AU Blogspot

                  
             Thanks to ankatank for permission to use this Photo.

If I were to ask you what your definition of success is could you answer it in a relatively quick fashion? Or would you do as so many do, fumble for an answer — rattling off the common responses which tend to show up when one is asked this question. Answers such as… I’ll be successful when I have x number of dollars in the bank.Or would you instead have an answer which is highly personal to you, to your own life, where you are now, combined with a carefully crafted vision of where you want your life to take you in the future?

As Henry David Thoreau so eloquently said — “Most people lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” In my humble opinion many people miss the mark, not because they lack the ability to achieve success in their given endeavors, but rather because they never take the time to truly identify what success means to them. And as a result end up moving aimlessly hoping to hit upon what it is they think they want to achieve — often not even truly realizing what it is they are seeking.

When we have a solid definition crafted we can use it to lay out a plan which we can follow that will naturally put us in alignment with whatever it is that we believe to be most important.Believe it or not I have had conversations with people who after taking the time to define what success means to them personally — realized in that very moment that they had in fact already experienced many times where they had met with great success in their life. Imagine that, here were people who longed to achieve this magical place, but up to that point hadn’t ever taken the time to get clear on what that “place” even was.Upon doing so, they acquired a different outlook, one which they could feel good about, knowing that they had already experienced many times where they’d already met with personal achievement. (more…)

The biggest challenge I face is time. I am not so sure that even if there were 48 hours in one day that I would have enough of it. I probably would just find more things to occupy the other hours and still feel rushed.  I work a 12 hour shift—36 hours one week and 48 hours the next. On the days I work, I can pretty much only count on working, eating, sleeping and working in a little time with the family.  

I find myself trying to catch up on all the things I have let slip through: studying, keeping up with the Ashworth Student Forum, spending quality time with the family, and dreaded yard work!  I have learned in the past few months how to make more of my time and how to use it wisely. I’ve realized that I don’t want to wake up one morning and see my two kids graduating high school—wondering where all the time has gone… 

Time can work for you and against you. Do your best to figure it out early. 

Shaun                                             
Student
Ashworth Management Program

From Kate Lorenz of CareerBuilder.com:

There are many rites of passage in every young person’s life. Getting your driver’s license, graduation day and turning 21 are just a few. But another rite of passage can be even more important to your future — writing your first resume. While it’s not as exciting as learning to drive, creating your first resume is a vital step in launching your career. The process may seem daunting. You have to put all of your best qualities on paper, make yourself look more attractive than the next person and completely sell yourself, all on one sheet of paper. “You have only a few seconds to snag the employer’s attention,” writes Seattle-based career coach Robin Ryan in Winning Resumes, (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2003). “You must sell the employer within 15 seconds of looking at your resume, or you’ll lose the job.” Here are seven tips to help you catch an employer’s attention.

1. Start with the basics.

It sounds obvious, but your resume must include your name, address, phone number and e-mail address. Be mindful of the address you include. College students, in particular, tend to move often, so include a permanent address, such as your parent’s address. Take care with your e-mail address too. “Make your user ID related to your name, not any nickname attributions,” Ryan says. If you want to appear professional to an employer, a user ID like “sexylegs2000″ will not work. If your personal e-mail address is not appropriate, set up a new account just for job searches.

2. Include an objective and summary of skills.

These sections come right after your personal information and, for a first-time job seeker, should be concise.

For example:

Objective: Editing Position

Summary of Skills: Excellent writer proficient in copy editing and familiar with AP style. Extremely organized, with ample experience meeting deadlines and working in high-pressure situations.

Your “summary of skills” should highlight experiences and qualifications that the employer is seeking. Remember, Ryan says, “a resume is not about what you want. It’s about what you offer an employer.” 

To read more of Kate’s great article, login to the Ashworth University Career Center through the student portal and click here.

Kate Lorenz is the article and advice editor for CareerBuilder.com. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues. Other writers contributed to this article.

Copyright © 1996 - 2008 Experience, Inc. - All Rights Reserved 

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University

Believe it or not, I temporarily worked as an Admissions Specialist at “AU”. I guess you can say the awe-inspiring stories I heard each day from prospective students had a lot to do with me finally going back to school.

Another reason is a little friendly family competition I’m having with my 18-yr old son who will be attending Georgia Military College this fall. I’m somewhat ahead of him already because his semester tuition is $7000 and mine is $1200.   That doesn’t really matter since I am studying for my Associate Degree in Finance; I’ll be able to put a plan in place for him to pay off his student loans in record time!

My goal is to finish my degree in one year; I made 100% on my first exam today. Yesterday was my birthday and it feels great that I am no longer making excuses about not continuing my education -Thanks Ashworth University!

Melissa
Student
Ashworth University Associate Program in Finance

              Thanks to Steve Evans for permission to use this Photo. 

