Your efforts toward getting hired for a position should not end at the job interview. It is important to follow up with potential employers to show them that you really care about earning a spot at their company. This is why it is absolutely necessary that you send a thank you note following an interview. But the gesture alone will not help you. Here are some common mistakes to avoid and tips to help write the best way to write an interview thank you note to a potential employer.

1. Get their contact information The biggest mistake you can make right out of the gate is to not get your interviewer\’s contact information – an error that can prevent you from sending any thank-you at all. Often, the interviewer will offer you a business card, but if they don\’t, speak up and ask them how you may follow up with them after the interview.

2. Don\’t be generic Employers receive a lot of thank you notes from potential employees, so chances are they can tell when you send a very generic response. The gesture alone will get you nowhere. Sending an honest, thoughtful note will let an employer know that you actually got something out of the conversation and care about the position.

3. Say more than just \”thank you\” The point of a thank you note is not just to thank someone for taking the time to meet with you. Instead, use the note as an opportunity to display your enthusiasm for the position and the company. Build upon the previous conversation by mentioning specifics from your interview, and display how you can be an asset to their team.

4. Don\’t leave anyone out It\’s important to make sure that you send a note to every person you spoke with during an interview. Leaving someone out could give that person, and the company, a bad impression. Be sure not to duplicate the same note to each person. As previously mentioned, a generic note will not score you any points with a potential employer.

5. Be prompt It\’s important to send your thank you note in a timely fashion – within a few days of the interview – as employers often have to make quick decisions. If you wait too long to send one, you might be too late. If you\’re sending a thank you note via email, wait at least a few hours after the interview before you send it. If you send an email immediately following your meeting, it might appear that you pre-drafted a generic note, rather than crafting an original message. Looking for an online college degree program that will help you prepare for a career?

Bryant and Stratton College Online offers a variety of programs that incorporate employability skills into the curriculum in order to ensure students are prepared for the job search following graduation. For more information, call 1.888.447.3528 to speak with an admissions representative.

Everybody has lapses in judgment now and then – usually in the company of friends, loud music, and a multitude of alcoholic beverages.  But not until the advent of social media sites did those momentary lapses in judgment have the possibility of wreaking long-lasting damage on your job prospects and career. So now’s the time to make sure you’re avoiding any of these career-busting social media “bad ideas”:

Bad Idea #1: Focusing more on personal than professional information.  Social media used to be primarily for sharing personal interests, information, and connections, so that’s what most people did. Now, however, social media sites and tools have gone mainstream as a way to build your professional brand and visibility among potential colleagues and employers. So make sure you’re not posting so much personal information on key sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter that it displaces the career-focused info you’d like hiring managers to know about you (or consider separate profiles or privacy filters).

Bad Idea #2: Sharing too much information of a very personal nature…and especially if includes a photograph! Generally speaking, resist the urge to regale the world with how many jello shots you had Friday night at Bob’s bar, stories from your bachelor/bachelorette party, or descriptions of how you dressed your pets up for Halloween – especially if any of them are accompanied by photos. Sure, these can be fun things to share, but you don’t want them to cross over into the same space where your professional persona lives (or come back to haunt you later). Consider it TMI!

Bad Idea #3: Discussing any behaviors or activities that would give a potential employer a reason not to trust your judgment.  And here we are, back at Bob’s bar and the jello shots…. The thing to keep in mind is that you’re trying to convince someone to trust your professional maturity (and pay you a grown-up salary) – so yep, don’t give them any reason not to trust your judgment (at least that they can find online).

Bad Idea #4: Making negative, whiny, racist, or otherwise obnoxious comments in general, but especially about a person or employer.  When you start building your professional brand, you’re establishing what you want to be known for (your skills) as well as whom you want to be known as (your personality and character). Making negative or obnoxious comments online pegs you as a toxic personality, and besides poisoning the discussion in any online community of which you’re a part, it will also turn off potential employers, who generally are looking to recruit people who play well with others.

