What Kind of Resume are You?

November 14, 2019 at 7:57 am (career, Job Search)

Time flies when you are having fun! One day, you’re graduating college and the next, you’ve been working 15 years. Now you’re at the height of your career and want to make a job switch, but you haven’t updated your resume in years. Do you use the same resume that kicked off your career? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

It’s time to revamp your resume. From when I graduated high school in 2011 to now, the rules of the resume game have changed. The content and structure that is included in your resume should be different from the beginning of your career versus the apex of your career.

Let me set the scene: You are about to graduate college and dive deep into the big world of the unknown: work life. Most students have had no work experience or just odd and end jobs that keep you off the ledge of riding the struggle bus while in school.

The best way to lay out your accomplishments is in the form of a functional resume that highlights skills and abilities. In the top partition of your resume you will want to list your GPA (if it’s a good one) and your most successful accomplishments. Social media is huge now, so make sure to include your LinkedIn profile for interviewers to view. You will want to list relevant course work that pertains to the field you are wanting to apply for if you have not completed any internships. If you had the opportunity to complete an internship, highlight that instead of relevant coursework. All volunteer experience counts! If you participated in any honors programs or leadership activities, make sure to include those as well. With work history not being a huge significance, keep your resume to one page! A new thing I’ve learned to save space is there isn’t a need to include references. When I first learned how to write resumes, references were a must. Now, leave them out. Don’t even include “can list references upon request”. Obviously, if you want the job and they ask, you will provide those. So, keep them in mind when needed.

Now, think ahead to having the career you have always wanted and it’s time to make a job change. Do you use the resume you updated 15 years ago? Probably not. It’s now time to completely revamp your resume and give it a whole new look. You have put in hard work over the years and you deserve to show it off.

A 2-page resume is acceptable at this point in your career. You want to use a hybrid or combination resume that lists your most relevant jobs starting with the most recent. You can list up to 15 previous roles, or you can list the ones that pertain to the role you are applying for. Education isn’t a focus anymore, so its good to list the university or degree you have, but no need to include your GPA. you had over 15 years ago. Make sure to include a cover letter! At the top portion of your resume you want to use quantifying accomplishments to list. You can list your accomplishments all day, but employers want to see numbers and what you really achieved. Facts speak louder than words.

This is an example of a functional resume template.
This is an example of a combination or hybrid resume template.

Keep in mind when creating your resume, in whatever stage of life you are in, a “good” resume is someone’s opinion. Everyone has one. These are guidelines to follow to make sure your resume reflects your best accomplishments and you! Good luck in any and all job endeavors.

– Christa Sterling IUPUC Business Management

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HI, HOW ARE YA?

October 10, 2019 at 5:00 pm (Advertising, Big Moves, brand, career, communication, Cultures, Listening skills, Marketing, Motivation, Social Media in the workplace, Social Media/Technology)
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What really is a “brand” anyway? A brand, by definition, is a type of product manufactured by a particular company under a particular name.

If you really think about it, a lot of things/people have brands.

For example, Jeffree Star is well known in the makeup industry for the amazing makeup that he produces. 

Jeffree makes his money in multiple different ways,

  1. YouTube:  
    • Where most people are familiar with this big brand influencer
    • Not even where the bulk of his money comes from
    • 16.2 million subscribers on YouTube and growing
    • His views average from 4M-35M
    • His YouTube videos give him a 6 figure pay out each year, easily
    • He is the richest YouTuber
    • He is the 2nd highest subscribed person on YouTube in the beauty section
  2. Makeup:
    • His empire, also where most people know him
    • Makes $150 million a year, which 70 million of, he pockets
    • Profits 7.2 million for every product launch
    • Independent brand, not a large owned brand which means he profits more
This is Jeffree’s brand logo, if you notice his last name is Star, so for his logo it is a star.
  1. Real Estate/ Marijuana
    • These are side investments that Star has took interest in
    • These are basically backups if the makeup brand does not work out

Jeffree has a lot of things that come together to make his brand, and make it signature to him. His logo of a star, which is also his last name, and the intro to his YouTube video.

Star has three personal homes, and 10 businesses he is running besides his makeup brand.

