Instructor Blog: Tips on Preparing for Midterms

Part of being successful academically and professionally is tackling major assignments and projects early. While midterms can seem daunting, a thorough approach can help you feel more confident in the expectations for the assessment.

The first step to preparing for midterms is to figure out what information is available about the midterm for your particular course. Some midterms are available at least a week early, and there should be at least a basic description of the midterm in your tracking calendar. If you would like to know more about your midterm, ask your instructor. He or she may be able to provide you with the material early. However, if you are not able to obtain further information, I recommend viewing the midterm on Sunday so you can see if it is a timed assessment or essay.

This allows you to look over the material and email your instructors any questions you might have. success

It’s also useful to think about the purpose of a major assessment overall. A major assessment is designed to test your knowledge of the course material, and possibly to apply the knowledge to a work-related scenario. With this in mind, consider your progress in the course. Do you thoroughly understand the lecture and textbook reading? How are you performing on the weekly activities? Has your instructor indicated an area you might need to improve or an idea you might not understand correctly?

A great way to make sure you really understand a concept is to explain it to a friend, and think about how you will use the knowledge in the workplace. Take the initiative to read the supplemental reading provided by your instructor (located in the tracking calendar) as well as your own research. Once you feel that you have an understanding of the course material, it’s time to think about the midterm itself. If it is a timed exam, you will need to ensure a block of time is set aside in your schedule.

Consider the circumstances that will contribute to minimal distractions. Do you need to leave the house, or do you have a lunch hour where you will be able to concentrate and work uninterrupted? Upon taking the exam itself, look carefully at the content. Pay attention to any “action words,” such as “explain,” “identify,” or “analyze.” Pay close attention to any word count or research requirement. A common error I see as an English instructor is students not including research, or the research included is not scholarly enough. If a rubric is provided, be sure you have read it and understand how you will be graded on the assessment. Lastly, before submitting your work, read it over to look for areas where you might have rushed. Are your ideas explained thoroughly?

Are there any grammatical errors you might have overlooked? If the midterm has several components, check off each component to ensure that it is addressed. When you feel like the midterm is your best work, submit! Midterms and all major assignments can be stressful, but it’s helpful to remember there is a purpose. It is essential to understand the concepts related to your major.

This is knowledge that will be used in your field either directly or indirectly. Each major assignment is an accomplishment of being closer to your goal of being not only in your field, but successful and competitive!

How to Use Professors as References

If you are just starting your career, and wondering whether it is appropriate to use a professor as a reference, relax. It sure is! Human resources staff and hiring managers receive resumes and applications from soon-to-be and recent graduates all the time. And, although they will understand your limited experience, they won\’t excuse you from the requirement of having great references.

Here\’s how to set the right conditions to make sure potential employers get high quality feedback from your professors.

Pick the right professor(s) – Hopefully, you have built a rapport with at least a few of your professors. Have you had one-on-one discussions with any of them? Which of them could vouch for your character, abilities and potential? Sophia L. Marshall, Cross-Cultural Career Coach and Speaker, suggests selecting two: one who taught a general course and one who taught a specialty course because they can both speak to different things for the job you are applying for.

Ask permission – This serves several purposes. First, he or she won\’t be caught off guard when the employer calls. And, it will guarantee you have the professor\’s preferred and accurate contact information. It also gives the professor the chance to decline being contacted. In a 2012, a Careerbuilder survey of nearly 2,500 hiring managers and 4,000 workers, 62 percent of the employers who contacted a reference said the reference didn\’t have anything good to say about the candidate.

Prep them for success – Even if you have a great rapport, the professor (and anyone who serves as a reference) will appreciate getting information that helps them provide quality feedback. Tell them what you are applying for, provide a copy of your resume and point out a few key points for discussion.

\”For example, for the professor who taught the general course you could say: ‘please highlight my leadership skills as I was the team lead on the recent (project name) project’,” Marshall said. “The key here is to talk about a general soft skill that you developed as a part of his/her class.” Your request with a professor of a specialized course would have a different focus.”

Ask that professor to highlight your knowledge in a few skills with correlations between what you studied and what the company is looking for,” she said. “It\’s good to be specific here, like a programming language, server knowledge or other type of technical skill.”

