Tag Archives: Career development

10 reasons to why students should have LinkedIn

Iphone blog: Make the summer the time to get ahead

I’m at the airport waiting for My flight to nice, France. In my suitcase i have two books, trust agents and six pixells of separation. I got them around christmas, but have not had the time to read as Ive been busy reading school litteratur. I have à rule: no reading for fun until done reading for school. As this never happened, i try to do all of My reading between the courses and om the summer holiday.

And after à few years of using the time i have off to read non-fiction litterature and work, i have learned far more which is useful for My work Than at the university. Simply because i’ve read what interests me instead of what i have to read. I think that most People underestimate reading to complement school and says that work experience is the best and often only complement. And i agree that is is, but reading Will teach you à lot.

When we work and/or study, that is our excuse to not go that extra mile. When we are on a vacation we just sant relax.

But why not bring à few books to the beach or your computer to the summerhouse for rainy days. You might just learn à few new things or get an idea which Will give you à promotion you wanted. Reading on the beach might be what reduces your stress in the fall. Give it à shot?

10 Reasons To Why Students Should Blog

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Yesterday, I got the question “why do you blog?” of course I had around a million answers to respond with. Then I realized that the reason the person asked was not to find out why I blogged but to see if there was any reason to why he should blog.

This got me thinking about what blogging has done to me, and why I continue to blog. Thus I wanted to create a list to why I think that students should blog to complement their studies and choice their own professional path. Because I honestly believe that when I want to apply for a job or make decisions for my career this blog will matter.

Blogs give individuals an opportunity to express their opinions and make them count in a world of millions of others. Years ago, you needed to be a journalist or a politician to get your opinion heard; today, blogs offer anyone the opportunity to express oneself.

Now this list is written on the presumptions that writing is a way of studying; When you have put something in your own words you know it a lot better than if you only read it. Also, I talk about blogging about subjects, interest etc. and not a personal blog about what I did today.

1. Gain a deeper knowledge for the subject you are studying – or show people that you know about another subject.

When it comes to University classes I many times feel that even though I’m taking classes in subjects that interests me and the classes are really good, I do not really learn what had expected to learn. By blogging you can assign yourself any subject you want to analyze and write about and then learn about it yourself.

2. Improve your creativity by finding new subject to write about.

Initially blogging might be very easy and the subject may come to you by the second, but sometimes you will lose your flow or you might not find and interesting angle. Then creativity will be essential to keep your blogging up, and of course there will be other ways to improve your creativity like with the blog design etc.

3. Develop your analytical thinking though writing insightful posts.

It is one thing to republish the news or the facts that you read about, but adding value to them and figure out new angles is what will improve your analytical thinking. After all, for most subjects people already have a source for the news, so from you they will be looking for something a bit more insightful.

4. Create pieces for discussion and debate subjects that interest you through comments on your blog.

I bet that you many times wonder about what other people think about a subject. A blog could be the ideal way to find the answers. Many bloggers write about subjects that interest them and ask questions or do other things to make people comment. Then they learn from others by reading and participating in the discussion that can come out from that.

5. Improve your language skills, writing will give you a wider vocabulary and better grammar and if you prefer your could practice your professional writing.

As I write in my second language I broaden my vocabulary by having to find words representing what I am trying to say. But if you blog in your first language this same thing will probably work with synonyms and finding more precise definitions on what you are trying to say. Thus both will give you a wider vocabulary. Along with this you will improve your grammar by writing on a regular basis. Here I also want to point out that a blog, if you want it to, could be great way to learn to write professionally so that you are always ready to present yourself well.

6. Show that you are trustworthy by keeping the promise to your readers – blog on a regular basis.

All bloggers know that the traffic to their site decrease if they do not update regularly. Now what regularly means defers between bloggers, some updates a few times daily, while I update two or three times a week. This is what my readers expect from me and that is what I give you.

7. Improve your skills to express yourself, practice to write in a way that influences people.

It is one thing to use well thought out words and proper grammar, but expressing yourself in a way that influences people takes quite some talent. Some might have I naturally, while others have to work on it, and might never reach the same level. A blog could be a great place to practice.

8. Show that the interest that you have for your future profession is a passion.

Now, when most students who come home from school might be tired of the subject they study and want to do something else. Which is why showing a real interest for the subject you study could give you a great advantage in the future. When it comes to hiring, who will an employer choice – the blogger or the student watching tv?

9. Build a name for yourself, a personal brand, share your ideas and thoughts with the world and let them get to know you.

A blog is a great way to take control of your personal brand, to show people who you are. Now, you might not be an expert in a subject, and be honest about that. But you still can contribute you can still teach people who now less than you about the subject something. Or perhaps you can give a person who knows more a few great ideas. Let people get to know you and what you think, and one day you will probably be an expert.

10. Create a written portfolio showing that you are knowledgeable in the subject that you want to work in and you are very likely to get a head when you want to apply of a job.

