Starting a career 10

What next?:
Being compared to other applicants without job experience, you will have an advantage.  Having job experience means that you are willing to work hard and wish to do your best.  With all the references you hopefully have, your career will be expanding with every reference.  With all the different jobs out there in this internet age, every bit of experience in various jobs can be helpful in other jobs even if the fields of expertise aren't related.  This also applies to self employment, having knowledge of how other people run a business or are manger's of a store, you are able to manage yourself and you're employees that you could end up hiring.  If you try a lot of different jobs, you will start to learn what you are personally good at, and are interested in.  So it is a good idea to diversify your job experience. 
After you get settled in, and you have your life all planned out (financially), it's time to pay yourself!  Make all that hard work worth it and splurge for yourself.  Chase after your dreams, go on a relaxing vacation, spend time with loved ones.  Make all that work worth it.  Remember, making a career is all about you.

starting a career 9

Building credit history:
Just like having/not having good recommendations and references from past jobs.  All your credit history stays with you until you die.  Credit history is a record of any individual's borrowing and repaying of debts they owe.  This credit history can determine whether you can take a mortgage or not later in life.  Another reason why it i important to always repay debts as soon as possible.  Lenders, such as bank and credit card companies, will be less likely to give out money to those who have a bad credit history because they are fearful that they will not get their money back with some interest included.
Having a bad credit history has lots of other negative consequences.  Some consequences include, insurance at higher rates, being denied housing and not getting employed.
Nobody cares if you were 'going' to repay your debts, time is money in this world.  The longer it takes you to repay a debt, the more your credit history will go down which will make your life way harder later on.

starting a career 8

Starting to save money:
Recently I have created a 'Youth' bank account with the help of my mom.  In my business classes, we were told that we have the privilege of time to start saving and make some extra money by 'Paying yourself.'  We were given an example of how to save up over 1 million dollars by saving 7 dollars a day for 50 years with an outrageous 8% interest!  With my newly created bank account, I was curious how much of the information was actually true.  To my disappointment the interest was a measly .05%.  A huge difference that brought my hopes down on how much money that will be saved up.

The process of creating the account was quite simple.  I met a financial advisor and they walked me through every little step.  They asked me what kind of account I wanted to use, and they gave me an access card to their bank.   I then made my Pin number and my online security questions.  An easy process for anyone.  I then made my first deposit into my account with my newly acquired paycheck!

Starting a career 7

Creating a resume:
In one of my business classes, we learned about creating resumes.  Listing education, work experience, skills, volunteer experience and references really makes you think about yourself and what you have accomplished up to this point in your life.  "As you are students, you won't necessarily have that much to write down", explained our teacher which made all of us kinda frustrated.  Creating my own resume wasn't a piece of cake either.  Thinking back and evaluating what information would be accepted as professional materials to put on a resume.  With putting, what my mom calls it, a "Self advertisement" it's hard to keep the information to a need to know level, as well as trying to stay humble and not brag about said accomplishments.  When starting to learn about resumes, our teacher told us the importance of not using the word, "I" and to use action verbs.  To me that sounded redundant, all verbs are technically action words, but then I saw the list of example action verbs, and understood that they all have a very positive and constructive connotation.  Resumes will really help when I apply for another job when the time comes.  This is because it is more common that applicants will drop off a resume before getting an interview for the job.  Having a better written resume will give you the advantage over others, as well as shows a certain aspect of professionalism.

Starting a career 6

My thoughts about students having jobs:

I think that students should not be concerned about getting a job unless they really want something and their parents won't lend/give them money.  Students should only concentrate on academics, it is considered our job. But on the other hand, having experience and something to put on your resume can only benefit you, as long as you make good impressions.  But, I believe students shouldn't get stressed over a job since our education is 'supposed' to give us more options when we need/feel like getting a job.  As posted by Jay Willingham on his blog http://www.campusbyte.com/college-life/jobs-for-college-students/ he lists the five main reasons to have a job as a student.  1. Responsibilities develop self discipline in a job and school environment.  2. Having extra cash as I have already touched on.  3. Gaining references for a longer term career.  4. Gives you more to put on your resume.  5. Extra job experience.  In summary, jobs are great possibilities for students, but not having one is not a bad thing as long as you work hard all the time.