And when you choose a reference, choose wisely. What this person says about you can directly impact your being selected for a position. According to the survey, 69 percent of the respondents have changed their minds about a candidate after speaking with a reference. Of those, 47 percent had a less favorable opinion about the candidate while 23 percent had a more favorable one. So, the lesson here is that you can use professors as references.

And, although you can never be absolutely sure what they will say about you, you can set the conditions for a favorable outcome by making sure they are prepared and willing to be called.

Stop Searching for Jobs, Stop it Right Now!

I recently had the opportunity to sit on a panel in the business school of a local University to discuss the intricacies of job searching.

The members of the panel were representing the highest profile companies in the region and all eloquently offered great tips and suggestions on myriad topics including: crafting a targeted resume, how to work a career fair, online applications, interviewing and ultimately securing that dream job we all have been programmed to try to find. Afterwards, a very assertive woman came up to inform me that she had already put into place all of the tips that the panelist had given and she also had applied to over 40 jobs in the last three and half months, but found obtaining that dream job elusive.

Then it hit me. Did she have 40 dream jobs?

Was it just semantics or was there a clue here that might help solve her dilemma? So, I asked the recent graduate to tell me what her dream job looks like. She immediately started describing a company, its culture, the environment, the type of people she would be working with; nothing describing the responsibilities or job itself. I turned the tables a tad and asked her,

\”What companies have this profile?\”

For the first time in our conversation, she was stumped. Well, there is our answer folks. While she was dream job-hunting, she should have been searching for the dream company. I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about this specific job seeker and moreover this topic since our encounter. It occurred to me that the tools we use now to find the right place for employment are drastically different from those used 20 years ago.

From a job seekers point of view, the gift of the internet has allowed for an easier application process. The other gift of internet job seeking is the wealth of company information at our fingertips. That being said, I can easily understand how the massive amount of data that is readily available could be overwhelming. The curse of the internet, when it comes to job searching is just that…we are programmed to dream job search with the unlimited view of job posting after job posting.

What happened to getting your foot in the door at the right company and proving yourself so that you can wiggle into the dream job at the dream company? Countless great professional careers start this way. It is easier to get the dream job if you are applying from within. Starting with the right company in a position that may not be ideal allows: investments to be made, loyalty and pride to be built, obtaining a sense of greater good and ultimately career goals to be realized. Here are a few tips to help uncover your dream company utilizing the gift of the internet and social networks:

Follow companies or organizations on Linkedin, find and Talent Acquisition Professionals and company leaders on Twitter
Join the conversations and add value
Utilize existing online connections to leverage face to face interactions with employees at desired companies
Use sites like GlassDoor.com to research company culture

So, stop searching for jobs. Try searching for a great company with great people who mirror your values and get on board. The ultimate benefit is you will stop searching for jobs.

Steve Talbott is Talent Acquisition Manager at Enterprise Holdings Inc. He joined the company in 1992 as a management trainee in the Kansas City area and has held several operational and talent acquisition roles in the company since. Today, Steve oversees the internal and external hiring for Enterprise Holdings in St. Louis.

Five Questions with an IT Professional from AITP

Professional associations can be a terrific resource for anyone starting out their career. An IT professional organization can also be a great way to keep up on changes in the industry. To find out more about the benefits of associations as well as other helpful information about starting an IT career, Bryant & Stratton College spoke with Barbara Viola, owner of VioTech Solutions and Co-Chair Chapter & Regional Support of the Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP).

Q: What value can professional organizations provide to students or new graduates?

A: Joining a professional association, such as AITP can offer students and new graduates an easy way to network with those working in their industry; develop more knowledge about our industry and possibly even develop leadership skills. Our AITP students can join (or start up) a student chapter and be exposed to guest speakers within the field, participate in our annual NCC – national collegiate conference and compete for awards in a variety of IT disciplines, such as programming, database development, PC skills, .net, public speaking, etc. In 2013 we met in St. Louis, Missouri and had over 700 attendees from around the country, coming from as far away as Alaska. We also had many national companies in attendance recruiting graduating students with over 500 open positions! So, joining a professional organization can be a great way to gain valuable networking contacts either as a student or graduate, and to keep abreast of what’s happening in the industry, and possibly even get your first or subsequent jobs! They can also run for Chapter officer positions and develop leadership skills and add to their resumes.

