College teaches you how to think.  However, unless you are engaged with your campus Career Center, college teaches you virtually nothing on the subject of career development.  Think about how many courses you took in your major, and then think about how many semester-long courses you took on career development?  A rare few colleges offer, at most, one or two courses on the topic.  You spend time more time at work than in any other aspect of your life, but college teaches you barely anything on how to start, build and manage your career.  Without the Career Center, you will be left on your own to figure out what you are suppose to do with your life.  The transition is difficult because there is no syllabus for success.  Here are my 50 tips to prepare you for the realities of working.

1. Go to the Career Center on campus at least once a semester and then every month when you are a senior.
2. Believe in yourself, believe in something and have someone believe in you.
3. Success comes from inside of you.
4. In addition to your college degree, employers will want to see multiple internship experiences.  Your competition has them.
5. Start building your resume early in your college career.  Don’t wait until you get back from spring break of your Senior year.
6. Be nice to your faculty.  You’ll need them someday to serve as a reference for graduate school or a job.
7. Get clarity and focus on the three types of jobs you will pursue: 1) Ideal Jobs, 2) Back-Up/Realistic Jobs, and 3) Survival Jobs.
8. Come up with your own personal and professional definition of success and don’t let anyone else define it for you.
9. Your first job is a period of adjustment.  It’s like being a freshman all over again.  Be patient and learn the ropes.
10. Think of your first job as a stepping-stone that can help you get closer to your Ideal Job.
11. Show up early and stay late.
12. If you are self-aware, self-confident and self-disciplined you will go very far in life.
13. Take advantage of everything that college has to offer.  Suck the life-force out of it.  If you do, you’ll have no regrets.
14. Most jobs today are not for life.  The time to start preparing for your next job search is the day you take your new job.
15. Eliminate poor grammar and slang from your speech.
16. Resist the temptation to use work time to conduct personal business like email, phone calls and combing the Internet.
17. An employer cares about how productive you are.  They don’t really care whether or not you’re professionally fulfilled.
18. Starting at the bottom is not beneath you; it’s expected.
19. An employer wants to know, “Can you do the job?  Are you willing to do the job?  Can we stand you when you do the job?”
20. Don’t get sloppy with your behavior.  It can run you into trouble later on.
21. Share your life, but don’t over-share.
22. Stay focused and don’t get distracted by Facebook or other social media sites.  Cut your addiction to the Internet.
23. Know when you need to work independently and know when you need to be a team player.
24. You can never say “please” and “thank you” enough – it goes a long way.
25. If you perpetually smile and look people in the eyes you are likely to get the same in return.
26. Employers hire for attitude and train for knowledge.  Enthusiasm is the road to success.
27. Clean up any “Digital Dirt” that’s on the Internet.  Your online reputation IS your reputation.  Create it, build it and protect it.
28. Keep your commitments.  Habitually cancelling is a C.L.M., Career Limiting Move.
29. Keep in mind that success is the first attempt after failure.  We all have made mistakes.  Don’t sweat it; just learn from them.
30. Devote a great deal of time to practicing your interview skills.  Have a Mock Interview at your campus Career Center.
31. You won’t reach your career goals if you let someone else drive your career.  Go from passenger to driver.
32. If you take your career seriously, others will take you seriously.  If you care about others, others will care about you.
33. Ask for help, but don’t suck up too much of anyone’s time.
34. How you dress is a reflection of your self-image.  Dress for not where you are, but for where you want to be.  Be neat.
35. Have a clear vision for your life.  Set personal and professional goals every year and develop an action plan to achieve them.
36. It is highly likely you will go on to graduate school.  Carefully pick the right degree and program.  It’s expensive if you don’t.
37. Network your brains out and carefully build your LinkedIn Contacts.  You will be changing jobs, and you’ll need their help.
38. Givers Get!  It starts with you.
39. Most communication is non-verbal.  Pay attention to what you say.  Pay closer attention to what you say when you’re not talking.
40. Have regular meetings with your boss to discuss your progress.  This can save a lot of misunderstandings and headaches later.
41. A person’s most basic human emotional need is to be heard.  Listening is a critically important skill in the workplace.  Talk less.
42. Stay in your first job out of college for one year, preferably two to three.  Anything less is job hopping, and it doesn’t look good.
43. The world is very small and increasingly interconnected.  Play nice.  Don’t burn any bridges.
44. Don’t chase after money.  It tends to be a poor long-term motivator.  Do what you love and the money will follow.
45. Pursue meaningful work that makes a difference.  The meaning of life is to make a difference.  Do work that you value.
46. Build an emergency fund just in case something goes wrong at work.  Find a financial planner and start investing immediately!
47. Set up a budget and stick to it.  Don’t get into credit card debt.  Always live below your means.
48. Don’t wait for opportunities.  Go out and hunt for them.
49. Where you go in life is up to you.
50. Go be somebody.