How to Create a Brand

  1. Determine your brand’s audience.
    • Motivation
    • Pain points
    • Influencers
    • College students
    • Single moms
  2. Establish your brand mission statement.
    • “Just do it.” – Nike
  3. Research bands within your industry niche.
    • The goal is to differentiate from your competition
  4. Outline key qualities and benefits your brand offers.
    • A better way to support productivity
    • Reducing costs with more affordable options
  5. Create a brand logo and tagline.
    • Logo size and placement
    • Color pallet
    • Web elements
    • Photography/image style
  6. Form your brand voice.
    • Professional
    • Technical
    • Friendly
    • Self-oriented
    • Promotional
    • Authoritative
  7. Build a brand message and elevator pitch.
    • Who you are
    • What you offer
    • Why people should care
  8. Let your brand personality shine.
    • Telling stories about real experiences
  9. Intergrade your brand into every part of your business.
    • Visible and reflect in everything that you say/do
  10. Stay true to your brand building.
    • Consistency is key
  11. Be your brands biggest advocate.
    • No one knows your brand like you do, spread the word

Making a brand is not all that hard, once you think about it. Just follow these steps, stay true to you and your brand, and you’ll be on your way to having your own personal brand!

Zoe Chasse, Business Major IUPUC

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Communication in a Die-versity Workplace Won’t Kill You!

October 3, 2019 at 4:17 pm (Business Conflicts, career, communication, Communication Problems, Cultures, Diversity in the Workplace, Effective Communication, Working Well with Teams)

Image result for diverse workforce

When you google what diversity means it defines it as a range of different things, which is correct, but in the way that we are using it, it needs to be more specific. The way that I would define diversity is understanding that everyone is unique and recognizing our differences. Some examples of our differences are economic status, age, religious beliefs, political beliefs, and physical abilities.

 Working in a place where there are many diverse individuals makes for an inclusive workplace. When you have an inclusive workplace with many diverse employees the flow of communication will strengthen. Communication is described as the exchanging of information from one to another, when communicating you must always remember to be clear and concise between, your co-workers and managers so that the message isn’t decoded wrongly.

The benefits of working in a diverse workplace and having strong communication skills with one another are tremendously effective for your personal business. Here are some listed benefits:

  • Diverse employees can inspire creativity and innovation
  • Diverse teams are more productive and perform better
  • A diverse skill set in your business will offer a range of different products and services
  • Diverse employees can bring different ideas to the table

While there are benefits, there are also challenges that come with communication in a diverse workplace some of which are:

  • Co-workers from some cultures or economic status may be less likely to get their voices heard
  • When working with a diverse group it is likely to face prejudice
  • The language barrier might be hard to overcome

Although there are only a few benefits and challenges listed, communication in a diverse place can excel if those are remembering the basic communication process, which is:

  1. Having an idea
  2. Converting ideas in heads to convey a message
  3. Message travels channels
    1. For example, sending the message through an email
  4. Receiver translates the message
  5. Feedback travels to the sender of message
  6. Then possible feedback to the receiver

I hope in your place of work you excel in communication and use these simple steps in the communication process.

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JOCKO PODCAST “GOOD”

October 3, 2019 at 12:28 pm (Business Conflicts, career, Conflict, podcast, Uncategorized)

Everyday thousands of tech savvy people with a message attempt to dabble in the art of Podcasting. Their messages and purpose vary from giving a drunk history lesson with a little humor to the no non-sense investing and personal finance gurus hellbent on securing your financial future. Successful Podcasters have an almost disciple-like following comparable to that of a sports franchise. Anymore, it seems as though we are often judged by others based on what and who we are listening to. While I don’t consider myself a disciple to any particular Podcast, I do have my favorites. Of the various genres that I listen to, one that I find myself continually revisiting is leadership. One of my favorites is JOCKO PODCAST.

JOCKO PODCAST is hosted by none other than Jocko Willink. Jocko served as a Navy SEAL for 20 years before retiring in 2010. He started his career as an enlisted SEAL and worked his way into a command role during the Iraq war. Jocko is a decorated veteran who has been awarded both the Silver Star and Bronze Star, to name a few of his military accomplishments. Jocko also served as the Officer-In-Charge for all West-Coast SEAL operations following his last deployment to Iraq.

I first heard about Jocko through a friend of mine whom I myself served with. I won’t lie, I was a little skeptical at first. “Another SEAL writing books and claiming to be a subject matter expert” I thought, but I listened. To my surprise, he was pretty good. I liked his message, and while he may be a little over the top with his alpha-male, tough-guy persona at times, I agreed with most or all of what he had to say. Then I downloaded his book Discipline Equals Freedom Field Manual. It was a quick read with a basic message; stop making excuses and get off your ass and start doing. I could get on board with that.

