August 2015 |
Transition-e-news Volume 3 Issue 109 |
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Sponsored By: |
Transition Insight
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7 Reasons Why You Should Be on LinkedIn
by Barbara Adams, CPRW, CEIP, MFRW, MMRW, MFCA-T 7 Reasons Why You Should Be on LinkedIn What? You're not on LinkedIn yet? What are you waiting for? These seven reasons outline why you should be on the social networking site. 1. Because That's Where The People Are. LinkedIn is the number one social network for professionals — and, arguably, the most important website for jobseekers — with more than 150 million members worldwide. Not only are people you know already on the site, but so are people you should get to know — recruiters, hiring managers, and your future co-workers. 2. To "Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty." In his book of the same name, author Harvey Mackay advocates building your network before you need it — and joining LinkedIn now gives you time to build your network of connections. 3. To Strengthen Your Offline Network. LinkedIn helps you keep track of people you know "in real life" — what they are doing, where they work now, and who they know. 4. To Reconnect With Former Co-Workers. Sometimes it's hard to stay in touch with the people you used to work with — making it difficult to find them when you need them (say, to use as a reference in your job search). LinkedIn allows you to search contacts by employer, so anyone who listed that company in their profile will be found in the search. 5. Because You Can Establish Yourself as an Expert. One of the ways to be seen as a thought leader in your industry is to increase your visibility. One way to do this is to actively participate in Groups related to your job, and also to respond to questions on LinkedIn's "Answers" forums. Anytime you post in Groups or answer questions, these updates will be available in your profile, so people looking for you can see that you are actively engaged in this online community. 6. To Be Found as a Passive Candidate. Having a robust LinkedIn profile — filled with your accomplishments and strong keywords — will lead prospective employers to you, even if you are not actively looking for a job. Recruiters especially are always searching LinkedIn to find candidates to match their search assignments. 7. Because Your Presence on LinkedIn Can Help You Be Found Elsewhere Online. It's common practice for hiring managers and recruiters to "Google" job candidates, and your LinkedIn profile will likely appear high up in their Google search results. A strong LinkedIn profile can enhance your candidacy, especially if you have a solid network of contacts, at least a few Recommendations, and you've supplemented the basic profile information with things like lists of your certifications, languages you speak, SlideShare presentations, honors and awards, and/or your professional portfolio. Barbara Adams, President and CEO of CareerPro Global (CPG), the parent company of www.careerproplus.com and www.militaryresumewriters.com, has been a member of the careers community for the past 20 years. Ms. Adams holds four prestigious industry certifications. CareerPro Global is the only ISO 9001-2008 Certified Career Service in the industry, as well as one of the fastest-growing Military, Federal, and Civilian Resume-Writing and Careers-Coaching companies. The team of Certified Professional Federal and Military Resume Writers at CPG assist thousands of clients in applying for and gaining employment each year. We can help you land your military to civilian job. |
How Veteran Entrepreneurs at Patriot Boot Camp Presented by Techstars Will Change the WorldReprinted with Permission: NextGenJustice.com The recent surge in veteran entrepreneurship that has been slowly but steadily brewing is led by one organization — Patriot Boot Camp Presented by Techstars . Patriot Boot Camp’s mission is to help military veterans and their spouses build technology companies by hosting three day events at no cost in different cities around the country. The mentorship, education, and support provided cannot be found anywhere else — especially for free! Learn more about their recent program hosted by the University of North Carolina online program at the Chapel Hill campus here and here. Veterans understand purpose more than most and seem to carry that trait with them into their business ventures. Patriot Boot Camp supports companies that will change the world, and venture capitalists would do well to take notice. More importantly, Americans and consumers should take notice because there will be several fantastic organizations launching in the very near future. Tiger Eye Sensor is a wearable that veteran entrepreneur CJ Scarlet developed to protect women against domestic violence and other serious crimes. The small device is voice-activated when someone yells for help. Once activated, the device connects to a trained operator to identify the problem and provide assistance. In addition, the device records everything and takes pictures for criminal evidence against the perpetrator. CJ’s sound plan to partner with large security companies to license and scale product quickly ensures hers is a company that investors should take a look at. AgriSource Data is a veteran-run startup led by Ben Worley that delivers big data and technology into farmers’ hands so they can make important decisions, including vital ones such as how to utilize water efficiently. Their intuitive technology allows farmers to optimize outputs and maximize yields, creating a more sustainable future for us all. As unpredictable weather and scarce water resources become larger and larger issues, this is surely a company that will gain venture capital attention. Patriot Boot Camp brought together several other attention-getting companies at the Chapel Hill event as well. Some have more traction than others, but all will serve a purpose and owe Patriot Boot Camp a huge thanks. Nine other awesome veteran startup companies: Celestial Lighting Services – Automating the repair process for city streetlights Monster Box Supplements - An automated concierge service for exercise supplements Pelorus - An automated gifting platform PermitZone - Changing how contractors obtain permits Sandboxx – Keeping members of the military and their families and friends connected SoloPro - Disrupting the real estate market Sworkit – An exercise application, called the best iPhone fitness app in a new study Tycket - A social travel company Uvize – A technology company that accelerates mentorship The next Patriot Boot Camp Presented by Techstars event will be hosted in Detroit, Michigan from October 23-25 at the Techstars Mobility facility and will feature many other inspiring veteran entrepreneurs. Follow @nextgenjustice and @patriotbootcamp on Twitter to get all the latest updates — you won’t want to miss this! |
