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“At EmpowerMe, we’re bridging the gap between book
smart and life smart.”
Joe Villmow
EmpowerMe Founder & President
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Table of Contents
About EmpowerMe ................................................................. 3
Mentorship................................................................................8
Networking/Connecting.........................................................13
Personal Development/Goal Setting .....................................18
Leadership............................................................................... 25
Time Management .................................................................29
Interviewing............................................................................ 35
College Preparation................................................................44
Resources………………………………………………………………….………49
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Founded in 2012 by Joe Villmow, EmpowerMe Foundation is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to advancing educational and professional opportunities for the youth, while
empowering them to give back to their communities. Our mission statement is to help
high school and undergraduate students develop valuable skills that are critical to their
academic, professional, and life success. We accomplish this mission through programs
that focus on identifying one’s values and life missions, professional mentoring and
networking, community service, and financial support.
For more information about EmpowerMe visit our website at
www.empowermefoundation.org
and/or our social media
platforms such as Facebook,
Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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Foundation Programs
Gone are the days when college textbook skills offered a passport to success.
Unemployment and underemployment rates for recent college graduates are stagnating
in the double digits. That’s scary news if you are a college junior or senior. Meanwhile,
business executives report that far too many college graduates lack the people skills
necessary to contribute to workplace success. That is bad news for employers.
Our nonprofit foundation offers a win-win for students
and employers alike. Participating students get a head start
in career development, and employers gain a pool of
candidates possessing skills that are crucial to helping
businesses and organizations achieve their goals.
How We Do It
EmpowerMe students master the skills needed to understand themselves, connect
with others, adapt to change, accelerate their careers, and most importantly, reach their
personal potential. While soft skills are often difficult to evaluate, our integrated
programming has been developed with four clear and measurable skills that are essential
to empowering success:
Teamwork Communication Initiative Problem-Solving
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Mentoring Program
Career Insights and Guidance from Professionals
Behind each successful person are mentors who helped clear the pathway. EmpowerMe’s
mentoring program pairs each student with an individual who has achieved success in the
workplace. Through this professional relationship, students have opportunities to
discover their talents, explore possible careers, hone their soft skills, receive guidance,
and gain wisdom from their mentors’ experience and lessons learned in the
workplace. Contact us to learn how you can become a mentor.
Soft Skills Curriculum
Attributes for Workplace Success
EmpowerMe students participate in a 10-month course designed to help them better
understand themselves and the personal attributes that characterize their relationships
with other people. This soft skills curriculum includes defining personal mission
statements and instilling core interpersonal traits that students need to succeed in the
workplace--and in life.
Networking Program
Soft Skills Applications
Understanding soft skills is one aspect of growth. Applying these skills in the real world is
another. Through workshops and one-on-one instruction, students first learn how to
meet and interact with people on a professional level. Then students put these new skills
to work at networking events sponsored by businesses, professional associations and
organizations, as well as at events and programs facilitated by the EmpowerMe
Foundation. Contact us to learn how you can sponsor a networking event.
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Community Service
Growth Through Giving
At EmpowerMe, we believe that giving back to the community is the greatest good.
Students are expected to participate in community service projects to give them first-
hand experiences in helping others and improving their communities. Students are
strongly encouraged to develop their own community service projects to help them build
attributes such as leadership, teamwork and problem solving.
Students
By the time college students enter their junior and senior years, anxiety can grow
over how they will enter the “real world” of work. Competition in many job sectors is
tough. Some students aren’t confident about articulating what they want to do. Others
lack the connections necessary to kick-start their careers. Most are unsure about how to
network in a crowded room.
Becoming an EmpowerMe student can open a world of opportunity for you.
Our four-part program gives you the tools you need to impact the course of your career,
your income potential, your personal relationships and your experiences within the
community.
The EmpowerMe Program requires an investment of time; but this investment pays great
dividends!
Soft Skills Will Empower Your Success
Soft skills are attributes that relate to how well you know and present yourself,
how you interact with others, the ease with which you get and keep a job, and how you
view your place in the world. Our 10-week curriculum is designed to give you an
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advantage in the work world. Best of all, these skills are portable. You will carry them
with you as your career advances or changes.
We Will Open Doors to a World of Opportunity
Some kids get all the breaks. Through family or other connections, they know the
“right” people. They have great mentors who eagerly lend valuable time and great
advice. The vast majority of college juniors and seniors haven’t been afforded these
opportunities…until now.
