Monthly Archives: February 2012

5 Reasons Graduate School Might Be Your Answer

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Enrolling in a graduate school program can require a significant investment of time and money, and that can give many prospective students pause. While it may not be for everyone, there are situations in which a graduate degree program makes sense. Below are five scenarios in which earning another degree could make a very tangible difference in your personal and career endeavors.

Pursuing a promotion

Most workers may want to be promoted in their jobs, but when you find yourself looking for a very specific promotion, a lack of experience or education might be an obstacle. Graduate school can give your resume the boost you need to put yourself in a better position for that promotion.

If you’re considering earning a masters degree to improve your chances of a promotion, do some research first. Find out which degree programs would best benefit your future career goals, and make sure you are pursuing a degree that’s in line with the promotion you want to receive so you don’t waste your time or money.

You can’t land a job in your field

A graduate degree doesn’t guarantee you a new job, but if you’re having trouble landing a job in your field, and you lack graduate training, you might find that returning to school could help. Bachelor’s degrees are becoming the norm in many industries, which means a graduate degree may be what you need to help you stand out from the crowd.

You want more knowledge

Learning is a lifelong experience, and enrolling in classes can give you the knowledge you need for your career, as well as satisfy your natural curiosity about the world. Committing to a graduate degree program can give you the chance to learn more about your profession, add credentials to your resume, and interact with your peers.

You need a challenge

Earning a graduate degree can also be a personal growth experience. Graduate programs will give you the challenge to learn a deep level of knowledge about one particular area, rather than the more broad type of training you received as part of your undergraduate degree. The deeper challenge of the courses in a graduate program can teach you to push yourself further, aiding your personal growth.

You need more experience

Lack of experience can make it challenging to get a job or land a promotion in the job you have. Graduate school actually gives you a platform to get that training; in addition to the academic challenges, you can interact with new people, get hands-on experience on real-world projects and learn to use technology. The experience of going back to school might also help you become a well-rounded candidate for a job or promotion.

These are real-world scenarios where graduate school can make a difference. No matter where you are in your career, if you’re finding it difficult to attain your goals, more training may be the answer. By broadening your experience and your education, you can open the door to new opportunities and challenges in your future.

The Top 5 Things to do With Your English Degree

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  1. Roll it up and use it as a telescope to spy on your successful neighbors.
  2. Print a fake MBA on the back of it.
  3. Sweep piles of dirt onto it when you can’t find your dust pan.
  4. Forget where you put it.
  5. Arts and crafts: origami, sketches of your empty studio apartment, paper airplanes, etc.

Or, if you are in the mood to be demoralized, you can use it to apply to jobs.  However, this is not recommended, as most English majors are very sensitive and do not take rejection very well.

I would know; I am one.

It was a long, grueling nine months after graduating with a degree in English before I finally landed a real job.  And you can bet that it wasn’t for lack of trying — though I started with jobs I thought I’d have a shot at, like editor, copywriter, content manager, I quickly branched out into every field I found an opening in, from landscaping to locksmithing.

Dusk to dawn I was browsing classified ads and tweaking and submitting cover letters and résumés, always trying to coin the perfect phrase to catch a recruiter’s eye and give me the advantage.  It should have been a breeze, right? After all, language was my specialty.

But day after I day I sat in front of my computer with my phone on my desk, waiting for an email or phone call.  None came.  Not one.  For nine months.  By the time I actually got a response, it was amazing I had any self-esteem or willpower left at all.

Since that time I have moved on to other positions with other companies, and have had much greater success than during my first round of job hunting right after college.  And the job, while important for restoring my sense of self-worth and giving me minimal “real-world experience” was not the reason for my success, either.

Rather, I found that it was my approach to the job search that needed to change, and furthermore that I wasn’t really aligned with my interests in a way that would ever prove productive.

For all my fellow English majors and graduates, here is a brief crash course — built out of my first-hand experience and success — to applying for a job:

Go Beyond the Résumé

A great résumé might tip the scale in your favor when the decision is between you and another candidate, but at the end of the day, a résumé — even a great one — is just that.  It’s only a piece of paper, and won’t effectively communicate to your potential employers why they should hire you instead of some other, probably equally qualified candidate.

