Meet Lydia reed.co.uks first graduate blogger

Meet Lydia reed.co.uk’s first graduate blogger by Lydia Randall Meet Lydia Randall reed.co.uk’s very first representative exclusively for graduates.Since joining the team in summer 2016, she’s travelled to 15 different cities across the UK and met with over 10,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students, answering their questions, and helping them prepare for life after uni. And there’s much more to come in 2017.We spoke to Lydia to find out more about her role, and she’s using her own experience to help graduates find their perfect post-uni position:The UndergradIn September 2011, I began my ‘fresher year’ by enrolling at Coventry University. For those of you who attended university, you may remember the overwhelming/excited/I am finally free feeling that came as a first year.Well, mine was nothing different, other than the start of my journey had not entirely gone to plan. Why? Because I was not attending any of my chosen universities.Nonetheless, not knowing what to expect, I began my arduous (but most me morable) years of becoming an undergrad.GraduatingIn 2014, what I thought was the end of my university experience came to a swift end. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in International Relations and Politics.Going to university prepared me for the ‘real world’, in more ways than one, by being independent, I was able to understand the full weight and extent of making decisions for myself.I learnt how to respond and rise to challenges; I gained a more comprehensive set of social skills.However, one of the most important lessons I took from university was that ‘everything won’t always go according to plan’, and in instances like these, try not to over-think or panic.As long as you work hard, keep positive, stay focused and remain determined then chances are, though plans may have changed, the outcome may not and it’s likely that things will work out better than you could have planned.Post-university life: travel and fundraisingIn 2015, independent from all my family and friends, I travelled deep into the heart of Africa.Once there I became immersed in the most impoverished parts of Namibia, the slums of Katutura and Okahandja Park. During this time I wrote and delivered a motivational speech to an auditorium of 300+ 1st year students.I raised funds to support 2 kindergartens and a children’s home.  I also had the privilege of writing and performing for a global conference, Ted X. My purpose to inspire and empower people with my words.The postgrad job search(Fun Fact) ‘If you struggle with ‘rejection’ or hearing the word ‘no’ then you will possibly hate the ‘job hunt’I applied for countless jobs, and wouldn’t always receive feedback, but what it taught me was that the job hunt cannot be rushed.Looking for work can be very tiresome and can often make you feel deflated, but you cannot afford to quit. It will not be a quick or easy process, and requires patience, dedication and definitely a double dose of perseverance. One of the major decisions I made when beginning my job hunt, was not to go back into what I was doing before I left for Namibia. I can appreciate that this won’t work for everyone and that it heavily depends on your circumstances.However, I made this decision for a few reasons:1 I wanted to avoid becoming complacent in a job that was no longer benefiting me.2 It would provide me with enough time to look full-time for my next job.3 I had acquired a whole new range of employability skills and felt that it would damage my CV by going into a role that would not improve on what I had learnt.4 I knew that I was more than capable of getting something betterWhere I am nowAfter a few months, I was lucky enough to get a job as a brand manager. Thinking that my travels were now over, I soon realised that they’d actually only just begun.My role was to travel across the UK, attending fresher and career fairs, running campus days and putting on career workshops for all university students . I found this role to be so rewarding that I re-created it for myself here at reed.co.uk. I’ve now been entrusted to head up one of companys biggest projects this year. No pressure…So what is the meaning of all of this? Well, my role has provided me with a platform to impart some of my knowledge from my own past experiences but also share with you some of the current challenges that most young adults will go through at some point.From speaking to many young people like yourselves, and having recently been in your position, I hope to provide you with current, useful information to help with your search for work.Ultimately, I want to help you make more informed decisions, and be a source of motivation, inspiration and encouragement on your career journey.And, if you have any questions, I’m always here to help. Feel free to leave a comment below â€" or tweet me @reedcouk.Still searching for your perfect position?  View all of our current vacancies nowFind a job What Where Se arch JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. Features Graduate advice