By enrolling in our program, we will get you started by helping you access to a
business executive mentor. Your mentor will be with you throughout the program—
lending helpful guidance and listening to your concerns. With EmpowerMe you’ll also be
invited to events to help you hone your networking skills and gain great connections.
Lastly, EmpowerMe believes in the power of giving back. If you don’t already volunteer
within the community, we’ll help you find the right fit.
To learn more and to keep updated on EmpowerMe’s
mission and events, visit our social media pages
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“A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability
within you, than you see in yourself and helps bring it out of
you.”
Bob Proctor
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Mentoring
Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, 42nd
President Bill Clinton, and many other successful
individuals all have one common aspect that led to their success, a mentor. A key factor
in the development of promising individuals, a mentor helps teach or gives help and
advice to less experienced and younger individuals. A rewarding experience, it takes an
investment of time, patience, and a commitment to helping others to make the
experience worthwhile. A great thing about a mentorship is that anyone can be a mentor
to an individual in hopes of maximizing his or her life’s highest potential.
Who Are The Best Mentors?
Anyone can be a mentor!! Although anyone can be a mentor to an individual, it takes
the right characteristics and skills to make that relationship successful. Those particular
mentors that you should consider following are those who:
Are comfortable providing honest, constructive criticism
Are well respected in their company or industry and have the experience
necessary to be able to discuss a wide range of topics and situations
Have good listening skills and listen in order to understand, not reply
Teach, don’t tell. In other words, they know the kinds of questions to ask that will
help others determine the answers for themselves
Are trustworthy and can keep discussions confidential
Have a positive, upbeat and caring attitude
Have the ability to motivate the mentee
Have a good sense of humor with the ability to take situations seriously but be
able to laugh at themselves
Are open to two-way learning, not only helping the mentee learn but also
realizing there are things they could learn from the mentee
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Who Can Be A Mentee?
The same as who can be a mentor, anyone! Especially YOU!! Mentees can be any
aspiring young individuals with a drive of wanting to be successful and maximizing the
most with their precious life. Mentees come in all shapes and ages but not everyone
makes it to the success level as others have. Those successful mentees in the relationship
are those who:
Want to proactively advance in their careers
Are open to receiving constructive criticism
Want to proactively look at their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for
improvement
Are willing to share their mistakes and failures in order to learn from them
Are willing to listen to the advice of others and act upon it
Can be honest with themselves and introspective
Have the ability to hold themselves accountable and be self-disciplined
Are open to new ideas and opinions
Have a good sense of humor with the ability to take situations seriously but be able
to laugh at themselves
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Benefits of Being a Mentee
Being a mentee in a relationship can be one of the most rewarding experiences and
the potential starting blocks to something great and memorable in the future. Being a
mentee, there are privileges of learning what contributes to success not through books,
but through real world experience that we encounter in our daily lives. Without a mentor,
we only learn through trial and error but with one, we have an experienced professional
that we would benefit from due to his or her experiences and expertise of someone who
has withstood trial and can help us to avoid the error. In addition, there are the benefits
of:
Learning new things about yourself: The self-reflection that can result from a
mentoring relationship can be a powerful growth experience and provide you with
new insights about yourself.
Making more of your strengths and exploiting your hidden talents: A good
mentor will push you to do more with your strengths, and help you discover and
exploit hidden talents.
Contributing to the success of your community and company: A mentee who
builds a strong position in his or her community ultimately contributes to the
success of the company.
Career satisfaction: You will be more satisfied with your career if you’re better at
performing your job; and your company and community will be more satisfied
with your performance, as well, lending more stability in your career.
Expanding your personal network: Entering into a mentoring relationship adds
your mentor to your personal network, and may lead to an introduction to the
individuals in the mentor’s network.
A source of referrals: Your mentor may refer you to other mentors once she/he
has a better understanding of your needs, abilities, and goals.
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“If you want to go somewhere, it is best to find someone who
has already been there.”
Robert Kiyosaki
EmpowerMe founder Joe Villmow (middle) and students attend UMOS’s 50
th
Anniversary event to learn
how to effectively network
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Networking/Connecting
Networking is the art of making and utilizing contacts. The goal of networking is
to establish a relationship with a group of people to later give and get information. From
establishing a relationship, it can lead to the opportunity of gaining valuable information
and even the potential of finding new job careers that possible would not have been
present otherwise.
