COLLEGE EDGE & BEYOND!

College Edge: 10 GREAT PART-TIME JOBS FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS

2011-09-20T08:43:45-04:00

This great article posted in Kiplinger discusses some great ideas for part-time jobs for college students. The author states:

"Throughout college, I found myself torn between growing up and saving the whole “adult thing” for after graduation. One factor in this mental balancing act was working part-time. I needed the money, but I didn’t want a job to take up all of my free time.

Ultimately, with a bit of time management and the right attitude, a part-time job actually enhanced my college experience. I felt more in control of my finances -- and I didn’t have the guilt of spending my parents’ money on Friday and Saturday nights. I also started to slowly build up my own savings, a habit that I’m happy I acquired. Above all, it pushed me to step outside the “campus bubble” and get to know other people and parts of my community."

Some of the jobs mentioned in the article include:

Restaurant server
Retail sales
Caregiver
Freelance Writer and others

Our own son, tutors at college not only for money but it also assists with studying so he is doubling up the benefits of his job. He also works part-time as a social media consultant. So don't limit yourself on what you can do!

Read more: Kiplinger: 10 Great Part-Time Jobs for College Students

48 Essential LinkedIn Tips for College Students

2011-08-09T08:49:16-04:00

LinkedIn continues to accelarate in its popularity as THE online networking and social media application for business and professional use. I recently came across an EXCELLENT article -- targeting college students -- that equally applies to ALL USERS of LinkedIn -- Me too! You too!

The articles offers 48 essential LinkedIn tips -- including some you probably haven't considered before. Check them out by clicking the link below, and special thanks to Jasmine Hall at "Online Colleges.net" for providing this list.

48 Essential LinkedIn Tips

College Edge! Why You Should Have a Cycling Resume by Guest Blogger Michael Robinson

2011-06-12T15:48:56-04:00

Thanks to guest blogger, Michael Robinson...great thoughts from a cycling athlete. A sports resume in general is a great thing to have if you are a serious athlete.

A “race resume” to a cyclist, is just as important as a resume for your career. Even if you’re just starting out racing and are not too serious about it right now, you should still consider putting a resume together. If you keep up with your resume, its quick, easy, and can save a lot of hassle in the future. If you’ve ever submitted for an upgrade with USA Cycling and didn’t have a resume already put together, I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about. Wasting precious ride time trying to look up your results, and sometimes finding that many of them are not even listed!

If you’re reading this now and thinking to yourself how you’re going to be that person at some point in the near future, don’t worry too much. You’ll get those results, but make sure that you’re looking in the right places! Start by looking at the USA Cycling website’s results page. If you find that some are missing, you can check the results from your local racing association. Generally, the local cycling associations are fairly quick and accurate to get results posted, but keep in mind that they are human! Results can be wrong, inaccurate and (gasp!) missing. Don’t be afraid to email or call your race organizers to ask for a fix to any problems. Once or twice, I’ve even had to resort to a Google search, and with success!

All of this is easily avoided if you update your resume after every single race. Don’t worry, it takes no more than 5 minutes once you get the hang of it. Since I moved to North Carolina for college I’ve been using this resume to keep results organized. This resume was actually created by the Carolinas Cycling Association, and I modified it slightly for individual use by adding the “race fees” column to help keep reimbursement fees in check. When it comes time to submit your upgrade, your results are readily available, so no searching after the fact. There are obviously plenty of different formats you could use for your resume, but I find this one to be very easy once it comes time for submitting an upgrade.

Having this kind of info on hand is truly important. If you were looking for a job would you be more eligible for a given position with or without a resume? (Rhetorical question) The same applies to cycling when you start looking at joining teams, a race resume is a must have! If you have a well put together resume, and the results to go with it, its one less thing that you have to worry about.