Q. What kind of recent shifts have taken place in the field that changes the way IT professionals do their job? What about changes that have impacted the level or type of degree they need to be successful?

IT is all about change and that’s why most of us gravitated to this field – we love the constant change and how our jobs are constantly evolving. Social media, mobile communications, the cloud, VM ware – there are so many technology innovations that have and are occurring, that it is important for IT professionals to have a well-rounded education. We need to be prepared for the many changes that are occurring within the industry. While you are in school students should try and investigate areas of IT that could be helpful in your future; security, web development, and taking some business courses in finance, management skills, etc. will prove valuable as you gain experience and take on management level positions.

Q. What is the biggest skills or knowledge gap you’ve noticed in new graduates during their first 90 days of work?

If a student does not have experience their field, they are at a very distinct disadvantage with other IT students when they graduate. While you are in college is when you need to be exposing yourself to your future career. This is when you are able to decide if IT is the right career path for you and which area interests you the most. Students without this exposure tend to take longer to find a position and may be forced to accept whatever is open, rather than pursuing the specific area of IT they would like to work in. If I have two student applicants and one has worked in the field during college, I tend towards hiring the one with work experience. Why? They have shown that they know what is involved in working in a business setting in IT and are sure that this is the field for them. An added benefit is that their work experience often gives them the confidence to realize that they can be successful in their future career.

Q: How important are soft skills in the IT field? What are three soft skills employers want in to see in new hires?

My AITP Chapter just had their annual CIO panel and each of the five CIO’s who participated were adamant about the importance of soft skills in the employees that they choose to hire. One CIO actually told the audience that because skill sets are changing so rapidly, many of their job postings no longer include specific IT skills within the job description – they focus more on potential and how adaptable someone is to changing technologies. Taking a public speaking class while in school as one of your electives is a great way to develop a skill that you may find very useful to you throughout your career – it could also help you tremendously if you have thoughts of becoming a manager eventually. It is also important to have excellent listening skills, since a lot of what is done within a corporation is working in a team. You need to work well with others, listen to everyone’s ideas and be able to communicate effectively. We hear a lot about emotional intelligence and I can tell you that those IT professionals who are able to find and keep jobs throughout their career usually are very high in their emotional intelligence and working effectively within a team environment. Their emotional intelligence is more important than their expertise with a particular skill set. If you ever want to reach the CIO level, these traits are much more important than any technology skill you may master.

Q: What advice would you give new graduates about starting an IT career? What about specific advice for other women who are thinking about entering the field?

A: It is a great time to be entering the IT field, and the outlook is very positive for our industry for the future. If anything, we are becoming more and more dependent on technology for every aspect of running a business. Women entering the field are in a great position in that there are not many of us and you can have a real advantage if know your stuff and are a hard worker. Your ability to do well in our industry has everything to do with your knowledge, and ability to work well with others. Employers want to hire you, since they want departments that are diverse and include both men and women.

Bryant & Stratton College Online offers several online degrees, including IT programs. If you are interested in learning about the degrees at Bryant & Stratton College, call 1.888.447.3528 to speak with an admissions representative

Many Kinds of Business Degrees – How to Choose the Best Major for Your Career

Business Major Jobs for Both Types of Business Degree

In general, there are two types of business degrees: Associates and Bachelors. Here are examples of the types of careers you may pursue after receiving a degree from Bryant & Stratton’s business program. All median salary information and projected job growth through 2020 is provided by O*Net Online.

Career opportunities for graduates with an AAS in Business

First-Line Supervisors. There are a variety of roles for individuals interested in first line management positions. You can work in the food and beverage sector, retail, or production and manufacturing. In every case, the first-line supervisors take an active role in hiring and managing employees, scheduling, and making sure goods and services are produced according to current health safety standards. They also serve as the liaison between employees and upper management. In both the food service and retain sectors, first-line supervisors also work to ensure clients and customers have a satisfying experience. The median salaries vary according to industry.
Customer Service Representatives. As a customer service representative, it is your job to maintain customer satisfaction with your company’s products and services. In many cases, this job is performed via the phone and the internet, working with customers and conveying their comments and queries to managers, so the company can continually tailor products and services to meet the customers’ needs. In addition to educating the customers, customer service representatives also resolve complaints.

