Tips « Educaedu Blog – English version

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How to Improve Your Online Image

Have you recently graduated from college and are looking for a job? There is one thing you should bare in mind: recruiters will review some social media sites to do a background check on you. Most young people tend to express themselves freely on social sites like MySpace, Facebook or Twitter, and a Microsoft survey found that 70% of recruiters rejected a candidate based on their online reputation.

Don´t worry, we have some tips on how to repair your online image:

1.Google Yourself
Google your name and variations of it to read what has been written about you. The Search Engine Results can reveal a lot, and some of that information could be misleading. Take time to remove these negative search results. You don’t want a recruiter to uncover unfavourable or even false information about you.

2.Clean up Your Profiles
You don’t want information that you share on your profile to be used against you. Visit your favourite social media sites to check if anything unsuitable needs to be removed.

3.Protect Your Privacy
Go through your contacts and assign them to different groups: eg. friends, limited profile view and acquaintances. You can decide what sort of information you want to share with each group. You can also decide if you want to appear in public search results. Investigate the options carefully.

4.Use a Professional Email Address
ThePirateMajesty@cutey.com or DjTara@popstar.com are funky emails for music forum members but not for serious job applicants. Be more mainstream and establish your email account at Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo. The safest would be a combination of your name and surname.

3.Update Your Photos
The photos you post on social media speak a lot about you and put you in a social context. Select photos that represent you best. Remove photos that you wouldn’t like even your parents to see.

4.Cancel Community Memberships
You probably belong to a lot more social communities than you realize. Cancel all inactive accounts if you don’t use them anymore.

6.Check Your Blog Comments
The comments you leave on someone else’s blog or forum never disappear. It they’re harsh and spicy they could come back to bite you. Be prepared to explain it to the interviewer if that conversation is brought up.

7. Think Twice Before you Make a new Post
You don’t want to make the same mistake again, do you? Before you make a comment on a blog or post a photo, think about who will see it. Colleagues from work that you just accepted as a friend? Your boss?

If you’re keen on learning more on the subject of privacy and IT, you might find these programmes interesting:

Postgraduate Training in the Security of Computer Networks and Information Systems offered by University of Essex, UK or Bachelor of Information Technology in Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia.

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1
Jun 10

Study Tips for University Students

Everyone has their own habits and rituals when the time comes to prepare for a test. Some study in the early morning, others in the afternoon and some late at night. There are those who prefer to study with a group or those who study alone. Each person creates habits according to their personality. We can, however, give you some study tips that are helpful for everyone.

* Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) differentiates between people who are visual, auditive and kinesthetic learners. If you are more visual you will find it useful to use bright colors to highlight and take notes when studying. If you are in the second group, reading outloud could be quite beneficial. The last group, the kinesthetic group, will find it most helpful to write or read while they are walking or doing some sort of movement. Take some notes while you are running on a treadmill at the gym.

* Trust your instincts. This will prove useful during multiple choice exams. If you do not know the answer, go for your first instinct. Sometimes over-thinking things will steer you off track. If you have studied, your brain will guide you to the correct answer.

* Sleep well. There are many people who pull all-nighters to prepare for an exam. It is actually less productive for you for two reasons: One is that your brain works less when it is tired, it processes less. The second reason is the intrinsic relationship between sleep and memory. Brains remember more when they have time to rest. So, even though it doesn’t seem like it, you are studying while you sleep.

Flickr Creative Commons - umjanedoan

* Eat healthy. Studying is an activity that requires a lot of energy. Make sure your diet helps you replenish and fuel your body for the long study sessions. The idea is not to die of hunger or to get so full that you cannot even breathe. Apples, nuts, brown rice and fish are some recommended items for these situations.

* Sound of body, sound of mind. Your level of attention decreases after just 40 minutes of focusing. The best thing to do is to have a short physical activity that won’t wear you out. A quick jog or walk will allow you to rest your brain for a couple of minutes.

* Your personal image speaks a thousand words. We do not know if this phrase is necessarily true, but it does make sense. One should dress for success. If you feel prepared and professional, you will be more confident when it comes to sitting down and doing the test. Also, your professors will see that you are taking their class seriously.

* Two ways to communicate. It is not only expressing yourself with words, but also your gestures, posture and tone of voice. This needs to be taken into account during oral exams. You can show confidence in yourself and in what you are saying. Speak slowly and firmly.

* Our final advice is to take exams how they really are: one more moment to learn something. When you do not know the answers, take advantage of the fact that your professor is there and ask them to explain it to you once you have finished.

These are our recommendations. Some of them you will find applicable to your situation, and others no. Is there anything we missed? Happy studying!