The appeal of Jocko to me, is that he reminds us (veterans) that a lot more of the skills you acquired in the military are applicable to everyday life. Many of the guests of the Podcast are also veterans whom he discusses a variety of topics such as PTSD and veteran suicide, adjusting to civilian life, leadership principles, training principles, and overcoming adversity. While much of his audience are veterans, all of what Jocko preaches can be applied to any aspect of your life. As a high school football coach and small business owner, I find myself applying many of these principles to both myself and the team I coach. It’s not that it’s anything ground-breaking, but more of a reminder of things that we have already learned. This is what makes Jocko appealing to a wide audience, the fact that all of what he talks about can be applied to bettering yourself at just about anything.

Anyone who is looking for a motivator to get behind, Jocko is for you. Whether it be his near daily photos of his watch at 4:32 AM (one of his rules to live by, 0430 wake-up), or his to the point advice and perspective for dealing with stress and adversity, Jocko is relentless. Jocko stresses the warrior mindset in a way that is applicable to not only military operators and veterans, but anyone that is seeking personal growth. While his message may be simple, focusing on the positive in every situation, no matter how bad, is something that everyone should get on board with and to that we say, “GOOD.”



By: Ed Bohman, Former Green Beret and Business Finance Major @ IUPUC

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The Best of Both Worlds

September 12, 2019 at 1:28 pm (Big Moves, career, Cultures, Uncategorized)
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Last week I was sitting in the auditorium of the War Memorial in Indy for the citizenship oath ceremony. All around me were excited faces from countries all over the world. I was wondering why so many people would be so excited to give up their citizenship of their country and then I realized that many of these faces had families that were living here or had spouses that they could only meet for a couple of months every year. Even though I understood their happiness and excitement, I was very confused about how I was feeling. On one hand I was happy that I would finally be able to vote, but on the other hand I was sad to be giving up my Indian citizenship. India. A country that I lived in for the first 10 years of my life. It was and will always be my home.

oath ceremony cartoon for blog

While sitting in that auditorium, I had a flashback to the day when my family moved to the United States. I was only 10 years old at that time and was so excited that I was moving to America. Growing up I had always heard so many wonderful things about America and how it is better than India. However, I think I was most excited that I would be in the same country as Disneyland (I was/still am a weird person who loves anything Disney). Looking back at that day though, I do not think I understood completely what it meant to move to the United States. I didn’t realize I wouldn’t be able to see my cousins, my uncles or my aunts. I didn’t realize I wouldn’t be able to hang out with my friends or have my favorite kind of street food or ride on two-wheelers. I never understood the emotional toll it would take on my parents to move away from their home and make a home in a completely different country.

Disney

11 years later, I am now a United States Citizen. I am actually grateful for the move to the United States. I am got to spend my teenage years growing up in a different culture. It made me realize the importance of being open minded to not only new experiences but also to new people. I am so grateful that I got the opportunity to experience two very different cultures. I have now become a bridge of these two cultures in my family. This move also made me realize who I wanted to be as a person. Having experienced the close mindedness of Indians and also the individuality of Americans, I have learned to be open minded but also have my family be a very important part of my life.

 

This move also made me realize what I wanted to do as a career. Being in touch with different kinds of people, I realized during high school that I wanted to do something that helps people live a better life. During the second year of my college career, I knew that I want to go into some kind of a therapy to help people deal with their emotions in a positive way.

India USA

Looking back at the short 22 years that I have been on this planet, I have learned so much from the American culture as well as the Indian culture. I am so thankful that my parents taught me at an early age how to quickly adapt to changes because of which I am where I am today and I think how I think today. During the first year after the move there was always a battle going on in my mind between America and India. However, throughout these years I have learned to bridge that gap and get the best of both worlds.

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Cover Letters and Thank You Letters and Interviews, OH MY!

March 28, 2019 at 3:45 pm (career, communication, Dream Job, Effective Communication, job, Job Hunting, Job Interviews)
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Are you looking for the real reason to use cover letters and send thank you letters? Look no further!

What is the real reason we use cover letters and thank you letters? Well, let me tell you. It definitely has nothing to do with lions and tigers and bears! I have a few good reasons you will want to use a cover letter and follow-up with a thank you letter.

Why a Cover Letter?

  • To show the employer how AWESOME you are
  • And to make them FLIP THE PAGE to your resume
  • This gives you a better chance to get the interview

There are a couple of things to be aware of though. When you’re writing your cover letter be sure not to brag but tell the employer how you can benefit the company. If you’re applying to a few different places, then be sure to change some of your wording in your cover letter for each company. Employers DO NOT have time to read pages about how great you are. It’s important to keep it short and sweet and to the point.

