Even Dragons Have Their Endings

'So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings' - J.R.R. Tolkien

How to work while attending college at UT Tyler

College is expensive, and the price isn’t going down.  It is not uncommon for college students now to have to work to pay rent and buy groceries while attending college. In fact, just over 74% of America's college students were reported to be holding down a part time job while attending college in 2012. If you are or you will be one of those 74%, then hopefully this post will provide you some basic tips for how to work while attending school.  

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  Keep a good schedule of classes and work – It’s crucial that you keep an accurate schedule of your work and your classes so that you know where you are supposed to be and when.  It is also useful so that if you are trying to make plans with friends, you have an easily accessible reference for what your plans are. 

·         Stay on top of your homework – Homework piles up quick when you are constantly pushing it back.  You may not have a lot of time for homework, and when you do have time you will likely not feel like working on it at all, but you have to. Otherwise, you are undermining the ultimate reason you are working in the first place.  Staying on top of your school work means that you will not have to pull an all nighter just to finish a paper.

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 Know your priorities – There will inevitably be times that you would rather go out with your friends instead of going to work or working on a project.  Sometimes it just seems really easy to “call in sick” and get a night off to spend with the friends, but this ultimately will hurt you, as you will fall behind in your classes and in your work.

·         Sleep – It will sometimes seem like you need to stay up until 3 or 4 AM to finish a paper, but sleep is something that you can’t replace.  Most scientists will agree that sleep is necessary to be productive and for good health.  You cannot work if you are too tired to move, or if your health begins to deteriorate because you haven’t allowed your body to rest enough.

      Eat regularly – Like sleep, food is something that you cannot neglect.  Your body requires food to produce energy, so when you skip a meal, like breakfast, because you are “running late,” your body has no basis to begin its day.  Eating regularly is key if you want to make sure that you’re at your best all day.

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 Accept that life won’t be perfect – Something I notice about people who work while in school is that they become frustrated when they don’t have enough money to purchase something that they want, or they become angry at the end of the month when they are out of money to buy groceries.  My advice to those of you who are or will be working in school is to accept that there will be times when you don’t have everything that you want.  The key is to just take a deep breath, and keep moving.  Things will get better, it’s just a matter of how you look at your current situation.

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 Budget, budget, budget – This is crucial if you want to minimize feelings mentioned in the point above.  You will likely not be paid too much, but if you are budgeting your money and sticking to your budget, then you will be much happier.  Yes, this means that there will likely be 1 or 2 fewer midnight trips to McDonald’s just because you want a McFlurry, but you will thank yourself when you still have money to buy milk at the end of the month.  There are also multiple budgeting websites like this to help you.

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 Take some time for yourself – Far too often people burn themselves out while working and going to school.  To ensure that this doesn't happen to you, remember to take some time for yourself.  Even if this just means watching an episode or two of your favorite TV show, or reading a couple of chapters from a book, it is important to take some “Me time.” It also helps you to retain some mental stability.

      If you want to work while in college, it will be hard.  There will be nights where you get home and all you want to do is crash for several days.  However, when you have your diploma and a degree that allows you to receive a high paying job, you will be happy you did it.  If you have additional questions, feel free to stop by the university website, where we now have a department specific to student money management!

We're Hiring at UT Tyler

Do you like talking with your friends via Facebook? Do you enjoy pinning interesting craft projects on Pinterest? Do you spend hours a day scrolling through Tumblr? Do you have your own blog? Whenever you speak publicly or present a project are you commended on your exquisite oratory and interpersonal skills? If you answered yes to any of these questions then we want you here at then Communications Team.

All Smiles

Here at the Communications Team at the University we strive for excellence in communication skills and marketing. We are a close knit group who work with each other to succeed any time an obstacle appears in our path. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO….. If you are interested in joining the Communications Team, look no farther than Patriot Jobs.

Post-UT Tyler Life

Ok, so graduation is coming. Like, in less than a month! Over the past several weeks I have applied to about 12 full-time jobs to start in January, and heard back from one. Yeah, not everyone tells you about how hard you have to WORK to get hired, even with a degree in your pocket!