You could even take it a step further by adding details such as your personal information (height, weight, D.O.B., hobbies, etc.) and any volunteer work or coaching you have done. The more detailed you can be about your cycling career the better, just don’t go overboard! Teams today are not just looking at how you are as a rider, but also how you are as a person. Your personal details can at times be equally as important as your race details. Think of it this way, most teams out there wouldn’t be too happy if they discovered that their new rider is a felon who refuses to help out in the community. Obviously that was a gross exaggeration, but you get my point. If you can display that excellent personality of yours in your resume and get out there to volunteer in the community, it will truly take it to the next level. Just as a note, this type of information is not necessary when submitting for an upgrade.

Before you get ready to submit your upgrade though, you need to check to make sure that you’ve met your upgrade requirements:

**From the 2011 USAC Rulebook**

5-4: Experience in 10 mass start races.

Local Associations may also establish policies where
upgrade credit is given for taking a USA Cycling
sanctioned rider education clinic.

4-3: 20 points in any 12-month period; or

Experience in 25 qualifying races with a minimum of 10 top ten finishes with fields of 30 riders or more; or

20 pack finishes with fields over 50. 30 points in 12 months is an automatic upgrade.

USAC-sanctioned rider Camps and
Clinics that are approved by the Local Associations for
upgrading will count a maximum of 3 upgrade points when
upgrading from category 4 to category 3.

3-2: 25 points in any 12-month period.
40 points in 12 months is an automatic upgrade.

2-1: 30 points in any 12-month period.
50 points in 12 months is an automatic upgrade.

Click Here for a download of the full USAC Rulebook from USA Cycling and to see how the points are tabulated.

Most racers that have read this probably have some sort of resume put together, but if not then get one put together right now! Stop putting it off and get to it. The sooner you get your past results together, the less you have to worry about later. To those of you that do have a resume, look back to make sure that it is detailed and organized!

You can find out more about Michael Robinson at his blog Michael Robinson Cycling

~Michael Robinson is home for the summer in Naples, Florida interning as a Social Media Consultant for CRG Leadership Institute LLC. When he is not working on social media projects and blogging, he is on his bike training.

College Edge! LinkedIn - King Kong of Business Networking Social Media

2011-05-16T10:39:23-04:00

Look around, the most powerful social media site in the world for business networking is LinkedIn. Ask anyone and they will tell you it is LinkedIn whether or not they are actually on LinkedIn.

Just to give you an idea of the power, I will share with you some basic facts:
LinkedIn was founded in 2003.
In month one LinkedIn had 4,500 users.
Today, there are over 100 million users on LinkedIn worldwide and over half of those users are in the United States.

Here are the number of connections I have on LinkedIn worldwide today:
I have 11,787 first degree connections.
My connections two degrees away are 2,526,000+
My connections three degrees away are 15,702,000+
My connections three degrees away are 18,207,311+
Since May 13 (3 days ago) I have 47,055 NEW people in my network.

WOW! I find this totally amazing and so powerful.

In addition, the power of LinkedIn is not so much in your first degree connections but in your second degree connections. Once you are connected to someone, you then have a connection to their contacts. You can meet or get introduced to just about anyone on LinkedIn with a little effort.

If you are not using LinkedIn right now or using it to it's fullest potential, it is not too late to get started and experienced the power.

Link with me: Carrie Robinson is a Certified Online Professional Networking Strategist, Career Coach and Contributing Author for the Career Success Community

College Edge! Why College Students Should Join LinkedIn

2011-05-11T12:01:56-04:00

Social Media Expert, Miriam Salpeter says it all in her article in Money.usnews.com For those of you who know me, you know I love to stand and yell from my pedestal (I am 4'10"), "Get on LinkedIn now and by the time you graduate, your network can be incredible".

According to Miriam, LinkedIn is the best designated professional network and the first social network job seekers should consider using to find opportunities. Yet job seekers without much workforce experience may wonder whether LinkedIn is useful for them. If you don’t already know a lot of people who are using LinkedIn, it is easy to underestimate its potential value.

Less experienced job seekers don’t flock to LinkedIn in the same numbers as other networks, such as Facebook, but joining early, learning how LinkedIn works, and connecting with professional contacts throughout your college career will help you later. You may have a work-study or part-time job, enjoy a good relationship with your supervisor, but not want to be friends on Facebook. What better way to connect and stay in touch than LinkedIn?

