Resume Tips for the New Graduate

Courting your Career is a unique, easy-to-read book that draws parallels between the job search and dating rituals. By using real-life examples and anecdotes, you can relate to the perils of finding the right career position to dating situations to gain incredible insight.

With a touch of humor and a quite a bit of knowledge, author Shawn Graham imparts wisdom from his experience as an Associate Directors of the MBA Career Management Center at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. In Courting Your Career, Graham addresses everyday questions he fields everyday from job-seeking clients. His amusing anecdotes seek to help readers avoid similar mistakes to his clients by making familiar comparisons between searching for a job and finding the right partner in life. By using these provocative parallels, Graham offers valuable strategies for landing your dream job. By exposing the interpersonal nuances of the job search and how to develop these connections, Graham helps you achieve greater success in your job search. For example, Graham compares the close of an interview with the end of a date. While you don’t actually kiss the interviewer at the end, you should reaffirm your interest in the position (in the dating world “call me”) and inquire about the next steps in the interviewing process (in the dating world “when will I see you again”).

Courting Your Career is a lighthearted approach to a serious subject that can help shed light on subtle communications that can help you land the job of your dreams.

You did everything you needed to do to make a great impression at your job interview.  From an impressive resume to a suitable suit to impeccable manners, you feel that the job interviewer viewed you in a positive light.  Is there anything else you can do to ensure top consideration for your dream job?

Sending a follow-up letter after your interview is an important tool in your career search arsenal.  By sending a follow-up letter, you are reminding the job interviewer of your existence.  After all, the interviewer may be reviewing dozens or hundreds of resumes and people.  Your follow-up letter may be the simple reminder the interviewer needs to keep your name and face in the forefront of their thoughts.  Also, sending a follow-up letter after your interview gives you an opportunity to thank the interviewer for their time.  This shows your ability to appreciate the time constraints of your prospective employers as well as your sense of savvy with regard to proper business protocol and communication.  Sending a well-written, polite follow-up letter only takes a few minutes and can mean the difference between landing the job you want or being forgotten after you leave the job interview.

What Will Your Search Say About You?

You are ready to apply for that dream job and have everything you need from a stellar resume to a suitable suit. Although you may think you’ve covered all your bases, did you know that many employers Google potential employees to gather more information? Consider what your Google search might say about you before you leave for that big job interview.

Although the Internet can seem like a virtual playground, the information you share online is very real and can come back to haunt you down the road – such as during a major job interview. Start by Googling yourself to see what you come up with. Are you less than satisfied with the results? Do your best to eliminate your name from negative Google searches by updating your profiles on MySpace and FaceBook or deleting controversial blog entries that you would never want a prospective employer to read. Remember, even though you may have posted your entries for the benefit of friends and fun, your next employer may also have access to your questionable quips after a simple Google search. Make sure you land that dream job by Googling yourself before you go so you know you are presenting a positive image everywhere you go.

AmeriCorps is an opportunity to make a big difference in your life and in the lives of those around you. It’s a chance to apply your skills and ideals toward helping others and meeting critical needs in the community.

Each year, AmeriCorps offers 75,000 opportunities for adults of all ages and backgrounds to serve through a network of partnerships with local and national nonprofit groups. Whether your service makes a community safer, gives a child a second chance, or helps protect the environment, you’ll be getting things done through AmeriCorps!

AmeriCorps members address critical needs in communities all across America. As an AmeriCorps member, you can:

• Tutor and mentor disadvantaged youth
• Fight illiteracy
• Improve health services
• Build affordable housing
• Teach computer skills
• Clean parks and streams
• Manage or operate after-school programs
• Help communities respond to disasters
• Build organizational capacity

Benefits of Service

As an AmeriCorps member, you’ll gain new skills and experiences—and you’ll also find the tremendous satisfaction that comes from helping others. In addition, full-time members who complete their service earn a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $4,725 to pay for college, graduate school, or to pay back qualified student loans; members who serve part-time receive a partial Award. Some AmeriCorps members may also receive a modest living allowance during their term of service.

