Make your Summer Job Count!

Make Your Summer Job Count!

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If you're in college, than it is safe to assume that you've experienced the dreaded summer job. Whether it's waiting tables, guarding lives, or delivering pizza we've all been there. Your summer job doesn't have to be a total waste however. You can gain some good experience by working in the trenches. Keep these things in mind next time you get yelled at by a customer and be sure to list your new found skills on your resume. 

1. Provide Excellent Customer Service

Next time you are getting yelled at by an unhappy customer; remind yourself that if you handle it correctly, it will look awesome on a resume. Employers love to see individuals that can handle escalated situations. If you keep your cool and make the customer happy it will go a long way in the work place. No matter what job you have it is likely that you deal with customers at some point. If you provide a quality experience, it can really take you far. 

2. Learn the Trade

Employers love to see that you care about the position that you're in. That means if you are serving ice cream, you should know all there is to know about the ice cream you are serving. Learn the product or the service that your company offers and you will excel in your field even if it is just cleaning carpets. And be sure to mention that experience on your resume.

3. Be Proactive

Take any and all of your assignments seriously and complete them to the best of your ability. If you feel you can make a difference in the way things are run or solve a problem don't be afraid to do what you can. Making customers happy is your ultimate goal and if you do your dandiest to accomplish that it won't go unnoticed. 

Some jobs really can suck its just part of growing up. Fortunately any job has the potential to give you a quality learning experience. If you play your cards right and work hard you will earn more working experiences that can help you later in the job field. Hang in there and do your best and you'll go far!

3 Tips to Save on Textbooks

3 Tips to Save on Textbooks

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It is almost time for fall semester which means it is almost time to spend bazillion dollars on books. Exciting right? Wrong. Buying textbooks can be a total pain in the butt. Textbooks are ridiculously expensive and most of the time you don't get your money’s worth. Once in a while you can get away with not buying the book, which is risky business. So what is a college student to do when there's no money to be found? Here are a few tips to ease the financial burden.

1. Begin the Bargain Hunt!

It is not required to buy your books from your campus. Buying books from the school itself is usually the most expensive way to go. Check around on sites like amazon.com, and craigslist.com.com for deals on the book. If you do your research you can find books for much cheaper. Keep in mind the time it takes for the book to be shipped to you so that you can have your book in time for class. Buying your books used can really cut back on coin as well. Check out these sites for great deals on used books; half.com.com abebooks.com. You can also compare prices by using sites like dealoz.com, and addall.com.

2. Get Digital

Downloading books can be a much cheaper alternative buying them from a store. Sites like coursesmart.com or cafescribe.com will show you if your textbook is available in a digital source. You can also participate in the open sourcing movement. You can find free e-texts at sites like googlebooks.com, gutenburg.org, and flatworldknowledge.com. Each one of these sites provides free text books that you can download. You could save a lot of money if you gave it a shot!

3. Sell

When the semester is over you can make some of your money back by selling your book. There are many sites and stores out there that will buy textbooks back from students. Some college campus book stores will even buy books back from students. If you know you won’t be using the book again which you probably won’t be, sell it back!

Procrastinators Unite! ... Tomorrow

5 Tips to Help you get your Work Done!

 

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Everybody does it. Everybody hates it. Procrastination: A college student’s worst enemy. 

You've been there; your professor assigns you a huge project. You tell yourself that you'll get to it later. 5 parties later you realize you haven't even started. You tell yourself that you'll get to it. The tension continues to build and you continue to put it off when finally, it's the night before the assignment is due... and you've got nothing! Don't worry; you're not the only one. Procrastination is an epidemic among college students. So what is to be done? How to we conquer this monster of laziness? Here are a few helpful tips to help you get your work done.

1. Get a Planner

...and USE it. When you get your syllabus, record all the assignments, due dates, projects and tests into your planner. Once you've done that for your entire course list and plan out your study time. Leave more time for tests, and big projects. Now you must religiously follow your schedule. Treat it like work, you have to go, no excuses. It is so easy to say "I'll go to the movie and do it later" or "I'll do it after this episode". You've got to train yourself to get your work done before you play. Its part of being an adult and it sucks, but you gotta do it. 

2. Get Your Priorities in Order

There is only so much time in a day. Sometimes you have to decide what you will spend your time on. Use your planner to decide what needs to be done and prioritize your work load. Organize the tasks you have written down in order of importance and you will find that you can get everything done. 

3. Begin

The hardest part of doing a project is getting it started. Don't plan on completing the entire assignment at once either that can make the project seem too daunting. Decide how long you are going to work on the project and work that long.

4. Use a List System

 Create a "To Do" list for yourself and once you complete something you can cross it of the list. When you cross something off the list it feels awesome and can be very motivating. It can be something as simple as "20 minutes on paper". 

5. Reward Yourself

When you have completed a task give yourself a nice reward. Let yourself take a nap, or go to a movie, or just hang out with friends. When you get used to a system of reward following work you will be more excited to complete projects.

Are Your Essays a Hot Mess? Tips for Writing a Better Paper

Are Your Essays a Hot Mess?

Tips for Writing a Better Paper

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We've all been there, its 11 PM and you have a paper due for your class at 8AM... and you haven't even started. I think it is just basic college law that everyone has to go through this situation at least once. Procrastination is just a fact of life when you're in college, especially for writing papers. Most college students aren't striving to be journalists or English majors, so most college students aren't stoked to sit down and write a ten page paper. 

So what’s a student to do when writing papers is unavoidable? Here are a few tips to get you through your papers and hey, who knows they might even turn out to be good.

1. Make and Outline

Outlining your paper will keep your paper organized and on track. Start with your thesis statement and back ground history in the introduction. Next, outline the paragraphs in the body of your paper. Each paragraph should be a description of a main idea with evidence to back up your ideas. When you have that much outlined decide how you will summarize your thesis in the concluding paragraph. Your outline should be a plan of your ideas and how you are going to present them to your audience. Keep in mind the instructions that your professor gave you, making sure that your paper meets the requirements that are set. 

2. Write it out

Using the outline, elaborate on your ideas and points, with all of your ideas planned out for you this should be relatively easy. Provide examples and evidence to prove your point and you will have a bulk of the work done in no time!

3. Spell Check is your Friend

In other words, revise your paper. Read through it and make sure it is organized, has a nice flow and feel and makes sense. If you can follow the ideas that you present you’re on the right track. Check your paper for errors in spelling and grammar and TA DA you have your first draft!

4. Make a Friend

Most professors will have you do a peer review in class but if they don't it is in your best interest to share your paper with a friend or, better yet, someone in your class. A class mate will have an understanding of the assignment and its requirements and can offer insight to better help you complete the assignment. Having a fresh set of eyes view your paper can spot errors that you may have missed providing you with a quality paper. 

5. Go to the Writing Lab

Most schools have writing labs where you can go and get help on your paper. Have a tutor or professor review your paper before you turn it in. Remember, these people know what they are talking about so take their suggestions to heart. If they tell you that you need more paragraphs or fewer paragraphs, do the work and you'll have a better paper. 

Most importantly, the key to writing a paper is to actually sit down and do the work. Try not to procrastinate (I know it's hard), and just get the work done. Things are much easier when you just buckle down and get it over with.