If the goal of networking is to create a stack of business cards that will later be
found in a desk drawer never to be touched again, then it may be time to re-evaluate your
methods. It is important however to receive everyone you meet’s business card because
you have no idea how beneficial they could be in the future. It is important to effectively
network with them and to not permanently close the door on a potentially important
relationship. Here are a few strategies on how to balance your network of relationships so
that you make the most out of each
encounter:
Give and Get Information
When meeting someone, you want to
be able to ask about his or her life and
work and to be able to speak positively
about yours. Starting with the basics is
important such as their name, company they work for, position, what their duties are, etc.
From your conversations, you can see what benefits that particular person can be.
Evaluate the Value of Contacts
It is hard to be able to network thoroughly with everyone that you meet. Once you have
obtained information from everyone that you have networked with, you need to decide if
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they are beneficial to meeting again and to create a relationship with. In addition, it is
important to choice someone who can be truly interested in helping others.
Form a Strategic Alliance
A network is not a collection of business cards, but of people. It is important to
understand each of your contacts that you have chosen to be in your network. With those
you have chosen, it is important to educate them completely about what you are doing
and whom you do it with. Each party in the relationships should give one another
updates and encouragement.
Maintenance
As your contacts from networking begin to grow, you have to re-evaluate the people you
connect with who will become your inner circle. The group of people you decided to
include in your inner circle should be kept in touch most often.
Although there is an inner circle, it is important not to close the door of those other
connections of people because you never know when someone will be able to help you, or
when you will be able to help them.
Using Your Network to Succeed in College
Building a network is not an easy task but to move ahead in life, it is crucial in forming. It
takes an initiative and being able to leave your comfort zone to achieve this. While in
school, it is beneficial to begin networking because close to graduation, your connections,
they can be a support system in trying to obtain a job. When asking people for help, not
everyone in life is going to say yes, there will be no’s. You will not get every opportunity
that comes your way but you will never have the chance of getting the opportunity
without asking and crossing your personal boundary. As previously mentioned,
networking can be a difficult task but if you remember these tips, it can help break
yourself out of your comfort zone:
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1. Be genuine and sincere. People react positively and want to help those who have
those characteristics.
2. Always send a thank you note/email to each person you meet. This shows
professionalism and sincerity on your part to forming a new relationship.
3. Do your research. You should be strategic about how you network and don’t forget
to use sources such as LinkedIn and Google to learn more about an individual
and/or organization.
4. When networking, have a purpose to your conversation. It is easier to talk to an
individual if you know why you are talking to them and how they can help you get
to your next goal.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE
After meeting new connections from networking events or other places of contact, it is
important to follow up with them to potentially set up a meeting to talk. This can lead to
future employment or they can be a great asset to helping you solve obstacles that come
your way.
Here is an example thank you email:
Hi [Name],
Thank you so much for meeting with me today. I really enjoyed our conversation and
learning more about what you do at [Company Name]. I truly appreciated all your advice
and tips on how to break into [industry].
I actually just met [name of contact] who runs the [department] team at [Company Name]
and I think you two would really hit it off. She has an interesting perspective that I think you
would find useful. Can I make an intro?
Thanks again for your time, and good luck with your upcoming feature launch! I hope to stay
in touch and see you around soon.
Best,
[Signature]
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“Growth is the great separator between those who succeed
and those who do not. When I see a person beginning to
separate themselves from the pack, it’s almost always due to
personal growth.”
John C. Maxwell
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Personal Development/Goal Setting
Before you can begin looking for success or strive to find that job out of school,
personal development and setting goals is important. Without it, we would not be
motivated to strive towards new goals and to push ourselves out of our comfort zone.
When we improve ourselves, those aspects around us will improve as well such as grades
in school and work. It is sometimes hard to figure out how to improve our lives but if you
follow these tips, a personal growth is right around the corner.
1. Eat More Healthy
Health and well-being start in the body. The first way to improve yourself is to
work on a life style that allows your body to thrive. What we eat is very important
and it is important to have a diet with a high level of nutrients to calorie ratio. By
obtaining this, our brain chemistry, mood, and energy level will improve.
