One of the most important things to your career and future after college is getting some experience in your field; the only problem is you are still a college student. Many companies will skim over your resume and probably throw it away.  If you are lucky you might get a call back from a company who is willing to give you a chance.  Most of the time it really comes down to who you know and not what you know.  If your dad is the VP at some company you will most likely get a job there because your dad pushed your application through.  You may also know someone who works in the specific field you are interested in and that could be your window of opportunity to getting a job, but more importantly getting some experience in your field.   What if you are the ladder?

What if you don’t know anyone in your field?  What if your dad isn’t the VP of some company that can give you a job tomorrow?  Then what?  Be prepared for a lot of frustration and rejection.  I hate to tell it like it is but it all comes down to who you know and not what you know.  If you don’t know anyone that can help you get your foot in the door then you’ll probably fight an uphill battle to get some experience in your field.  You can’t just sit back and wait for someone to find you, or something good to come along, you have to go out and make it happen yourself.  This will only strengthen your personal skills and your confidence as you will get a lot of practice meeting new people and talking about your skills and experiences.  You’ll also be able to identify your weaknesses and be able to make them better.

Most employers are looking for the perfect candidate to fit their position and their are probably a lot of people who will apply for the same job that you do, and may be more qualified then you.  So what do you do in this cut- throat process of finding experience in your field?  Stand out from the rest.  Find things that you have done in life that makes you better than the others.  Identify your biggest strengths and then emphasize them on your resume and during interviews. What makes you better than the rest?  If you can’t think of anything then find something to do in your free time which will make you stand out from the rest.

My example is simple:  I’ve always wanted to own and operate a website ever since I can remember so I decided to learn web design and development one summer break during college.  SMB College Life is what I have to show for my initiative.  I studied web design and development on my free time, observed a lot of other websites and finally came up with the perfect combination to present as my ‘final work.’  The best part is that employers love it.  Most people I talk to love the fact that I say I want to do something, and then learn the things that I need to in order to do it.  This is what makes me different from others.  While most people talk about they things that they want to do and identify the things that stand in their way but never take action I actually take the necessary actions and learn what I need to in order to do the things I want.  Great things come out of taking action and you’ll have a great experience to talk about which helps you to stand out from the rest at your next interview.  Good Luck!

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Some students might be preparing this weekend for finals while others may have a few days or weeks before finals begin. Whatever you case may be you should remember a few important things while studying for this round of finals. The number one thing is to take care of yourself.

1. Students often tend to skip out on meals, or eat quick and unhealthy ones because they are swamped with studying. If you remember to eat right, and healthy you ensure that you are getting the proper nutrients to perform at your highest level when it comes to studying or taking the test.
2. Get some sleep! I see so many students hanging out in the library until all hours of the morning and not getting proper sleep. I’m guilty of this myself so this is why I see other’s doing it. Just remember that it is important to sleep in order to rejuvenate yourself, especially before the final. All nighters before the big test NEVER work! Get some sleep and you will do 100% better.
3. Limit your coffee intake. I’m the first one to ramp up my coffee intake in order to drive myself to study more. I’ve found over the years that this tends to distract me more as I’m always running to the bathroom, or for more coffee. Caffeine also gives me a slight case of ADD so I’m usually less productive with large amounts of coffee.
4. Stress a lot less! If you study what you need to first, then study what you want to you will be a lot more prepared for the final exam and can feel less stressed. Also, eating and sleeping right, combined with less caffeine and healthy food, will keep your stress levels to a minimum.

I hope this helps as you prepare for you exams this term! Good luck and thanks for using SMB College Life!

Coming soon the SMB College Life is the Reach Program. We have designed this program to bridge a gap between students and organizations trying to help students. This is just one more way to show or dedication to helping high school students prepare for college. We want students to know about their options and learn what services and organizations they can turn to for help. We understand that some organizations can provide more help than we can on very specific topics of college planning and saving and for this reason we have decided to build the bridge to connect students with additional professional help. Shawn Borelli, founder of SMB College Life, thought long and hard about how we could help more students and the SMB College Life Reach Program was the solution.

With the launch of our reach program in early June, we are hoping to partner with other businesses and organizations that share our same dedication to helping students. We’re expecting our Reach Program to provide even more help to students in need of advise, help, and special services than ever before. Shawn comments on the new Reach Program saying:

“I just want to help more students though SMB College Life; even if it’s one student at a time. I’m tired of the lack of caring when it comes to helping students get into college. I know what it feels like to walk out of a financial aid office even more confused than when I walked in. I know what it’s like to search for information on college planning because I’ve done it on my own. It wasn’t easy, or inexpensive for me go to college and I’m hoping that with SMB College Life, as well as our new Reach Program, we will be able to relieve some of the stress and ease the college planning process for more students.”

As we continue to grow and expand our services we would like to differentiate ourselves from the normal financial aid advisers and resources making a commitment to each and every student who uses SMB College Life. We won’t push you out the door or leave you questioning whether or not you can make it through college. We are here to help students in any way possible by providing the information and resources they need to succeed, even if this means focusing on one student at a time.

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For seniors planning to graduate in the Fall Semester of 2008 now is the time to start aggressively planning for your future.  I say aggressively because you need to hit the job market hard to let companies know that you exist.  Take the summer months to beef up your resume and add anything you might think is important.  Once you have a strong resume you want to start making contact with as many companies and human resources departments as possible.  You need to start cold calling.  I know it’s hard to pick up the phone and sell yourself, but with a little practice you can get good at it very quickly.  You want to build yourself up to contacting the companies you really want to work for so that you have plenty of experience talking with professionals and answering questions about yourself.

If you are graduating in the fall you may be thinking that this will be your last summer of freedom.  You might want to take the time to think about something that you’ve always wanted to do and then do plan how you are going to do it this summer.  You’ll hopefully be starting your career in January of 2009 so you will want to make sure you start out with no regrets.  You want to look back on college as a learning experience and also as one of the greatest times of you life.  There will be more great times to come as you develop your career and start your own family but your college life will always be something that you remember.  Make it worth your while so that you can look back on the good times.

As the semester continues to wind down most students are thinking about what they’ll be doing for the summer, but senior college students may be more concerned with graduation. As college seniors enjoy their final days in college and prepare for graduation the may begin finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Most seniors have been in school since they can remember and it might feel very reassuring that they are finally finish and can start their careers. For other seniors, the pressure may start to set in as they need to find a full time job and begin paying back student loans.

Some seniors graduating in the Spring may already have jobs lined up and well on their way to a great career while others might not know what they will do as they cannot find a job in their field of study.  It can be a very uncomfortable feeling to not have a job secured and to not know where the road will take you in the next few weeks.  Instead of getting discouraged and giving up it may be time to develop a “Plan B” if you don’t already have one.  There’s nothing wrong with working elsewhere while you search for a job in your field. You might need to become more flexible with your desired location, or job title, or even salary just so that you can get your foot in somewhere.   Once you’ve gotten your foot in the door you can start to learn more about the industry and begin to make a lot of important contacts which may help you to earn a raise, or get promoted, or even relocate to a different city or company.

If you do not have a job lined up already do not get discouraged!  There are hundreds, if not thousands of companies that are looking for a person just like you to fill a position in your field.  The hard part is sucking up your wants, and settling for what you need at this point.  Once you’ve got you foot in the door you can start going after what you want.  The important thing is to get your foot in the door, or get you name out there to start letting people know you exist.  Make as many contacts as you can now and something will come along eventually.  You just have to do a little footwork to get what you want/need.

Check for follow up posts in the future!