http://www.americorps.org

A new survey of the ‘Digital Generation’ has been launched today by workplace experts Career Innovation in partnership with AIESEC, the world’s largest student-run organization. The research will track people’s use of new technology, analyze their motivation and enable students to find out about careers that match their profile. It is based on young people’s increasing expectation that work should be fun as well as well-paid.“This survey will help us to see the technologies our members are using, and will show us how we need to evolve as an organization to keep up with the digital generation,” says Emanuel Gavert, Global Networks Manager from AIESEC International. “The results will also give us insight in attracting more technical students into AIESEC.”

Developed by research and technology firm Career Innovation, the Digital Generation Survey will assess people’s use of technology for learning, working and leisure. This will allow universities, employers and technology companies to monitor trends in technology and make predictions about the future world of work.

“It is hard to judge how social networking, interactive games and the increasing portability of technology will affect the way we work” commented Jonathan Winter, Founder of Career Innovation, “But we can be sure of one thing – wherever young people set the pace on technology issues, employers will have to follow. So it is vital that employers and technology providers watch these trends closely.”

The survey analyzes motivation by using models from the computer gaming industry. As a result, every respondent receives a personalized “fun profile” revealing where they get their energy, in work and leisure. It then provides example matches to specific jobs that might interest them, based on this profile.

By taking part participants will also be supporting two charities that help young people. Leading hotel group Marriott International has kindly agreed to donate $2 for every completed survey (up to the first 5,000 responses). Two IBLF charities will benefit equally: Youth Career Initiative and Digital Partnership.

The survey will be run amongst 25,000 AIESEC members across 100 countries during January and February 2008. The results are expected to be announced in Sao Paulo at the AIESEC International Congress, August 2008.

The Global Sponsors of the 2008 Digital Generation Survey are: Marriott International, UBS and Unilever.

Here’s a great post suggesting what not to include on your resume.

Applying for a new job comes with its fair share of rejections, setbacks, frustrations and perhaps even lonely periods of unemployment. If you’ve been turned down for position after position, you could be getting desperate and may want to shake things up a bit so that your résumé will stand out from the piles of others stacked quietly in HR. Before you decide to get too creative, there are some rules to résumé etiquette that you should follow. Read below for the 25 things that you should never include on a professional résumé.

Read the full post here.

Have you taken an online course? If the answer is no, chances are you will within one year. In fact, by early this year one in 10 college students is expected to enroll in an online degree program according to Eduventures, a research and consulting firm for the education industry. The Internet is revolutionizing the education world, making a high-quality education more accessible than ever. To help students connect with online education, eLearners.com, an EducationDynamics website, offers comprehensive resources and a community for prospective online learners, as well as listings for more than 2,500 online degrees and more than 6,000 online courses. By going to school online, people can get their degree without having to drive to class or follow a strict schedule. An online education allows them to study anywhere, anytime and at their own pace. Once they receive their degree, it usually results in financial rewards. According to economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, for each additional year of school completed, an individual’s earnings increase, on average, about 11 percent.

“Online learning has become a mainstream way to go back to college because it is a convenient way to achieve the education one needs to advance in their career,” said Terrence Thomas, Chief Marketing Officer for eLearners.com. “The question we at eLearners.com get most often is how to select the right online college and program from the thousands of offerings available.”

With online education being more a question of “when” versus “if” for prospective students, here are the top five considerations before selecting an online college:

1. Is the Online College Accredited?
The most important aspect any student should look into is accreditation. If a student receives an online degree from a non-accredited institution they may find that their degree is not recognized by some employers or that a course they took may not transfer to other institutions. Accreditation is a validation process, but unlike the practices of most other countries, the United States government does not ensure all online colleges are accredited. eLearners.com offers degrees from only accredited online universities and colleges.

2. What is the Credit Transfer Policy?
Every online college and university has a different credit transfer policy. It is important for students who already have earned some college credits to make sure they understand the credit transfer policy before beginning an online program. Check with the institution to clarify any questions about transfer requirements, so no surprises arise.