Applying to jobs is a personality game, one that hinges on subtly persuasive and impressive communication.  The good news is that you just graduated from a degree plan that taught you those skills exactly.  So use them to your advantage.

Any given job will have hundreds, maybe thousands of applicants.  Go above and beyond what an employer would expect to distinguish yourself from the rest:

  • Call the company directly and try to make an appointment with the hiring manager.
  • Walk into the office of the company you’re applying for and chat with the manager there, if time permits, making sure to tell her very clearly what your reasons are for applying to that company or that field.
  • Always be friendly, courteous, and knowledgeable; make them remember you by being the best.
  • Do ten times the research other applicants will do.  Know everything there is to know about the company, and more importantly, its employees, and then try to find intersecting interests and beliefs — and then talk about them.

Tactics like these will emphasize your personality and compatibility with the office (which are two essential qualities of a great candidate) before you even have an interview.

Doing research will also make you stand out when you do get an interview.  Little things like knowing when the company was founded, or that the CEO loves dachshunds could make or break your application.

Deepen Your Résumé

This has as much to do with what is on that piece of paper as what is within your heart.  Often English majors are unable to find a job because they haven’t figured out their real interests and consequently haven’t done much outside of school.

While you are searching for a job:

  • Volunteer.  Find an organization whose mission you are naturally drawn to and are aligned with and then volunteer with them.  Volunteering not only looks great on your résumé, it also will help shape you as a person, and will speed up the process of finding out what you truly enjoy.  Plus, you will meet people while volunteering who will help you get a job by connecting and recommending you to others.
  • Get certified.  If there is a certification process you can undertake for one of your hobbies, do it.  Being certified might not mean much, but it certainly reflects that you are passionate enough in your trade to get certified, and that speaks volumes.
  • Join communities.  Another way to deepen your résumé is to join organizations, societies, or clubs that are related to your interests or dream career.  Involve yourself with the community, and you might even circumvent the job search process, just by being in the right place at the right time.

It takes work and time to get a job, but if you want to be successful and happy, you’re going to have to do more than just write a perfect résumé and sit at home submitting applications online.  Get out into the world and connect with people, use your highly developed communication skills, and the right job will find you.

By-line:

This guest post is contributed by Lauren Bailey, who regularly writes for accredited online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: blauren99 @gmail.com.

 

Grad School as Part of Your Professional Development

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In today’s cutthroat job market, professional development is essential to success. Professionals cannot sit back and hope their careers will develop on their own; they have to look constantly for new ways to improve their skills and progress in the industry. One of the many resources available to do this is graduate training. As a professional development tool, grad school is a crucial component to positioning yourself as an expert in your field.

Opening career opportunities

While earning a graduate degree cannot promise you a future job, some fields require graduate training before you begin your career. Counseling programs, medical fields and other technical careers are not usually options without graduate school. If one of these areas is your career of choice, a degree is essential to being able to work in the field.

Offering a chance for evaluation

One of the ways graduate school enables you to further your professional development is through evaluation. Other professional development opportunities, such as seminars and networking venues, allow no opportunity for evaluation. When you are pursuing a traditional or online master degree, evaluation is naturally built into the program, since you are graded for your efforts. As you work toward your degree, you are also given the opportunity to evaluate your skills and your retention of the information you learn. Perform well, and you can add your high scores to your resume or refer to them in your next job interview.

Increasing your professional prospects

Professional development depends largely on building professional networks, and the right graduate programs can give you a platform to grow those networks. Not only can returning to school give you the opportunity to build relationships with professors who may have industry insight and connections, but it can also help you build relationships with your classmates. If you maintain these relationships, you can collaborate on future work projects, draw ideas from them when you are in your career, or receive job leads if you are between positions. Using professional social networks like LinkedIn and Monster’s BeKnown can also be a way to connect with classmates and colleagues.

Updating your skills

If you’ve been in the industry for a while, one aspect of professional development you may need is an update to your skills. Technology is advancing more quickly than most of us could have imagined, and it’s easy to fall behind, especially if you do not use technology skills daily in your current job.