Career Lessons Learned from Two Layoffs© Copyright, 2015, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved. If you read my first WorkCoachCafe post, you know I’ve been laid off twice in my career. And, strange as it may sound, those layoffs really ended up helping my career, even though they threw me into a panic both times. No paycheck?!? YIKES! Five very important things that those two layoffs taught me: 1. A “career” is NOT a destination. A career is a process or a journey that we take.A job loss is just a change in employer. It may end up being a change in career direction. But, it’s not the end of your career. We don’t necessarily know where our career is going to take us, which doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have goals or do planning. And we need to be ready to accept challenges and opportunities when they present themselves. 2. Sometimes it takes a kick in the pants (or a job loss) to get us moving on — to a better future.I know this was true for me, and many people have shared that they feel the same way. If that job loss had not happened, they would still be in the same rut, dealing with the same issues, not really enjoying their work. But, the job loss happened. So, they had to face reality and move on. And it was an absolute gift to them. I know that a job loss definitely doesn’t feel like a gift when it happens. However, years or months later, you can see the benefit clearly. If I hadn’t been laid off twice, my career trajectory would have been very different. I would never have ended up where I am today, loving what I do. 3. If you don’t make mistakes, you aren’t making progress either.People who are risk-averse, afraid to make a mistake, live very limited lives, and they never know how much they could have achieved. It’s a good idea not to make the same mistake twice, but mistakes are a great way to learn! My favorite saying from a fortune cookie is: Start to look for your faults if you never make mistakes. So true! Too often, we don’t try something new because we’re afraid of making mistakes. This isn’t an invitation to be crazy, but it is an invitation to take “calculated” risks. What’s a calculated risk? This is my approach: I’ve tried to teach myself to ask myself, “What’s the worst thing that could happen” if I’m wavering about taking some step. Most of the time, the worst thing isn’t really that awful, particularly in comparison with the “upside” related to successfully taking the action. 4. If you don’t have a goal in mind, you probably won’t get there.The journey that is a career can go off in the wrong direction. Too often, we stay in jobs we don’t really like, working for people we may not respect, because we don’t really know what we want. “A job is just a job” is the relatively comforting thought. As long as that paycheck keeps appearing, we just plod along in that same old pattern. Going nowhere. But, figuring out what you want to do next is WORK! An investment of time and attention is required. Self-analysis — what you do well and enjoy doing — is necessary. Yikes! Yes, deciding that your goal is to be CEO of a Fortune 500 company or a New York Times best-selling author may not be achievable, given the competition. However, heading in that direction (if that’s what you really want) will be very educational and may show you a better option, something very enjoyable that isn’t on your radar screen right now. 5. Learning is not an option. When you stop learning, you become irrelevant.That has always been true, but I think it is more true now than in the past with the velocity of cultural and technological change increasing exponentially in the last few years. Regardless of your age, 25 or 55, staying up-to-date is not optional. If you aren’t visibly up-to-date, you are an “old timer” regardless of your age, and you will be marginalized in most fields. Look ForwardJob loss can be a tragedy, but, more often, it’s the start of a new phase in your career. Often a job loss is a gift — the start of something new and better for you. More about Career ChangeInvoluntary Career Change Can Be GREAT! 5 Important Things to Know About Career Change About the Author… Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 2011, NETability purchased WorkCoachCafe.com, and Susan has been editor and publisher of WorkCoach since then. Susan also edits and publishes Job-Hunt.org, is a Visiting Scholar at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and a columnist on HuffingtonPost. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg and on Google+ |
FTC investigating online college University of Phoenix
By: Anne Flaherty WASHINGTON (AP) — The University of Phoenix, which runs an online college popular among military veterans, is under federal investigation for possible deceptive or unfair business practices, its parent company the Apollo Education Group told shareholders Wednesday. The for-profit, publicly traded company is the largest recipient of federal student aid for veterans and often a sponsor at military education and employment events. Since 2009, when the GI Bill expanded student aid benefits for veterans, the University of Phoenix online program has collected more than $488 million in tuition and fees for veterans — a figure that dwarfs nearly every other institution identified as a GI recipient by the Department of Veterans Affairs. In a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company disclosed that it had received a "civil investigative demand" from the Federal Trade Commission this week. According to the document, investigators asked for information on a "broad spectrum" of matters, including marketing, recruiting, enrollment, financial aid, tuition, academic programs, billing and debt collection, as well other facets of the business. The filing lists "military recruitment" as one of the areas the FTC is examining. The filing said Apollo is "evaluating the demand and intends to cooperate fully with the FTC." Apollo and the FTC declined to comment further. The FTC probe is the latest of several state and federal investigations into the for-profit college industry. Critics say many of these colleges are aggressive in recruiting students who qualify for large amounts of federal student aid, including GI money. But the credits often don't transfer to other schools and aren't recognized by employers. Industry officials say they are unfairly being scrutinized, and say for-profit schools have expanded education opportunities to communities that wouldn't otherwise have access. On July 1, new federal rules went into effect for any school with a career-training program. Graduates have to be able to earn enough money to repay their student loans, or a school risks losing access to financial aid. Consumer advocates say the regulation is a first step toward reining in the industry. But, they add, because the regulation looks at employment rates for graduates, it won't affect schools with high dropout rates. The University of Phoenix has collected more than a half a billion dollars in GI assistance since 2009. While its online program received $488 million, its campuses also took in large sums to educate vets. In San Diego, Calif., for example, its campus received $134 million in GI tuition assistance, while its campus in Costa Mesa, Calif., received $122 million. By comparison, the top recipient of GI tuition assistance among public institutions is the University of Maryland-University College, with $150 million in GI tuition since 2009. |
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