Making a concerted effort to grow your online network will help support your job hunting efforts today and in the future. In a transient environment, when people do not always stay in one job very long, connecting via LinkedIn helps you keep track of contacts who might serve as references or refer you to opportunities later.

[See 10 Smart Ways to Use Social Media in Your Job Search.]

LinkedIn says approximately 200,000 college students join every month, encouraging companies to use the site to recruit internship and entry-level positions. You don’t want to miss those opportunities by not having a profile.

LinkedIn even has a student portal. The LinkedIn blog explains the benefits of the portal:

• Recommends jobs based on your education and interests. You’ll be able to get email alerts and notifications on your LinkedIn home page.

• Helps LinkedIn’s network help you. Adding connections via LinkedIn is probably a lot easier than you thought. You can even import your email lists and see who is available on LinkedIn. The company suggests looking first at alumni (who may be hiring), friends, and family members. If you don’t know a lot of people using LinkedIn, tell your friends to join and then connect with them. You may be surprised by how quickly your network can grow.

• Helps you research companies via LinkedIn’s company pages. Find out what they do, types of people they hire, and what people say about them.

[See How to use Facebook to find a summer job.]

• Allows companies to find you. Wouldn’t it be great to be invited to apply for a sought-after internship because of your qualifications on your LinkedIn profile? It’s possible. Just as more experienced hires may be recruited to apply for jobs, LinkedIn helps you job search even when you’re not actively looking for opportunities by making you part of database professionals in a variety of types of organizations are looking for you! (Remember: the more complete your profile, the more likely it is for people to find you. This includes having recommendations, so be sure to ask some people to endorse you.)

• Helps you connect to other students to see how they landed their jobs.

• Opens a worldwide network. The portal is available in all of the languages LinkedIn supports. It’s possible to find jobs from around the world.

Don’t miss your chance to be involved in the go-to, professional network and to participate in what has become the largest resource for employers hoping to fill positions. Join LinkedIn, create a complete profile, and connect.

Article Source: Moneyusnews.com, Miriam Salpeter is a job search and social media consultant, career coach, author, speaker, resume writer and owner of Keppie Careers. She is author of Social Networking for Career Success. Miriam teaches job seekers and entrepreneurs how to incorporate social media tools along with traditional strategies to empower their success. Connect with her via Twitter @Keppie_Careers.

Working During College by Christina Lopez, College Edge! Guest Blogger

2011-05-10T10:01:00-04:00

Many college students choose to work when they're in school. Here is the list of the pros and cons that I thought through to ultimately decide to work.

PROS:

1. Earn Money

One of the main benefits of working while in college is to help pay all the costs involved in earning a degree. Even with my own savings, financial aid such as grants and loans, and some of my parents' money, I was still short. I had to get a job to make ends meet; otherwise I could not earn my degree.

2. Gain Experience

Working in the real world rather than just taking classes and hitting the books 100% of the time helped me learn valuable experience and knowledge about just what's involved in holding a job and collecting a paycheck. I learned to be on time every day (a tough thing for someone right out of high school), how to get along with coworkers, and how the businesses where I worked operated from the inside. These skills greatly benefited me when I graduated.

3. Make Contacts

Through my jobs as a waiter and a cashier for a busy restaurant, I was surrounding myself with many different people from all walks of life every single day. This allowed me not only to make friends with many of them but to also develop valuable business contacts that I can use to network in the future for either references or for opportunities to job openings.

4. Become More Responsible

Having to hold a job made me more mature than if I didn't have to keep up with the demands and pressures of my work situation. This maturity allowed me to become more responsible not only to my coworkers and boss, but to the entire sphere of people in my life who may be counting on me.

CONS:

1. Long Hours

It was tiring and exhausting to hold a part time job while taking on a full load of college coursework. I found myself studying to the wee hours of the night after a long day of classes and work just so I could finish up my homework. Sleep and friends were often neglected as I pushed toward my goal.