How to Break the Tie–When You’re One of Two Great Candidates.

(From CareerRealism.com)

This brief article has some helpful tips: How to Explain a Low GPA

The importance of phone and Skype interviews has skyrocketed in recent years. Most companies like to verify that a candidate is worth their time before bringing them to the office for an in-person interview. Phone and Skype interviews are popular with entry-level job candidates because many of them are still in school or currently employed—making it difficult to slip away for an interview.

Amy Levin-Epstein spoke with professionals and compiled a list of tips on how to ace both the phone and Skype interview.

Here are a few of the tips I found most important.

Skype Interviews

• Avoid technical difficulties. Triple check your Internet connection before your interview begins. Make sure that your speakers and microphone work. Call a friend on Skype and do a sound check.
• Know proper web cam etiquette. Look at the camera and not the screen so that you are making eye contact. Sit up straight and don’t sit too close to the camera. Use the camera to check out what you look like on screen before the call so you see how they’ll view you.

Phone Interviews

• Stand up and smile. According to career trainer Frankie Picasso, “When you stand up, there is more energy in your voice and the physical act of smiling makes you instantly sound friendlier and relaxed.” Personally, I like to pace slowly when I talk on the phone and I feel it gives me a more natural and confident tone of voice.
• Don’t drive & interview. The best thing about a phone interview is that you can have your notes out in front of you. Take advantage of that! Also, you should be fully focused on the task at hand.
• Go hands-free. Use a headset so that you are free to take notes or gesture as normally would. This will help you sound more comfortable and natural when on the phone.

General Phone & Skype Tips

• Get rid of distractions. Make sure that you’re in a secure, quiet place. Make an announcement and put a sign on the door to let your family or roommates know you are not to bothered during that time.
• Don’t sound sleepy. Wake up an hour before your interview. People can tell if you just woke up and it sounds unprofessional. Call a friend and talk for a few minutes to get your voice ready.
• Be succinct. It’s hard to pick up on non-verbal cues in these situations. Don’t babble and stop yourself when you’ve answered the question completely.

For more tips and information check out Levin-Epstein’s articles on skype tips and phone tips.

It’s no secret that social media is an important part of your job search (see here, here and here). But how important is it? This infographic from OnlineDegrees.com says that companies are expecting to recruit online for more than 80% of their job openings. That’s a lot of online recruiting!

Some other statistics to note:

What networks are recruiters using?

• 98% use LinkedIn
• 42% use Twitter
• 33% use Facebook
• 19% use Twitter in conjunction to LinkedIn

What roles are recruiters looking to fill?

• 39% looking to fill executive or upper management roles
• 77% looking to fill other management roles
• 36% looking to fill non-managerial hourly employees
• 82% looking to fill non-managerial salaried roles

How are recruiters using social media?

• 58% are sourcing applicants
• 49% are posting job opportunities

Why do recruiters use social media?

• 84% to recruit candidates who might not otherwise apply
• 67% to save money
• 54% to target a specific job level
• 60% to increase the company’s brand recognition
• 52% to target a specific skill set

How can you find a job using social media?

• Make a good impression — people look at your profile for an average of less than 6 seconds
• Use keywords in your social media profiles
• Try other sites like about.me, Prezi.com, and Jobzey.com
• Follow recruiters on Twitter; @electra, @Fishdogs, and @smheadhunter are good ones (so is @HeatherHuhman, founder of Come Recommended!)

Set Goals and Objectives: If there is a bright side to your situation, it’s easier to get a job if you already have one. This means that if you are in a job you hate, you’re in a better position to get something better. Set a goal every week for sending out x number of resumes and attending a networking event or job fair. Such actions will help you to see a light at the end of the tunnel (which won’t be New Jersey).

Time for One’s Self: If you are overscheduled and harassed, you’ll be making a bad thing worse. It is vital to set some time aside each day, particularly before heading into work. It’s also helpful to engage in some activity that brings a smile to your face, whether it’s reading the latest Facebook posts, treating yourself to a favorite snack, or playing your favorite music on the stereo.

Create Diversions: If possible, fill your workspace and/or your day with small diversions. For example, an inside sales representative who sometimes dislikes making “cold calls” to prospective clients might bring a joke book to work and make it a point to read something funny before picking up the phone. It made a great deal of difference when it came to talk to people.