2. Exercise
Eating healthy and getting plenty of exercise
are the fundamental improvements you can
make to your body. Getting plenty of
exercise helps to regulate metabolism that
ultimately effects how we store and consume
energy. In addition, our heart, breathing,
and muscles will improve as well.
3. Socialize
When working on personal growth, there does not need to be a reason to spend
less time socializing but there should be an awareness of unhealthy socialization. A
suggestion of less time “partying” with friends, and more times doing other things
such as seeing sporting events or doing activities can all be great ways to improve
our range of our perspective beliefs.
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4. Talk More Openly
Too often, we hide our thoughts when we converse with others. Openness is a
highly admirable quality that helps bring the best out of others and us. This
personal quality can be used when conversing with our friends, family, and
strangers when the time is right.
5. Listen to Loved Ones
Such as the ability to talk more openly, the ability to listen is appreciated and ways
we can achieve this is to be patient and show understanding in conversations with
others. Sometimes people just need someone to talk to, so learn to listen to them
and your relationships will improve.
6. Learn A New Skill
There is so much we can learn from this world, that it would be a shame not to
learn something new at any chance. The more we learn, the more content we can
become interested in which can lead to new activities and the ability to offer and
teach others.
7. Set Achievable Goals
What is a practical improvement that you can make now that’ll lead to guaranteed
results? Goals! By setting goals for yourself, it can help give a step by step guide for
yourself to reaching further heights and improving your lifestyle. A great way to
achieve this is by setting “SMART” planning goals.
S- Specific
M- Measurable
A- Attainable
R- Realistic
T- Time-Bound
8. Do A Good Deed Every Day
It sounds cheesy but it is a practical way of making sure you are improving by
being compassionate and giving. Try doing a good deed out of the goodness of
your heart and for someone who is not expecting it such as a family member,
friend, or your boss. Do this every day and you will become a better person for it.
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9. Cut Out Vices
Vices are an immoral or wicked behavior. Another practical way to improve
ourselves is to take the necessary steps to cut out our vices and to learn sacrifice,
restraint, and self-control. Everyone has vices that are nothing to be ashamed of
but instead of being guilty over them, try to remove aspects of your life that you
know are vices. Start by tackling the easier ones that you know are most damaging
such as your studying habits for tests or daily consumption of television.
10. Keep A Diary
By writing our thoughts down on paper, we can get an inside look and analyze the
patterns in our life that make us happy, sad, angry, or relaxed. By writing this
down, we can start to see areas when we can improve and better understand our
own motives and desires. When we know ourselves, we improve ourselves.
11. Keep Wanting To Improve
Just by thinking of wanting to improve, you are already more than half way to it. If
we want to improve and carry on looking for ways to do so, then this becomes part
of our DNA in life. The ongoing journey of self-improvement never ends; we
simply get to know ourselves better, and become happier in the process.
Goat Setting
Many people work hard but that hard work never seems to get them anywhere.
Reason being, individuals have not spent enough time thinking about what they want
from life and those goals that will get them there. Goal setting is a powerful process for
thinking about your ideal future and can be used as motivation to help turn your vision
into a reality.
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Why Set Goals?
Athletes, successful business-people, achievers, they all have set goals for
themselves that have made them into the person they are today! By setting goals, it helps
give a long-term vision and short-term motivation.
When setting sharp, clearly defined goals, you can
measure and take pride in the achievement of
those goals and you can track your life progress
when those goals are met. When sitting down for
the first time to create these life-changing goals,
there are things to keep in mind:
First create your “big picture” of what do you want to do with your life or the next
10 years. Be able to identify those large-scale goals that you want to achieve.
Examples of this could be career achievements, financial, education, physical,
public service, and family. When choosing these goals, take some time to
brainstorm and make goals that you genuinely want to see achieved.
Once long-term/10 year goals are set, begin brainstorming five-year plans of
smaller goals that you need to achieve in order to reach your long-term plan. From
there, simply it one more time to create a one-year plan, six-month plan, and a
one-month plan of progressively smaller goals that you should reach to achieve
your long-term goals. In addition, creating daily T0-Do’s are a great way to make
sure you are on top of different objectives.
Further Tips on Goal Setting
Here are further tips on how to achieve your goals that you have created:
Be Precise- Set precise goals, putting in dates, times, and amounts so that you can
measure achievement. If you do this, you will know exactly when you have
achieved the goal, and can take complete satisfaction from having achieved it.