2. Grades May Suffer

Because of the long hours put in at work, I did not have enough time to study adequately to achieve the highest grades possible in all my studies. Ultimately, I ended up with a B+ average, so it all worked out for me.

In the end, I am glad I juggled both school and work while in college. I pressed hard and made the best of my situation culminating in a journalism degree.

Join College Edge! in welcoming our latest guest blogger, Christina Lopez!

About the Author: Christina Lopez is a freelance fashion writer and pop culture junkie. Christina specializes in all things lifestyle-related. From home and design to health and beauty. With her love of art and all things beautiful, she delights in sharing her sense of style from her life to your computer monitor. Her title pegs her as an editor at a website that specializes in providing people with car insurance quotes, but her passion leads her into writing with a little more substance and a lot more heart.

Best Rated States to Earn a Living

2011-05-09T11:26:22-04:00

I found this interesting article in AARP (it is for everyone!).

After months or years of job hunting, are you convinced that the state that you live in may be holding you back from better career options? Relocating may help increase your chances of finding a job, but evaluate your situation before you take that leap. You may be unaware of some of the hidden perks that your state has to offer.

Personal finance website MoneyRates.com chose the following factors to analyze when compiling its top 10 list of best states for earning a living:

Average wage
Unemployment rate
State tax rate
Cost of living

The factors were calculated to form an adjusted average income for each state — the average income adjusted for your likelihood of finding a job, the amount you would lose to state taxes and how much buying power your income would allow you to have in that state. The average across all states was $35,960.

Despite the unemployment rate reaching a two-year low at 8.8 percent, older workers, especially women, face a slight rise in joblessness. It may be advantageous for some job seekers to determine whether they are living in a state that offers a better chance of finding a job, or if they can easily work a move into their retirement plans.

Read more from AARP on for the Top Ten States===> Best Rated States to Earn a Living

College Edge! The Post-Interview Thank You Note

2011-04-01T10:02:00-04:00

Laurence Shatkin posted this blog on the Career Success Community. He drove home a great point...thank you notes are one of the keys to success.

The post-interview thank-you note (in scope, it should be more of a note than a letter) serves at least three purposes. First, it shows courtesy, thus adding to whatever rapport you accomplished in the interview. This is important, because a major question in the interviewer’s mind, entirely apart from your technical skills, is whether you’ll be a nice person to work with. You can reinforce this impression by handwriting the message on attractive note stationery, rather than on a sterile 8 by 11 sheet of paper. If your handwriting is truly atrocious, get someone else to pen the note; or perhaps you can figure out a way to feed the stationery into your printer and then hand-write your signature. Don’t use stationery that’s so flowery or cutesy that it’s inappropriate for a business setting.

The second purpose the note serves is to give you a chance to make comments that might reinforce the interviewer’s impression of your technical skills or that might dispel some negative information about you that came out during the interview. Every job-seeker comes out of an interview thinking, “I wish I had remembered to say x,” or “I wish I had answered that question better.” In the context of a note, you have limited space to correct these omissions or gaffes, so choose your words carefully and don’t overburden the note. The note can’t be an after-the-fact substitute for an inadequate resume or cover letter, although it may refer to what was written there.

The third purpose for the note is to indicate your interest in and enthusiasm for the job. Tone is important here. You have to project confidence in your qualifications and not come across as needy.

One other purpose this note sometimes serves is to mention any relevant information that has come out since the interview. For example, if you received another job offer or the Employee of the Month award, this is something you would want your interviewer to know.

Unless you know that the hiring decision will be made very quickly (and usually it takes longer than the interviewer says it will), you should wait a few days before sending the note, lest you appear to lack confidence in your performance at the interview.

These comments apply equally well no matter what your industry is or what level of job you were interviewed for. The only exception worth mentioning is the graphic arts industry, which would call for special attention to the visual appeal of the note.

...Thank you Laurence!

College Edge! NEWS FROM VAULT...MBA Trends Report: Most in Demand MBAs? Highest Salaries and Bonuses?