As of right now, I plan to just keep pushing through and apply for ALL the jobs! Persistence is key. Maybe. We'll see!

Some things to do BEFORE you start applying:

1) Brush up your resume!
2) Review proper application etiquette - cover letters, references, interviews, and professional responses.
3) Know your audience, and only apply for jobs that you would ACTUALLY want to do!

Now, I've sifted through my Facebook to bring you The Progression of Kat - Awkward Pictures from My Past....... :P

Salary Negotiation

I attended a mock interview today at The UT Tyler Career Services office for on of my classes. The Career Services Office is easily located in the University Center! A real company came out to grade me, and pass along how well I did to my professor.

A very central discussion in a serious interview is how much money you expect for your skills!
Nerve-racking, huh? You have to price yourself.

If you have some time, on Saturday, November the 10th you can find out how to talk about personal pricing.
Arrive a little before 10 am, and it takes place until 12:30 pm at UT Tyler Baptist Student Ministry! This building is brick and located on the corner of Patriot Avenue and Varsity Drive.

Registration makes place here and learn:

• The personal consequences of the gender wage gap
• Understanding reasonable salaries and benefits
• Developing a "bare bones" budget to pay basic expenses

Work shops like this are offered all the time through Career Services, like the Etiquette Awareness Dinner on Thursday the 15th from 5-7 pm.

Many of my classes tell us about these workshops and opportunities for the future- but just check out the website. 

Resume Tips 2012

As the job market is shifting rapidly with technology, it is important to stay with the trends in hiring if you want to take a good step forward after you graduate from UT Tyler.

In my Interviewing class, I created a Resume Checklist, that I could use to determine if a resume is worthy of the more than seven seconds on average that it takes them to pass over it! I help with hiring at the blog here, and I can say that it does not take long to distinguish if someone is not a right fit for our office. Listed below are some ways to be sure to stick out in the good ways, and get that interview.

• center personal identification at the top:
  Name
  Address
  City, State Zip
  Phone
  Email Address 
• use key words from the job's description
• use an "Objectives Section" over a cover letter, unless otherwise stated
• include your college education background with dates you graduate (past or future)
• keep visual consistency (one type of font 10-12 point, with patterns for information that are easy to follow)
• previous "Professional Experiences" in reverse chronological order
• list internships under "Professional Experiences" with your work history
• right out of college, keep your resume one page, while expanding margins to allow for more space
• be a good fit for the company- and show you can learn versatile information 
• list specific experience
• phrase in past tense

I cannot promise you this will get you the job, but I promise that if you word your resume correctly, you will get an interview!

UT Tyler Volunteer Opportunities at the East Texas Crisis Center

        In college at UT Tyler I have met many people out in the community that could give me opportunities to learn and grow in fields that I have interest! Through my work in the Student Counselling Center, I learned about the East Texas Crisis Center. I learned that they have resources for any person in the community, but they offer something extra to college students- the ability to donate their time to something that heals the community and broadens the minds of students that have never been faced with solutions to the issues of abuse or domestic violence. 

The East Texas Crisis Center's mission is:

To provide safety, shelter, and education to victims of family violence, sexual assault and other violent crime and to restore dignity and purpose in their lives while promoting public compassion and awareness to reduce violence in the community.

         Now, if this is the type of field you'd like to go in, or another way to become aware and help out a good place, you can apply on their website, be interviewed, have a background check, and do some training! This can be a tough job, but they give you all of the tools! These volunteers would, after training, be responsible for one of the jobs listed below!

•Peer Counselors are special friends to women living in the shelter. They maintain contact by phone and in person while the client is a resident.

• Children’s Services volunteers provide constructive supervision at the shelter during afternoon programs, evening support groups, and occasional weekend activities. 
• On-call Advocates provide support and crisis intervention counseling to victims and their families at local hospitals.
 • Hotline Counselors provide crisis counseling to callers on our 24 hour hotline. For convenience calls can be forwarded to your home

If you would like to help out with an event that they have, you wouldn't necessarily have do the training!
And if you you need another type of job in the fall,
the Blog is hiring. :)