Career opportunities for graduates with a BBA in General Management:

Office Clerks. Office clerks perform a wide range of duties, depending on the type of business in which they are employed, including answering phones and email queries, administering correspondence, and ordering and keeping inventory of the office supplies. They may also be responsible for note-taking and transcription, as well as word processing.

First-Line Supervisors of Office Workers. In this position, employees wear a multitude of hats, from manager to customer service representative. In addition to working with HR to hire and train employees, you also work to facilitate employee relations, help the office to run efficiently, and may work directly with the public to increase customer satisfaction.

General Operations Managers. This position is also referred to as General Manager or Superintendent and encompasses a wide range of duties and responsibilities in both the public and private sectors. They are responsible for creating, implementing, and revising policies to ensure their company runs efficiently. They are in charge of creating budgets, purchasing, and are ultimately responsible for the company’s bottom line.

Contact the Admissions Office at Bryant & Stratton College or click here to learn more about the different types of business degrees we offer.

Get Hired: Four Ways to Prove Your Employability

Go to school; get a job. Like many students, you may have been taught to expect that doing the former will ensure the latter. But many recent grads are struggling in their search for an entry point to their career.

The reason why?

Employers don’t think they’re ready. In a survey conducted by Bryant & Stratton College and Wakefield Research, 80 percent of 18-34 year olds said they believed they were job-ready and possessed all the skills, experience, and education needed to advance in their desired career path or obtain their next job. But a study by McKinsey & Company found that almost 40 percent of employers looking to hire new employees had openings for six months or more. These employers claim that they are unable to fill positions due to the lack of skills, qualifications, and training in entry-level applicants.

What’s the problem? Young job applicants can’t find jobs they are qualified for; employers can’t find job applicants who fit their requirements. This problem is often referred to as “the skills gap,” and at the answer is changing how students talk about their qualifications.

How can you boost your employability? A strong academic performance alone will not earn you a job. There are many skills and abilities you need to develop to become a desirable job applicant:

1. Hone your soft skills: Employers are looking for people that are able to think critically, communicate, work well in team situations and be a problem solver. Look for times during class assignments to work on these skills and ask for feedback from instructors so you can continue to improve.

2. Get real-world experience: Doing an internship, job shadowing and volunteering are all great ways to gain experience outside of the classroom. You can surface many of these opportunities on your own, or with the help of your advisor, instructors, and the Career Center

3. Take advantage of school-based resources:

A lot of colleges are working on ways to help students naturally close the skills gap. If you are a Bryant & Stratton College student then our Career LifePrep program is helping you – even if you don’t know it! Career LifePrep combines course content across the College with real-world activities and workplace competencies to help students develop relevant skills. Keep an eye out for it in action next time you are in class. If you’re not a Bryant & Stratton College student and want to know if your school or the school you’re considering has a similar resource, here are some helpful questions to ask:

Do they integrate career-readiness into coursework every step of the way?
Do they partner with industry experts to keep their curricula up-to-date with current employment needs?
Do they offer programs that help you gain workplace experience throughout your education?

4. Flaunt it: It’s important not only to develop employability skills, but to prove yourself in an interview. Don’t just highlight your accomplishments – provide context on how they’ve given you the experience and ability to succeed in the workplace. Employers want to know how you will fit into their company, that you are able to learn quickly, and that you’re ready to go to work. Entering the job market may seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. With the right preparation and mindset, you’ll be on your way to a new career in no time.

Tips for Succeeding at the Portfolio Project

Most courses at Bryant & Stratton College contain a portfolio project. The portfolio project is critical because it allows you to apply the knowledge from the course to a project your will create.

Also, in many cases the project is similar to something you will create when working in your field. Devoting time to the portfolio project will help you get the most out of each course. The first step in succeeding in the portfolio project is viewing the directions for the project as soon as they are available. Be sure to check for them each week in the Activities folder. Sometimes they are available as early as week 1, as many projects will have some element of the portfolio project, such as a draft or outline, due before the final project.

If possible, print the directions so you can highlight or make notes. After reading, ask yourself: Do I understand each part of the assignment? Do I know what I need to do earn a high score in each category of the rubric? If any part of the project is unclear, email your instructor right away. The next step is to look at the “deliverables” for the project. This could be a topic selection activity, outline, or rough draft. These deliverables are a great opportunity for you to receive feedback from your peers and instructor. It’s also a way to ensure you are working towards the project over time and not putting it off until right before the final project is due.