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Set Priorities- When you have several goals, give each a priority. This helps you to
avoid feeling overwhelmed by having too many goals, and to help direct your
attention to the most important ones.
Write Goals Down- This helps engrave it to your mind so you won’t forget.
Keep Operational Goals Small- Keep the small goals you have set to an
achievable level. If a goal is too large, then it can seem that you are not making
progress towards it. Keeping goals small give more opportunities for reward.
Set Realistic Goals- It is important to set goals that you can achieve. Start small
and after each accomplishment, set the standards higher.
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“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows
the way.”
John C. Maxwell
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Leadership
Leaders are not born but made. No one knows in the beginning of life what qualities an
individual should possess to be effective without the help of mentors and/or life tips.
Tomorrow’s leaders are beginning to form and wouldn’t you like to be considered one of
them? Listed below, you will see all the great qualities that leaders should possess to be
great and to have a positive influence on others.
Quality 1- Inspire
All leaders think bold and big. They continue to
challenge themselves and their teammates to dream
big goals and exceed past it. To achieve such dreams,
the ability to trust in your skills and capabilities are
important. In addition, you should think, feels,
behave, and act positively.
Quality 2- Explore
Tomorrow’s top leaders have a strong passion to learn, to question, to dive deep, and to
be misunderstood. Leaders will absorb whatever comes across their way and catches their
interest.
Quality 3- Grow
Leaders believe that there is no limit to personal growth. Top leaders are “Realistic
Optimist” which means they are both optimistic and realistic. With those two
characteristics, you can combine them to form one behavioral style that creates a unique
sense of open-mindedness, attention, and focus. Having this characteristic creates an
awareness and focus that allows them to see things many of us do not notice while we’re
too busy with problems and ourselves.
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Quality 4- Develop
Tomorrow’s top leaders enjoy developing and coaching others. They invest a lot of energy
and time into building and maintaining personal relationships founded on trust. To be a
great leader, trust is a valuable characteristic that should be present in any relationship.
In addition to trust and maintaining relationships, you should be an active team builder
and trying to engage your peers to take pride in their work and lives.
Quality 5- Improve & Innovate
Data-driven, process-focuses, and being permanently in a disruptive mindset are
characteristics that a good leader should have. With technology changing every day, it is
important to stay current and adapt to the world around you.
Quality 6- Care
Tomorrow’s leaders want to support others, to give, to make an impact, and to do well.
They care about the well-being of their employees and about broader environmental and
social topics. They are aware of the fact that you have to give before you receive. They
also adopted the values of gratitude and
appreciation into their everyday lives and linked
them with positive and people-focused thinking
and acting to achieve a fulfilled life. In addition,
no person can get to where they want to be in life
without the help from others. It is important to
genuinely and graciously thank others for what
they do, which can often be forgotten. Being
thankful give confidence and strength to your
peers and often generates innovation and unlocks
tremendous values.
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“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the
same number of hours per day that were given to Helen
Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da
Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.”
H. Jackson Brown Jr.
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Time Management
There are only 1,440 minutes to your day. Everyone has the same amount of time
in which to accomplish goals. Managing your time is not about finding or creating more
time during the day but rather accomplishing the most important tasks in the most
efficient amount of time. Once those tasks are completed, it will lead to more time to
spend on things you enjoy. When it comes to problems in managing time, people will fall
into two thoughts: “I have so much to do, but I have so little time in which to do it,” or “I
have so much time, I can do it later.” No matter what trap you fall into, it is important to
face this problem and become more productive with your time.
You can download the newest app that helps with time management decisions but
if you consider how much of your day you spend on nonproductive activities and make
that change, your productivity will increase. Your goal should be to make better decisions
about the way in which you use your time and that will take a commitment on your part.
Listed below are some tips that will help you to be more effective and to manage your
time wisely.
Spend Time Planning and Organizing
Using time to think and plan is time well spent. If fact, if you fail to take time for
planning, then you are planning to fail. Organize in a way that makes sense to you.
If that’s through colors, pictures, or etc., good, find some creative way to organize
your goals and daily tasks.
Set Goals
Goals give your life, and the way you spend your time, direction. Set goals that are
specific, measurable, realistic, and achievable. Goals can give creative people a
much-needed sense of direction. (For more information on how to set goals, turn
to page 18.
