How To Get A Job Without A Degree

How To Get A Job Without A Degree Tis the season for all the new graduates to finally hang up their backpack and enter the real world.  Either move back in with mom and dad (ugh) or prove your independence and get a real job! Exciting times. What about people who, for one reason or another, didnt get a degree, and are competing against people with degrees? Nick Corcodilos has a great post (Desperate: No degree, can’t get interviews!) about how to do this.  Read the question from his reader, then his answer, and then read the comments There is plenty of discrimination out there not having a degree isnt the end of the world (I know it seems like it). Nicks suggestion is not the easy button, but what is?  This stuff takes WORK!  Now, get to work How To Get A Job Without A Degree Tis the season for all the new graduates to finally hang up their backpack and enter the real world.  Either move back in with mom and dad (ugh) or prove your independence and get a real job! Exciting times. What about people who, for one reason or another, didnt get a degree, and are competing against people with degrees? Nick Corcodilos has a great post (Desperate: No degree, can’t get interviews!) about how to do this.  Read the question from his reader, then his answer, and then read the comments There is plenty of discrimination out there not having a degree isnt the end of the world (I know it seems like it). Nicks suggestion is not the easy button, but what is?  This stuff takes WORK!  Now, get to work

How Reviews About Resume Writing Service Can Benefit You

How Reviews About Resume Writing Service Can Benefit YouSo many questions about resumes, and so few answers. Unfortunately, a few people simply do not understand the significance of this process and the importance of having professional reviews about resume writing service. While there are plenty of professional services out there, many people do not make the effort to search for them.There are a few things that any service or professional that you hire should be able to do for you. In other words, they should have the ability to assist you in putting together your resume for you. This means that your resume is not only your first and foremost impression but it also serves as the tool you use to land that job.Some people just get overwhelmed by the task of writing their resume and then simply write it in the back of the book, or on the back of an envelope, or when they send it out to an employer. These people do not know how to properly format it. They also do not know what kind of k eywords to put into it so that it grabs the attention of employers. The trick here is to make sure that they come from qualified and well-informed people who are hiring.If you are still unsure about how to write your own resume and still don't know who to call when you see a job opening, then you should consider outsourcing your resume writing. There are several top companies out there that will do all of the hard work for you, including all of the formatting, keyword writing, and other steps that are necessary to produce a professional looking and professionally formatted resume. In fact, some of these companies offer free resume samples, so you can see the kinds of things they offer to do for you.Resumes are a key component of your job search. You need to be able to show potential employers that you have done your homework and are worth hiring. By outsourcing your resume writing service, you can get professional help, without breaking the bank.Think about how much time you spend c omposing your business cards, flyers, and other business related items. Do you spend the same amount of time researching the Internet, or do you spend time on libraries? You don't want to make the mistake of spending your time and effort on something that does not matter.With a top-notch resume writing service, you will be able to generate a quality resume, and will not have to worry about wasting your time. This is important, because you will have to rely on them to bring it to life, and not waste time trying to figure it out yourself. Another thing you can do is incorporate keywords from your resume, or even write your own if you can afford it. These will get you noticed in search engines and will increase your chances of getting that job.With an outsourced resume writing service, you will be better equipped to get ahead of the game, and reach the end of your job search. By doing so, you will start feeling that new sense of satisfaction that comes with accomplishing the task of fi nding a job.

