Every so often, QuintZine publishes an
issue directed at only a small part of
our readership.
With thousands of high-school students
poised to fill out college applications
over Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations,
we provide our annual COLLEGE-BOUND ISSUE.
If you're not college bound, you can, of course,
delete this issue -- OR, how about e-mailing it on to
a son, daughter, brother, sister, or other loved one
who might be able to use it?
And you won't have to wait long for our next
general-interest issue. To celebrate the big
5th anniversary of Quintessential Careers, we're
bringing you an extra November issue of QuintZine
dated Nov. 12, plus a Nov. 26 issue on the topic
of career change. In the spirit of the upcoming
Thanksgiving holiday, we're bringing you extra
bounty in November. Enjoy!
Four Steps To Getting Perfect College Recommendations
In college admissions, application forms and essays
give admissions officers your own perspective on your
achievements. However, to get another person's viewpoint
they often turn to your letters of recommendation.
When you apply to college, you will typically submit
between one and three recommendation letters
from teachers,
employers, or
other adults who can vouch for your academic
achievements or personal character. Even though others
actually write the letters, you might be surprised to
discover that you can influence the results by who you
select and what information you provide them.
Domain Name Sanity
-- where else can job-seekers get a Website (with the domain name of your choice), enough space to publish
your Web-based resume and career portfolio (20 megabytes), up to 50 email addresses, and lots of publishing
and promotion resources -- for under $20 a year!!
This deal is amazing -- almost too good to be true. If you don't have a Website, but want to put your
resume and portfolio on the Web, take advantage of these services! Fee-based.
Gen and Kelly Tanabe, authors of the preceding
article on college recommendations, are the award-winning
authors ofGet Into Any College and Get Free Cash For College (see
both books reviewed below) and the founders of the Web
site SuperCollege.com.
Together, this husband and wife were accepted by
every school to which they applied and won more than
$100,000 in merit-based scholarships.
In their Q&A with us, the Tanabes demystify the
college admissions process, offer tips on how to
choose
a college, tell how to integrate career-planning into
the college-selection process, reveal the biggest
difference between high school and college, and
discuss the trend among colleges to place greater
weight on students' essays, extracurricular activities/
achievements, and recommendation letters -- and not quite as
much emphasis on test scores and grades.
Need a speaker for your career-oriented conference or
event at your college or organization? The Quintessential
Careers Speakers Bureau can help! Our quintessential experts
can provide presentations/workshops on a variety of
career-related topics.
In this issue, we offer brief reviews of six
books for the college bound on such
subjects as how to get in, how to get money for
college, how to choose a major, what college
to choose if you are interested in contributing to
society, how to obtain funding to attend a
college that caters to social activism,
and how to find college programs
that especially accommodate adults.
Did you know that you can tour
dozens of college campuses without
leaving your computer? CampusTours
provides a wonderful collection of
virtual campus tours, searchable
alphabetically by name of school or
geographically by state.
Charts for each letter or state show
whether each listed school has a virtual
tour, webcam, interactive campus map,
videos or Shockwave movies, QuickTime VR Player images,
campus pictures, or a Web site (virtually all
listed schools have a site). Virtual tours
honored with the CampusTours 4-Star award
are also designated.
CampusTours is a great place to begin your college
search. Visiting a campus is still the best way to
get a feel for a college, but if you're on a limited
budget, narrowing the choices of campuses to visit
through CampusTours can be extremely helpful.
Black College Network
-- where you can find useful information about colleges across the U.S., links to financial aid and
scholarship sites, network with student organizations, get information about college life, and more.
For high school and college students. Free to students.
FreightJob.com --
a job board for all modes and job categories in the
transportation industry, covering every type of job -- from air freight to trucking to warehouse.
Job-seekers can post your resume and search for jobs (by industry, job category, location, and keywords).
Free to job-seekers.
MeritMoney.com --
for high school students with a 3.0 GPA or higher, a unique scholarship site in that academically-qualified
students can get information about college-specific (merit-based money) scholarships.
If you thought a few colleges on your list were too expensive, it might be worth the investment to see what
level of scholarships are offered to top students. Fee-based.
My College Guide
-- where college-bound students can search for colleges that meet your criteria (such as location, cost,
freshman class size, school type) -- or browse the alphabetical listings, get critical advice from the
Admissions Guru, read interesting articles about college life, and more. Free to students.
Find even more career and job site additions to Quintessential Careers by visiting our
Latest
Additions section.
Rosetta writes: "I just graduated high school in June
and everybody is saying I should go to college. I got
the grades in high school, and I was in tons of extracurricular
activities. And now it's fall, and people are like 'so, will
you be starting school in January' and when I say I don't know,
or maybe, people look at me like I've already failed at life,
and should just go stand in the middle of a busy intersection.
