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May 17 2013
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Josh Singer

Reblogged from Huffington Post: 25 Things Every Young Professional Should Know by Age 25

Danny Rubin of News to Live By recently published a great article on Huffington Post’s College site entitled 25 Things Every Young Professional Should Know by Age 25 that I wanted to share and comment on.

A few of the notable things everyone should know:

A cover letter should add color and personality. It shouldn’t summarize your resume.

Absolutely agreed. Talk about why you’re a good fit for the company/culture you’re trying to join, not just what you learned in college or have done in your professional life. Show a potential employer who you are, not just what you’ve done.

Everyone likes to receive praise, but the smartest young adults actively seek constructive criticism.

I used to coach youth basketball for five years in the town I grew up in, and through those five years I always felt we learned more about sports, ourselves, and life in general from losing than winning. Michael Jordan once said “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” Don’t be afraid to try new things and ideas, even if they are not successful.

Take LinkedIn seriously.

LinkedIn’s stock price started at just over $60. It is now at over $180 in less than two years. Facebook’s stock price opened at about $38. It is now at $26 in just about one year. So let me ask you this: what site are you spending the majority of your time on? Is Facebook going to get you a job?

You’re never too busy to write a thank-you note.

Whether it’s after a job interview, internship interview, after completing an internship, or after receiving a birthday gift, a don’t text, tweet, email or facebook your thank-you’s. Handwritten notes show you care.

Negotiate your salary.

Yes, you’re very excited to receive that entry level offer and you think you have no business negotiating a salary. Be grateful for the offer, but if it’s not what you were hoping to get or think it’s worth, it’s OK to ask for more. They won’t pull the offer of the table!

Don’t step into an interview room without research on the company and questions for the employer.

You’re smart enough to already know that, right?

…and my favorite:

You’re halfway through the most formative decade of your life. You don’t need all the answers, but you must keep asking questions. Start with this one: what’s something new that I can learn right now?

Read the rest of the article by clicking here, and let them know you like it by following NewsToLiveBy on Twitter.

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May 10 2013
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Josh Singer

2013 Commencement Tips + 5 Songs to Help Get Ready for the Big Walk

josh headshotIt’s that time of year! Commencement is TOMORROW, so here are a few very important tips for the day for graduating students:

tassle

Commencement tip #1: It’s rude to play with other peoples tassels, unless they don’t notice. In which case, go nuts!

heelsCommencement tip #2: Ladies, leave the heels at home. Trust me on that one.

diploma

Commencement tip #3: Remember, left hand diploma, right hand shake. No wait, left hand shake. No actually it’s uhhh. Well, good luck with that.

Commencement tip #4: DO NOT lose your cap when you throw it in the air. Your mother will be EXTREMELY upset.

211_kleenexCommencement tip #5: Purchase some stock in Kleenex prior to walking. Seriously, call the plumber & get ready for the waterworks. 

That’s enough tips for now. But how are you going to get yourself amped up for the big walk? Here are 5 songs to consider before the big day:

5. Obviously had to lead with “Time of Your Life” by Green Day.

4. You can’t possibly go through this day without listening to “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey, right?

3. “One Step at a Time” by Jordin Sarks. There’s no need to rush…

2. “Send me on My Way” by Rusted Root

1. The #1 song to listen to (it won’t jazz you up, quite the opposite, but) “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus

In all seriousness, enjoy this day; be proud; and smile a lot. Best of luck to all graduates!

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Apr 26 2013
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Josh Singer

Job & Internship Interview Tips from Dean College Alumni & Me

josh headshotAlumni from Dean College were quick to answer a Facebook post requesting their top-tip for job & internship interviews for current & graduating Dean students. Check out some of the responses below, then check out my analysis below that.

alum interview

I agree with many of these tips. An overriding theme seemed to be regarding what you dress. While I agree with “dress to impress,” it should also be stated that you should dress for the job you are applying for. Not all jobs are suit and tie jobs, and sometimes, SOMETIMES, a suit and tie may not necessarily be needed for a job interview. Going corporate? Yes, suit and tie. But what about a saavy technology startup in the city where the culture is jeans and a tee? Maybe go business casual? These are just things to consider and think about, and are just my own personal opinion.

-Building off the “company culture” mentioned before, don’t go into an interview and be a robot. Nobody is going to want to hire someone without a personality. Find some common interests with your interviewer, and show some personality. You’ll be spending the majority of your week with these people, and they should want to have a beer with you after a long day, not run out of the office with a headache.