Cover Letter Info

Interview

Now, if everything goes right you’ll get the interview!

Why Send a Thank You Letter?

  • This is for after the interview.
  • It shows you have good manners, of course!
  • This is your last chance to leave a positive impression AND your last chance to get your name in front of them.
  • Did you forget to mention something in your interview? Thank you letters are the perfect chance to say it!

Thank You Letter Info

IMPORTANT

If where you’re applying to specifically asks that you don’t add a cover letter, then don’t. Not following instructions can cause you not to get the interview. So, make sure you know what the employer wants!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

I hope this helps anyone wondering why it’s important to use cover letters and thank you letters. Please let me know what you think! Best of luck to your future endeavors.

Emily Brugh – Business Major @ IUPUC

 

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A Podcast to Reach Your Dreams

February 14, 2019 at 4:44 pm (career, communication, Dream Job, Marketing, podcast, Uncategorized)
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By: Ashleigh Meister

Do you have dreams? Do you dream about getting a degree and finally graduating? Do you dream of what it would feel like to pay off all of your debt and be able to spend your earned money how you want? Do you dream of buying your dream house? What about owning your own business? All of your dreams are possible if you do the work to make them happen.

Rachel Hollis is a mother, a wife, and a self-made business woman who has dreams just like you and she is working towards her goals every day. She has figured out how to reach many of her goals by researching and not taking no for an answer. She created this podcast to share the tools that she used for her own success. Her podcast is called “Rise Podcast”.

In this podcast series, she interviews several successful business people, narrates chapters from her own book, and easily motivates you to actually make steps towards your dreams and goals. Rachel’s audience is mostly made up of females in the “Rise Podcast”. She speaks primarily to women because she was in the same place as her audience at one point in time.

There is a lot of marketing in this podcast. Like mentioned before, Rachel narrates chapters from her book. This is a form of marketing for her book. She also asks you to screen shot the podcast episode you are listening to and post on social media by tagging her in your Instagram stories or post via @msrachelhollis. I think this is very smart and a great way to market herself without saying, “Hey, go follow me!”. She knows how to drive traffic to her other outlets.

Rachel’s podcast may be focused on women but that does not mean that men cannot take notes. She has several interviews with very successful men. While this podcast’s main focus is women; Rachel and her husband have an additional podcast for married couples. This is something that she also markets in her “Rise Podcast”.

“Nobody, not a voice of authority, not your Mama, not the foremost expert in your arena; gets to tell you how big your dreams can be. They can talk all they want, but you get to decide if you’re willing to listen.” -Rachel Hollis

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Internships? How do I Get One? Are They Even Important?

November 7, 2018 at 9:58 am (career, Dream Job, job, Job Hunting, Presentations, Uncategorized, Welcome)

 

Internships are what sets you apart from every other college student who decided to “just” do well in school and not have a job. Those people never came to the conclusion that maybe, just maybe they needed some work experience to be considered for a job. As defined by the Dictionary-

In-tern-ship-noun-the position of a student or trainee who works in an organization, sometimes without pay, in order to gain work experience or satisfy requirements for a qualification.

There are a variety of internships; the ones that pay money and the ones that you do for free. In other words, just do it for the FREE experience. College students can barely afford a Polar Pop always scraping up spare change, let alone doing free labor. College is hard,  and the real world is even harder.

There are a variety of ways a student can get an internship. The major ways that helped me land the job are as follows.

  • Know what you want to do as a career.
  • Make sure your resume correlates to the desired field.
    • If your resume doesn’t have anything to do with the desired career field, some volunteer work is needed.
  • Develop important relations in high places.
  • Develop a strong work ethic  
  • Apply everywhere, not just places you want.
  • Get help from the school. Sometimes they offer intern help.
  • Search up the companies you are wanting to apply to and figure out the algorithms to their selection process.
  • Research the company you are applying for.
  • Research the role you are applying for.
  • PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! Interviewing whether it is with someone or in the mirror.

Internships determine a lot when starting a career field. Many jobs look for “experience” and apparently bagging groceries doesn’t cut it. Go figure? Jobs base the hiring process through the amount of experience and qualifications you have. Remember, dress for the job that you want, never the job that you have.Presentation is key you only have one chance to impress the boss once you get the interview.Polish that resume to look and be the part.

Check out the video below to get some tips on polishing a resume.