Why an Entrepreneur Should Have Good Emotional Intelligence

Why an Entrepreneur Should Have Good Emotional Intelligence Entrepreneurship is a daring act â€" the kind that requires ambitious entrepreneurs to make sacrifices, to let go of comfort, to tread into the unknown, and to do the unthinkable. Emotional intelligence is important for all of us â€" personally and professionally â€" but entrepreneurs need more of it just because they experience a lot more “emotional currents”. To be an entrepreneur, you’d have to nurture the idea that takes birth in your head. You’d then execute the idea, grow it into a business, and then actually run the business. You’d wear multiple hats, juggle multiple tasks, and achieve more in a day than what most people do in a week. Without the right amount of emotional intelligence, the creative spark erodes. You’d then experience stress, fear, frustration, and anxiety. Entrepreneurship is strewn with multiple challenges and failures. It’s not easy just being ourselves; it’s that much more difficult being an entrepreneur. That’s why entrepreneurs need good emotional intelligence. Susan Liddy, CEO of Susan Liddy International, wrote for Huffington Post on emotional intelligence and clearly outlines the criteria for emotional intelligence: Emotional Awareness Emotional Management Emotional Relating Emotional Enlightenment Entrepreneurship demands multiple traits working like gears together to produce the living miracles that entrepreneurs and other high-achievers are. They’d need a bottomless pit of motivation, an endless supply of energy, and they’d need an increasing dependence on emotional intelligence. Here are the reasons why you â€" as an entrepreneur need emotional intelligence and how to make it happen: Business is uncertain. While uncertainty applies to every aspect of our lives, businesses are one notch up when it comes to not knowing what’s coming. Entrepreneurs â€" from hatching that idea to profiting from it sustainably â€" always operate with a certain degree of uncertainty. Yet, we are not designed to operate in the dark. We just need to know. Since you can’t really know much in business, you’d need a strong backing of emotional quotient to tide you over this uncertainty. Others have emotions, too. In a paper by Amy E. Boren, University of Nebraska â€" Lincoln, titled Emotional Intelligence: The Secret of Successful Entrepreneurship, the author backs up the need for emotional intelligence for entrepreneurs. She writes about the importance of interpersonal skills, the awareness of your own emotions while understand the emotions of others, and the ability to monitor your own feelings and emotions to identify, define, and process these emotions to channel them for productive use. She writes this on emotional intelligence for entrepreneurs, and we quote: “For entrepreneurs, the ability to understand and accurately express nonverbal emotions as well as interpret the emotional expressions of others is extremely important for a number of reasons. Primarily, the awareness of nonverbal expressions will help entrepreneurs in relating to clients and employees alike.” Without emotional intelligence â€" the ability to manage yourself and others, to put it simply â€" entrepreneurs will find it incredibly hard to succeed in spite of the inane skill-sets, the hard work that goes into starting and running a business, the passion and the creativity. Your reactions determine everything. Situation: You just landed a $4 million deal. Reaction: Yippee! Situation: You just lost 8 clients. You now face a legal suit and you are looking at a potential tab of $1 million in settlements. Reaction: Oh Oh… Now, those reactions are a sum total of all your emotions grouping together to produce a single result. Both of the situations above are almost a part of life for entrepreneurs and it’s bound to happen to everyone who escapes the cubicle and wants to live the dream. The way you cope with situations and stay unscathed after every situation is what determines entrepreneurial success. Have you ever heard this statement: “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it”? Emotional intelligence is central to that statement. How do you react? You need balance. Behave like a pendulum. Entrepreneurs have their emotions swinging like a pendulum, all day long, every single day. For as long as you are in business (and this will continue into your life anyway), you’ll have situations happening to you. Meanwhile, you’ll be reacting to every situation, too. The best and the simplest way to achieve a certain level of emotional intelligence is to learn to act like the pendulum itself. If you look at a pendulum closely enough, you’ll realize that every swing of the pendulum aims to bring the pendulum back and position itself at the centre, due to gravity. That’s what you’ll need. Your gravity is your own emotional quotient. Go happy, and come back to normal. Go sad, and come back to normal. The faster you can get back to normal, the more control you have over your emotions. You’re walking on hot coals. You’ll need emotional education. Everyone does. Learn all you can about emotions and how they affect the way we relate to others, the way we work, and how our emotions rule us. The more you know, the stronger your platform is, to begin with. Put yourself into situations that’ll invoke emotions. Instead of going through your natural motions, however, practice self-restraint. While you are at it, recognize and validate emotions that other people experience. It’s a simultaneous game of feedback and analysis. As you grow aware of your own emotions, you’ll begin to be respect and be aware of others’ emotions, too. Then, the magic begins: you’ll begin to listen more, accept how others are, be more tolerant towards others, and become an outstanding communicator. You tend to be more patient, and you’ll trust people more. When you accurately comprehend the emotional weight of every message coming to you from employees, clients, and vendors, you’ll be in a better position to modify your behaviour (or theirs) and address their needs. In short, you’d lead better. You’d sell better. You’ll do business better. Entrepreneur has a lot to do with dealing with you and then with others. The core of entrepreneurship, then, depends on your own emotional quotient. Some entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs can get away with employee bashing and headline-making rebuttals. We are not Mr. Jobs, however, and we have a lot of ground to cover while keeping our emotions in check. How emotionally intelligent are you?

