Medieval Tech Support

70% Expect to Find Their Next Job Through a Job Board

I’m an active member of the International Association of Employment Web Sites — the only association for job boards. Peter Weddle, our executive director, surveyed job seekers to find out where they found their last job. Job seekers are far more likely to know than employers as the vast majority of employers don’t track their sources of hire at all or do so in a way that is fundamentally flawed. I was expecting something like 10 to 20 percent to identify job boards as their source but 34 percent said they found their last job through a job board and when asked where they expect to find their next job, almost 70 percent said a job board! Here are the numbers:

Continue Reading

Tips on Interning for the Student Conservation Association (SCA)

The Student Conservation Association is an organization dedicated to providing students with internship opportunities in conservation and natural resource sciences. The internships vary widely in duties
and scope, but all generally involve work designed to help conserve forest land, wildlife, and other natural resources. The SCA is a great way for college students to gain experience in the environmental field while still in school.
Tips on Interning Through the Student Conservation Association (SCA): Research Your Locations
When applying for SCA internships, you are encouraged to apply for positions at a large number of locations around the country to maximize your chances of landing an internship. However, careful study of each location/organization to which you are applying is very important. Most internships offered by the SCA are located in national forests, parks, and preserves, in addition to state parks and wildlife areas. These locales are easy to research online to determine if they are a good fit for you in terms of location, climate, job duties, and what you hope to take away from your internship. Continue reading …
Article by, Calvin Olson and courtesy of Associated Content, Inc.

Financial Aid Requirements – Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Don’t Lose Your Financial Aid Because of a Misunderstanding!
To continue to be eligible for all available Financial Aid Student must demonstrate Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Before receiving financial aid students are required to complete what is called an entrance interview online that covers the requirements for SAP. Students are told to read a study guide, and then are required to pass a test. Unfortunately the test is way too easy and some of the questions have links to hints that contain the answer. Many students who pass the test are unable to correctly answer simple questions regarding SAP guidelines.
Many students lose their financial aid due to SAP issues that could have easily been avoided, if the student was properly educated regarding the policies and how they are calculated. I will cover all the info parents and students need to know, and clear up a few common misunderstandings along the way.
There are separate GPA requirements for new students, and students with over 32 credits (juniors and up). For students with less than 32 credit hours a GPA of 1.7 is required. Once a student has earned at least 32 credits, they are required to maintain a 2.0 GPA. Sap reviews are conducted after Spring Semester every year so if you have a rough Fall Semester you can make up for it with a strong showing in the spring. Graduate students are required to maintain at least a 3.0 GPA. Continue reading …

Accepted! the Five Step Guide to Acing the College Admissions Process

Congratulations! You’ve succeeded in making it through most of high school, and you’ve decided to attend college. Now you have the daunting task of the college admissions process–but don’t worry. I’m here to help.
Here’s the 5 step guide to acing the college admissions process.
1. Start Early.
I cannot stress this enough–don’t wait until the day before your application is due to begin filling out your paperwork. Chances are, most of your college applications will be submitted online–and most of those will be submitted through the Common Application. Go ahead and set up an account with the Common Application–even if your deadline is months away, you will find that the overwhelming number of questions asked of you in your applications become much less overwhelming when spread out over a number of months. And, as soon as you access your college’s applications, you can begin working on you essay(s). Which brings me to my next point…
2. Write a stellar essay.
Don’t underestimate the importance of the essay in the college admissions process. Consider this: at highly competitive colleges, the applicants all look the same–everyone has a high GPA, SAT/ACT scores, community service, and extracurricular activities. The essay is the one section of your application in which you can set yourself apart from the crowd and make an impression on the admissions officers. A good essay is interesting, shows you and your accomplishments favorably, and is well written. And trust me, a good college admissions essay can take months to write. My advice? Begin writing when the deadline is far on the horizon, and most importantly, have others read your essay. The constructive criticism given by your parents, teachers, and friends can take a mediocre essay to a good one and a good essay to a great essay. Continue reading …
Article by, Melody Sisken and courtesy of Associated Content, Inc.

