Getting Help From Your Career Center

Getting Help From Your Career Center Yesterday I spoke at a conference for alumni career services professionals.  Some of the people in the audience have a strong career services offering while others were learning how to put one together. Everyone at the conference was very interested in learning how they could help you, their alumnus, in career management.  One comment I heard was that they have received more in-bound contact from alumni in the last six months than they had in the last 6 years! This economy is driving people nuts, I know.  Check out your schools career services office you can call the career services office of the school or contact your alumni house to see what direction they point you in. I didnt do this until about two months into my job search because I didnt think about it. I know there is a lot of talk about the value a career center provides I think its across the board, for various reasons.  Heres a post on the Personal Branding Blog titled Maximizing your career center experience, written by Joe Bucher, who works at the San Jose State University career center. Getting Help From Your Career Center Yesterday I spoke at a conference for alumni career services professionals.  Some of the people in the audience have a strong career services offering while others were learning how to put one together. Everyone at the conference was very interested in learning how they could help you, their alumnus, in career management.  One comment I heard was that they have received more in-bound contact from alumni in the last six months than they had in the last 6 years! This economy is driving people nuts, I know.  Check out your schools career services office you can call the career services office of the school or contact your alumni house to see what direction they point you in. I didnt do this until about two months into my job search because I didnt think about it. I know there is a lot of talk about the value a career center provides I think its across the board, for various reasons.  Heres a post on the Personal Branding Blog titled Maximizing your career center experience, written by Joe Bucher, who works at the San Jose State University career center.

Indianas Religious Freedom Restoration Act

Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act Last week, Indiana Governor, Mike Pence privately signed the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act “RFRA” into law. The law is under scrutiny for overwhelming concerns that it could allow a path to discrimination against gay people. Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act has caused a major uproar. The band, Wilco, and comedian, Nick Offerman have canceled performances in Indiana. The cities of New York, San Francisco, and Seattle have plans to stop work-related travel to Indiana. Major companies have spoken out opposing the law: Apple, Nike, NASCAR, Subaru, Salesforce, Angie’s List, Eli Lilly, and many more. The NCAA has publicly stated concern with the law, especially since the NCAA’s men’s basketball Final Four games are being held in Indianapolis this week. Many universities in Indiana have vocalized their opposition of the law like Indiana University, Butler University, DePauw University, Ball State University, and Valparaiso University. I live and work in Indiana. I am the Marketing Communications Coordinator for a large company, and part of my responsibilities in this role is managing public relations. The response and backlash from RFRA here in Indiana are awe-inspiring, not only in the general public arena but also with the customers and vendors at my workplace. Many vendors I work with have condemned the bill and the state of Indiana. Many customers have asked about my company’s stance on the bill. I’m proud to say the company I work for responded with a statement advocating diversity. Nineteen other states have a version of the RFRA on the books. These states include Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Show your support for diversity, equality, acceptance, and tolerance by using the hashtags #OpenForService and #EqualIndiana.  