 

ByTeresa Idett Cardozo Garcia, Business Marketing Major-IUPUC

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Power Point-ing: Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should

October 24, 2018 at 7:53 pm (career, Effective Communication, job, Presentations)
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In college or at work, at some point you are going to create a power point presentation. You may prefer Prezi, Google Slides, or the most commonly known Microsoft PowerPoint itself. These programs offer endless options in colors, themes, graphics, animations, and even cute little icons for bullet points to personalize your message. But please remember: Just because you can, does not mean you should! Yes, it is cliche, but it is true: Less is more. You can use catchy phrases and cheesy jokes to gain the attention of your audience, but let it end there. Here are a few helpful hints on how to make an awesome power point presentation without losing your credibility.

There are so many rules to follow when you are creating a presentation. Know your audience to better determine which approach to take. The ever popular 10-20-30 rule is a favorite. Your presentation should be no more than 10 slides, 20 minutes, and use 30 point font or larger. This is a great tool for the novice presenter. Keeping a simple theme with little or no animation and using a standard font will get your point across.

Maybe you have heard of the 5 by 5 rule (5 words per bullet point, 5 bullet points, and no more than 5 text heavy slides in a row). There is also the 1-6-6 rule (each slide has one main idea, 6 bullet points, with no more than 6 words each). It is safe to consider both of these concepts outdated, based on the average 8 second attention span. Text is evil and will lose your audience quickly.

The most important thing to remember as a presenter using PowerPoint, is the slides do not replace you. The images you provide are nothing more than a prop. Do not let your audience get caught up in reading and stop listening to your message.

Here is a new style of PowerPoint that is simple, easy to follow, and even easier to remember for your next engagement. “B4 You Present” is here to sweep the nation. The 4 B’s will save your audience from needing that second shot of espresso.

*Beyond the basic font – find a happy medium between boring and comedy. The font you use speaks volumes.Choose your style carefully, and stay consistent throughout your presentation.

*Big and beautiful – Create a clean slide with large font. Can you see me now?

*Browse for high quality images- Use one or two pictures per slide, no fuzz no pixels

*Boil it down – Break up your bullet points to their own slide, no more than 8 words per idea.

Let’s be honest with ourselves. No one wants to read a slide show, even if it contains graphics and bright colors. What we really want is to be entertained. So, treat each slide like its own individual advertisement. Use meaningful info graphics to display those boring figures and follow those four steps when building your PowerPoint slides. You will be the star of the show.

dosndonts

-Tiffany Riggs-Kredit, IUPUI

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Do You Hear What I Hear???

September 27, 2018 at 10:09 am (Add Value to Business, Business Conflicts, Business Ethics, career, Coming Out LGBTQ, communication, Communication Problems, Conflict, Diversity in the Workplace, Effective Communication, frame of reference, Job Interviews, Listening skills, Motivation, Overseas Business Conflicts, Social Media in the workplace, Social Media/Technology, Telecommuting, Uncategorized, Working Well with Teams)
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woman wearing headphones standing beside man

Photo by Nicholas Githiri on Pexels.com

Listening to me and Hearing me are two different things. How well do you listen? According to PR Daily, less than two percent of the country’s population, have had formal education on how to listen. Did that not just blow your mind, because mine is flabbergasted. We communicate everyday with people from around the world, only to realize what we are saying to each other is only being heard, and not comprehended. I have three quick points on how we can enhance our communication skills, by simply improving our listening abilities.

  1. Pay Attention
  2. Open Your Mind
  3. Interact

These tips do not have to be completed in order, but it is much easier to understand the conversation if you do. Let’s break these tips down into a simpler form.

  • Paying attention is the key to any conversation. This allows the sender and receiver the opportunity to feel each other out. It is also needed to retain pertinent information.
  • Open your mind to all ideas whether you feel like they are good or bad. You never know what someone else can bring to the table, not to mention we all fall short of knowing everything, so always be willing to learn something new.
  • Both the sender and the receiver should interact with each other. By doing this the other knows if the message sent is clear. Interaction could be as simple as eye contact or a nod of the head. The point is you are letting the other know you get it!

I have found in relationships with others in my life, communicating effectively is so important. Not understanding what someone is trying to tell you after they have said it over and over and you have heard it over and over is beyond frustrating. That is why during the communicating process, we must openly listen to each other and pay attention to the details in the message so that we can respond to effectively. Considering there are so many cultures that make up our country, some ways of getting a message across will vary. These steps might not work for every situation, but they can assist with the process.

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