Tips for Time Management

Reduce your stress and improve your work with these easy time management tips.

Get organized – Lay out all your tasks that need to be done. Count all your To-Dos and don’t forget about the small assignments!

Prioritize – Organize your tasks from most important to least urgent. Get a head start on big projects and papers to reduce stress closer to the deadline.

Be efficient – Make sure your study time is spent studying. Eliminate distractions by turning off your phone and going to a quiet area to focus.

Have a goal – Keep a goal in mind to stay motivated and on task.

Make Your Resume a Success

Your resume often serves as your first impression with potential employers. Be sure that you are sending the right message in a clear and concise way. Here are some tips for making a successful first impression with your resume:

Focus on originality – Highlight individual achievements on your resume instead of listing your day-to-day tasks at past jobs.

Get to the point – Writing in a short, concise manner. In today’s job market, a recruiter may file through hundreds of resumes for a single position. Write clearly so your achievements stand out when your resume is given a 10-second look over.

Be relevant – Keep the content of your resume to the last four years of background information. Your high school accomplishments are not going to impress a recruiter. Make sure you are aiming your resume at your target audience!

How to Prepare for a Job Interview

 

1. Get to know the employer.
It only takes 15-20 minutes to learn enough about the employer to be able to speak more intelligently about them than much of your competition.

-Use the employer’s website –at a minimum read “about us” section.

-Get familiar with their clients, work and general approach.

Make sure you can answer these questions: What does this organization do? What are they all about? What makes them different from their competition?

2. Learn the job description like it was your own.
The best way to use the job description to prepare is to go through it line by line. Think about how your experience and skills fit with each line. Write this down for each one, making sure to include examples from your past as supporting evidence that you’d excel at this job.

Now, picture yourself doing the job. What are the likely challenges? What ideas would you bring to the table? If you think through these questions now, you can weave those thoughts into the conversation at the interview.

3. Practice, and then practice some more.
Write down at least 10 interview questions that you’re likely to be asked and write out your answers to them. Cover these basics: Why are you thinking about leaving your current job? What interests you about this opening? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What experience do you have doing ___? (Fill in each of the major responsibilities of the job.)

Now, practice your answers out loud. Practice saying them out loud over and over and over, until your answers fly off your tongue automatically.

4. Come up with questions of your own.
Come up with several questions of your own, because at the end of the interview you’ll be asked what questions you have. Good questions at this stage are clarifying questions about the role itself and open-ended questions about the office culture. You’ll also want to ask about their next steps and their timeline for getting back to you.

Adapted from Alison Green via http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2011/02/07/how-to-prepare-for-a-job-interview

Tips for Student Success

Get on a schedule – Make a routine for yourself to help balance homework, friends, family and whatever else you have. Plus, organizing your days will keep you on top of homework assignments and exams.

Be open to constructive criticism – Sometimes its good to get an outsider’s perspective on your work. You don’t always have to agree with the feedback but at least process it and decide whether you agree it is something you need work on.

Take on challenges – Success does not come with out challenges. Put extra effort into your assignments, think deeper when reading for class, engage in lectures and take more time on your next paper to elaborate.

Ask questions – Get a deeper, clearer understanding by asking questions if you have them. It can only benefit your learning!

Have goals – Set a goal for you to stay focused on. Remind yourself daily of your goal to continue moving forward and to stay motivated!

Pros' of a Career-Focused Education

There are many things to consider when choosing a higher-ed school or program. Here are some of the benefits of a career-focused education:

Goal-Oriented – Career schools' offer programs designed to compliment specific interests and skill sets. At Career Quest our class sizes are small enough to allow for interaction and easy communication between the instructor and students. During and after the end of your program we can even help you with your resume and preparing for interviews.

Saves Time – Career programs typically have more start dates thoughout the year than traditional colleges and universities and most programs can be completed in less than 2 years.

Specific Skills – Career programs teach you job-specific skills that will be utilized every day in your career.

How To Be A Team Player

Too often people get comfortable at work by falling into a routine. Get to work, complete your share of tasks for the day and head home. Learn how to enhance your work environment by becoming a team player.

Help out – It’s easy to get in the habit of completing your list of duties for the day and considering your work done. Don’t hesitate to take on extra tasks for the week if you know you can handle it. Your extra effort won’t be forgotten the next time you need assistance.

Share – Contribute to your team by sharing your expertise. Show your new coworker the ropes. Compliment others on their work. Give credit where credit is due. Others will feel more comfortable sharing what they know in return.

Engage – Immerse yourself in your workplace. Get out of your comfort zone and start speaking up in meetings. Come prepared and don’t be afraid to pitch in a little extra effort.

Contribute to your office, without participation there is no team!

Things To Do Before You Graduate

If you’re approaching the end of your program, there are a few things to think about before you move on to life’s next chapter. Here’s 4 must-do’s before you graduate:

Get letters of recommendation – While you’re still a memorable face to your teachers, get a letter of recommendation so you will be prepared to start applying for jobs right after graduation. Although all of our instructors at Career Quest will continue to help you with your job search after graduation, we think its best to ask for recommendations while you’re still having regular interaction.

Get connected on LinkedIn – If you are not on LinkedIn yet, get signed up today. LinkedIn keeps you connected with professors, past employers or other professionals you may lose contact with when moving on to the career world. It’s important to stay in touch with these contacts for future references or possible job opportunities.

Clean-up and update your online image – It’s time to make sure you present yourself as a professional; this means both in person and online. With today’s competitive job market, every detail counts to set you apart from other job applicants. Many employers check social networking websites to screen candidates. Make sure your online image reflects the image you want your future employer to see.

Practice your interview skills – Interviews can be nerve-wracking, but a little practice goes a long way. Draft a list of questions a potential employer might ask in an interview and begin preparing answers to them. This will help to gather your thoughts and prepare you for any tricky questions that could catch you off-guard in an interview. Don’t memorize your answers too much though; you still want to be personable!