After completing your project, evaluate it carefully. Is there any area you rushed and may not have fully met the requirements? Are your sources appropriate for the project? How would a potential employer evaluate your selection of sources? Did you proofread? Reading it out loud is a great way to catch errors. I encourage all students to utilize the Smarthinking tutorial service before submitting the final draft.

Another great strategy is to actually fill out the rubric for your project. This can help you look more objectively at your work. Remember, your instructor, and many times a supervisor, does not see the hours spent researching and composing a project. Your project is the only way to demonstrate what you have learned.

Creating a portfolio project not only helps you retain the knowledge from your courses, but it’s a great addition to your electronic portfolio, which will showcase your abilities to future employers. The skill of creating an involved project is a great way to practice time management.

With each project you will learn what strategies will work for you, and become more confident in your abilities. What a great way to prepare for your field!

The Hardcore Truth about Soft Skills

Job hunters: to be competitive in this job market, you must pay special attention to showcasing your hard skills and soft skills in a balanced way. No longer is it sufficient to only demonstrate your hard skills. To be clear, hard skills are job functions or tasks that can be measured, require specific knowledge and abilities, and are taught in most traditional degree programs. Examples are: accounting, software development and medical treatment. Hard skills will help you make the cut, but all things being equal in that area, employers will whittle down the remaining candidates by evaluating their soft skills.

Soft skills are more related to personality, how one interacts with others and how one performs his or her work. Although some people have these inherently, soft skills training can help the rest of us catch up.

In an April, 2014, survey by CareerBuilder, 2,138 hiring managers and human resource professionals identified the top ten soft skills they are looking for in job candidates. They are:

Strong work ethic – 73 percent
Dependability – 73 percent
Positive attitude – 72 percent
Self-motivation – 66 percent
Being team-oriented – 60 percent
Organized; manage multiple priorities – 57 percent
Works well under pressure – 57 percent
Effective communication – 56 percent
Flexibility – 51 percent
Confidence – 46 percent

Other surveys and articles include additional soft skills like leadership, analysis, critical thinking and initiative.

What’s more, 77 percent of the respondents to the CareerBuilder survey said that soft skills are equally important as hard skills and 16 percent said that soft skills were more important than hard skills. This shows the importance of soft skills to getting a job and advancing in your career.

“When companies are assessing job candidates, they’re looking for the best of both worlds: someone who is not only proficient in a particular function, but also has the right personality,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder, according to a press release.

When trying to prove that you possess soft skills, career experts suggest you explain the situation, start sentences with action verbs and hone in on results and accomplishments, just like you would for hard skills.

For example, to show how team-oriented you are, you could describe specific ways you helped your team succeed despite changing requirements (critical thinking/problem solving), low morale (your positive attitude) and a presentation to the manager (your effective communication and leadership). It might look like this on your resume:

Analyzed our team dynamics and identified the causes of interpersonal conflicts that prevented effective teamwork. Recommended to our manager four specific scheduling strategies and implemented them, thereby eliminating stressful interactions and improving team project evaluations. Received Team Player of the Quarter Award.

To prove your communication skills, identify what you communicated, to whom, why it was important and the quantifiable results. Try this on your resume:

Designed and presented to six project managers three tutorial sessions and written instructions on project management tools. As a result, their requests for assistance decreased by 61% between first and second quarter and project completion times decreased by 7-12 man hours on each project.

Effectively demonstrating soft skills is no easy task and will take a lot of time to get used to. You may have to brainstorm, ask yourself the hard questions, create a draft and make several iterations of revisions.

Then, get yourself some personalized help. Visit your career center staff to revise (several more times) and fully develop your accomplishment statements. Be patient with yourself because the hardcore truth about soft skills is that proving them and improving them is what could lead to the big payoff of a steady paycheck.

Infographic: Workplace Success

Bryant & Stratton College doesn\’t just develop the basic skills required to succeed in a particular degree program. Each and every program at Bryant & Stratton College includes a heavy focus on real world skills that are vitally important in creating employable graduates. Bryant & Stratton College builds these skills from your very first day in class, working to connect the classroom to real world expectations of employers every step of the way.

The infographic below helps to illustrate the different facts and figures surrounding the importance of not just earning a degree, but translating real world skills into your job search. Be sure to right click and select view image to zoom in and see a full size version of the infographic.