Expanding Your Social Engagement For Career Purposes

Behind every successful person stands his social capital i.e. people who had catapulted him to success, people whom he had helped before and whose trust and support he had earned. The stronger your social relationships are and the more people you know – the more opportunities open in front of you, especially when it comes to job search. It is well known that the best job openings are not posted and advertized so it becomes crucially important to network and maximize your social relationships. Read our tips below to get to know how to do it.
How to maximize your social relationships online
Using the right tools and applications on LinkedIn can help you create and grow your professional contact base, market your business and show your competency. There are 7 steps to benefit from LinkedIn:
1. Upload a photo to be easily recognized by users and to add a personal touch to your profile.
2. Complete the entire profile to provide all your professional information.
3. Use applications to share ideas and expertise: Box.net Files for sharing files, SlideShare Presentations for uploading PowerPoint presentations. Applications can give additional subjects for communicating.

Continue Reading

A Key Strategy to Standing Out In A Sea of Other Job Seekers

What you need is a competitive advantage, something that gets the hiring manager’s attention, causes him or her to keep reading your resume, and ultimately, pick up the phone and call for the interview. How do you differentiate yourself from all the other people seeking the same opportunity?
Simply put, value.
WHAT VALUE DO YOU OFFER?
If you were going to purchase a new laptop computer or a new car, chances are you would do your research. If you weren’t sure which make and model you wanted, you would test drive the car. Or you would go to Best Buy and play with the display laptops to decide which one was best for you. What you’re really looking for is the one car or computer with VALUE. The one that meets your needs and wants.

Continue Reading

Deadlines – Schedules with Teeth: Tips on How to Be More Effective

A mystery writer once wrote that nothing focuses the mind like a loaded gun pointed your way.
That’s how I feel about deadlines. Not that I think deadlines are dangerous (although they can be), or that they have the fatal potential of handguns (although it can feel that way sometimes).
I need deadlines to get me to concentrate. I suppose there are people who can get up and get to work without thinking about what needs to get done when, but I’m not one of them.
These might be the same sort of people who just sit down and start writing novels or plays without an outline. Somehow they get it all to come together, but I need structure and a little bump of anxiety to get myself in gear and come up with a coherent plan of attack.

Continue Reading

How Long Will My Job Search Take?

There is one definitive answer for this question – Longer than you think.
It’s interesting that when I talk to candidates, most have such an unrealistic view of how long their job search will take.
I think this reaction is driven by:
Past Experience – Chances are, your past experience in looking for a job was in a better job market than today, unless it was in the 1930′s
Need – If a candidate is driven by the need to save their home and put food on the table, they are more likely to figure something out – even if it means working at a lower level position, even if it means working for much less pay
Hope – It’s great to be hopeful, not so great to be unrealistic
I’m all for the power of positive thinking. However, unless you are independently wealthy, it pays to look at how long your job search will take realistically.
When you look at the “How Long” question realistically, you can plan ahead, and you are much less likely to be caught in a dire financial situation (see: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2010/02/are-you-planning-to-fail-in-your-job.html).

Continue Reading

5 Steps to Saving Your Tarnished Workplace Brand

I’ve written before about overcoming setbacks to your personal brand, but that piece specifically focused on your brand’s name. What about when your personal brand takes a hit in the workplace or in some way negatively impacts your career? This can be huge, and it’s something I’ve recently experienced myself.
Bring some shine back to your personal brand
1. Determine where the problem originated
Throughout January, I was interviewed multiple times by the Wall Street Journal about blacklisting. The result – and the reason I wanted to be interviewed in the first place – was a piece about how to get off a hiring manager’s blacklist. Unfortunately, my comments were severely misconstrued by many, leading to a public apology to my readers over on my blog.

Continue Reading