Grad school, especially if you attend a program that has a campus you can utilize, puts you in contact with the latest technology, and you can use this training to update your job skills. You may even receive specific instruction on the technological advances you have missed over the years. An advanced degree can improve skills in other areas as well outside of technology, such as providing instruction on new research in your field or teaching new strategies to employ in your work.

If you have been toying with the idea of going back to school, remember graduate training offers more than just a degree. It is a crucial component of your professional development. By pursuing further education, you just might open the door to future career success.

Interview with A Marine Biologist

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This is the career as told to JustJobs.com. This site houses thousands of job listings from companies across the United States. If you have considered a career in the science and wildlife industry, read on to learn what the job is really like from this Marine Biologist. Visit JustJobs to find your dream job today.

What is your job title and what industry do you work in? How many years of experience do you have in this field?

My title is “marine wildlife rescue worker” and I work in the marine biology field. I have about 15 years now of experience in this field.

Is there anything unique about your situation that readers should know when considering your experiences or accomplishments?

My desire to become a marine biologist began when I went to Sea World with my parents. I decided then and there that I wanted to work with dolphins and whales when I grew up. Little did I know that only a small majority of people ever get to work with dolphins and whales! I lived in a land locked state, but when I was a teen, my mother re-married and we moved to Virginia. My life changed because I could go to the sea shore often. I was able to see the dolphins and the whales that often swam along the shore. I knew then that I wanted to become a marine biologist even if I didn’t get to train dolphins and whales.

 How would you describe what you do? What does your work entail? Are there any common misunderstandings you want to correct about what you do?

Right now, I work with a wildlife rescue team assigned to one of the local aquariums. We get called out when marine life gets stranded on the beach. We can either help the animal get back to the sea, or we can take the animal to the aquarium for rehabilitation if the animal is injured. My work entails fund raising, talking to groups about wildlife education, and attending late night rescue attempts on the beach! I do not “talk” to dolphins, I do not know Spongebob personally and I do not work at Sea World!

* Why do you get up and go to work each day? Can you give an example of something that really made you feel good or proud?

I get up and go to work every day because I love what I do! Marine biologists do not get paid very well, especially considering all of the education we need to have to get a job. If I didn’t love what I do, I wouldn’t be doing it. One of the things that makes me most proud is to share my love of biology with the volunteers that I work with. It is exciting when we all work together to save a stranded or injured animal. It is at moments like that when I realize exactly how much I love my job. If I began to tell you about all the things I’ve done that made me feel good or proud, this interview would probably last a really, really long time!

How stressful is your job? Are you able to maintain a comfortable or healthy work-life balance?

My job can be stressful at times. Certainly, it can be stressful trying to help an injured animal, especially when the people that you are working with are inexperienced and stressed out themselves. However, most of the time my job is pretty low key. I am able to maintain a comfortable work-life balance most of the time. Of course, there are times when it seems that a lot of things happen at once and I seem to spend most of my days at work. These times are far and few in between.

 What’s a rough salary range for the position you hold? Are you paid enough and/or happy living within your means?

A rough salary is pretty much around $40,000 a year. When you consider that you need at least a master’s degree to work in the field, that is pretty low. Of course, a lot depends upon where you work and how much education you have. I know people with PhD degrees that are making as much money as I am making, though. In other words, you should not become a marine biologist if money is very important to you. I am happy living within my means most of the time. I get to travel with my job and meet many interesting people. I couldn’t do that otherwise. Besides, I’d rather be doing something I love than to make a lot of money doing something I hate doing. Most of my co-workers tend to feel the same way.

* What education and skills do you need to get hired and succeed in this field?

You will need at least a master’s degree in marine biology in order to be successful in this field. While you can get a bachelor’s degree in marine biology, most people I know didn’t do that. I majored in biology during my undergraduate years. That was basically at the suggestion of my mother who felt that a bachelor’s degree in marine biology was too specialized. I got a master’s degree in Marine Biology. I decided I wanted to work in the field instead of doing research or teaching. That is why I did not go on to get a PhD.

