The topic that we can’t escape reading about or talking about: resumes This infographic, “Tips for Writing a Resume in an Online World,” is essential reading for any career goer.
For tips on how to manage change-resistant workers whether they’re above you, below Continue reading
It comes as no surprise that I love a good interview. And it just so happens that there are other places on the Net that interview people about their careers.
Into finding out about the strange ways people make money? Make McSweeney’s your go-to site. One of my all-time favorite interviews is about a young woman who makes a living selling bananas. Not just any bananas mind you, they’re special. But you’ll have to read it to found out. Continue reading
With the presidential elections less than a week a way, everyone’s making predictions. Today, I’m sharing some of my own predictions. They have nothing to do with who’s winning the race. But they’re pretty darn important in the context of a working person’s life.
1. Companies, large and small, will practice covert discrimination more. Now that it’s commonplace to google applicants, more people will face discrimination that exceeds beyond the physical (that is, not getting hired because of being severely overweight). Ruth Mantell writes: “Job seekers too should be aware that human-resources use online Continue reading
I recently bought the self-directed course, “Entrepreneurial Journalism: Revenue and Marketing” for 29.95. The course is “taught” by Mark Briggs, who has an impressive resume and is the editor of the blog, Journalism 2.0.
Initially, when I saw the course, I wasn’t sure if it was something I would benefit from doing. What confirmed my decision is that NewsU provides descriptions of the objectives of each course as well as says who the course is geared for. Continue reading
What can we learn about leadership from Rachel Carson? Nancy Koehn writes, “Carson’s life shows that individual agency fueled by resolution and hard work, has the power to change the world.
Getting ready to pitch an idea to investors? Or do you need to give a presentation to someone – anyone – about a plan or idea? Whatever the case, Terracycle’s CEO, Tom Szaky gives readers “Three Critical Aspects of a Killer Slide Presentation” in his NYT blog post this week. Continue reading
You want to take an online journalism class but you don’t want to spend university prices? You can! There are two institutions that offer quality online journalism courses at affordable prices: Gotham Writers’ Workshop (GWW) and NewsU.
Gotham Writers’ Workshop, founded in 1993 by two writers who graduated from MFA programs, offers online classes from screenwriting to travel writing to article writing. If you’re looking for an introductory journalism class to teach you the nuts and bolts, you should consider taking Article Writing I. (They also offer Article Writing II online.) Continue reading
Though there’s no monetary risk in taking a massive open online course (MOOC) from companies like Udacity and Coursera, it would be great to see reviews of particular courses to help you decide if you want to sign up or not. After all, time is a commodity too, and if you spend several hours in a class to find it’s not what you were expecting or is, quite frankly, subpar, it’s frustrating.
Since some of the MOOC platforms are so new you’re going to have to accept being the lab rat if you’re signing up to take them as they roll out. But, there are some blogging about their MOOC experience. And, Coursetalk.org, created by Jesse Spaulding, who took two MOOCs, is a repository for reviews of MOOCs offered from Coursera, Udacity and edX. So if you’re trying to decide between a few different classes, you just might find some reviews that help make the decision a little easier than trial and error. Continue reading
Chances are, getting college credit for your massive open online course (MOOC) isn’t that far off. (Refresher: MOOCs are courses that are offered for free and typically do not offer credit.)
This past September, Colorado State University-Global Campus announced that it would accept full transfer credit for Udacity’s course, “Introduction to Computer Science: Building a Search Engine.” Writing for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Katherine Mangan reports that Sebastian Thrun, Udacity Co-Founder Sebastian Thrun “declined to reveal how many other universities might be considering offering academic credit for Udacity courses, except to say that talks are in the works and he expects others to follow.”
Based on the Q & A after Daphne Koller’s talk at Princeton University last week, it seems probable that Coursera’s transferability to brick and mortar institutions will also become a reality. Speaking about plans to create a sustainable business model, Koller said she and Co-Founder Andrew Ng would most likely offer students the option to take a test for a small fee that would make earning a certificate for a course more valuable. If that were to happen, it follows that some colleges might accept some of their courses for college credit.
This may not help people trim their tuition bills in the very near future, but ten years from now, it certainly could be a possibility – assuming providers like Coursera and Udacity are still around.
More importantly, if MOOCs offer nominal fees to take proctored exams thereby verifying a test taker’s identity, they may become an economical resource for those already in the workforce.
As to when people will be able to get degrees for free, don’t bet your house on it.
Don’t knock a community college education. Writing for USA Today, Paul Davidson explains why two-year degrees may be becoming more valuable than four-year degrees.
Have a friend that’s constantly saying she works 70 hours weeks? She’s probably exaggerating. David Yanofsky from Quartz points to a study done by the Bureau of Labor statistics and highlighted by Harvard Business Review that concludes that people are not Continue reading
You know you’re going to college, but can’t fathom how those four years will translate into preparing you to get a job because you don’t even have the slightest clue of what you want to study. Or you’re in college. You’ve flitted from major to major in several times, but still are unsure about your choice. Or worse. You’re near the end of your degree, it’s too late to switch majors, and you decided that you don’t want to pursue a career in the field your degree prepares you to enter into.
Sound like you?
Take a little bit of time to watch a few short videos from JobTalk4All’s previous event, “College Bound, Now What? Figuring Out Your Career Path,” to glean insight into how to figure “it” all out.
In Part I, Gardening Teacher Suzanne Cunningham shares her story of how she entered Smith College headed for law school and became a gardening teacher instead.
Hear from Holly Bull, who’s the president of Princeton’s Center for Interim Programs, talk about the benefits of taking a gap year. Bull took two gap years herself, so she knows the benefits from firsthand experiences. Helping people navigate their gap year experience since 1986, Bull has holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Virginia and a master’s in education from Harvard University.
Career Coach Alex Freund finishes up the event by explaining what you, as a college student, can and should do to prepare for entering the workforce. Freund had a long career as a hiring manager in Fortune 500 companies including Honeywell and Tyco before starting his coaching business, The Landing Expert.