Bad Idea #5: Engaging in confrontational behaviors (flaming, having to have the last word, etc.). This is the younger snarky sibling of Bad Idea #4. Word gets around fast, and people who might have been willing to be good career connections for you (letting you know about job openings, recommending you, sharing their connections, mentoring, etc.) will instead avoid being associated with you. Play nice – career karma really does work, and if you are good to others, it will come back to you in all sorts of good ways (read: job opportunities).

Bad Idea #6: Disclosing information about your employer (unless it’s part of your job). What’s inappropriate versus an okay disclosure will depend on your company, but generally speaking, assume a post about what a fabulous place it is to work, or the great management style they have, or what a great learning environment it provides would be good to go. Comments about massive layoffs, your psychotic boss, or the top-secret product about to be launched? Avoid at all costs – besides possibly getting you fired, you’ll scare off any potential employers who see this.

Bad Idea #7: Lying about your background, skills, experience, or expertise. Okay, we know, it’s mostly just Congressmen and CEOs of major companies that try to get away with this, but if you happen to be contemplating, ah, enhancing your professional assets, don’t! Aside from the ethical issues involved, it’s just way too easy to get found out – and it’s bound to happen at the worst possible point in your career.

Bad Idea #8: Spending too much time on Twitter during work hours. Here’s the thing: everybody you work with (including your boss) can see how much time you’re spending tweeting – rather than working. It’s tough for you to make a case for overtime hours, or increased pay, or a decreased workload, when someone can refer to a twitter feed that shows 25 tweets a day. Especially bad form if they’re about sex, beer, or your boss….

Bad Idea #9: Having abandoned social media accounts or out-of-date profiles.  These tend to reflect poorly on your ability to commit to something and then follow through, plus it’s really pathetic when people try to connect with or follow you, only to be met with a resounding silence. So 1) think seriously about which social media tools you want to use to establish your professional presence and how you will consistently maintain that presence before you commit, and 2) don’t use your company e-mail as the contact e-mail. It’s way too easy to lose access to that e-mail, and then you’ll have to go through unbelievable brain damage to regain access to your site account.

Worst Idea #10: Not having any online presence. It’s now pretty much common knowledge that nearly every potential employer is going to Google you and check out your LinkedIn profile before they contact you for an interview. If you aren’t “findable” online, two things happen. First, people wonder why you’re not online (do you live in a cave? on the run from the law? in witness protection?). Second, prospective employers will move on to another candidate they can find information about. Remember, your goal is to use social media tools to make it easy for hiring managers to find information about you that makes you seem like the perfect candidate for their job, without making them have to work to find that information.

Finding a job in the United States is as challenging as ever. According to the Economic Policy Institute, unemployment remains high for young college graduates, and those 20-somethings that do find jobs will likely have to settle for entry-level positions.

How does a recent college stand out among thousands of other job applicants? If you studied abroad and gained international work experience while in college, you will have a competitive edge. Especially if you studied in China.

China has become one of the most popular study abroad destinations for students around the world because of its culture, language, history and powerful influence in the global marketplace.

Beginning in the fall of 2014, The University of Vermont will offer an 18-credit China Semester Abroad program in conjunction with Ocean University in Qingdao. In a moment we’ll describe why this offers a terrific opportunity for UVM students.

Fareed Zakaria, author, CNN host and editor of Newsweek International, has described China’s position in the world as such: “China’s rise is no longer a prediction. It is a fact…it is the powerful new force on the global scene.”

As the fastest growing economy in the world today, China will undoubtedly influence how we approach business in the future. China is one of the world’s top exporters and is attracting record amounts of foreign investment. Participating in a study abroad program in China can give students the opportunity to learn Chinese and engage directly with China’s business environment.