Review of KSU Resume Writing Online Course

Review of KSU Resume Writing Online CourseThe KSU Resume Writing Online Course provides valuable insight for anyone hoping to improve their chances of landing that perfect job. The course will teach you how to tailor your resume and cover letter to different employment opportunities. You'll be able to see how the right techniques and keywords can help you land a job that you really want.Before you get started, it's important to understand the difference between a career and a job. A career is something you do when you are able to find a stable, regular source of income. For example, a lawyer might do research or deal with litigation. A nurse may focus on taking care of patients.If you choose to be an entrepreneur, you could be a designer of products or a home business owner. A writer who writes about social issues may have a site focused on religious information or news.The skills you'll need for any specific job will be completely different from the skills you'll need for other jobs . A nursing career may call for more technical skills than someone who writes about cars. If you really want to land a great job, you should be prepared to hone your skills to get a job that really suits you.To be successful in the online arena, you'll need the right information. KSU provides many online resume tips. A formal career training program, like the KSU Resume Writing Online Course, will offer you practical advice on how to write the perfect resume and cover letter. The course is designed to help you find the right kind of job, the right job.Resume writing is not the same as crafting the perfect cover letter. Those letters often appear before someone even decides to talk to someone. When you're hiring someone to work at your home, a professionally written resume can make the difference between success and failure.The course includes over 10 hours of videos, e-courses, and tutorials that will get you up to speed quickly. The instructor's teaching style will give you the inf ormation you need without taking over the course. An advantage of the curriculum is that it has been developed by a professional writer and trained consultant. So, if you're looking for a way to learn more about how to create a resume and cover letter, KSU has you covered.You may not believe that the author of the KSU resume writing online course is an expert in this field. However, she is a proven resume writer. She uses the same methods she teaches to help thousands of students learn how to craft the perfect resume and cover letter.

An Ego is an Opportunity - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

An Ego is an Opportunity - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career When you hear the word ego you automatically get this sensation and tingling feeling down your spine that its negative. You may get defensive if someone calls you an egomaniac or says you have a big ego. In our culture there is a negative connotation around this single term. It is associated with all things evil in this world. In this post, I will rationalize the definition of ego and then explain how one of the biggest secrets in personal branding history can help you change your life for the better. Definition of ego Round 1: An inflated feeling of pride in your superiority to others. Round 2: The self, especially as distinct from the world and other selves. Round 3: The division of the psyche that is conscious, most immediately controls thought and behavior, and is most in touch with external reality. Round 4: Appropriate pride in oneself; self-esteem. Final Round: Your consciousness of your own identity. Analysis and thoughts If you read each definition, the words identity, pride, self-esteem, distinct and superiority come right at you like a pack of wolves hunting for their prey. From analyzing and re-reading each definition, my primary conclusion is that your ego is your external personal brand that is built internally. What I mean by this is that your ego is your facial expression and personality that is seen by others, but that is ignited from within. Your ego is regulated by your internal passions and energy or lack thereof. Therefore, you have the gift and privilege to share that ego with another individual and be judged based on that experience or impression. If you dont have pride in your personal brand, then I can almost guarantee that some press in your local newspaper or a pat on the back at work wont soothe your wounds or give you purpose in life. When you were in high school, there were always bullies that would demoralize you like you were beneath them. People take advantage of others and when that individual doesnt stand up for themself, they lose pride, self-esteem, and their ego takes a hit. An ego is a state of mind. An ego allows one individual to soar to the top of the ladder and another to take a part-time job at McDonalds. An ego is your best friend and worst enemy. You can use it for good or evil. An ego grants purpose, attitude, values, pride and an identity. Since what you do makes you who you are and how you project that to others makes you memorable, your ego is that projection. An ego is an opportunity Ive already started explaining this concept to a few people in the blogosphere, who have embraced it like it was common strategy. One of my biggest learnings and best kept secrets is that if you understand what an ego is, that everyone has one and that you can play to it, you can be extremely successful. People LOVE seeing their face on a magazine, blog, on national television, in a book or heard on the radio. They also enjoy compliments and careful attention paid to their hard work. By feeding this ego wholeheartedly and without asking for something in return, you will get twice as much back and have a strong relationship with that person. An ego is an opportunity that costs you nothing these days (Its 2008 WOW). By interviewing or writing about another individual on the web, the probability that they will reciprocate is quite high (if not now, at a later date). It costs you nothing to promote someone else, their product or even link to their website. The bigger idea behind this is giving before receiving, but servicing an ego is the greatest and cheapest way to accomplish this. This single strategy justifies starting a blog. Next time you bite your tongue when you hear the word ego, realize that catering to someones ego may change your life.

