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Bring It Up to Date – 6 Resume’ Reminders

There is nothing worse than sitting down after four years and trying to reconstruct the work you’ve done, courses you’ve taken and awards received in order to write or bring your resume’ up to date.   April is the perfect time to review or initiate a resume’.   With summer employment possibilities or first job opportunities, now is the time to get it done.  Consider your resume or athlete profile as a “work in progress” and keep it updated regularly.  Have you recently added….

  • Courses or Special Classes for Training
  • Conferences (as an Attendee or Presenter)
  • Athletic Showcases or Camps
  • Publications you have written
  • Scores on National Exams or most recent GPA
  • Awards or Recognitions

Students, employees, employers and stay-at-home parents who may one day re-enter the workforce all need to pay attention to their profile or resume’ and bring it up to date.   In addition to keeping it current, be sure that the presentation of material highlights the most current or relevant information for the position you are targeting.  If you were doing the hiring, what makes you look like the best candidate for the job?  Need help with writing a targeted resume’?  Contact me.

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Mapping a Summer Plan

Whether your summer begins May 7th , June 4th or June 25th, the landslide of summer workers/participants will hit in full force.  You need to be prepared to submit applications and do interviews before everyone else.  So work backwards.  Identify your target date for starting work and work backward with your plan.  You will need time for interviews, phone calls, application completion, Internet or local searches and networking.  That means you start now mapping a summer plan.

There are some terrific web tools for identifying summer employers as well as tips for effective interviews.  Here are just a few:

www.quintcareers.com                Great for searching College Internship Opportunities

www.getthatgig.com                     Opportunities for students 16-21 years

www.teenjobsection.com          Interactive map of opportunities across the country

www.snagajob.com                       Getting and making the most of your job

The important thing about starting now is you begin looking at the opportunities.  And opportunities do not apply only to work.  Opportunities may refer to athletic team participation, experiences or internships.  What would you like to do?  Are there jobs/opportunities you are particularly interested in doing and things you just would not consider?  What transportation barriers exist or what options are available if a good opportunity presents itself?  How many hours a day will you be available to work/play/volunteer?  Is summer class part of the equation when figuring schedules for work?  Different employers will embrace your availability as a summer worker and as a student working to get ahead.  Others may find value in your performance and embrace the opportunity that you may be available for the next few seasons.  The here and now impacts tomorrow!

By starting your search now, you have some time to explore options and activate a network.  Just like business people network to expand and strengthen their own client base, students can network to find great summer opportunities through parents, relatives and family friends.  Now is the time to get started!

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2 Points to Ponder – Investment vs. Return

Investment vs. Return is not just about financial planning, it also addresses the impact of your educational investment and return on those dollars.   About a week ago there was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal, “Reid Hoffman: Searching for Breakout Ideas,” with great questions and answers.  One of my favorites was a question about how people see themselves in their careers.  Hoffman responded with several statements, but most importantly he addressed the need for people to invest in themselves.

It is no wonder that Tom Rath’s book, StrengthsFinder 2.0, has been on the best seller list every single week since it was published in 2007.  People have been out of work or lost in their search for a career path, or they are looking for ways to move forward in a time when there are new rules for employment and jobs look different.   That’s why it is important to pay attention when he addresses the fact that Talent x Investment = Strength.  This applies to students as well as those already in the workforce.

Investment vs. Return is now about investing in you for your own future return.   What can you do for yourself now to position your self better in the future?   What or how much are you willing to invest for a positive return?  This is a call to action.  What will you do?  For help with your plan……take action….click here.

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4 Considerations to Evaluate Your Needs

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. ”  – Mark Twain

Whether you are a high school student or a college student, you are on a path that can provide enormous opportunity and create background experiences that set you up for success.  So, as part of the plan, begin by evaluating your needs.

As a student, there are four “needs” to consider when planning your summer.  Keep in mind, your plan may include parallel paths to meet these needs.

1. Financial Need – Do you need to make money for spending cash or are you in need of making money to be able to make expenses when you return to school?  Do you need to make money to pay for college?  If “financial need” is a primary concern for your summer, then getting started on your pursuit of summer employment is an immediate need given the competition that will be out there.

2. Experience Need – Experience presents itself in many forms.  It can be an internship, externship, or participation with an organization.  Internships may be with or without pay, but the big payoff is experience with a company that can build toward future employment with them or at least the benefit of learning what you do or don’t want to do in your future.  Participation with an organization may be in the form of an athletic team that helps you build skills and stats toward college or professional opportunities.  Either way, the experience is your primary need and may result in a great reference.

3. Volunteer Need – This one is of particular importance to high school students but should not be dismissed by the college student.  Volunteering speaks to your character.  Many high schools require community service as part of their graduation requirements.  Universities look at volunteerism as one element of consideration when admitting students.  Companies look at your community service as an outreach and a positive extension of their own business.  Assess your schedule and your need to increase volunteer capacity.

4. Education Need – Do you need to take summer courses?  Does your graduation date indicate that you are on track with completing your diploma or degree on-time?  Do you want to get ahead on your timeline?  Assessing your summer needs for education is something that needs to be done now so that you do not miss a course enrollment deadline.

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Planning – A Critical Factor in Student Loan Debt

Last week I listed 6 characteristics in considering a college or university.  The 6th factor was “Financial” considerations.  I truly do believe that it can’t be the first or even an initial limiting factor when students are considering lists of colleges.  But it has to become a factor eventually and can even be a positive if you know how to manage the parties involved.