How to Manage Your Relationship and Your Career

How to Manage Your Relationship and Your Career As many of us know, maintaining a strong and happy relationship with a significant other when one or both members of the relationship are busy with a separate career life can be an extremely difficult endeavor. With busy schedules, giant career goals, endless side projects, and so much more, a boyfriend or husband can become more of a stress factor than a source of relief for the classy career girl. While preserving a healthy relationship when you are married to your career and aspirations can be difficult, it does not have to be impossible. Follow these four tips to help manage your relationship and your career without letting either suffer. Be Flexible One of the most important aspects of a relationship is being able to relax with your significant other after a long day at work. However, as we all know, relationships dont always encourage relaxation. Be sure to be flexible and easy going with your relationship on days where work is especially stressful. As difficult as it can be, be sure to leave your work stresses at work. Come home to your significant other and relax. Dont stress when plans fall through or dont go as planned. Your dates are not a work assignment, so you do not have to be a perfectionist about them. Keeping your work stresses separate from your personal life will benefit not only your relationship, but also your work life. Try hard to also keep relationship stresses out of your work life. While compartmentalizing these two endlessly important aspects of your life can be challenging, it is essential to leading a healthy and happy professional and personal life. Do the Little Things Together Not every minute that you spend with your significant other has to be a four-course meal and a movie. You have to tone down your expectations. Just because you cant spend all of your time with him, doesnt mean that the time you do spend with him has to live up to fairytale status always. Do the little things together, so that you can be together more often. Plan to go to the grocery store together, make dinner together, have a spring cleaning day together, and get lunch together during the work day. These little events may seem small or insignificant, but they can be key to staying connected to your boyfriend or husband when you have limited spare time. Plan Bigger Outings While doing the small things together is important and key for the busy career-oriented couple, planning big outings and events with one another occasionally is important. Find a weekend or holiday that you will have some time away from work and take a small (or not so small) vacation with your beau. Plan a weekend full of big meals and fancy dates. Go dancing. Spice things up and keep things interesting. As a busy working lady, it can be easy to forget to stop and take some time off for yourself and your loved one. Take a break to really pamper each other away from your professional lives. Learn To Spend Time Alone While this may sound counterproductive for maintaining a healthy relationship with a significant other, spending some time with yourself is really important for a busy career woman. You need to be able to spend time by alone away from your profession and away from your relationship every now and again. Take this time to think about things. Reflect on your career goals, think about your significant other, and take time for yourself. Learning to be able to spend time apart from one each other even when you could be together is important. You cant expect to spend all of your spare time away from your job with your significant other. That is too much pressure for both of you. Relax on your own. Readers How do you balance a strong relationship and your career?   Writer Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031 @gmail.com or by leaving a comment on this post.

I Hate My Colleague! How to Manage Difficult Coworkers

I Hate My Colleague! How to Manage Difficult Coworkers Linda and her colleague Joseph always disagree. What Joseph thinks is possible, Linda blocks. And what Joseph thinks can’t be done is ‘child’s play’ in Linda’s eyes. Everyone dreads working with the two of them.  It’s bad for both of them, and for their company. Do you have  difficult coworkers? Someone you just can’t seem to connect with? Is working with them frustrating and stressful? For yourself, your other colleagues, and your company, it’s important not to let that conflict become all-out war. Conflict is inevitable, Combat is optional’   -Max Lucedo Avoid Office Combat While you can’t control another person’s actions, you can influence them. Take steps to keep your disagreements from escalating into open warfare. Being in constant, public conflict with a colleague reflects poorly on you. As hard as it might be, you must find a way to work together effectively. Use these tips to de-escalate a difficult situation and improve your relationship. Separate the person from the problem Outside the office, this person has some strong positives: people who love him, different hobbies and interests with which she fills her time. Try to remember that everyone is more than the person you see at work. Look for their humanity. Ask what they do outside the office, and try to connect. Recognize that we are all just people, trying to do our best. Be clear about the goals Make sure that you are both clear about your business goals. This may require that you lead with more honesty than you think he or she is showing. Do it anyway. Both of you should know what the goals are, stated clearly and concisely. Mention what doesn’t matter to you, too. If you need to reduce spending to meet a budget target, and you don’t intend to protect any specific area, say so. How can either of you achieve goals without knowing what they are? Look for areas of agreement Chances are, you can find at least one area in which the two of you can agree, even if it’s just that you both want a less stressful relationship. If your goals overlap at all, that’s another agreement to build on. This is a good tactic in any difficult negotiation, no matter what your relationship with the other person is like. Small steps towards a goal build momentum.   Remember, you’re both trying to do the right thing for the business. Stay calm Your job is not your entire life. Work is not a personality contest, a popularity contest, or a judgement of your inherent worth. It’s just work. If you lose your cool, you won’t think clearly and are less likely to make good decisions or have a positive outcome. So even when this person is driving you up the wall, stay calm. Take deep breaths, keep your body relaxed, and focus on your goal. Work problems can be complex and multifaceted. In a big company, no one person has the whole picture; no one person can understand all the perspectives in detail. Colleagues  have different perspectives and communication is not always completely smooth. No wonder conflicts arise!  Too often we get into the habit if trying to ‘win’ against difficult colleagues. Don’t fall prey to this temptation. Learn to work with them instead. Take the high road and you’ll come out with your self-respect and your reputation in