3. What are the Financial Aid Options?
When researching an online college it is important to look into the institution’s financial aid options. According to a 2003-04 report by the National Center for Education Statistics, 63 percent of all undergraduates receive some type of financial aid. Financial aid options include scholarships, work-study programs, grants, loans and loan-forgiveness programs. The eLearners.com Student Loans and Financial Aid Center includes the Debt-Free College Guide with more than 500 financing options and $15 billion in financial aid, as well as a loan buying guide.

4. Is Your Learning Style Suited for an Online Education?
Although an online education is the ideal way to learn for millions of people, it doesn’t fit everyone’s learning style. Before starting an online degree program it is important to make sure online learning is conducive to your lifestyle. eLearners.com has created the eLearners Advisor to help students determine if online learning is right for them. The Advisor is an assessment that through a series of targeted questions ranging from technology access and skills, to personal motivation and learning styles can help prospective elearners determine if online learning is right for them. The site is located at http://www.elearners.com/advisor/

5. Do you have Support from your Family and Employer?
In order for students to do their best academically, they need to have the backing of those closest to them. Make sure to talk about the impact of going to school and how things might be different around the house. In addition, it’s important for students to make sure they have buy-in from their employer and that their manager will support them if they spend their lunch hour catching up on a paper or answering a discussion question for their class.

“An online education suits millions of people perfectly, but like everything else thorough research must go into choosing an online college,” continued Thomas. “Getting an online degree is a decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly and one that will have a tremendous impact on a student’s life, likely improving their career, confidence and salary.”

For more information about online colleges, log onto http://www.elearners.com

About eLearners.com®
The eLearners.com website is one of several high visibility, high-quality prospecting tools offered by EducationDynamics, LLC. Since 1999, eLearners.com has been successfully connecting learners to online education, including online degree and certificate programs, specialized career training, and a variety of online courses. For prospective students, eLearners® provides a powerful search engine for users to find thousands of online degrees, as well as educational evaluation tools and financial aid resources. For colleges and universities, the eLearners.com website offers a low-cost, performance-based method to provide national exposure and increase enrollments in their programs. For more information on eLearners.com, visit http://www.elearners.com

About EducationDynamics
EducationDynamics, LLC, a portfolio company of Halyard Capital, is a leading interactive marketing and information services company focused on helping higher education institutions find, enroll and retain students. Through some of the most visible education websites, including EarnMyDegree.com, eLearners.com, GradSchools.com, and StudyAbroad.com, as well as its Internet marketing services team, EducationDynamics is one of the leading providers of qualified leads for colleges and universities. The company offers a full suite of web-delivered products and services to manage a school’s relationship with students across their entire life cycle from inquiry through enrollment to retention. For more information on EducationDynamics, please visit http://www.educationdynamics.com

Melissa Giovagnoli, President of Networlding, is giving the gift of a strong career start to recent graduates. Networlding’s “101 Ways to Networld” tips booklet. This valuable information will help young adults properly network for meaningful jobs, and can be delivered online at www.networlding.com.

Networlding’s goal is to help recent graduates learn how to network wisely and to reach the best place for them in the world of work. Melissa Giovagnoli believes there is a tremendous gap between the academic degrees that students earn, and the realities and support that graduates get when it’s time to actually go out and find a job. Many times they don’t know where to begin. Recent graduates, or students getting ready to graduate, can go to our site and sign up to receive our free book. The Networlding tips booklet is a $10 value, and will be highly beneficial to any student entering the workforce.

“I’m excited about helping young adults get their first jobs – getting a ‘smart start,’” says Giovagnoli. “With over 2 million students graduating with bachelors, associates, and graduate degrees each year who are entering the workforce, this offer can make a difference by providing a practical education in networking. If every student takes advantage of this offer—which we hope they do, the total value of our offering would exceed $20 million.”