How to compete with Generation Z

How to compete with Generation Z Im convinced that the biggest impact Generation Z will have on the workplace is in their schooling. They will be lifelong, self-learners, who take more personal responsibility for their ongoing education than any generation in history. I am not talking about graduate school here. I am talking about a more creative, independent way of learning that does not stop at college, but rather, picks up pace remarkably after college, when real experiential learning starts happening. The question is, how do we get this lifelong learning bug now, as adults, so we can compete with the young people when they enter the workforce. I thought about this question a lot last week, while I was at cello camp with my son. 1. When it comes to learning, keep your bar very high. At cello camp my sons classes are about 80% Asian. Its like being a Jew in NYC sort of a demographic optical illusion. We are at ground zero for the Tiger Mom. We are at a camp where six-year-olds play cello for five hours a day. I am used to being the crazy, overbearing mom in the rural farm community where we live. Im asked, Why do you have to drive two hours to a music lesson? Theres a piano teacher in Darlington! because I ignore the advice of my neighbors and I drive four hours round trip so my son can take lessons from a music professor at the University of Wisconsin. And I think Im on the right track, because Lisa Nielsen, an education reformer working in the New York City public schools, says that lifelong learners are great at creating their own networks of experts. 2. Walk a narrow path so you can keep learning to jump off the path. But at cello camp I find that Im the laid back, bar-is-low mom. My son played ping-pong with little white girls in between classes. There was one soccer ball in the whole camp, and my son joined the other kid. Who was white, of course. And in group class, my son is the one who wants to try his own rhythms just once I promise please please mom. At first I was thinking I am in a race to keep up with the Asian parents. But then I think about Wesley Yang, the Asian guy who recently wrote an extremely controversial article in New York magazine. The article is about why Asian families are obsessed with childhood achievement at the expense of social skills and creativity. Yang writes about the famously merit-based magnet high school, Stuyvesant, in New York City. There is no way to get in except to have high test scores. And while the Asian population in NYC is only 12%, the Asian student population at Stuyvesant is 72%. At Stuyvesant, the white kids who actually get in do less homework than the Asian kids do, but white kids do as well in school. But when those kids graduate from college, the Asians dont do well in corporate America. Because Asians are generally taught to follow rules, learn whats on the test, and dont make a scene: The exact wrong stuff to learn if you want to succeed in corporate America. So then what traits create a lifelong learner? I think it has to do with knowing oneself and knowing how to ask creative questions in areas of personal interest. And then I get scared being surrounded by Tiger moms. My kid has great social skills. No small feat in a family full of Aspergers. I want my son to be creative and fun. But I want him to have the self-discipline to reach goals he sets for himself. Theres a great TED speech from Sir Ken Robinson that addresses just this topic: how to protect creative thinking from being squashed by adult institutions. I tell myself that my challenge at cello camp is the same challenge that I tell people they have at work: follow enough rules to be relevant, and foster enough creativity to bring joy and surprise to the things you do. 3. Learn by way of discovering what you care about, and not the other way around. Learning doesnt happen insides a box schooling does and these are two very different things, says Nielsen. Her subversive opus The Teenagers Guide to Opting Out Not Dropping Out explains why education ideas like unschooling and natural learning are great because they are student-directed. And she says we should not divide learning by subject or location. Rather, the whole world is a learning environment and the student learns by doing whatever he or she is interested in. I wonder, Is my son becoming a robot when I drag him to Suzuki camp for hours on end? Certainly hed rather be playing video games. But he is developing opinions about his learning, which is part of the process of asking good questions. For example he wants to play Witchs Dance instead of Minuet 1. I let him. Its against the rules to skip around, but I sneak it. And, anyway, his teacher at University of Wisconsin is not such a stickler for Suzuki rules. But what Im saying is that you can follow your passion within constraints. I dont think lifelong learning is about turning on a dime, switching on a whim. I think its following old paths and layering them with new, internally generated questions. But you need to be on some sort of path to have a stable place to form a question. 4. Cater to your learning style. By the third day of camp, we are the only ones who lost our nametags. This is probably better because we are also the only ones who are late. So maybe no one will know who we are. But they do. Because I have a kid who is an EFJ. Thats not a typo there are only three Myers-Briggs letters for kids under 12. (You can be obsessive with your kids, too. Heres the test.) My kid is my personality type opposite. He loves people and people love him. (This is such an unlikely outcome from my Ex and me that my ex has accused me of having had an affair.) So my regular way of coping with lots of people is disappearing into the background, but that doesnt work with him. His favorite way to learn is to be in a room full of people. Charming everyone. I threw a (minor) fit that his private lesson is not actually private its with three other kids. In a group class like it, I would tune out because I dont like groups. But he is totally happy, and I realize that as adults, we seldom learn by watching other people learn. We watch and judge instead of watch and learn. 5. Accept that lifelong learning is a huge time investment. In school, kids do not see their parents investing in lifelong learning. In fact, school teaches kids that adults do not belong in learning environments. In the Suzuki method, where the parent is the music teacher, I have no idea what Im doing. I dont play an instrument, I dont read music, and my musical knowledge is about one month ahead of where my son is. So my son sees me in every single class, learning right alongside him. The payoff is being able to get through the song without getting lost. Which, like all good learning, is not really an end goal but rather just one more step down the path in this case, the path to learning how to play in an orchestra. 6. Spend as much time unlearning as you do learning. I think a lot about what our adult learning needs to look like in order to succeed at work in the next ten years. We will be competing with Generation Z. We will have to learn as effectively as they learn. Alvin Toffler, a futurist, has the answer: The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn and unlearn and relearn. (via learningdoorway.com). Starting over is a key to lifelong learning. Starting from that feeling of knowing nothing, over and over again, will eventually yield learning on a grand scale. Theres a teacher institute within our camp program. I cant help wondering: Why are the students mostly Asian but the teachers in training are mostly white? Maybe my lifelong learning will include unlearning stereotypes I am peppering throughout this post. Its difficult to know what to unlearn. If you have a teacher who can tell you: shes a keeper. One of my sons teachers at camp was the inimitable Amy Barston. She spent the first two days of class making him sit differently, hold the cello differently, and place his feet in a new spot. At the end of that second day, he wrote a note on the chalkboard:

