden set of non-technical skills that few teachers, professors, or bosses take the time to impart. These are the learned, social skills that achievers begin practicing in grade school, and continue to hone – even master during college and afterward. Few have acknowledged these all-too-often self-taught skills. But they are essential tools that you will need as you embark on your career.

I will use six non-technical success skills to frame our discussion of specific scenarios and topics that will help you to address your questions, and help you to achieve a meaningful college experience – that will segue into your first job in your chosen field, one that truly inspires you.

Below are the skills I have identified over thirty years of career coaching and intensive study of highly successful achievers in myriad fields of work. I use them in my work with college students, entry-level employees, and mid-career professionals. They are the six non-technical skills that will guide you through college and beyond:

Exploration
Do you listen to your instincts or are you a prisoner of your obligations?
Risk
Do you develop new relationships and try out new ideas despite the fear of rejection?
Connection
In your social interactions are you more like a guest or a host?
Presentation
Do you wait to be discovered or do you position yourself so that your talents will be indispensable?
Elevation
Do you see yourself as a cog in the wheel or have you apprenticed yourself to a mentor?
Magnification
Do you share your knowledge with bright up and comers as your mentors did?

Over the years, I have written many books and countless articles about these non-technical skills, and how to develop them. I have coached people in all stages of learning, in both fabulous economic times and terrifying ones. Right now, we are living in a time of downsizing, layoffs, job-changing, which causes grief and anxiety – and intense competition for highly desired careers. In this turbulent climate, I would like to make the six success skills available to you, so you may memorize them, use them as tools, and successfully find a job before graduation.

When you do enter the workforce you may want to "graduate" to my career blog: http://dradele.livejournal.com/, which uses the same principles you will find here, and explores topics relevant to individuals in all stages of careering. As you continue your education in college and throughout your career, I look forward to your comments, questions, and success stories!