How to Ensure Your Graduation Goes with a Bang

How to Ensure Your Graduation Goes with a Bang Graduation coming soon? Make sure the day is one to remember â€" and for the right reasons â€" by following our top tips to your biggest event yet. Do a Dress Rehearsal Picked out what you’ll wear underneath your cap and gown? Try everything on well in advance and wander around the house in it for a little while. This way, you’ll be able to decide if those new heels are too high and therefore risky when walking up to collect your diploma, or if that shirt, skirt or pair of pants is comfortable enough to see you through the day. Make Sure You Charge Your Camera So you’ve remembered to take your SLR camera to graduation but forgotten to charge it. Trust us when we say you’ll be disappointed if you realise this at the ceremony itself â€" and new technology means you can’t simply run out to buy some batteries. Instead, locate your camera charger the evening before your graduation and get it plugged in! You don’t want to have to rely on your cell phone to take those all-important photos with your classmates, after all. And once you’ve printed your photos, think about displaying them in a diploma frame â€" ready to hang on the wall of your first apartment, or your old room in your mom and dad’s house. Don’t Forget Yourself Sure, have a glass of Champagne or two â€" but try not to forget yourself. After all, you’re at graduation and your tutors and parents will be in attendance. The person who gets blind drunk during or after the ceremony is the person everyone remembers long after graduation â€" and for all the wrong reasons! Plus, do you really want to be so tipsy that you don’t remember much of the day? Say yes to a glass of Champagne or wine if you must, but keep the drinking to a minimum â€" there’s plenty of time to celebrate later. Mingle It’s your graduation day so make sure you make the most of it! The last thing you want is to return home and remember you didn’t seek out your course tutor to say thank you. If you need to, write a list beforehand of everyone you’d like to see; that way you won’t forget when the adrenaline of the day kicks in. Take Tissues Graduation is likely to be an emotional rollercoaster to say the least. There will be pre-ceremony nerves and there could be a few happy (or sad!) tears. Be prepared, then, and take a packet or two of tissues in your purse. You might also want to remember a stick or two of gum; you’ll be up close and personal with classmates, tutors and friends’ parents â€" hugging and cheek-kissing the day away â€" so make sure your breath is minty fresh, just in case. Don’t Forget a Notebook You’ll likely bump into lots of people you want to stay in touch with, so make sure you take a notebook and pen to easily jot down names, numbers and addresses. Sure, you can use your cell phone but you can’t rely on its battery holding out for the whole day. Be prepared and you’ll thank us later. Youve earned it, so frame it When all is said and done and you have said your farewells and are looking towards the future, be sure to think about purchasing a frame for your diploma. Companies such as Church Hill Classics offer a fantastic range of Diploma Frames, be sure to check them out.

How a Professional Resume Writing Service in Dallas Can Help You

How a Professional Resume Writing Service in Dallas Can Help YouIf you are an entrepreneur or have some real experience in the workplace, then you can benefit from a resume writing service in Dallas. A professional resume will always be helpful as it will provide you with all necessary information about your achievements, work experience and education. You will have your best chances of being hired if you are able to provide the proper information and details about yourself.The first step that you should do is to choose a professional resume writing service in Dallas. You should look for a company that provides people who are facing the same problems as yours. The point is to be able to offer a solution to those who are facing similar difficulties.After choosing a resume service in Dallas, you should be able to look at the templates provided by the company. The professional resume service in Dallas is going to provide you with several templates. These templates will usually contain v arious types of text and one of them will be a chronological resume. This is a format that will help you make an outline of your employment history and experience.The chronological resume template is a very important part of a Dallas resume. In this type of resume, the various milestones are marked in a specific order. This is very important because the employer is going to check your performance during each stage of your career.The importance of this format lies in the fact that it will help you to highlight different elements of your experience. There will be a table that will list your work experiences, education and achievements. The most important part is the chronological header that will list the name of the person to whom you are addressing.Another format that you should be able to look at is the application of experience to your career stage. This is also a very useful format because it will allow you to draw an outline of how you performed during each stage of your career. For example, you can include your work experiences in management, sales and administration and there will be separate sections for each of these roles.The other format that you should be able to look at is the kind of education that you have completed. Some people may wonder why it is important to list your educational qualification in your resume. It is actually to show the potential employer that you have earned a good education.A professional resume service in Dallas will be able to help you make your resume come to life. There will be some time involved when it comes to creating a resume but this will not be a major problem. Remember that you need to first think about your goals so that you will be able to make your professional resume as attractive as possible.