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Use A To-Do List
Some people thrive on using either a daily To-Do
list that they construct the night before or the
first thing when they wake up. Such people may
combine a To-Do list with a calendar or schedule.
Whatever method works best for you, good!
Be Flexible
Allow time for interruptions and distractions. Time management experts often
suggest planning for just 50 percent or less of your time. With only 50 percent of
your time planned, you will have the flexibility to handle interruptions and those
unplanned “emergencies.”
Consider Your Biological Prime Time
What’s the time of day when you’re at your best? Are you best in the morning,
afternoon, or at night? It is important to know when your best time of the day is
and plan to use that time of the day for your priorities.
Eliminate The Urgent
Urgent tasks have short-term consequences while important tasks are those with
long-term, goal-related implications. Work towards reducing the urgent things
you must do so you’ll have time for your important priorities. Highlighting items
on your To-Do list or attaching a deadline to each item may help keep important
items from becoming urgent emergencies.
Avoid Being A Perfectionist
Yes, some things need to be closer to perfect than others, but perfectionism,
paying unnecessary attention to detail, can be a form of procrastination.
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Conquer Procrastination
One technique to try is the ‘Swiss Cheese” method by Alan Lakein. When you are
avoiding something, break it into smaller tasks and do just one of the smaller
tasks. By doing a little at a time, eventually you’ll reach a point where you’ll want
to finish.
Learn to say “No”
Such a small word but it can be hard to say. Focusing on your goals may help. If
you consistently say yes to people when they ask you questions, you may end up
having too much things going on in your schedule and it won’t allow yourself to
reach your goals and objectives.
Reward Yourself
Even for small successes, celebrate achievement of goals. Promise yourself a
reward for completing each task or the completion of a job. Doing so will help you
to maintain the necessary balance in life between work and play.
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“Job interviews are like first dates. Good impressions count.
Awkwardness can occur. Outcomes are unpredictable.”
Anonymous
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Interviewing & Resume Building
Resume
In the early stages of trying to require a job, you need to be able to create a resume
that will be seen by hopeful future employers and an indicator of the type of asset you will
be to the company. Before you begin writing your resume, write down your determining
objectives and state the sort of job you want and know what skill-set and experience is
needed to do well in that job. After your objectives are determined, prioritize the content
of your resume to suit those objectives. Your resume is a small window to get the interest
of a hiring manager so focus on the essential information.
Although your resume is essentially a marketing tool, it should never read like
that. Avoid the over usage of industry language and instead be factual, concise, and state
compelling results. You don’t need to go into detail about every accomplishment in your
resume but companies are looking for candidates with more than just training and
education. Just remember, once you get an interview, that is the place to elaborate on
your accomplishments and evaluate work-style cultural cues.
Check out these tips on how to make your resume effective and attractive to the
companies eye:
Use Bulleted Sentences
Use bullets with short sentences to structure the body of your resume. The main
selling points of your resume should be clear and quick to scan. Again, do not
worry about specifics; you will have your chance sharing details during the
interview.
Use Action Words
Use action words like prepared, managed, developed, championed, monitored, and
presented will cause your resume to stand out. Avoid using the same verb over and
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over. If your resume is scanned electronically, the computer will notice the words
and see if you are a match or non-match.
Use %’s, $’s, and #’s
You should always use %’s, $’s, and #’s. Dollar totals, numbers, and percentages
stand out in the body of a resume. This helps to be specific but not lengthy.
Highlight Your Strengths
Highlight your strengths and what is most relevant to the potential employer.
Resumes that are submitted are typically viewed between 10-30 seconds, so put
forth the effort and determine which bullets most strongly support your search
objective. Put the strongest and most relevant points first where they have the best
chance of being seen.
Match The Need They Have
Match the need and interest of the position in which you are applying for. Each
position will have a brief explanation about the company and the position
available. When writing your resume, use the keywords listed in the ads and insert
them carefully in your resume.
Be Positive
Above all, in your resume and interview-
you must be positive. Leave out negative
and irrelevant points. Focus on the duties
that do support for your objective.
White Space Is Important
White space is important on a resume. If you open a newspaper, take note of the
ads that first catch your attention. Are they the ads jammed full of text or the ones
with large amount of unused space? Readers are always attracted to open areas so
do not worry if you are having a hard time filling the page with text.