"The thing is, I really want to get into journalism, because
I like to relate through writing, but I am sure I do not want
to sit in a classroom. How can I show local newspapers that
I am capable of at least learning under someone. You know,
an apprentice gig? Or are there any short courses I could take?
Please don't say I have to sit in a room for four years."
Lance writes: "I am a senior in high school. I am trying
to sort of plan out my future in college and career.
I have always had the dream of being a corporate lawyer,
but my strongest skills are in mathematics and science.
I have taken career interest tests, and they answer that
law is the career for me, but will I be successful? I also
have interest in business management. My main question is
what undergrad courses would be most beneficial to take if
planning to become a corporate lawyer and what strong skills
would be required for that field?"
Nancy writes: "I live in Dallas, TX, and just graduated
from Brookhaven College last semester."
"I have an associate's degree in science, but I do not know where to go from here.
Can you please advise? I need to choose a college major.
I am hoping to go to a university next semester, but I
do not know what I would like to study. I need to discover
my ideal career. Where should I start?"
Stephanie writes: "I am a former bank employee of
seven years. I was a recently laid off as part of
a bank merger. I have been unemployed for five months
now am and having a terrible time finding a job. I do
not have a college education, and I feel that is what is
holding me back. Employers want my experience in banking,
but also want me to have a bachelor's degree.
"So at 28 years old I am debating on enrolling
in college. But am I too old? By the time I graduate
I will be in my 30s. Will employers wonder what took
me so long? And honestly, I climbed the corporate
ladder at my previous job so quickly that I did
not think I needed a degree.
"My other question is what should I go to school
for? Did the banking industry interest me? Not
really. It was the constant chaos that had me hooked.
It was being in charge of 30 people with 30 different
personalities, and a hundred different problems every
day. I have never been faced with such a dilemma,
and for the first time, I don't know what to do."
Q TIPS: Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips
Want a degree or new career training but can't take time
from your career? You're far from alone. According to a
Marketing Facts Study, 70 percent of Americans have
considered taking a course of study to help further their
careers. And according to a Department of Labor study
conducted by Merrill Lynch and the Bureau of Labor
Statistics (May 2000) 65 percent of jobs today require
additional skills. By 2005, that figure is expected
to increase to 85 percent. Additionally, 42 percent
of consumers indicate at least some difficulty in
locating education/training resources (International
Communications Research, Dec. 2000).
Monster.com to the rescue. Monster recently announced the
launch MonsterLearning,
an online resource for managing learning as it relates
to advancing careers. The site provides a variety of learning tools,
opportunities and information, that are, according
to Monster, "in one comprehensive location, empowering
individuals and corporations to take more control of
the career development process."
MonsterLearning's one-stop search engine provides free
access to a universe of learning opportunities,
including online and classroom courses, test preparation,
degree programs, certifications, and other instructional
materials such as books and videos, anytime -- 24/7.
The MonsterLearning search engine contains general
and enrollment information on all types of learning
opportunities from top learning providers offering
online and offline courses and other instructional
products and services.
If you're worried about choosing a major that
will lead to success, you might be surprised
by the college-major choices of some of
the folks who turned out to be CEOs of the
1,000 largest U.S. companies, reported USA Today recently.
Disney CEO Michael Eisner never took a single
business course. Only a third of the CEOs have
MBA degrees. About 18 percent majored in engineering; 15
percent in liberal arts, and 7 percent in economics. Offbeat
CEO majors include East Asian history, medieval history
and philosophy, French literature, and industrial engineering.
The percentage of young adults with at least a
bachelor's degree hit its highest level ever in 2000
-- 29 percent -- according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The gender gap tips in favor of women in college-level
educational attainment, with 61 percent of females vs.
55 percent of males having some college under their belts and
30 percent of women and 28 percent of men holding four-year degrees.
You go, girls!
QuintZine: Topics in Upcoming Issues
WATCH FOR feature articles on these topics in upcoming
issues of QuintZine:
* How to conduct a long-distance job search
* Home-based careers
* Career strategies for women
* How to start a job club
* Maximize your Interent job search
* The importance of company culture
* Letters of recommendation and references
* Should you get an MBA?
* Networking timetable for college students
* The biggest myths in job-hunting
* How to resign from your job gracefully
* Quintessential Career Profiles of YOU, our readers
* Q&As with well-known career experts
* Book reviews
. . . and much, much more!
Don't ever want to miss another issue of QuintZine? Get a free subscription to
the email version of QuintZine by completing our
subscription form.
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RESUMES * JOB SEARCH CORRESPONDENCE FROM TRUSTED EXPERTS * COVER LETTERS
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cover letters, curriculum vitae, thank-you and
follow-up letters, and list-formatted documents,
such as salary histories and reference lists.
We also can provide critiques and makeovers of
your resume or cover letter. Credit cards accepted.
Quintessential Careers also offers writing services
for those who have been asked to give a speech and
need assistance in researching and writing their
remarks.
