10 New Year’s Resolutions You Can Keep

newyearEvery year, hundreds of New Year’s resolutions fall by the wayside, completely forgotten or discarded for being unrealistic. This year, we’ve got 10 resolutions that we know you can keep, and can have fun while you’re at it.

  1. Take a walk with friends – without your phone
  2. Try out a new leadership role on campus or in your workplace
  3. Make a decision to only post comments online or by text that you’d be comfortable saying in person
  4. Set up or update your LinkedIn account, making sure to include your amazing accomplishments from last year
  5. Take a class outside of your major
  6. Volunteer in your community
  7. Update your computer’s antivirus – before a crisis occurs
  8. Write a hand-written letter and send it snail mail
  9. Brush up on your world geography
  10. Take the time to get to know at least two new people who come from completely different backgrounds than your own

More than anything else, be yourself, have fun and have a great 2014!




5 Steps For A Successful LinkedIn Profile

LinkedInGuest Author: Emma Williams

As the professional networking website passed the ten year milestone earlier this year, it’s safe to say that LinkedIn has cemented itself as the number one online professional network across the world. But many professionals, particularly new graduates, still aren’t utilising this powerful tool to its full potential. Even if you’re not in the market for a job right now – if you’re still studying or happy in your current position – LinkedIn can still be used to help you in building connections, following news in your industry and improving your personal brand.

So, how do you get the most out of LinkedIn and create a perfect profile which is bound to impress? Here are a few tips to get you started.

1. Start With The Basics
There are a few core elements to your LinkedIn profile, and it is essential that you get these spot on. These are your headline, summary, experience, skills and education. Out of these four, your headline and summary really give you the chance to stand out and communicate your skills and experience to potential employers. Make your headline short, snappy and original and take the opportunity to expand on that in your summary – use all 2000 characters. Keep it in the first person, to avoid an impersonal, corporate feel, and try to tell a story about who you are and how you arrived on your chosen career path. Talk about where you want to be in the future, and who your target audience is.

2. Next…Everything Else!
One of the most common mistakes people make on LinkedIn is not completing their profile. Anything which you leave unfinished is a missed opportunity so, although it may take a little time when you first set it up, it’s well worth completing all of the fields. Plus, the more complete your profile is, the higher it will appear in searches.

Continue reading 5 Steps For A Successful LinkedIn Profile »




Professional Network – First step to the new job

networkingGuest Author: JobTonic.com – job search site. Only actual vacancies in the USA available for you.
Website: www.jobtonic.com
Maybe you’ve found yourself suddenly unemployed, or perhaps you’ve got the itch to change employment. When you’re trying to find a new career, it can be intimidating to think of yourself “on the job market.” Fortunately, you’ve got a powerful, proven resource you can use: your professional network. Here’s why networking simply works when looking a job.

Why Networking is the Best Way to Find a Job

It’s not just professional wisdom, it’s a hard fact: networking is the best way to find a job. The reasons why include:

  • Job listings often lead to large piles of applicants; knowing someone is a way to rise to the top of the pile:
  • Some of the best jobs are never listed publicly:
  • Friendships count; people simply prefer to hire people they already know and like.

But how big is your professional network? You’d be surprised.

Your Network is Larger Than You Think

Continue reading Professional Network – First step to the new job »




Resume Phrases for Finance Majors

Finance MajorAs a finance major, it’s likely that you have, or will develop, an understanding of commercial and investment banking, perhaps you have an interest in forecasting and budgeting, or have studied the financial markets.  But how do you explain all of your classroom experience on your resume? Here are a few sample resume phrases to get you started:

  • Analyzed company’s financial needs and developed short and long term plans with 4 group members for case study
  • Explored conceptual relationship between expected return and relevant risk of individual assets and portfolios of assets
  • Familiar with basic time value methodology to general valuation and integrated cash flow applications
  • Developed and analyzed clients’ financial statements (balance sheet, profit and loss) for various case studies; presented analysis and approach to class
  • Assessed clients’ financial goals and utilized portfolio allocation models to create (mock) investment portfolios
  • Monitored fluctuations of the ________ to study impact on stock pricing
  • Used MS Excel and Minitab to _____________
  • Developed business plan which was selected by local non-profit organization out of 17 submissions, as part of Innovations class
  • Performed statistical analysis of financial data of 20 HMOs in order to __________
  • Examined economic stability of four Southeast Asian countries and posited two approaches for investors interested in this geographic area
  • Familiar with how to calculate a bond’s periodic interest payment and market value when market rates are different than coupon rate
  • Explain capital budgeting, identify the costs and returns of capital budgeting projects, to fellow students as Classroom Assistant/Finance Tutor

Keep in mind that the phrases above are just examples and are provided to remind you of your many accomplishments as a student. Revise, edit and tailor the phrases as your needs require.

As a college student or recent grad, your college degree is often the most marketable thing about you. But how do you translate your academic experience onto your resume? The Resume Phrases by Major series provides sample resume phrases for activities commonly gained in different majors. These sample phrases are intended to inspire students and recent grads to describe their academic experience more thoroughly.

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