Working Moms
I must admit I don't have a ton of experience as a working
Mom, meaning a Mom who works OUTSIDE the home...However,
when my first child was born over ten years ago I considered a career in
the banking industry. I put her in day care and my heart ached for her
all day...every day. I went to God and my husband...and after much
prayer and discussion we decided that I would be a Stay at Home Mom.
I am now a Work at Home Mom.
For my family it is the only choice...It is sometimes a
sacrifice...but only financially. My time is more important to my
children then "things." That being said...I do not
think I am a better Mother than those of you who work outside
the home. I have great respect for you. Every Mother must make
her own choices and decisions that are best for her family. We do what
we have to do. Right? I hope the articles here help make your life
easier and bring you much encouragement.
We also have a special section for working Moms on
our message boards that you
may want to check out.
We have a nice collection of helpful articles, tips, and resources
for working moms in our
Archives. Take your time and browse through
them. Come back often! I am always adding new stuff.
Working Moms Feature:
Top 10 Strategies for Landing a Job with Your Associate Degree
Your career training program may prepare you to perform your
dream job, but you still have to get your foot in an employer's door.
Career coaches and job hunting experts recommend ten powerful
steps you can take to line up a great job for after graduation. The
earlier you start this process during your associate degree program, the
more likely you can land quality job offers.
Step #1: Write Down Your Job Hunting Strategy
Scientists note the powerful connection between the part of the brain
that drives us to write down our goals and the part of the brain that
identifies opportunities. Writing down your goals allows you to clarify
what you want while clearing a path to those desires.
Career counselors suggest keeping a journal that focuses on three
key areas of your job hunt:
- Your Mission Statement: Write down a sentence
or a paragraph that describes exactly what you want your ideal job
offer to look like.
- Milestones: Keep track of your contacts,
communications, and achievements.
- Deadlines: Give yourself clear deadlines for
meeting milestones. For instance, challenge yourself to send ten
resumes in a day. Use a friend, family member, or counselor to help
keep you accountable.
Step #2: Visit Your College Career
Counselor's Office
One of the biggest perks of an associate degree is access to the
career counselor at your college or your training center.
Career counselors can connect you to hiring officers at companies
that have been impressed by other graduates of your program. Career
counselors can also provide you with connections to alumni who can
serve as mentors and advisors during your job search.
Step #3: Survey Potential Employers in Your New
Field
Over the course of a typical two year career training program,
industries and economies can change. Keeping track of the biggest shifts
in your field can help you customize your associate degree curriculum to
fit employers' needs. Use class projects as opportunities to interview
experts in your field about industry trends. Not only can you use this
insider information to earn high marks, you can develop powerful,
professional relationships.
Step #4: Polish Your Resume
With online job boards and networking sites making it easy to apply for
jobs, a tight, focused resume is more important than ever.
Resume writing experts offer three powerful tips for making a
lasting impression:
- Promote Your Objective: Customize your
mission statement to reflect the specific position offered by a
prospective employer. Place your objective near the top of your
resume for added impact.
- Highlight Key Skills: Highlight specific tasks
you would perform for your prospective employer. If you're a job
hunter making a career change, focus on transferable skills that let
you bring a unique perspective to your new job.
- Keep It Short: Hiring officers often discard
resumes longer than one page. Eliminate all information that doesn't
apply to your prospective employer, such as hobbies or club
participation.
BONUS TIP: Many
companies go online to perform background checks. Therefore, invest some
time in your online profile. Post a searchable version of your resume on
your personal home page. Set personal photos and blog postings to
""friends-only"" access on social networking sites. Many recent college
graduates report trouble finding jobs when hiring officers stumble
across embarrassing information online.
Step #5: Build a Strong Portfolio
Job hunting experts recommend highlighting your hands-on
experience with a portfolio. While essential for creative careers like
animation and graphic design, portfolios can also make a difference for
graduates of business, health care, and criminal justice associate
degree programs. Showcasing your student projects helps hiring officers
develop a strong sense of your work ethic and of your overall skill
level.
Step #6: Challenge Yourself with Internships
Internships provide the strongest two-way learning opportunities of your
associate degree program. While internships allow you to earn
college credit for on-the-job training, your work placements offer you
the chance to sell yourself to potential employers or professional
contacts. Though internships often require a sacrifice of time and
money, they often result in the highest quality job leads.
Step #7: Conduct Informational Interviews
Just as pitchers warm up before hitting the mound, successful job
seekers use informational interviews to sharpen their skills.
Successful informational interviews often result in job leads, since
interviewers often ""make room"" for interviewees or refer them to other
professional connections with active job openings.
When contacting prospective interviewers, emphasize the fact that you
want to gain their advice and insight and not just a job. Many industry
professionals prefer to conduct interviews outside their usual hiring
cycles, when they can spend more time answering questions and imparting
advice.
Potential interviewers include:
- Alumni of Your College or Career Training Center
- Contacts from Your Career Counselor
- Members of Local Chambers or Commerce
- Members of Local Industry Organizations
Step #8: Keep Up with the News
To help prepare for interviews, use the Web to stay informed about
issues facing your industry. While many entry level jobs
require the skills you're developing during your associate degree
program, employers prefer to hire job seekers with ambition and
insight. Engaging interviewers in serious discussion about how you can
help their company solve a pressing challenge often results in
callbacks.
Step #9: Make Interviews Your Priority
Completing an associate degree while juggling work and family
commitments keeps you busy enough. However, a successful job hunt
before graduation requires even more flexibility. Build a support
network that can help you take care of kids, pets, or other personal
matters when a job interview pops up.
Step #10: Follow Up with Interviewers
Sending a sincere, handwritten thank you note to your interviewer helps
you stand out from the crowd, even when an employer passes you over for
a job. In most cities, hiring officers from competing companies often
network with each other. Therefore, appearing rude in the eyes of one
interviewer can sabotage your entire job hunt. Conversely, a hiring
officer forced to pass you over for an open position may refer you to a
colleague if you make a great impression.
Your associate degree validates the hard work you have done and
the skills you have developed. As you will discover, marketing those
skills becomes even more important during the job hunting phase of your
career move. By keeping your job hunting journal full of active
entries and affirmations throughout all ten of these steps, you can
leverage your career training into an engaging, new career.
About the Author:
Kelli Smith is the senior editor of www.Edu411.org. Edu411.org is a
career education
directory of colleges and universities,
career training schools,
and technical institutes.
Article Source:
http://greatarticlesformoms.com
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