Starting a career 5

Reasons to have a job:
Jobs are seen as a source of income by most, but they add routine in our ever chaotic life.  Even though it is debatable that some jobs are crazier then other jobs, it all depends on the individual.  I have also heard that some believe that having a job adds excitement to their life and (depending on the job) people look forward to going to work.  But after all these different ideas, jobs are the reason why you can afford this computer read this blog, the difference in your car and your neighbor's.  Job's can also be distractions from other complicated situations such as relationships and difficult school assignments.
Another reason to have a job is to explore your interests and dislikes.  If you never try something, you'll never know if you'll like it.  So I suggest that trying different roles in a work environment or having different job in ones life to find what really excite you and give your life some goal to achieve.

Starting a career 4

Work habits:
Being willing and able to work at most times is a great quality in an employee.  Being in a work environment, good work habit is even more important since your boss can fire you for a bad work habit.  Work habits by definition include: being on time, doing your work efficiently and work is delivered on time.  This is why it is important to start work habits early and keep them up in school because only good things can be the result of good habits. 
Work habit can be determined by participation, concentration on tasks, cooperation, being neat, being respectful and taking responsibility.  Being able to do all these things is a sign of good work habits, which will result in having good impressions on your employer.

Work Smart: How to Make Procrastination Productive

Starting a career 3

Comparison to learning about Mars' environment

Getting used to a work environment:
Purchasing someone's services and providing a service are almost completely different things.  Being on the giving end of a transaction and trying to please the customer can be a tedious task.  Work environments have a sort of teamwork vibe and everyone is very supportive of one another because they all have similar experiences and goals.  Having a good work environment can improve work flow a lot compared to a dumpy little staff room where everyone hates each other.

Starting a career

The first encounter:
Applying for a job can be a very stressful thing to do.  As students, we usually get money from our parents if we need something, but going into a work environment can add the stress of expectations, of behavior and if you deserve the pay.  I believe that every hour of work is important to work hard and efficiency, you never know when your boss will pop in for a visit.  Personally I was given the opportunity to work for my Taekwondo dojo that I have been going to for lessons for over 10 years now.  I hope that I'm being of some help to the other instructors and I am not disappointing them.  Since this is my first job, I'm expecting twists and turns with every day, but all seems fine for now.  Getting the job was really informal compared to what I was expecting.  Instead of a formal interview, I was told to give a small speech in front of a group of other students and tell them about my experiences with Taekwondo and how I have integrated it with my life.  This speech idea was given to me with less than five minutes to prepare for, but I tried my best to calm myself and started talking.  I'm sure it was as awkward to listen to me stumbling over my words as it was too present it.  But I was told that I did an alright job!  That's how I got my first job.

Starting a career 2

Payment:

Starting to work can seem like a tedious task and feels like there is no reward.  Maybe some compliments and the feeling of accomplishment, but for a while you question yourself why you're 'Wasting' your time doing someone's work.  Then suddenly your employer hands you a slip of paper, the single ray of hope.  The reason you worked so hard, money.  Whether it be in the form of a paystub, a check or in cold hard cash, receiving your first payment is one of the best feelings in the world. I've heard from relatives that they have spent their first paychecks right away and tried to enjoy their hard work right away.

Blog Assignment 3

Entry 4: Blog Assignment 3                    Date: March 09, 2012

Blogger (http://monkeybrain4u.blogspot.com/)

-There were step-by-step instructions on how to create a blog, with templates to start writing the blog with a little bit of flare.

-This site was very easy to get started with.

-It is possible to limit the readers of the blog in the settings menu, then going to basic information.

-It is possible to limit the people who comment on your blog by going to the settings menu, then to posts and comments.

WordPress ( http://monkeybrain4u.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=6&action=edit)

-There was a blog post, which gave some information to insight on how to edit blogs, which was sent by the support team.  This document displays the author as you, the writer.  There is also an introduction video on the dashboard which will help new bloggers to get started with the site.

-There is a “QuickPress” feature on the home page, which allows quick drafts for blogs.

-I have not found a way to limit the people who are able to read or comment on your blog.

-Wordpress.org and Wordpress.com are different websites and do not both track the users from the other site.  This could confuse others trying to log into one of the sites.

Edublogs (http://monkeybrain4u.edublogs.org)

-This blog site has a very similar look to it as WordPress does.  Both of these sites are almost exactly the same in features and design.

-Very simple registering procedures.

-Similar to WordPress, I have not found a way to limit the people who are able to read or comment on your blog.

If I were to choose one site to use over the other two sites, I would choose Blogger.com because of its easy use as well as simple and fast setup.  Overall, blogging in general isn’t that difficult.  All you need to do with blogging is know where to start with a topic, and understand that publish means “Make public.”