Giovagnoli is the author and/or co-author of 11 books on networking and related subjects. “My intention is to build a community of learning and practice that will start with young adults new to the working world, but also will include lots of mentoring from top business leaders,” Giovagnoli says. For further information on Networlding programs, products and services, visit www.networlding.com.

About Networlding:
Networlding offers a seven-step networking system that accelerates goal achievement. Additionally, the unique, growing Networlding community enables its members to create successful professional relationships for business and career development, marketing and leadership growth. Networlding builds value-based networks that help grow businesses and careers that create a lifetime of success.

Barry Layne, leading career authority known as America’s Career Maker, releases an in house study on the top 15 reasons job seekers were knocked out of consideration during their 2007 job interviews.

• Poor personal appearance
• Over aggressive
• Inability to express self
• Lack of a career purpose
• Too passive
• Lack of confidence
• Evasive
• Condemnation of past employer
• Poor eye contact
• Limp handshake
• Late to interview
• Ask about money too soon
• Cynical
• Complaining
• Failure to express appreciation for interviewer’s time.

Barry Layne says, in a job interview, the interviewer is primarily interested in assessing three points about you: your competence, compatibility and your affordability. Hiring decisions are based not only on the interviewer’s rational analysis of your abilities, accomplishments and potential, but also upon the way he or she feels about you. Barry Layne concludes that the interviewer’s emotions play a very strong role in the hiring decision.Equally important is the manner in which you demonstrate your approach to problems. One way in which an interviewer will try to determine your attitude and problem-solving style is by asking questions of a sensitive or difficult nature.

Barry Layne finds in most cases, such questions are asked not to make one feel uncomfortable but to get information and to assess the compatibility with the hiring organization.

Barry Layne advises career management consulting firms throughout the US and Canada. Career management firms are not employment agencys. Their job is to guide clients through a process of career development; which often results in a promotion or new position. For more information contact 800-547-5112.

Many Americans take time to reflect on their lives while spending time with friends and family during the holiday season and it is traditionally popular to make resolutions for the coming New Year. A common resolution involves either career advancement or finding a new job. For those who haven’t looked for a new job in while, the many resources available today can seem a bit overwhelming- but it doesn’t have to be. The online employment community at Jobing.com has developed this guide to help those who will seek a new job in 2008. Probe. The first step is to take stock of your current employment situation and identify specific goals for yourself; do you want to look for a new job or go for a promotion at your current employer? What is it about your current situation that you want to change and why? Before engaging your time and energy, it is a good idea to identify a specific career goal for yourself.

Prioritize. After you’ve identified a specific career goal (or goals), it is important to decide what factors are the most important to you in your job search by thinking about common questions such as: are you simply looking to make more money or is salary negotiable? Are you ready to make the next move up the ladder in your career or is a lateral move more realistic? Are you willing to relocate- if not how far away are you willing to commute? Are you going to stay within your current industry or is it time for you to try something new? Identifying those things most important to you upfront will help guide your job search and keep you focused on those positions that seem to fit your priorities best.

Project. For many job seekers, projecting into the future is helpful in identifying steps needed in order to get where you want to be- envision the ideal position you’d like to be in. What do you want to be doing in 5 years? What is that dream job you’d like to have and what qualifications will you need to land it? Whether it is experience, education, or a promotion, there are a variety of factors that can influence your ability to land the ideal job in the future; identifying these factors will help make that dream job a reality.

Plan. You have your goals and priorities identified and now it’s time to outline your action plan. Is your resume updated? Do you have current references? What job search resources can you use to search for a new position? How much time can you devote to your search every week?

Persistence. Whatever resources you use or advice you receive, remember there is no “magic bullet,” no one single answer to finding the job you love. Your job search is a process that requires your passion, diligence and the flexibility to continue to improve your approach. Follow up interviews with thank you notes and network as much as possible to help you identify good opportunities.

For more information and job seeking advice, visit at www.jobing.com.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Local experts are available for interviews (including New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day), to share these tips and general job searching advice for people who are making resolutions to find a new job in 2008. Contact Joe Cockrell to schedule at (602) 516-5537.