Unfortunately, through a host of reasons, student loan debt has become astronomical.  Please, read this article and make note of the huge implications of choosing unwisely.  The implications are no longer just for the student.  Trends are indicating parents will carry a lot of the debt throughout their own retirement.  Click here for Bottom Line article.

So, by planning wisely and effectively choosing a college major, you can reduce your potential for extending a four year bachelor degree into a 6 year bachelor degree and/or a disappointing employment disaster into a marketable major.  Effective planning is not just about a financial plan.  It’s about how you plan to make a good college decision, how you spend your four years on that first degree, and about how your investment will pay for itself in the long run.  Need help?  Contact me.

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Planning for a “Great Fit” College Experience

Pick up a copy of US News College Rankings and the back section is usually filled with tips for making sure you get a good college fit.  Tune in to any chat with college students on collegeweeklive.com and you will again hear the importance of finding the right college fit.  It just makes sense, saves time, saves money, and saves the pain and effort of transfer.  Getting the right college fit can make all the difference in a great college experience.  So be sure you pay attention to these 6 characteristics.

  1. Academics – be sure the institution has the major area of study in which you have interest, ability and desire.
  2. Geographic Location – consider your need to be close or far from home, the travel costs, and climate, urban, suburban, and rural.
  3. Cultural – how do students dress, are religious preferences readily available, what about food or dietary options.
  4. Social – are there sporting event venues, theater, what about fraternities or sororities, availability of favorite hobbies like skiing, golf, and cycling or paint ball.
  5. Athletics – an opportunity for you to engage in your sport as a college athlete (www.collegesportstrack.com for excellent recruiting advisement) or the venues for you to be a fan
  6. Financial – is it affordable, what could make it affordable, what is the earning potential given the degree you are looking to attain, does it make the cost worth the investment

Plan ahead and evaluate all of the characteristics to ensure a “Great Fit” college experience.

 

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Understanding Your Abilities – Part II

The more we understand about our natural abilities, the better we can make effective choices that lead us toward satisfying and rewarding careers and lives in general.  Since abilities can be measured, it only makes sense that once we know what those numbers look like, that we are able to apply them to our daily lives both on the job and in our personal time.   When natural abilities are measured using the Highlands Ability Battery, a series of 19 tasks yield results that measure 21 separate areas and address Personal Style, Driving Abilities, and Specialized Abilities.

Personal Style addresses your comfort in interacting with others.  It also involves the kind of environment that you find most satisfying, the way you replenish your energy level and the level of stress you may feel in certain environments.  It helps to identify the size of organization that you would feel most comfortable and productive.

Driving Abilities have a strong impact on all of us.  They can be measured and help us to understand how we solve problems and the number of problems we enjoy solving in our daily work lives.  They also help us to identify whether we should be considering career directions that are more abstract or hands-on in their orientation as well as our communication strengths and challenges.

Finally, the Specialized Abilities help us to better understand how we take in information. They also provide further information to validate career directions as well as enhance our performance through strategies for learning.

Want to learn more about Natural Abilities,  your specific Natural Abilities and your career path?  Do you need help with identifying and writing an effective Goal Plan?  Contact me at marla@marlabrady.com.

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Goals and New Year’s Resolutions

Do you remember what your New Year’s Resolution was for 2011?  Did you follow through to achievement or abandon it somewhere between February and June like 90+ percent of the population?

If you were successful with your Resolution, chances are you wrote it down and had a plan like we talked about last week with SMART goals.  If you were not successful, why not?  What derailed you in the process?

Resolutions are like Goals.  They are a personal commitment to self improvement.   But in order to be a successful Resolution, it must be relevant to you and it must have a well defined foundation.  That foundation creates a structural support system so that you can take action and successfully achieve your Resolution and celebrate your success!  What a great feeling to achieve something that you have identified as important for your self improvement.

Remember this; work SMARTer, not necessarily harder in the New Year!  If you need help writing a SMART goal or developing a plan to support that goal, contact me.  Good luck, Happy New Year, and may 2012 bring you great success!

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Writing Goals is SMART

Writing goals is smart.  In fact, when we commit goals to written form we increase the odds of achievement by about 94 percent.  Why do you think all of those diet companies have you sign a contract with specific goals and time lines?  A written format works.

So here is the formula for effective goals:

S – Your goal must be specific.

M – Your goal must be measurable.

A – Your goal must be attainable.  Notice I didn’t say easy, but it must be within reason.

R – Your goal must be relevant.  It must be important to you.

T – Your goal must be timely.  It has to be measurable within a given time frame.

That’s it.  SMART goals are that easy.  Write them down according to the formula.

What goals are you serious about for the coming year?   Serious enough to be SMART and commit them to paper?

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Addressing Trends of Need

Throughout the year I try to address topics that are pertinent to the trends of people with whom I work while addressing issues that I think are important in general to all who are looking at career decisions.  There are two comments and a question I want to address as we enter the week of Thanksgiving.

Comment #1 – Community Service is an important part of the “Total Student Package” that I talk about, but it is also an important part of our strength as a nation.  I want to say thank you to all of the students who are giving back to their communities through volunteer efforts at food banks, shelters, camps, food drives, community clean ups, or the multitude of other forms of community service.  Thank you as well to all who give back and address the needs of others.

Comment #2 – Thank you for the many ways in which you have supported my Blog and employed me to work with you or your student to define a college or career path.  I am honored to have the opportunity and grateful for your trust.

Question – In an effort to address your trend of needs as I plan the topics ahead in 2012, what questions do you have that you would like me to address through a blog? Click here to submit your questions.