Getting a Job: Middle-Skills Employment and You

For many job seekers, higher education has become a requirement in order to land a job. There is a lot of talk about career-readiness and the “skills gap” that has put a halt to many recent grads’ job searches, while employers struggle to find adequate candidates. But this issue also exists in the “middle-skills” range – or, so-called \”non degree jobs\” that require more than a high school education but less than a four-year degree.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, experts estimate that as many as 25 million, or 47 percent, of all new job openings from 2010 to 2020 will fall into this middle-skills range. Employers claim that vacancies in these positions are already piling up, including fields such as computer technology and healthcare. But what does this mean for students pursuing these positions? Even for a non degree job, some job skills training is required.

Whether your job skills training involves earning an associate’s degree or a professional certificate, it’s important to have career-readiness on the mind. Here are a few ways that Bryant & Stratton College students are being set up for success

Career-driven programs

If you’re already enrolled in one of Bryant & Stratton College’s associates degree program, you may be on the right track without even knowing it. Bryant & Stratton College’s programs are aligned with careers that are in demand right now, and our Career LifePrep program ensures that coursework is directly tied to what employers want. Input from industry leaders helps guide curricula, and each program integrates real-world experiences and opportunities to build career skills so students can easily transition from the classroom to the workplace.

Teaching employable skills

Technical skills are a necessity, but so are interpersonal, or “soft” skills. It’s important to learn how to be a team player, communicate, solve problems and think critically in order to fit into any workplace environment. Look for opportunities in group projects and other class assignments and activities to develop these attributes during your time in the classroom.

Building connections

It’s no secret that connections play a key role in finding a job. Bryant & Stratton offers career resources and job placement services to help graduates take the next step. Don’t miss out – take advantage of the opportunities in front of you as you prepare to for the not-to-be-dreaded job search.

Your education experience is what you make of it. As you prepare for your new career, don’t be afraid to get out there – and mind the gap.

Are you looking to get in on the demand for workers with middle-skills? Check out all the programs available at Bryant & Stratton College.

Why More IT Professionals Are Turning to Online Degree Programs

The realm of information technology (IT) is constantly evolving, which is why more students and professionals choose to complete their information technology degree online.

There was a time when IT professionals could learn the skills they needed without a formal education. However, in the current market, an IT degree shows business owners, and clients, that an individual has the education, skills, and credentials proving s/he is a professional. Plus, online degree programs are a convenient choice for those who are already working in the field, and want to continue their education without sacrificing their work or family life. Here are some of the top reasons why more information technology professionals are turning to online degree programs.

Universally recognized credentials While some IT professionals work for a company or a corporation, many are choosing to work from home as independent contractors. Either way, the more powerful your resume is, the more likely you are to be considered for prospective jobs. An IT degree, or a degree in networking and/or security technology, is an academic credential recognized across the national and global workplace. While work experience is a valuable asset, a degree is a mark of achievement every HR department and prospective client understands. In many cases, an online degree will move your application into the interview pile because it shows you have chosen to hone your skills, and are dedicated to becoming an expert in the field of IT.

A degree at your convenience For many adults, attending a full-time campus is not an option. Many IT professionals are already working full-time and/or have families. You may already have career using your AOS in Information Technology, but are interested in specializing in mobile application technology, security, or networking. Getting your information technology degree online is the best way to maintain your current work and family schedule while simultaneously prioritizing your academic and career goals. Online classes can be scheduled around your working hours and family obligations.

Keep your education current Mobile technology and the increasing presence of cloud computing, means current IT professionals have to update their education on a regular basis. A basic knowledge of hardware and software programming is no longer enough. With the right information technology degree online, you can take courses that will bring you up to date on the newest computer, mobile, and cloud computing innovations. In addition to our fundamental hardware and software programming and network management courses, Bryant & Stratton College offers online IT courses that include beginning and intermediate internet and Android programming, Java programming, network security, computer forensic fundamentals and ethical hacking. These degree programs allow our students to remain competitive in the IT job market.

Increase your salary potential It\’s a fact that an education increases your earning potential. Those who have a college degree earn more, experience lower unemployment rates, and have access to better job opportunities. If you are interested in promoting from within your company, or applying for a new job that is higher on the career ladder, obtaining an information technology degree online can help you to achieve those goals, and will increase your net worth. If you would like to learn more about our information technology degree programs, please contact the Admissions Office at Bryant & Stratton. We look forward to helping you achieve your academic and professional goals.