Resume Cover Letter Samples - What Are They?

Resume Cover Letter Samples - What Are They?Do you wonder what resume cover letter samples are and why you would want to look at them? It is because sometimes it can be hard to come up with the right words to say. You might be nervous that the resume cover letter samples you are looking at do not say the things you want to say something that is different from the way you really feel. Well, here is what you need to know.First of all, resume cover letter samples are just words on paper. In other words, they are not what your resume actually looks like. This is the biggest misconception people have when looking at these types of samples. This is what really happens. Your own voice will be taken and altered so it sounds like it came from a person who has the proper writing skills and has nothing to hide.The very best way to find the correct resume cover letter samples is to research online. There are countless samples for you to browse through. With so many to choose from, there is no do ubt you will find something that is perfect for you. Also, you will notice that most of these samples are not even all that professional looking.One of the best places to find them is on websites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Because of how much information is available on these three sites, you will be able to find a lot of the words and phrases you need. They are so prevalent because employers often post these types of samples to get feedback from their current and potential employees. Just remember, even if a resume cover letter sample seems like it is from a real person, it probably isn't.The reason you need to be careful with resume cover letter samples is because the employer is going to see yours first. If you say something that looks a little funny or that you may regret, it could ruin the career you are trying to build. When you are first starting out and have never written one before, you should be very careful not to say anything that would disqualify you from the job you are trying to get.For example, if you put in your resume cover letter samples that you are a cat lover, you could end up with a great job offer that you really wanted, but it was based on your writing skills and not who you really are. Then you can never work at that company ever again. For this reason, it is important that you are very careful what kind of writing you put in your resume cover letter samples. It is the same principle with a resume.If you find something a little too enthusiastic or if you say things that make you sound self-centered or arrogant, it will show up in your resume and ruin your career choice. Just be smart and say what you need to say without sounding too personal. By being yourself and writing honestly, you will not only win over the boss, but you will be able to open your job search up to many other opportunities. This is the perfect way to get to that goal.So next time you are looking for resume cover letter samples, try a little extra to g et the right one. The ideas are out there and if you have the wrong thoughts, chances are you will be living in a basement somewhere by yourself. Just know you can always go back to the work you were doing before that incident and use resume cover letter samples to get the work you deserve.