Learn New Tricks: If you don’t have the job you want, it may be due to a lack of skills and/or knowledge. Fortunately, this is highly curable. It’s never too late to learn something new that may make you more marketable when a new and better opportunity comes along. Are $$$’s in short supply? Is free better? The Internet has a treasure-trove of free seminars and webinars to help you build your education. Also, make use of your local library. Many carry new how-to DVD’s relative to improving your personal and professional skills (i.e. coaching yourself to success, dealing with management issues, and time management).

Decompression: Failing to “blow off steam” and letting frustrations build up can be dangerous not only to yourself but to others as well. Continuous physical exercise is a great tension reliever, obviously, but also don’t overlook fun activities such as softball, bowling, and dancing. Or, a leisure walk at a local park can go a long way towards depressurizing and maintaining a positive outlook.

Keep on Keepin’ On: Anything worth doing at all is worth doing well – even if it’s something you hate. Not only will this give you a sense of accomplishment and pride in yourself, it can also help you down the road should you need a reference.

Let’s face it: job interviews are stressful. It’s nerve-wracking to be in such a high-pressure situation with someone you don’t even know! You may be afraid of making a mistake, but that’s normal. Luckily, CareerBliss has come up with a nifty 10 ways to calm pre-interview jitters. 

“Anxiety and jitters come from not knowing what is going to happen — basically, fear of the unknown,” said Katherine Walker, Founder and Executive Director of Lifetime Behavioral Health, to CareerBliss.

Here are my top five quick fixes for those last few minutes before a big interview:

1. “Breathe slowly 10 times”

Deep breathing is a known stress reliever for nearly any rough situation. Walker says you need about 10 slow, deep breathes to calm your nerves. Breathe in through the nose and fill your longs, then breathe out through your mouth to release jitters.

2. “Release muscle tension”

Try a progressive muscle relaxation, says Walker. Tense your entire body and then relax each part one by one, starting with your toes and moving all the way to the top of your head. Your focus will be on relaxation, not your nerves.

3. “Visualize success”

This one’s my favorite — visualizing success in any challenge you face, even a job interview, can help you believe in yourself. If you don’t think you can get the job, you probably won’t. Visualize yourself blowing your interview out of the water and sitting at that desk as the new hire.  Confidence is key.

4. “Smile”

Smiling signals happiness to your body — even during times of stress. Calm yourself and simply smile to lift your spirits and ease your nerves. Even if you’re not really happy, a smile can help you feel like the next best thing.

5. “Avoid coffee”

Most of us rely on coffee to keep us awake during the day, myself included. But when it comes to pre-interview nerves, coffee is best avoided. A cup of java will actually make you jittery because of the caffeine. Instead, chew a piece of gum to help make you more alert (just remember to spit it out before your interview).

If all else fails: see “How To: Recover From Interview Blunders.”

Published on Come Recommended | shared via feedly mobile

Salary negotiations can be the most awkward part of the hiring process. It’s a sensitive subject to discuss during an already very sensitive time. So how do you do it?

In a recent Harvard Business Review blog post, Amy Gallo provided tips from experts on how to negotiate your next salary.

Here are some of her tips:

Do your research. Salaries are set based on what the company is currently paying people in similar positions. There are also industry standards to consider. “Information is power in negotiation so the more you know about these data points the better,” said Gallo. Utilize websites like salary.com, vault.com and payscale.com for more information on average salary for certain positions. Also, remember that you can reach out to professional contacts to pick their brains on the topic. Instead of asking exactly what a friend or contact makes, you can say something like, “What do you think the organization would pay for this position?” Asking that question can help you compile some data and prepare you for your negotiation.

What to do when the offer is too low. When you receive a salary offer that you feel is too low, you’re allowed to disagree!  It’s okay to show that you’ve done some research and just want to make sure you aren’t being paid too little for what you bring to the company. Take this as an opportunity to remind the company of the experience that you bring to the table. Keep in mind that most employers assume you will negotiate on some aspect of the job.

Focus on “we.” Remember at this point in the process, the company already wants you; you’re just figuring out details of your employment. It’s important to not just give a list of demands. Make sure you remain positive and not too pushy. Be open to what they have to say and try to incorporate what they want into your list of needs so everyone wins. “The key is to know what you care most about—whether it be money or other aspects of the job offer – and stick to those points,” said Gallo.

There is much more to the new program than just hiring vets. Disney will hold career fairs, offer training and volunteer opportunities.

And don’t think you have to head to Orlando just to work at Disney. The company owns ESPN and ABC. Here is a full list of the companies in the Disney family.

Want to make your dreams come true? Check out the Disney Careers website.

Link to website:
Disney looking to hire veterans