What all comes down to, it being prepared for your future profession. Surely a diploma and a degree will do that, but your fellow student will have that to and compete for the same jobs. A blog will give you a differentiator, a lead, something that proves that you know what you are talking about. It is a written portfolio of your thoughts and ideas, or perhaps pictures, which make you, stand out.

Now, already when writing this I can think of more ideas, but I am going to stop here for now. I have given your some of reasons and explanations and left some things unsaid. Do you blog? Why do you blog? Why do you recommend others to blog? It is your turn to contribute to the list..

Can anyone afford to stay away from Social Media? And if so, Who?

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I just found this move produced by Erik Qualman on a blog written by Swedish Gert Frost.

Watching this movie I start thinking about all the people who have made the choice to stay away from all types of social media for various reasons. How long will people be able to stay disconnected from social media? And on average is it better to join or not join? Who should join and who shouldn’t?

I have been thinking a lot about this, because I think that many people hurt their reputation more than anything by being online. But I have not to any conclusion, probably because there are none.

Let’s look at two examples:

First we have Lisa, who is 38 years old, she has two children and is happily married. Lisa has worked for a governmental organization for the last 12 years, and as she is very satisfied with her work and the possibilities for advancement within the organization she does not think she will change jobs anytime soon. She has already “chosen” whom of her collage friends she want to stay in contact with and she is not interested to find out what her old high school classmates is up to.

Honestly, I think that Lisa is very hard to convince to join Facebook etc. And even if she did, if she does not spend any time using it, will it help her career or let her stay more connected? If she ends up losing her job in the future, she will probably be able to bet other applicant for a new job because of her experience, though others might be more available online. Or, do you think that society will think of her as lazy for not prioritizing her career and perhaps for not he taken any initiative that show interest of what she does on work on her spare time?

Compare Lisa with Paul, who is 52 years old, has three grown up children and is divorced. Paul has been working of a local factory all his life, and has lived in the same city all his life. He has heard about social media and his children have shown their online profiles from time to time. But he does not see the point of him being online as most of the people he knows also live in the same city and they talk on the phone and meet occasionally anyway.

Paul’s children might try to convince him to join Facebook and Linkedin, but he might not have many connections or even completed profile pages. If the factory closes, can Paul’s chances for a new employment rise if he is on social media. Perhaps a potential employer would see that Paul easily adapt to new things and tries to stay updates as promising characteristics if he has to change field? Though, it could as well hurt his changes if they think that he does not “understand” the new media.

Is Social Media for everyone, or can the Baby Boomers stay outside without it affecting them?

If you were not sure about your opinions before I guess you might be even more confused when I uses personas to demonstrate the problem. Personally, I think that both Paul and Lisa could benefit from social media if they were using it in a good way. However, if not, they might as well stay away. But because they are from the baby boomer generation they can both make this choice. I’m not sure that people that haven’t turned 30 yet can.

What do you think?

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What about personal branding for actors?

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Today there are thousands of TV-shows, some run just a few episodes, others play numerous seasons, some last for decades. The actors in these TV-shows usually grow very famous for the role they are playing, and people start knowing them for the character from the show.

Many times in the past I have read stories that the actors want “out” from the series because they are afraid that they will get stuck in a particular genera, and wont be offered other types of roles.

Even though I always missed the characters when they left and the show usually changes when a main character leave, I usually agreed with the actors when they in the articles said it to be a career move. And a while later I also moved on the another show.

However, lately I have been thinking about this phenomenon and the fact that the actors that leave these series rarely become very famous doing something else. Of course there are exceptions, actors who have done very good after leaving a show, but mostly they disappear.

I cannot say for sure what the reason is to why they never return to their fame again. But it is probably good for them like it is for the rest of us, to stick with the things that you are good at. There are so many actors that only do comedies, science fictions movies or action movies. Most of their roles are very similar, just a new plot and new names. But these actors are the big ones, who we love, whom we want to watch in movie after move.

My point here is, that actors should really think about their personal brand and stick to what they are good at. Sure they should practise other stuff as well, but never disappoint a customer, or in this case a fan.

What do you think about this? Do you agree or disagree? Am I missing something? Please share your views.

Tips: Social media for career development

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Friends of others and mine who hear about my frequent use of various new media tools ask me why I use them, and why I think they use them. I usually think about what they work with and give them an explanation that makes sense to them. Their answer is something like “I never thought about it that way, I will totally do that”.

When I ask them about it a few weeks later they have joined the networks and sites that I told them about, but did not really begin using them. Sometimes because they did not have time or did not prioritised, but most of the times it is because they did not figure out how to use the sites properly.

Tomorrow I have a presentation in school where I am supposed to teach the class something, I will of course speak about social media for career development, and after then tell them about this blog post:

Here are some of the best articles and videos that I found that explains how to use the social media tools and some of them cover why you should use them, in case you forgot.