Gregory Dunkling, UVM’s Global Team Director states: “We have designed a semester abroad program experience that offers both language and cultural skills to work and live effectively in China. Through a semester-long internship, you will also gain valuable hands-on experience working in a Chinese company or organization. As a member of three-student team, you’ll work to solve a marketing challenge, a human resource issue, or some pre-defined project identified by a sponsoring organization. Our aim is to provide you with real experiences that will build your resume for future employment.”

Even if you have no previous Chinese language background, the UVM semester program will serve your needs.

As China positions itself as an economic superpower, understanding and speaking the Chinese language is a valuable skill and becoming increasingly important in the United States and beyond. Chinese is the language of nearly 20 percent of the world’s population, according to the China Education Center. Native Chinese speakers not only live in Mainland China, but also Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and across the globe.

International students choose to study Chinese language with the expectation of fulfilling employment opportunities in business, education, finance, banking, travel, media and more.

Following give successful years of offering a summer course, “Doing Business in China” in Qingdao, UVM is building on valuable connections with the business and academic community in Qingdao by offering a full semester program with Ocean University.

The UVM China Semester Abroad program is open to any student interested in understanding China’s dynamic culture and economy, and how to work effectively in the Chinese business market.

Enrolling in classes at Bryant & Stratton College Online is a straightforward process that requires a few short steps to be completed.

The required steps are communicated to our students by their Admissions Representative once they’ve completed their initial admissions interview. There are additional steps that a student can take to ensure their enrollment goes as quickly as possible. The support offered by our admissions staff is second to none. From your first interview all the way until your first day of class, your personal Admissions Representative is there to guide you through the process of getting enrolled.

They will require that you complete certain steps and submit required documents throughout this process. While many of the steps cannot be completed ahead of time, there are a few things that can be done to help speed up your enrollment:

Submit your FAFSA ahead of time It usually takes three-to-five business days for a FAFSA application to process once it has been submitted or corrected. That means that it could take almost a full week for the government to process your information once it’s been turned in. However, there’s nothing that states you can’t fill out a FAFSA for the current school year prior to submitting an application. You can submit a new FAFSA anytime you want by going to FAFSA.ed.gov and beginning a new application. Be sure to remember to include Bryant & Stratton College’s school code (002678) when you apply so that your FAFSA processes with the proper school code and you don’t need to add it later.

Prepare important financial aid documents Some students will need to submit additional documentation in order to complete the financial aid process. These additional steps typically require additional documentation to be submitted before you can continue through the financial aid process. One of the most common steps that need to be addressed is called verification. Verification is a randomly selected process carried out by the government that requires additional documentation to be requested. Tax transcripts are among the most commonly requested documents and by obtaining a copy of them before applying for school or financial aid can help you down the line. It only takes a few steps to order your tax transcripts:

Know who to contact to obtain your high school records Our admissions staff will work to obtain a student’s GED results or high school transcripts. However, your records could be in a number of locations depending on where you took your GED test or when you graduated from high school. Make sure you know if we will need to contact your high school, school board or perhaps even a state agency (typically just for GEDs) to formally request records on your behalf. Knowing who to contact and the procedure for requesting records can save your admissions advisor a lot of time once you apply.

Know how to obtain college transcripts Not every student who is applying for school this fall will have gone to college before but, for those who have, transfer credits can be a big help towards earning your next degree. Every college operates differently when it comes to sending transcripts out for evaluation and a student can help the process immensely by knowing the procedure ahead of time. Knowing the procedure isn’t the only helpful reason to contact your previous colleges. Not only will you be able to find out if you owe any sort of balance that might prevent your transcripts from being released, but you can also obtain unofficial transcripts in many cases. Bryant & Stratton can review unofficial transcripts to determine your eligibility for transfer credits while we wait for official copies to come in. This is especially helpful in determining if placement testing needs to be taken and for scheduling purposes once the semester begins.

There’s no reason to hesitate taking the first step towards making a better future today so keep these recommendations in mind and remember that the application process at Bryant & Stratton is free to all students.