Career Sampling - 5 Ways to Test Drive a New Career

Career Sampling - 5 Ways to Test Drive a New Career Career Sampling 5 Ways to Test Drive a New Career Career Sampling 5 Ways to Test Drive a New Career February 9, 2011 by Career Coach Sherri Thomas Leave a Comment Image by James Marvin Phelps via Flickr Everyone has bad days at work, but if your bad day stretches to a hundred bad days(!) then you may want to start thinking about reinventing your career.     Twice during my own career I found myself in a frustrating and unchallenging job and stayed longer than I should have.     Mostly because I was delusional and thought that if I proved my loyalty and stayed with the company long enough they’d reward me with a “new and improved” job, (did I mention the delusional part?), but also because I was afraid of trying something new, and potentially failing.     If you’re in a similar situation and the thought of charting into unknown career territory makes you want to curl up under your office cube, then you may want to  try what I’m calling  â€career sampling” â€" the art of dipping your toe into a pool of new career opportunities, before diving in head first. Career sampling is a great way to test drive a new career without investing a lot of time, or risking your paycheck.   Here are  five great strategies to help you determine if a new career is right for you…   Take on an extended assignment.   Look across all the departments within your current organization to see if there are any projects or teams that interest you.      Many times managers and project leaders jump at the chance to have someone join their team â€" even if that person doesn’t have any experience.   This is a great way to test the waters of a new career.   Also, are there any external initiatives that inspire you?   Many companies have community programs and special events that you may be able to support.   Finally, talk to your manager, peers and other department managers to see which professional and civic organizations they’re involved in.   Take advantage of opportunities that could help you learn about new industries or job roles.   Try freelancing or consulting.   If you’re thinking about owning your own business, try setting up shop first as a freelancer or consultant.   You’ll be able to set your own hours, develop your business plan and gain some experience before investing all of your time, money and energy full time.   It’s also a great way to earn some extra cash!     Work part-time.   A great way to test drive a new job role, company or industry is to start out part time.   Investing a little time up front to take on a part-time position is a much better strategy than investing all your time and realizing you’ve made a bad career choice.If you think you don’t have the right experience, a great attitude and eagerness to learn can help get your foot in the door.    And once you start proving yourself and showing results, a promotion to a full time position could be just around the corner!   Volunteer your time. This is the quickest way to gain insight and experience into a new career.  As your Career Coach, I encourage you to research company websites, read trade magazines, and attend industry conferencs and business networking events to learn about volunteer opportunities.  Volunteer your time and talents, and in return, learn all you can about that industry, different job roles, and the skills and qualifications of others who have been successful in those job roles that interest you.   Join a Professional Organization.  Most cities have organizations such as the American Marketing Association, American Medical Association, Small Business Association, American Society for Engineering Education, etc. which provide excellent education, training and networking opportunities.Consider attending meetings, becoming a member, or stepping up to join their Board of Directors.   Take advantage of every opportunity to learn about various industries and career opportunities.     If you’re itching to change your career for something more meaningful or inspiring, then try career sampling.   It’s less risky, less stressful, and a smarter way to transition into a career that’s right for you!  And finally…If you’re ready to make a career change, get some professional help. You’ll have an easier, quicker, less stressful journey ahead of you when you have a partner who can give you the roadmap on how to reach your goal. Here’s to your success!  ?? Related articles When to Ask a Career Expert for Help (money.usnews.com)

Why Job Seekers Should Be Blogging - CareerEnlightenment.com

Get EngagedConnect with your readers by starting conversations in blog postsâ€" ask questions of your  readers or solicit their opinions on different topics. Comments boxes are excellent venues for refining  your position, further explaining ideas that are tangential to the main idea of a post, and debating  points, just be careful about how you handle sensitive subjects. Maintain conversations by replying to  comments, and continue the discussion on Twitter, potentially pulling a whole new audience.Take a StandThere’s nothing wrong with having a strong opinion. In fact, this can be an asset in many  professions. Future employers or clients will see in your blog that you know how to back up your  opinions with facts and that you can effectively persuade others to share those opinions. Don’t be afraid  to voice your opinion, but be ready to back it up with facts and figures.Be ProfessionalYour blog is not the place to display photos of yourself in compromising situations. It’s   as crucial a part of your resume as your list of previous jobs. You can use social media to control your  personal profile if you pay attention to what you post and to what’s posted about you. Be committed,  be fascinating, be passionateâ€"but be professional.Practice! The more you write, the more your “voice” will develop. This voice will enable you to build  up a community of readers whose responses will help to shape the direction and tone of future posts.  Whether you’re showcasing your writing, photography, or anything else, practice is the only way to  improve.Rinse and Repeat. A blog and the community surrounding it cannot be built overnight. It takes  commitment on your part to keep the blog going, supplying it with fresh content and visuals, making  sure outbound links stay current and paying attention to comments.A blog is a permanent display of your skills, your technical knowledge and your courage. It’s also a  tangible example that you can commit to building a project over time. It’s an ever-changing business  card that grows with you, showing your talent and passion.Amelia Hadfield is a recent university graduate and freelance writer, currently working with  UK promotional gifts distributor Ideasbynet  on  their  personal branding series. This resource helps guide job seekers through the ins and outs of developing an online personal brand.