How Employer Insight Helps Us Help You

In today’s job market, it’s not enough for recent graduates to simply have a strong academic record. Companies are looking to hire individuals who can grow and evolve to meet the changing needs of their workplace over time.

Skills like critical thinking, problem solving and the ability to communicate effectively are now a crucial part of any job applicant’s resume. The higher education community has taken note – colleges and universities are looking for ways to better prepare students for careers after they graduate. At Bryant & Stratton College, we’ve launched our EmployableYOU program to do just that.

Making Connections: An important part of this program is the connections we’ve made with industry experts to understand what employers want. These efforts include the college’s Employability Summit, which brought together top employers to discuss current job market challenges and how recent graduates can overcome them. (Watch a recording of the Summit here.) We’ve taken those learnings and embedded them into our programs in meaningful ways to ensure our students are job-ready:

Curricula that matters: Every program’s curriculum is aligned to current workplace needs. Input from the employer community drives these decisions so that you can more easily launch your career post graduation.

Creating a real-world experience inside the classroom: Our instructors aim to help draw connections between everything you learn in class and what you will actually be doing and experiencing on the job. EmployableYOU combines course content across the College with real-world activities and workplace competencies to develop skills you need.

A career services center that actually helps: Bryant & Stratton offers career planning services for students, including career counseling, career search advisement, interview preparation and resume reviews, as well as online professional development tools and webinars. It’s up to you to pursue these opportunities – don’t let them go to waste! The most important take-away from employer input is that having strong technical skills in your field need to be matched with the ability to think, adapt and work well with others. It’s never too early to start building these skills. In fact, we make a conscious effort to ensure that students are doing so throughout their education, every step of the way.

When Is The “Right” Time to Go To HR for Help?

You’ve had it! You’re sick and tired of your supervisor’s behavior and you’re not going to tolerate it anymore. He gets on your nerves with micromanaging, perpetual grumpiness, ineffective work processes and he just gave someone else the assignment you really wanted.

Well, despite your frustration, don’t constantly head off to the human resources department to complain about him unless you want to risk being labeled a troublemaker. But, know that there are some perfectly legitimate reasons to request help. Man whispering secrets at the watercooler

Man whispering secrets at the watercooler

“I wouldn’t recommend going to HR the same way you would to go a manager at a restaurant when you get bad service,” said Deb Cohen, senior vice president of knowledge development at the Society for Human Resource Management. “It really should be something of a more serious nature.”

If your supervisor engages in illegal activities, like not complying with equal employment opportunity laws, it would be the kind of HR problems that allow you to report him to human resources. EEO laws protect employees from discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex and disability. They also protect employees from being retaliated against when they report discrimination, file a charge of discrimination or cooperate with an EEO investigation. (see EEOC at http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/index.cfm)

Other illegal activities are associated with workplace health and safety. Some include physical, mechanical, and chemical hazards as well as workplace violence and occupational stress. (visit the Department of Labor’s (DoL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) web site at https://www.osha.gov for specific details) Although in some companies HR may not actually handle workplace safety issues, it is a good place to start to find out who does.

Questions about compensation and benefits are also in HR’s arena.

So what do you do when your HR problems are not as serious as these, but are still important, like when your co-worker gets that plum assignment over you?

“Go to your supervisor and ask if there is a reason you were not chosen and what you can do to improve your chances of getting the assignment later on,” said Cohen.

There could be a very good reason. Perhaps you don’t have the level of knowledge, skills or seniority that are required. Document those reasons or requirements and the actions you take to improve them.

“Then, if you are passed over three more times that may indicate a pattern of behavior for which you might seek counsel from HR,” Cohen said.

Any time you request HR help, be prepared with evidence of when and how a supervisor crossed the line with inappropriate or unprofessional behavior.

The bottom line, according to Cohen, is that “It comes down to whether you have evidence that there is a problem. You can’t just have a feeling there is one.”

Finally, if you can’t pinpoint a legal issue, figure out what specifically bothers you and try to fix it.