Why Advanced Nursing Degrees Have Become So Important

Why Advanced Nursing Degrees Have Become So Important For generations, earning an Associate’s Degree in Nursing evalPerhaps the most compelling reason that health care facilities are looking to hire nurses with advanced degrees is the marked impact they can have on patient care.Multiple studies have shown that patient safety improves when nurses hold at least a BSN. For example, one study in the journal Medical Care revealed that the risk of patient mortality decreases by nearly 4 percent when just 10 percent more nurses hold a bachelor’s degree.Others studies have also found that length of stay is reduced, readmissions are reduced, and the risk of complications, such as pulmonary embolisms and deep vein thrombosis, are also reduced when nurses hold higher degrees.As hospitals look to improve the quality of care and achieve the benchmarks determined by CMS relating to quality, having a well-trained staff is of paramount importance.Improving Career ProspectsThe benefits to earning an advanced nursing degree don’t only extend to emp loyers and patients, though. Nurses themselves enjoy significantly improved career prospects when they earn a bachelor’s or master’s degree.In a much touted 2010 report, the Institute for Medicine called for at least 80 percent of nurses to hold at least a bachelor’s degree by 2020, as part of an overall effort to improve the quality of medical care in the U.S. As a result, more nurses are seeking advanced degrees than ever before, with more than half of all new graduates from nursing programs earning a BSN rather than an associate’s degree.Since 2011, the number of nurses earning advanced credentials has increased every year, meaning that there are more nurses with bachelor’s and master’s degrees than ever before.evalWhat this means for nurses looking for employment is that competition is actually quite strong, and a nurses with a BSN is more likely to land a job than one with only an RN. Not to mention, holding a master’s degree opens the door to even more career opp ortunities, as a master’s degree can prepare you for more specialized nursing careers such as pediatric, geriatric, or cardiac care, as well as jobs in leadership or nurse education.In fact, most hospitals will not hire or promote nurses into leadership roles without an advanced degree, making degrees vitally important for anyone who wants to move out of general practice.Magnet StatusAnother reason advanced degrees have become so important has to do with hospitals seeking Magnet status. Hospitals seek Magnet status as a means of certifying the excellent care they provide as well as their commitment to creating an ideal working environment for nurses.evalWhile there is some debate over the true value of achieving Magnet status, many hospitals are committed to the process, which requires at least 80 percent of the nursing staff to hold a bachelor’s or master’s degree in nursing, and all nurse leaders to hold advanced degrees.As a result, hospitals that have achieved Magnet statu s (currently only about 6 percent of all hospitals) and those working to achieve the designation will only hire applicants who hold these credentials, regardless of their level of experience. Therefore, a nurse who wants to work in one of these facilities needs to earn the higher degree.Earning an advanced degree in nursing will undoubtedly help your career in nursing. Most nurses point out that one never stops learning in the profession, and it’s impossible to learn everything you need to know in any degree program, whether it’s two years, three years, or longer.However, the more formal education and study you complete, the better you’ll be at your job right out of the gate, so there really isn’t any reason not to enroll in a nursing degree program from the start.

Easy Ways to Advance Your Career - CareerAlley

Easy Ways to Advance Your Career - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. When you finally get into the field that you have always dreamed of, you might find that you need to start at the bottom. The good news is that you dont need to stay at the bottom forever as there are many ways that you can move up the ladder. In this article, we are going to take you through some of the easy ways to advance your career, read on to find out more. Plan source Having a plan is one of the first steps to advancing your career. Youll need to set yourself some goals and figure out what you actually want to achieve. If you have no direction, then you wont be able to reach your goals so make sure to plan this carefully. Figure out what you are missing and write a plan about how you can develop those skills or reach your goals to get a promotion. Network source Talking to other people is one of the best ways that you can advance your career. In many different fields, networking is key and getting to know other people in your industry is very important. You should visit some local networking events and get to know other people who could potentially hire you in the future. You should also network within your current job and get to know other departments that might be able to help you out in the future. Another bonus of networking is the chance to get some free career advice. Chatting with more experienced professionals in your industry of interest gives you the chance to ask them what they think of the career moves youve been mulling over. Aside from getting good advice, its also a great way to show people your admiration. You wouldnt be asking for advice if you didnt respect their opinions, right? themuse.com Get Advice If you really want to advance your career, why not get some professional help? There are plenty of coaches online at AskaCoach that are there to give you career advice and to help you progress. Youll be able to access these coaches whenever you want, and you wont have to worry about finding a suitable coach as there is someone for everyone on this website!

Love your job! Finding a Career that FITS - Hallie Crawford

Love your job! Finding a Career that FITS Wednesday July 19 12:00 noon-12:55 ET. This is a Free Teleclass. Click here for details/sign up: https://www.halliecrawford.com/teleclasses.html#FITS. Feel free to invite a friend! The more the merrier. Imagine what it would be like to have a career that fits you like a glove and that you truly enjoy. In this teleclass, you will: 1) learn about the four major components of a satisfying career, 2) begin to explore these components, and 3) identify and learn to overcome one obstacle that may be getting in the way of you finding a satisfying career. This class is for anyone looking for career direction or wanting greater fulfillment in their work and who need some help figuring out how to make that happen! You don’t have to settle for less. You can have a career you are passionate about. , Certified Career Coach, Atlanta GA www.HallieCrawford.com. Cant wait? Unable to attend? Click here https://www.halliecrawford.com/teleclasses.html#FITS to purchase the audio file for only $12.99.