-I like Emily Lyn’s comment above, “bring an extra resume and cover letter.” Don’t have much to add to that, just do it. The specific people and number of people you are scheduled to interview with can change at a moments notice. Be prepared for that.

interview-I actually really like Jeffrey Buchman’s answer, “ask for the job.” While you’ll need to be more diplomatic than that, make sure you are excited about the opportunity and you make it clear that this is exactly what you want to be doing. It sounds kind of obvious, but many candidates go into an interview and just go through the motions, never addressing their enthusiasm for the job. Your interviewer will appreciate it.

-Finally, and most importantly, here is a tip I give to every singe student I come in contact with at Dean College: bring a portfolio of your background and your previous work. I have been through many interviews for internships and jobs and would never think to go into an interview without a portfolio of my work. I studied & work in the communications industry, so it is only natural I have a portfolio of my work – blogs I’ve written, advertising I’ve designed, web sites I’ve built/maintained, press releases I’ve written.

If you can SHOW an interviewer what you’ve done rather than TELL them what you can do, you’ll put yourself right to the top of their candidates list for the job/internship.

Think about the opportunity you’re interviewing for and how you can put together a portfolio that shows not what your resume says you can do, but what you’ve actually done. Get creative with it.

I welcome anyone to agree or disagree with me in the comments section of this blog, or if you want to talk a bit about this, I’d be happy to hear from you. E-mail me at jsinger (at) dean (dot) edu.

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Mar 06 2013
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Josh Singer

Travel Abroad Opportunities at Dean College

josh headshot

Hello Dean community – Josh Singer writing, the Dean College blog administrator, social media guy, just all around crazy-awesome person (90% crazy, 10% awesome), etc…so the reason I’m writing here today is because I’ve lived a pretty sheltered life. Let me elaborate–I have been really limited in the amount of things I’ve done and seen, as far as travel goes. Barely been off the east coast. Definitely not happy about it. I attended Suffolk University for undergrad and had the opportunity to study abroad in Barcelona. Yea–Barcelona, Spain. Didn’t do it. Why? I dunno. Wish I could go back in time and change that. If you ever have the opportunity to study abroad somewhere cool…JUST DO IT. So when I hear people in my network of friends/acquaintances are doing something fun or going somewhere really cool, it’s intriguing to me. That segues into what this blog post is about…

boomer-paris

No photoshopping here – Dean College gives students the opportunity to go to some real cool places.

Dr. Rob Lawson (super cool faculty member here at Dean College) runs the Honors Program at Dean. Something you may not know–Dean has some awesome travel abroad opportunities (for example, Prague in ’08, UK in ’09, Italy & Greece in ’11, France & Spain in ’12). Students have gone all over the place; bunch of different continents, done a lot of cool things. (Check out their facebook photo albums.) So I was really excited when Dr. Lawson told me he has two students (one an aspiring journalist and one who has a passion for photography) who wanted to blog and photo-blog their 10-day trip abroad (they leave in a few days, approx. 50 Dean students are going with Dean faculty to some cool places I’ll list below.)

So I’m here to introduce you to the two students who will (when they have wifi) be blogging and posting photos during their trip.

waka“My name is Wakaba, from Japan. I’m a sophomore Liberal Studies major at Dean. I love traveling and meeting new people, and one of my big dreams is to be a backpacker, travel around the world and write a journal! I’m interested in intercultural communication using English as a second language. I would love to work in the multiple cultures environment and help to connect people with a different background:) “

Liz“HI! My name is Liz Feenan and I am a second year Environmental Science major here at Dean College. I am very passionate about photography and that is what I want to do in my future. It is my goal to one day work for National Geographic as a traveling photographer. Traveling is a very big hobby of mine and I want to go to as many countries as I can. I have enjoyed myself at Dean College and next year I am attending Roger Williams University as a Marine Biology major. I am just an outgoing person who loves to take photos of anything and everything!” 

So there you have it. Liz & Waka will be enlightening you readers with thoughts and photos from their travels as they zip through Zurich, Switzerland, Verona, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Nice, Montecarlo. Pretty cool, right? This would be a great time to subscribe to the blog, then you won’t miss a thing – the blogs will come right to your email.

That’ll do it for me–thanks for reading. Oh, and Dr. Lawson, if you’re reading this, let me know if any faculty chaperones drop out – my bags are packed! -Josh

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Jan 24 2013
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Josh Singer

headshot Hi, all – I’m getting a little bit tired of the notion that “social media” is somehow different from “real life.” Newsflash: they are one in the same. To get this point across, myself and Tom Carroll in Admissions made a little video we like to call, Social Media In Real Life. Enjoy!  - Josh

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