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Formatting Guidelines
How long should the resume be or what size font should I use? The font size
should be no smaller than 10 points, standard serif or sans serif fonts. Do not use
unnecessary fonts that are hard to read, keep them simple. The length of the
resume should be 1-2 pages.
Get 3rd
Party Advice
Ask a friend or anyone for an outside opinion of your resume before sending it off.
Since you are close with the writing and situation, it can be difficult for you to note
all your high points and clearly convey all your accomplishments. Having someone
subjectively review your resume can give your insight into how others will view
your personal marketing materials. When your outside source is done viewing
your resume, take their comments into consideration and revise your resume
accordingly.
Start Applying
Once you completed the tips and resume listed above, you’re ready to start
applying! Apply for jobs that appear to be above your qualifications, apply to
positions that are a match, and apply to positions which may be below your
level .Why? Perhaps the position below will turn out to be more than it appeared
once you interview for them. Or perhaps once you have your foot in the door you
can learn of other opportunities. If nothing else, interviewing more and more will
increase your interviewing skills. Like anything else, repetition will decrease your
nervousness, and increase your skills at attacking tough questions.
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Interviewing
After your effective resume writing and application to jobs of your liking,
interviews are the final barrier as to whether or not you achieve the job of your choice.
Listed below are job interview tips that’ll help you stand out from the crowd of other job
applicants.
Conduct Research on the Employer, Hiring Manager, Job Opportunity
Success in a job interview starts with a solid foundation of knowledge on the job-
seeker’s part. You should understand the employer, the requirements of the job,
and the background of the person(s) interviewing you. The more research you
conduct, the more you’ll understand the employer, and the better you’ll be able to
answer interview questions.
Review Common Interview Questions and Prepare Responses
Another key to interview success is preparing responses to expected interview
questions. Your goal is composing detailed yet concise responses and focusing on
specific examples and accomplishments. A good tool for remembering your
responses is to put them into story form that you can tell in interviews.
Arrive on Time for the Interview
There is no excuse for ever arriving late for an interview, other than some sort of
disaster. Strive to arrive about 15 minutes before your scheduled interview to
complete additional paperwork and allow yourself time to get settled. Arriving
early is also a chance to observe the dynamics of the workplace.
Be Authentic Upbeat, Focused, Confident, Candid, and Concise
Once the interview starts, the key to success is the quality and delivery of your
responses. Your goal should always be authenticity, responding truthfully to
interview questions, and highlighting your skills, experience, and fit with the job
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and employer. Provide solid examples of solutions and accomplishments but keep
responses short and to the point.
Dress for Success
Plan out a wardrobe that fits the organization and its culture, striving for the most
professional appearance you can accomplish. Remember that it’s always better to
overdress than underdress, and to wear clothes that fits and is cleaned and
pressed. Keep accessories and jewelry to a minimum. Try not to eat right before
the interview and if possible, brush your teeth or use mouthwash.
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Make Good First Impressions, to Everyone You Encounter
A cardinal rule of interviewing: Be polite and offer warm greetings to everyone you
meet. Employers often are curious how job applicants treat staff members and
your job offer could be declined if you’re rude or arrogant to any of the staff. When
it’s time for the interview, remember, the first few seconds of meeting can make or
break an interview. Make a strong first impression by dressing well, arriving early,,
and when greeting your interviewer, stand, smile, make eye contact, and offer a
firm handshake. Studies show that hiring managers make critical decisions about
job applicants in the first 20 minutes of the interview.
Remember Body Language, Avoiding Bad Habits
Poor body language can be a distraction and a potential reason not to hire you.
Effective forms of body language are smiling, eye contact, solid posture, active
listening, and nodding. Poor effective forms of body language are slouching,
looking off in the distance, playing with a pen, fidgeting with your hair, chewing
gum, and mumbling.
Ask Insightful Questions
Studies continually show that employers make a judgment about an applicant’s
interest in the job by whether or not the interviewee asks questions. Even if the
interviewee discusses a lot of information about the job and company, you must
ask a few questions. A smart job seeker prepares questions to ask days before the
interview.
Sell Yourself Throughout and then Close the Deal
You are a salesperson in an interview and the product you are selling to the
employer is your ability to fill the organization’s needs, solve its problems, and
propel its success. Finally, as the interview winds down, ask about the next steps in
the process and the timetable the employer expects to use to make a decision
about the position.