If you could write your own ticket, what would you like to be doing in five years?

That is a really good question! Frankly, I am wondering what I will be doing in five years. I’m getting older and although I am in great health at this point, I wonder how many more years I will be able to go on wildlife rescue missions. I could see that there will be a point in my career where I just am not physically able to participate because it is a hands on sort of experience. For that reason, I think I should consider making plans for the future. I suppose that is because I really, really enjoy what I’m doing now. I guess that means I hope to be doing what I’m doing now in five years.

What would you tell a friend considering your line of work?

If I knew a friend who was considering my line of work, I’d encourage them to follow their dreams. I am so glad I chose to become a marine biologist!

Will a Disability Hinder Me in the Job Search?

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Finding a job in today’s challenging job market and struggling economy can be quite a chore. Now imagine the issues that a disability can potentially bring to one’s job search.

In the event you have a disability and are wondering how your job hunt will unfold, rest assured that there are federal, state and local laws in place to protect you and others from being discriminated against.

That being said, there are still countless disabled individuals who are struggling to find work, albeit the numbers show that problem has been lessening to a degree.

According to a recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for the 27 million U.S. residents 16 and older facing disabilities dropped to 13.5% in December of last year, a decrease from 14.3 percent in December of 2010.

While those numbers do show improvements, there are still challenges that can hinder disabled individuals as they look for a job.

One of the first issues a disabled person must make when job hunting is whether or not to let the prospective employer know about their disability.

Among the options:

  • You can try and hide it if it is not readily noticeable;
  • Inform the employer ahead of time that you have a disability;
  • Show up for an interview with a noticeable disability and see what kind of reaction you get from the employer.

In breaking down those three options, let’s take a look at each:

  • If you try to disguise the disability, is it something that you can mask for eight hours a day or whatever the amount of your shift is? Could it show up at some point during the work day, thereby leading you and your employer to have a discussion over it as to why you never mentioned it in the first place?
  • If you let the employer know ahead of time that you have a disability, could it harm your chances of otherwise getting the position? While laws are in place to protect people with disabilities, some employers will look at person’s disability as an issue, finding some other reason to disqualify them from the position.
  • If you are in a wheelchair, walk with a cane or have some other disability and go to the interview, are you setting yourself up for a potential letdown? You’ve done nothing wrong and are in many cases just as qualified as the next person for the job, but the employer may be taken aback by the disability.

While many businesses have had to make sure there are offices are handicap-friendly, not all have followed through on such directives.

If you are in a wheelchair, is there adequate entry to and from the building you would be working in? Can you easily access everything inside the office in order to meet the responsibilities of your job? If the employer does not meet such needs, will you contest that during your interview and/or make a complaint regarding local ordinances?

Another issue for those with disabilities is the matter of  insurance and benefits.

In the event you are receiving Social Security/SSI or some other form of assistance due to your disability, you could end up losing it in the event you make too much money by being employed. The flip side is you could be making money at work while not enough to meet your medical costs.

For those with disabilities, make sure your rights are enforced; you apply for any and all jobs you are qualified for, and take advantage of the opportunities presented you.
Dave Thomas, who covers among other items obtaining small business loans, writes extensively for Business.com, an online resource destination for businesses of all sizes to research, find, and compare the products and services they need to run their businesses.

My Career in Business Administration

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This is a true story as told to LatPro.com.  Read on to see the ups and downs you can expect in the position as a contracted employee, what it takes to land the job, what you can expect to earn and more.

 

I’m a contract administrator for a major nuclear power plant that’s under the U.S. Department of Energy, but I’m not a direct employee. I work for a staffing company that the power plant employs. The staffing company hired me for the plant’s expansion project. I’ve been a contract employee for various projects throughout the U.S. since 2003. From 1977 to 2003, I worked as a buyer, contract administrator and purchasing manager for large manufacturing companies.

Many people have the misconception that purchasing always means buying widgets. I’ve bought millions of widgets in my career, but in this job, I buy construction services. I negotiate with construction subcontractors to get the best price and terms. Then I write an ironclad contract and make sure that the subcontractors follow through as promised.