3 Ways to Use Social Media in Your Job Search (and 3 Ways to Avoid)

3 Ways to Use Social Media in Your Job Search (and 3 Ways to Avoid) Many of us view social media as a way to keep up with the lives of old friends and family. That’s a pretty good use for it, right? But as social media has expanded, its potential as a resource for its users, especially professionally, has grown tremendously.LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter,Pinterest and Instagram are just a few of the social media channels that, when used correctly, can improve your career.evalJob seekers specifically can reap countless benefits from social media, including finding better jobs and becoming more visible to hiring managers.However, we’ve all heard our fair share of horror stories when it comes to mixing social media and job searching.For example, a friend of a friend gets a job offer rescinded when the hiring manager sees inappropriate behavior documented on his or her Facebook page. Or a hiring manager passes on an interview candidate after seeing a tweet that goes against the mission of their company.Social media for job searching is a bit of science because for every positive use of social media, there are several negative uses.Whether you’re still job hunting or have moved onto the interview phase, knowing the dos and don’ts of social media can make or break your job search process.Here are a few tips for using social media in your job search:DO Use Social Media for:1. Personal BrandingevalDid you know that more than half of hiring managers report using social media to screen applicants?evalWhile it’s a bit nerve wracking to think of hiring managers delving into your social profiles, it also gives you an opportunity to use them in your favor by building a strong personal brand.Build your personal brand by sharing posts and events that are relevant to your industry, connecting with industry leaders and joining related groups on LinkedIn and Facebook. Always keep your profile image consistent with a professional photo across all the platforms.Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram can all be used to optimize your person al brand, and the hiring manager’s first impression of you.Photo Credit â€" Pexels.com2. Interview ResearchBy now, hopefully you know not to go into an interview blind. A good interviewee will use the company website to learn about its history, values and mission. It is also important to read up on the position you’re interviewing for using the job description and other resources such as Glassdoor.evalSocial media can be a great resource for interview research as well. Check out the company’s social media channels for added knowledge pre-interview. Which topics do they share most often? With which influencers are they involved?An insider tip for using social media is to look up your interviewer’s profiles. If you know who your interviewer will be, come up with some basic conversational topics or common interests in case things get stale. Just a quick glance at a LinkedIn profile can be all you need.3.Company CultureStudies have found that happy employees are 12% more product ive at work than those who are unhappy. Company culture is a huge factor of happiness. To make sure the company you are interested in will be a good fit for you, check out some of the current employees’ social profiles.A quick LinkedIn search will show you a list of current employees. By viewing their profiles, you can find out how long they’ve been with the company. If employees are all brand new, it could be a sign of unhappiness among employees.Look into the groups that employees follow on LinkedIn and your common connections. While you don’t need to be best friends, could these people be good coworkers for you?DON’T Use Social Media for:a. Controversial ConversationsWhen it comes to using social media for job searching, religion and politics are two topics it is best to steer clear of on public accounts. Unless, of course, you happen to work in either of those fields.Hiring managers want to see that you can get along with your potential coworkers, regardless of their per sonal beliefs.If you’re someone who is opinionated and likes to join in on conversations, focus your opinions on LinkedIn or Facebook group discussions relevant to your field.evalIn fact, voicing your thoughtful, career-related opinions on discussion boards are a great way to get on the radar of industry leaders and hiring managers.Photo Credit â€" Pexels.comb. Stalking Hiring ManagersevalRemember before when we suggested a quick glance at a hiring manager’s profile? Well, there’s a fine line between reading up on common interests and learning their whole life story.For example, friend-requesting a hiring manager on Facebook would not be appropriate, and could even hurt your chances of getting the job. You want to remain professional while showing that you are interested, but not desperate.Showing up to the interview with a personalized gift for the hiring manager’s dog, Scruffy? Desperate.3. A Static “About Me” PageJust like your resume, your social profiles The same go es for other social channels. Join in conversations as frequently as possible and keep up with your favorite websites for shareable posts a couple of times per week. This will help you connect with industry leaders and build your personal brand.Do not feel the need to have an account with every social media outlet out there if you don’t have the time to manage them. It is better to have one or two profiles that are consistently being updated than to have several that are outdated.When it comes to job searching, social media can help or it can hurt. It’s all in the way you use it. While there are countless ways social media can make you look unprofessional, when it is used for networking, personal branding and research, it can only help you land the job you’ve been searching for.