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4
Mar 10

The Graduate School Interview

A member of our Educaedu team recently had a round of interviews for graduate school in the U.S. and we decided to share the experience with our readers as well as give some advice for graduate school admissions.

So here it is: an interview about an interview.

Q: How do you get an interview at a graduate school in the U.S.?

A: The grad school application varies by program but the series of events is virtually the same. First you must put together all your application documents, like an official transcript, letters of recommendation, and essays. Then send in your completed application as early as possible as many programs have “rolling admissions”, which means that they fill seats in the class as they find acceptable students. Then you wait. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t hear anything right away as the application review process can take time.

After your application is reviewed you will either get a rejection letter or a request for an interview. If you get rejected you should contact the program for advice on improving your application so that you can apply the following year. If you got an interview, congratulations!

Q: There are a lot of websites with tips about grad school interviews. What are your personal suggestions?

A: Dress to impress. That means a collared shirt and a suit. A tie if you are a guy. Close-toed shoes and a kept appearance. Easy on the make-up and perfumes.

Be yourself. But be your best self. Introduce yourself with a firm handshake and eye contact. Always appear engaged and thank your interviewer when you are finished.

Rehearse but don’t sound scripted. You should prepare with a friend answering some practice questions but be sure to not sound like a robot. Part of the reason they request the interview is to see if you are personable, likeable, HUMAN.

Bring some breath mints and chap stick. Often the programs have breakfast items and coffee and they force you to eat and mingle with other students and faculty. Coffee breath and a dry mouth is not the best impression to leave.

Q: What did they ask you in the interview and how long was it?

A: One of my interviews lasted a little over an hour and the other was only 30 mins. Here are some example questions I was asked:

- How did you decide to apply to the ________ program.
- What other schools did you apply to and why?
- What was the hardest subject/course in undergrad and why?
- How do you cope with stress?
- What does honor mean to you?
- What are you most proud of and why?
- What is your ideal job?
- Describe a moment in your life when you were faced with a hardship and explain how you overcame it.
- What are you looking for in a graduate program/school?

Q: Did you mess any of them up?

A: Totally. I was feeling rather buoyant towards the end of the first interview as I thought it was going rather well. I was then asked about my ideal job and I blurted out “I would love to design shoes”, which has nothing to do with the program to which I was applying. Fortunately, they thought it was funny and assumed I was kidding. I wasn´t. I would love to design shoes.

Q: That’s awesome. Do you have any other advice for our reader who may also be getting ready to interview or possibly apply?

A: Yeah, make sure to ask questions. You should always do some research about the school, program, and faculty, and prepare some intelligent questions for the interviewer. Schools like to see that you have done your homework.

You can check out some graduate programs in the United States here. Good luck!

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3
Mar 10

5 Do’s and Don’ts for Your Resume

The Do’s

1. Be error free
Misspelled words and grammatical mistakes are the kiss of death in a resume. Two words – Spell Check.

2. Be pretty
Make sure the format of your resume is pleasing to the eye. It needs to be evenly laid-out and have white space in the right places.

3. Tell the truth
Avoid making things up or embellishing any facts. The truth will come back to haunt you sooner or later.

4. Be concise
A resume shouldn’t be a novel. Depending the country and postion, resumes should be no longer than one or maybe two pages. Showing that you can organize and select key information will be a positive reflection on your skills.

5. Have references
You don’t need to include these on your resume unless it is specifically asked for by the employer. It is necessary, however, to have them ready and printed out. You never know when they will be asked from you.

The Don’ts

1. Don’t tell your life story
Don’t confuse your resume with your autobiography. While there are many pieces of information that your resume must have, its primary purpose is to focus on the aspects of your life and career that address the employer’s needs. Your babysitting job from when you were 16 is most likely not necessary.

2. Don’t provide personal data
Marital status, date of birth, height/weight, and similar non-work-related information can be used to illegally discriminate against applicants, and they rarely add anything of value to your qualifications (This depends on the country and culture).

3. Don’t be a broken record
Don’t repeat the same action words throughout the resume. Instead of using the verb developed or organized over and over, pull out your thesaurus and mix in terms like accelerated, delivered, directed, established, initiated, or reengineered.

4. Don’t be cliché
Don’t say you are a people-person or use adjectives like dynamic or self-starting. Let the details of your resume convince the employer that you have these qualities.

5. DON’T WRITE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
IT DOESN’T MAKE ANYTHING MORE IMPORTANT AND IT IS KIND OF ANNOYING.

Well, there you have it. Some helpful tips for you resume. Something else that adds legitimacy to your experience? Having an impressive educational background and continuously taking courses to keep competitive in your field.