On a scale of one to 10, I would rate my job satisfaction as a six. There are three primary reasons that it’s not higher. First is my unique situation as a contract employee and the lack of job security that goes with it. Although I’ve had no serious employment gaps, at the end of each contract, I must shop for another job. Second, this assignment isn’t close to my wife and children. Since it’s a temporary position, it wouldn’t make sense for us to move here. Third, my present position doesn’t involve strategic sourcing. This job involves the tactical, operations side of supply management rather than strategic process improvement.

My current job doesn’t particularly move my heart, although I’m extremely proud of this plant’s strong focus on safety. A previous contract position involved negotiating contracts on the travel trailers that housed survivors of Hurricane Katrina, and that did move my heart. As far as a true calling, I’ve always wanted to start my own business, but there’s no way I could quit my day job with young children at home.

I got started in procurement a few years after I graduated from college with a business administration degree. After graduation, I had trouble finding a job in my field, so I worked as a machinist at a major aircraft manufacturer. When a position as a buyer opened up, I got the job. The main thing I would do differently is to start my own business when I was young and could live cheaply.

I’ve learned quite a few things the hard way, but the main thing I’ve learned as a contract employee is to make sure I know my boundaries on each job because it varies from place to place. One of the main boundaries is the dollar amount that I can spend without getting authorization from my boss. In previous jobs, the amount has been in the millions, but that’s not the case here. One day, I was particularly stressed, thinking about something else, and I exceeded my limit. I found out the hard way that the manager has a zero-tolerance policy on this, so he fired me. Fortunately, one of the other managers had really liked my work, thought the firing was an overreaction and hired me to work for her. That episode also qualifies as the strangest thing that’s ever happened to me here. One day, I was in a panic over being fired, and a week later, I was walking back into the same building.

When thinking about what motivates me to get up every morning and go to work, two things come to mind. The most obvious is that my family couldn’t survive without my income. I also have an internal drive to the do the best job I can. On this job, my manager has said several things that have made me proud and backed them up with actions. In December, the majority of the contract employees on this project got laid off now that construction is almost complete. My boss selected me as one of the few to remain for the closeout process.

The main thing that makes me want to tear my hair out is when too many people are let go during a layoff. Since December, I’ve been doing the work of about three people. Even before December, my job was fairly stressful, and I was working at least 10 hours a day. It’s been fairly difficult on this job to maintain a good balance between work and leisure time.

My salary is $100,000 per year, but I’ve made as much as $140,000 per year as a contract employee. Since the nuclear plant is in the government sector, I’m reimbursed dollar-for-dollar for my living expenses. When I had a contract position with a large construction company in private industry, I was given a lump sum to spend however I saw fit. I got two roommates and a cheap apartment, so my income ended up being $140,000 during that project. Some singles who don’t maintain a separate household are able to save a fantastic amount of money. The tradeoff is that there’s no vacation.

A bachelor’s degree in business administration is usually required to work in this field, and now there are even degrees in supply chain management. I’ve recommended working as a contract employee to several of my friends who have been having trouble finding permanent employment. The hiring has been very strong, even through this recession.

 

What to Do When You Haven’t Done a Lot

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After completing your bachelor’s degree you may be ready to head out into the job market and get started on your career, but these days that might not be the best option. With so many qualified people out of work, a standard college education may not be enough to convince employers to choose you over candidates with real-world experience. Even entry-level positions at reputable companies seem to be in high demand, making finding a decent job seem like an impossible task.

A slowly improving economy is the perfect time to do some things that will make you stand out as a potential hire. First, consider volunteer work in a field close to the one you want to find a job in. While unpaid, these types of positions will provide you with a great set of skills and will look terrific on a resume. You can also search out internships in your field, which can often provide the exact type of experience your future employers will be looking for.

Of course, the best option may be to put off your job search and go back to school. An advanced degree, like an MBA, can make you a better candidate for many introductory jobs, and could even allow you to bypass entry-level opportunities and start off your career in management. These types of degrees are in high demand as more and more people are entering the workforce with bachelor’s degrees, and those who put in the extra effort to get an advanced degree should be rewarded by the little difficulty they have in getting a job. In fact, the only real drawback to an advanced degree is the amount of time it takes to earn one.