2011-03-23T10:32:14-04:00

The latest QS MBA Jobs & Salary Trends report is out. If you were to summarize the report’s content as a whole with a thumbs up or thumbs down, it would be thumbs up.

I’ve listed some of the key findings below. You can read the full report here.

MBA Demand

· In the States, MBA hiring was up 9 percent last year.

· The hottest MBA market is Asia, followed by Russia, then Latin America, and the U.S.

What Industries are Hiring?

· “MBA consulting jobs are forecast to be back at record levels by 2011, with a 19% jump in demand in 2010, followed by a substantial 37% forecast jump in demand in 2011.”

·“MBA jobs in financial services won’t be far behind with a 22% actual increase in 2010 and a further forecast increase of 11% in 2011.”

· Some industries do not have a good outlook, with MBA jobs in pharmaceuticals and healthcare set to decline in 2010. MBA jobs in telecoms will also fall by 4% in 2010 but then recover in 2011, though this decline is concentrated in the USA, with several markets showing growth in telecoms demand for MBAs.

Employers Want

· MBAs with three to five years experience are most in demand. There’s also demand for MBAs with over five years of experience, less so for MBAs with less than three years experience.

·Soft skills over technical skills

Salaries

· “Around the world, MBA salaries have slipped by an average of 5% in 2010 compared to 2009. Despite the world emerging from the financial crisis, an upturn in MBA salaries has yet to feed through in the market for MBAs.”

· “Pharmaceuticals and healthcare reported the highest average base salary this year at $92,264. Financial services companies are paying salaries of $90,926 in 2010, ahead of consulting firms which average $87,627, technology firms which average $85,815.”

Bonuses

· Energy is tops: $73,300, on average; Financial services: $39,323; Recruitment services $29,700. The lowest bonuses are in the public sector, utilities, retail and construction.

Article Source: Vault Career Intelligence

College Edge! Spring Break (or any break) is a Great Time To Network in Person

2011-03-22T11:05:59-04:00

Home from Spring break and all you want to do is sleep in, relax, go to the beach, hang out with friends and family. These are all well deserved relaxing things to do. However, it is a great time to think about interactions with friends, acquaintances and family as a way to do some in-person networking. While you are doing the the things fun and relaxing...things you love to do, take it one step further and let others know what you are doing at school, i.e., talk about your major, classes you are taking, your career aspirations, and your sports or club involvement. Also, take the time to ask these people questions, opinions and ideas for a little mentoring guidance.

What gave me the idea for this blog? While our son was home for Spring break I noticed how he took the time to meet and talk with some people. After he had finished his cycling training ride one morning, he mentioned he stopped after the ride to chat with other cyclists. He met a very nice cyclist who happens to be very knowledgeable about pro cycling and had relationships in the international cycling community. He followed up with a quick call to schedule a time for coffee. They met and had a great discussion and a new relationship was formed.

Later in the week, he met over coffee with another local cyclist (who is a good friend) to talk about summer cycling opportunities in Europe. As a result, they are discussing a real opportunity to ride in the Netherlands with a team over the summer.

The end results: Opportunity to meet someone new and start a great relationship, opportunity to cultivate an existing relationship and the ppportunity to share your passion for what you want to do. People care about students who are serious and passionate about what they do. Take the time to network and develop and cultivate relationships. The payoff could mean your next adventure, internship or even your first job.

Here are some tips for networking on breaks from school:

1. Make a Networking List: Before the break arrives, make a list of people you want to call or meet with. Try to target two to three people (or more) to connect with during your time off.

2. Arrange a Time to Meet: Email or call your list prior to your arrival and suggest having coffee or lunch.

3. Have an agenda: On your list, make note of things you would like to discuss, i.e., internship connections, opportunity for job shadowing, networking to make connections in your field of interest, possible reference or mentor, etc...

4. Followup: Send a thank you via email or written note just to say how much you appreciated them taking the time to connect with you.

5. Future Followup: Set up a reminder to email your contacts every 3 to 4 months to keep them updated on your progress.

Everything you do is a grand opportunity to network!