The Ashworth University Career Center is a free student resource provided through our partnership with Experience.com, the nation’s largest career advancement site focusing exclusively on college students and young professionals.  You can access the Ashworth University Career Center through the Student Portal.  Simply click on the “Career Center” link on the left hand navigation bar after logging into the Student Portal.  Here’s an example of some of the very informative career enhancement articles you have access to within the Career Center:

The ability to plan ahead is a key trait of any good budgeter. Jenny, an Experience alumni, talks about planning for the unknown. “I’m sure I’ve gone over budget when I had my own company because of unforeseen things,” she says. “You end up eating it, and people are upset. But, you get better in time about knowing what things will cost. It’s a matter of experience. You find out what’s realistic.”

Because You Never Know…

“Unforeseen things happen. Say you’re in New York City shooting a sound shot and recording actors on a street corner. In New York, you’re given policemen on sets to help act as liaisons to the community. But, basically, a homeless man could come onto your set and start screaming. And there’s nothing that you can legally do. You can’t arrest the guy. The policeman could ask him to leave, but the man isn’t required to leave. It’s a public street. There’s freedom of speech. So, one person can basically ruin your entire day and cost you $50,000 or more. And there’s nothing that you can do about it.” In the spirit of random screaming homeless men, Jenny advises putting away a little money into your savings each month, just in case something comes up. “

I started to do that in my mid-twenties. I started off putting $50 into one of these automatic investment mutual funds. I didn’t even miss it. Every month I had it automatically withdrawn from my bank account. It’s great, because now I know if I got fired tomorrow, or if I lost my job, or if something happened and I had to take some time off, I have a little money. I know they say you’re supposed to have six months salary in the bank, but that’s a fantasy when you’re 21 years old. If you have at least two months worth, it’s a measure of comfort.”

Copyright © 1996 - 2008 Experience, Inc. - All Rights Reserved 

To read more of this great article, login to the Ashworth University Career Center through the student portal and click here.

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University

                       Thanks to harisssa sunshine for permission to use this Photo.

Read this post with an open mind, and for god sakes, do not decide that it’s too hard and you aren’t willing to do it. There’s no quicker way to sabotage your success than you over think everything right from the get-go. That’s how you take a million dollar idea and sit on it until it’s too late. Imagine if the guys behind Google had thought “nah, we’d have to get servers running and then we’d be competing with Yahoo! and Microsoft anyway.”

No, instead they did what they had to do and are now a pair of the richest people on the planet. So if they can take something from nothing and make it worth billions of dollars, surely you can take something and turn it into $500,000. I can already hear what some of you may be thinking: “well gee Cam, you make it sound so easy”. Well, yes, I make it sound that way because in the scheme of things it really is that easy. There is no rocket science that goes into making something work- it comes down to a good idea, some common sense, and a good amount of blood, sweat, and tears. Over the next few days I’m going to outline each step required to go from $0 to $500,00 a year. Remember to keep your mind open, but most of all, remember to think about how you can relate what I’m saying to you.

How to Make $500,000 This Year – Step One

The first thing that you need to establish is the vehicle that you are going to use to achieve your desired income level ($500,000 is just an arbitrary figure that I pulled from thin-air- you could use $100,00, $1,000,000… whatever, it’s all the same). If you’re of the enterprising ilk, it may be a business idea or investment opportunity. If you’re looking to bump your income while adding as little risk as possible, you may want to become comfortable with the idea of a career change or a chance in your employment situation. (more…)

The key to maintaining good credit is to reduce or eliminate credit card debt before it transforms from the ever-ready assistant to the overbearing spouse (hey, don’t a lot of marriages go that way?). It’s that simple, right? Riiiight.

If it really was that simple we wouldn’t have credit clinics, credit rebuilders, and the millions of people that are literally swimming in debt. Unfortunately, that just isn’t the case- instead, credit card debt creeps up on you like a bad dream, catching you when you’re least expecting it to. That new TV you bought six months ago? Yea, you’ll be shocked to see that in six months you’ve paid $200 interest on it alone, nevermind any of the other purchases that you’ve made using your trusty plastic companion. Without getting into the math, if you have a credit card at 19.25% (pretty standard interest rate for most), it would take you years to pay off a $5,000 balance using minimum payments.  Years.

• Step One: Prevent it From Becoming Unmanagable - Curb your credit card spending and reassess your lifestyle. If your debt is already hanging over your head, I’d recommend cutting the cards up completely. Stop using the cards, stop accumulating additional capital by which the credit card company will so gleefully charge you interest on. This step is really quite simple: buck up and do it.

Use cash instead of your credit card. This will force you to live within your means, and while you may find that it takes longer to make big-ticket purchases, you’ll also find a certain amount of relief that exists when you know that you won’t have to pay interest on it or ever see a bill again to pay for it. (more…)