Recently in College Category

Earlier this year, I wrote about Attitude, Attendance, and GPA and why most employers and schools that matter don't care.

Today, I expand on this thought by coming up with a new meaning for the GPA acronym.

Genuine
Professional
Attitude

With a Genuine Professional Attitude, you can walk into any door and find work wherever you go. Without it, you will end up endlessly searching for work and the right opportunity.

People who are genuine show it not necessarily with their words, but always with their actions.

People who are professional walk their talk, apologize when necessary and carry themselves with a high level of credibility.

People with the right attitude look for the opportunity in every failure and success.

What is your GPA? Have you paid attention to it lately? Think of this new GPA acronym -Genuine Professional Attitude instead of your Grade Point Average.

It doesn't matter if you have a 3.0 or 4.0 if your attitude sucks, you aren't professional or are insincere!

PS - If grade point average meant anything, it would be a field you'd need to fill in on your LinkedIn profile! (Guess what, it's not!)

This free hour-long interactive presentation and Q+A session will show you how to create your profile, optimize it, and use LinkedIn as a networking tool in order to improve your job or internship search. Presented by Robert Braathe, founder of Braathe Enterprises, and Kelsey Weiss, Skidmore College '12 and intern for Braathe Enterprises

Skidmore College - Palamountain 202 - Wednesday December 14th

To RSVP, visit the link below or email robertjbraathe@gmail.com
LinkedIn Presentation by Braathe Enterprises - December 10th in Saratoga Springs

We have already awarded two 12 week online interactive business classes to two Capital Region residents seeking to take the next step in their career, whether it be start a business, find a new job or career, or learn something new to help them in their existing situation.

We are delighted to be offering these free courses for 12 lucky recipients this holiday season in the spirit of workforce development, business startup incubation, and career training for those who have been let go or downsized.

To enter for a spot in the 12 Classes of Christmas contest, send an email to info@saratogacollege.com with your request for a free course, why you want to take the course, and what you hope to learn as a result of it. The courses included Modern Marketing Methods, Exceptional Human Resources and Entrepreneurship, among others.

The first 12 submissions will very likely also be the 12 recipients (the first two were inspiring people so we selected them right away), so get in your email request today!

I took this free career quiz back in college and it really laid the foundation for what I have ended up doing for the past several years since I took it. Still a great tool many years later.

Send me your results if you take this and I can give you some advice on businesses you may want to start or jobs you may want to pursue

http://www.princetonreview.com/careerquiz.aspx

robert@saratogacollege.com

I'm offering a 12 week course called Career Communications Concepts online. This course goes over the basics of presentations, conference calls, webinars, resume building, LinkedIn profile creation and much much more.

For one lucky winner, I am going to be offering free access to this course. To enter the contest, send a 200 word or less email to me at robert@saratogacollege.com with the reasons why I should give you access to the course. I'll pick the winner on 11/5/11 after reading all the entries.

Whether you are out of work, looking to improve your position in life through better communication, or looking to enhance the skills you already have, Career Communications Concepts is a course at SaratogaCollege.com that you should definitely consider!

"Change is the end result of all true learning"
-- Leo Buscaglia

Online education and online colleges are as common as eating bagels for breakfast. But how do you determine if online education is right for you? Do you have the skills and drive to be a successful online student? Ask yourself the following questions:

I. What type of learner are you? Do you prefer hands-on involvement when we are learning or do you prefer listening to someone explain how to do something?

II. Are you an outgoing, social person who enjoys being around people, or are you more introverted, preferring instead to work alone? Do you need contact with other students beyond Facebook chats and Skype chats?

III. Are you technically savvy and have the proper equipment? In order to be successful perusing an online education you must have basic computer skills and high speed internet access preferably at home.

IV. What's you personality type? Do you prefer being in a classroom setting with other students? Do you prefer being in the comfort of your personal space while studying? Online learning settings can provide opportunities for students to communicate within the course itself by holding online discussions and blogs, you must determine if social media forums is enough interaction for you to be successful.

V. Does anyone have any questions? Ask lots of questions about all facets of online programs from your career counselor, academic advisor, or any social media outlet. These mediums will allow you to understand all the benefits and potential drawbacks for you as an individual.

VI. Test drive? If given the opportunity take a class for free or sit in on an online session to get the experience which will help you answer the question listed above. It will help you appreciate the dynamics of online education. Finally make a pros/cons list of similarities and differences of online verse more traditional education and make a decision!!

A good place to start your research is saratogacollege.com and elearners.com

Good luck in your quest for higher education!

In addition to my offer of free resume critiques online through September 17th (email your resume to robert@saratogacollege.com
), I will be at the following Job Fairs at the times below offering resume critiques and career advice.

Saratoga Job Fair
Saratoga City Center
Wednesday October 5th from 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm

Times Union Job Fair
Albany Marriott
Monday October 10th from 2pm-5pm

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Another great service I'd like to share with you is Google Appointments. Google Appointments allows you to block out time for people to schedule time with you. You can specify the blocks of time, how long the appointments can be, and what for.