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Thank Interviewer(s) in Person, by Email, and Postal Mail
Common courtesy and politeness go far in interviewing; thus, the importance of
thanking each person who interviews you should come as no surprise. Start the
process while at the interview and then once the interview concludes, write a
thank-you email which will help give an edge over any other finalist that did not
bother to send a thank-you.
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“Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change
the world.”
Nelson Mandela
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College Preparation
When thinking about college, it can easily be overwhelming. Things such as
classes, newfound independence, and new college experiences are waiting to be
discovered. No matter who you are, there will always be bumps in the road but if you
follow these tips, you will be able to help to avoid such bumps and you will begin to enjoy
the college experience more and make the most of it.
Take Control
For many students, the most striking difference between college and high school is
that at college, there’s no one there to stand over you and tell you what to do.
Getting to class, doing your homework, getting your papers in on time- all of these
are things you’re going to have to do without parents or teachers by your side. It’s
time to step up and take responsibilities.
Audition Your Professors
Many entering students think they should just take the “standard first-year
program’ their adviser hands them and be done with it. A better idea would be to
go to your classes a couple times and evaluate the professor and the class as a
whole. If the professor is not engaging or you feel you won’t learn effectively, drop
the class and find one that will.
Get To Class
Most students think of how many classes they think they can miss and to still do
pretty well in. They may miss three, four, and even seven classes throughout the
semester. If a course has 35 meeting takes and you miss seven of those, you’ve
missed 20 percent of the content. This can do major damage to your GPA come
testing time.
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Adjust Your Attention Span
You’re used to getting content in short and entertaining ways. One to three minute
Youtube clips, text messages, and even 140 character tweets. However, your
professor has almost an hour’s worth of time to lecture on topics. It is important to
be able to retrain your attention span to process longer period of information so
that you don’t zone in and out.
Study; don’t “study”
Though nobody quite tells you this, at college, most of your work is done outside
the classroom. Rule of thumb: for every one hour of lecture, you should have two
hours of preparation. As soon as the semester starts, find yourself a quiet place to
study and block out the times of the week
you’re going to do your studying.
Take Each Test Three Times
Before the exam, construct a pre-test and
take it under “test conditions.” At the
actual exam, write full answers that draw
on all the course materials (lectures,
readings, and discussions) and that would be clear to any reader. Then when you
get your test back, go over any comments your professor has written and do the
questions in your head, you may see these questions again during midterms or
finals.
Connect With Your Professor (or TA)
The single most underutilized resource at college is the office hour, e-mailing, or
Skype to connect and use as an additional resource for help. Professors are
required to be in their office for two to four hours a week to meet with students
and help them with their course work. Your test and papers will have better results
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if you’ve had the chance to speak with them about objectives that are confusing
and who better to ask assistance from than the person who will be grading you?
Pursue Your Passion
Besides all the required general elective courses and must-do’s for your major, it
can be easy to forget what your intellectual interest, gifts, and passions were in the
first place. Each semester, be sure to take at least one course in something you’re
good at and are really interested in. The joy of doing something you enjoy and
doing it well, will go a long way to making up for all the unpleasant things you
have to do in college.
For more college assistance and scholarship opportunities, visit our partner
NextStepU at nextstepu.com
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Resources
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Hansen, Randall S. “10 Best Job Interview Tips for Job-Seekers-Quint Careers.”
Quintessential Careers. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.
“How to Network Effectively.” Small Business Center. The New York Times, 2002. Web. 23
Mar. 2016.
“Interview Appearance and Attire.” Career Services. 02 Feb. 2016. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.
Jacob, Lynn F., and Jeremy S. Hyman. US News. U.S. News & World Report, 17 Aug.
2010. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.
McMahon, Tim. “A Lean Journey: 8 Practical Tips on Improving Your Goal Setting
Process.” A Lean Journey: 8 Practical Tips on Improving Your Goal Setting Process.
29 Dec. 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.
“Personal Goal Setting: Planning to Live Your Life Your Way.” Personal Goal Setting. Ed.
By The Mind Tools Teams. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.
“Resume Writing Tips: Free Resume Format and Layout Advice.” Resume Help. Web. 23.
Mar. 2016.
“Time Management.” Time Management. Web. 23. Mar. 2016.