With the explosion of online learning over the past few years, the process of getting an advanced degree has been made easier than ever. There are numerous accredited schools offering online MBA programs that can provide you with the skills and experience needed in today’s business world.

Best of all, an online degree program like the online mba program can be completed while you volunteer or work as an intern. Since most online programs are available at odd hours to accommodate various schedules, you won’t have to turn away career advancing opportunities while you earn your advanced degree.

These days, there may be no way to ensure that you’ll be able to find a job right out of college. A bachelor’s degree doesn’t hold the luster it once did, and with so many qualified applicants out there, finding a job may take a bit of luck. However, with just a little ingenuity and a desire to better yourself, you can spend your time after college getting real-world experience while, at the same time, achieving an advanced education that is certain to pay dividends in the long run.

Controlling Your Interview

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Aaron McDaniel (aka “Mr. Business”) is the author of the Young Professional’s Edge blog (YP Edge). He is a corporate director, entrepreneur, public speaker, community volunteer and avid world traveler. Aaron has experience in sales, customer care, marketing, operations, strategy and business development and has managed over 110 different direct reports and organizations as large as 60 at a Fortune 50 company; being appointed Regional Vice President while founding multiple entrepreneurial ventures and a non-profit all before the age of 28. Read more from Aaron at http://ypedge.com and follow him on Twitter: @MrBiz

The key to great interviewing is to have a solid answer to every question your interviewer asks and then to ask poignant questions at the end of the interview, right?  WRONG.

Many young professionals inevitably have suboptimal interviewers because they approach the interview process from the wrong angle.  A good interview is based on a strong offensive game plan, not the ability to defensively field questions.

The first step in your offensive interview plan should be to find out as much about the position you are applying for as possible.  What are the job responsibilities, what makes someone in the position successful? Talk with people from the company beforehand if possible.  Another offensive strategy is to ask your interviewer this early on in the interview itself, get their answer of what traits they are looking for, and find a way to incorporate the traits they are looking for into your answers to their questions.

After you have done your background check on the company, the job and the interviewer (if possible), map out what you want to communicate to the hiring manager.  List out all the characteristics, skills and experiences you want to make sure to reference in your answers to their questions. Make sure they fit. Even though your experience doing portfolio analysis for a financial advisor is solid, you may want to key in on other experiences and traits if you are applying for a marketing position. Some important traits to always make sure to reference are: your leadership abilities (make them see you are a leader in all that you get involved in) and your flexibility (to be successful in almost any company you need to be able to adapt. Interviewers understand the importance of this and always want to see this in candidates they hire).

During the interview, as you are asked questions, make sure to reference experiences that help highlight the traits you wanted to communicate. Note: it may be hard to fit in all the characteristics from your plan into your answers. NEVER FEAR! The best kept secret in an interview is to take control when the interviewer gives you the floor to ask questions. Instead of delving into a generic set of questions say something like, “before I go into the questions I have there are a couple of experiences that I was not able to address in the answers to your questions. Let me briefly talk with you about them.” Then you can mention the traits off your list that you didn’t address yet. This will ensure you communicate everything you wanted to the interviewer.

Sounds like a great plan right? But wait, you are probably thinking, “how am I supposed to remember all of these traits I want to mention and supporting stories?  I will get them all mixed up!” Don’t worry there is an easy solution for that.  Always bring a pad of paper in your portfolio folder to the interview (along with a few freshly printed copies of your resume, of course).  Beforehand, write down all the items you want to address during the interviewer in bullet points (on in whatever form works for you), then at the beginning of the interview ask the interviewer if it is ok that you take notes.  This not only (1) allows you to reference your notes as you talk, but it does so while (2) making the interviewer think you are very engaged in the interviewer and extremely interested in the position.

Interviewers are not as hard as having to reprogram all your phone numbers back in your cell phone (for those who have every lost theirs before), but the results WILL be MUCH BETTER if you remember to be on the offensive during your interviewers.