If you'd like to book an appointment with me, you can visit Robert Braathe of Braathe Enterprises Google Calendar to schedule a time to speak with me via Phone/Skype/GoToMeeting

Once you are established and well into your HR career, your next thoughts most likely center on advancement. Human Resources is continuously evolving to meet the business needs, requirements, and laws that are ever changing. If you want to move to the next level in your field, you must work hard and prove yourself. This means taking on extra projects, not being afraid to voice new ideas , becoming a Subject Matter Expert, and going back to school for additional training, certifications and/or an advanced degree.

1. Taking on more projects - When new projects arise, that usually means extra work and most people avoid more work like the plague. If you want to advance your career, you must be the person who steps up to the plate. Why? Well, for numerous reasons. When promotion time comes, you will be at the forefront of the minds of management for your willingness to roll up your sleeves and help the company in their time of need. Secondly, you are showing eagerness and a willingness to both learn and try new things and that is also a positive with management. Thirdly, with each new project that you complete, you are proving just how knowledgeable you are and how much your help can improve the HR process.

2. Voice New Ideas - Everyone has an opinion, but most are too afraid to voice them. If you have an idea or suggestion that you feel will help the HR process, then voice it. This shows initiative and drive, and it can also make a great addition to your resume if your idea succeeds.

3. Become a SME (Subject Matter Expert) - Read HR blogs, start an HR blog, answer questions on LinkedIn, build your profile on social media sites, and get recommendations on those sites. In other words, spread the word that you are an HR professional and a true subject matter expert in the field. Not only will your employers take notice, so will other in your industry and that can only help you in the future.

4. Advance your education - Many Senior level positions requires certain certifications, training, and degrees. By taking educational classes focused on HR, you stay ahead of the pack by learning of the new laws, regulations, and business process hitting your industry. Do you think you don't have time? Online education is becoming increasingly popular and is now widely accepted by big organizations. Here is one HR class being offered online that is merely 8 weeks and is centered around your schedule. You already have the education and with training classes, you also have the education, which makes you the ideal candidate for promotion.

With these four steps, you will be on your way to advancing your HR career. Have you recently moved up the ranks in HR? How did you do it?

by Sarah Palmo, Braathe Enterprises Virtual Internship Program participant

In an article published on August 12, 2011, in the Business Review, the focus was on the opportunity for college students to take part in an internship with a growing company, Global Foundries. Global Foundries is located at Luther Forest in Malta.

Over the next couple years, Global Foundries wants to grow their internships. They recently had 1,000 students throughout the United States competing for 20 summer internship positions. These positions are in fields such as finance and engineering, and are located at the new operation in Malta, as well as California.

Global Foundries is offering an incredible opportunity to students who are close to graduating and want to gain experience in a specific field. Many of these interns may be offered positions within this growing company.

To read the full article, please click Here.

Many students will start in a specialized program and realize it is not for them. It shouldn't be a hard thing to change your major considering almost everyone does it, but now it might require you to completely transfer schools. I'm going through it right now and it's not easy or cheap.

Luckily I'm keeping pretty close to my original major so classes will transfer, but for students who want to completely change it is probably out of the question unless they can afford to basically start over college.

So how do we beat the system? If colleges aren't going to change, it looks like we're going to have to get smarter. The rule we should all start following is that we absolutely need to be sure about our major before we start college or at the latest 1 year in. This sounds really intimidating to have our entire lives planned out by the time we are 18, but if we stop relying on just our high school classes to tell us what we are supposed to be majoring in it is possible.

There are other things that we can go out and do that will help us figure out what we really are passionate about. I won't bore you with the hundreds of ideas I have for what we can do, but how about just the top 3...

1. Don't keep the same summer job every year.

Most students will start working the summer after their sophomore year of high school which gives us 3 summers to try out different jobs before college. You may not want to give up the job security of staying at one place, but you could be saving so much money down the road. You might also not think that switching between retail stores or summer camps will help, but you might only need one small experience to help you realize your passion and the more different places you put yourself in, the better chance you will find that.

2. Travel, travel, travel.

Trust me I know how expensive it is, but if you get the chance do it. Traveling gives you experiences you could never have at home and you never know when you might come across some inspiration.

3. Take advantage of the opportunities companies offer for students. This is the last one I want to mention and then one I can really speak to considering I just did it. I knew I wanted to major in something creative and artsy, but wasn't sure exactly what. My mom saw that Pixar was offering a class in New York City and thought that might help me figure out if Animation is what I want to do. So I signed up, spent 2 days being taught by Animators, and will now be going to school for that.

Not every situation will go as perfectly as that I'm sure, but other companies offer things like this that students like us can really benefit from and can help us figure things out.
Other companies offer classes like the one I took from Pixar or offer internship programs or camps.

Disney is known for programs like this as well as a bunch of colleges like Carnegie Mellon that offer summer programs. Explore what it is out there and take advantage of anything you can to help make your decisions easier.

Nobody is going to help us be prepared and get a job but ourselves so we have to take control of our own futures. Just remember that while we might be making really serious decisions and working more than we like, it will always be fun if you love what you're doing.