If you don’t like the work processes, requirements or other job-related issues, tame your negative feelings and make positive recommendations for improvements.
If it’s a minor interpersonal conflict (there are a lot of reasons that people don’t ‘hit it off’) schedule a meeting with your supervisor to discuss it. You both might understand each other better and improve your interactions.
If it is strictly his personality that bothers you, get over it, especially if you like your job.

In any of these cases it may be a perfect time to develop your interpersonal skills, if you want to advance. HR can usually provide information on job training and professional development resources as well as advise you about applying for other internal jobs.

Career LifePrep – Bryant & Stratton College courses are more than bookwork

Memorized the course work. Aced the exam. Passed the test to become licensed in your field. Graduated at the top of your class. Think you are ready to be hired? Being technically proficient in your field may no longer be enough.

Bryant & Stratton College is working to give students an edge in the job market. We’ve asked employers what skills they want new hires to have, and we are making sure our students are learning them. Employers today are looking for staff members who are critical thinkers, problem solvers and team players, said Bryant & Stratton College Director of Career Services, Robyn Cannata.

“We weave those components right into our classes so that students can learn those skills and experience something as close to real world workplace as possible,” she said.

The college has integrated lessons into the classroom experience to help students build these skills long before they graduate rather than on the job. Cannata also said the Career Services department urges students to build their work history by volunteering in their field. Once they have graduated her department works with each student to help sharpen their resume, advise them on job search strategies, network and prepare for the actual interview.

“Our students stand out because we have worked with them on how to best present themselves and do some of those extra things that the average student doesn’t think to do when applying for jobs,” she said. “We hope that matters to students because we really do provide them with an in depth experience that goes well beyond academics! We act as a true partner to them and we are with them all the way,” Cannata said.

Jumpstart Your Accounting Career with a Bachelor\’s Degree from Bryant & Stratton College

Are you ready to jumpstart your career by returning to school and obtaining a degree? You might want to turn your sights towards a BBA in Accounting. When students complete their degree in accounting at Bryant & Stratton College, it’s about more than just the numbers. In addition to learning the fundamentals of accounting, our graduates are also provided with a solid business foundation, having completed courses including management, marketing, strategic planning, and business law. Our accounting students are also required to take courses in business-related computer applications, teaching them to analyze business data, communicate the results, and solve technology challenges. Combined, these skills provide the perfect launch pad for adults who are ready take their career to the next level.

Here are some of the ways a BBA in Accounting from Bryant & Stratton College will help advance you on your accountant career path:

Job Versatility

According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics (PDF), the average American holds 11.3 jobs between the ages of 18 and 46. This means students need to be prepared to work in a variety of environments. Your accounting degree will provide a tremendous amount of versatility. Every business is designed to turn a profit and it takes a solid accounting department in order to make that happen. A BBA in Accounting will allow you to work in virtually any industry as a bookkeeper, auditor, accountant, tax preparer, budget analyst, financial manager, and more. You may be the sole accountant for a small business or the manager of a large accounting department for a multi-national corporation. Either way, your accounting degree will provide the foundation you need to increase your earning potential and climb the career ladder. There are many jobs you can get with an accounting degree.

Increased Earning Potential

Statistics show that adults who have a college education earn more, and are unemployed less often, than individuals with a high school diploma. While a few Quickbooks computer courses or an AA in accounting may be all you need to obtain a ground-level accounting or bookkeeping position, what happens when you are ready to take your job to the next level? The BLS Occupational Handbook states that most businesses require accountants and auditors to have a BA in Accounting or a related field. Your employer may expect you to continue your education if you want to increase your earning potential via promotions. The more education and job experience you have, the greater your lifetime earning potential.

Be Your Own Boss

Have you always wanted to own your own business? While experience and/or a great idea is important, you will also need capital. Your BBA in Accounting will show prospective investors that you have the basic business and financial know-how required to understand the bottom line. It will lend you a certain amount of credibility that, paired with your experience and acumen, can help you secure the loans you’ll need. Once your business is up and running, your accounting degree will provide a wealth of information to draw from as you begin to make the decisions that will determine the future of your business.

Are you ready to jumpstart your career by obtaining a BBA in Accounting or a related field? Contact the Admissions Office at Bryant & Stratton College. Our accounting department provides a supportive environment where returning students can achieve their academic goals.

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Business Major Jobs for Both Types of Business Degree

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