Relationships and Your Goals....

So the first time I went "back to college," in 2003, I was married. How wonderful he was....supporting my plan to finish my degree. However, although the support was there, I still had to work 50 hours a week, take 6 classes, and come home and attempt to study with two small children and a husband in the military who was always gone. (The second income was nice, however.) Suffice to say, I was not on the Dean's List!

I'm not complaining though. He was supportive and tried to make things easy for me (doing some laundry, cooking dinner, picking up the kids from daycare). Totally different than my situation currently. Now...no husband, no second income, laundry waits on me, dinner is always my responsibility and no one supports my goals , but ME! (Except a few friends who can't believe I actually got into Purdue...Ha!)

There is someone special in my life, however. We've been on and off for over 3 years. The unfortunate part is that he lives in Tennessee and I live in Indiana. I had actually moved to Indiana, based in part on starting over (without him), but now we are attempting to generate a new relationship. My problem through this situation is the fact that I could easily move back to Tennessee and finish my degree (in less time, at that). We wouldn't have to endure this long distant "whatever this is" and I could get done is less time. So why don't I just drop it all and do it?

Well I'm a Alumni-snob and always looking at the long term. What's wrong with that? Looking at the folks I'll be graduating with and thinking...hmmmm, this will be beneficial some day. Obviously, I'll be able to do more with my Purdue education than Austin Peay education (in Tennessee and where I started my degree). The semi-boyfriend (it's complicated) seems rather proud when announcing why I live here and not there. "She's at Purdue University finishing her degree in Business." Oh, how he smiles. Feels good....right?

I'm a strong believer in finishing what I start, which has not been the case for the last few years. A lot in part because of him. I'm not saying it's completely his fault that I've accomplished nothing the past few years. I am to be held completely responsible for my lack of accomplishment. I just wanted to be there for him....24/7. However, I could be finished by now and I could have accomplished it while we were living in the same state.

Well why doesn't he move here? He's got a good job and should stay with it.

So the point I'm trying to make is that at this point in my life, no matter how difficult it is, I have to put my education before a relationship with a man. I'm ok with being alone for awhile. I will not change any part of my life, unless it benefits the kids and I. Does that sound selfish? Well good! I am selfish. Selfish in the sense that I have put all of my goals to the side for every relationship I've been in since I was 17. Time for some ME time.

I am geared to finish Purdue as quickly as possible...then probably University of Indiana for Law school. Probably not moving back to TN anytime soon....

So what if he proposes? Yeah, well I'll cross that bridge when it comes. The fact is, getting married would ruin my wonderful FINANCIAL AID status, but hey, that's me being selfish again. Oh, the little things....

Thanks for Reading.

End of Semester Burn Out....

Ok, so we've got 2 more weeks left in the Summer Session and all momentum is lost.

All these major final projects are about to hit me really hard which will take my study time from "monstrous" to "horrific." The kids are definitely sick of having to deal with themselves while I'm locked away in my office, although I try really hard to fit something fun in on the weekend. They're poor summer is a joke because I just had to get a jump start on my classes at Purdue. They don't seem mad at me though, although their little sad faces are crying "come spend time with me, please." They are very understanding most times and try to make this transition in our lives as easy as possible for me.

My brain is spent! I am seriously looking forward to a little vacation time and my children are as well. Next semester I have 4 classes but these will be spread out over 16 weeks, so I think the pressure will cease a bit. Let's hope so, for fun sake. (and everyone's sanity)

Thanks for reading.

SIDE NOTE: My new blog will be starting in a couple weeks which will deal with politics and politicians. This venture will give me an opportunity to educate myself on current events, politicians, and the country as a whole. Hope you'll take a look because I'm sure my sarcastic demeanor will echo in this one. Yay for discussions that rile people up!

"Project Working Mom"...Got to Love Free Money

Check out Project Working Mom if you are wanting to attend college online and need financial assistance. From my research, the scholarships are only good for a select number of online schools.

An online degree is becoming more and more popular; however, the cost can be outrageous (you have to pay for convenience). Make sure you check online schools for accreditation. You also want to make sure you have the self discipline to study online.

Also if you are not familiar with the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) Program, this is a need based grant for low-income students wanting to finish college. I actually got this grant for 2010-2011 (cha-ching). It is basically paying for all my books. This grant goes through the US Department of Education and over 4000 colleges are participants. You have to fill out a FAFSA for this one, which I am a pro at doing (if anyone ever needs help).

Thank you Mr. President.

Job (Cover) Letters....Ugh!

Ok, so writing a specific job letter to every company you apply for can be tedious. I used to have a standard cover letter that I just changed up when applying to various jobs, but Dr. Bethany Lee (my Business Writing professor) says that is very, very wrong. You are susceptible to accidentally not changing something from before and oops...ATT just got a cover letter for Verizon.

Plus, devising a job letter can be sometimes difficult and I was really unsure of any particular format before. I always sound like I'm sucking up, instead of trying to get the company's attention. Not good, either.

Dr. Lee gave us some useful hints and structure to writing a job letter:

Structure of a Job Letter:

Should be 4 paragraphs:

Paragraph 1 -- Introduction: This should have all the information about the job you are applying for including the position title and how you heard about it.

Example:

"Perhaps I am the experienced Store Manager you seek per your ad on Career Builder for Moorehead Communications’ new Mishawaka store location. Your newly acquired partnership with HHGregg is an exciting new venture and I believe I would be an asset to this business endeavor."

Paragraph 2 -- Qualifications: This is where you WOW them with your skills, education, and experience. Start with your strongest attribute for the specific position and close with the 2nd strongest.

Example:

"Per my resume, I have worked in customer service for over 15 years with 6 of those years playing the management role. I have spent 3 years in the wireless industry where I have played major roles in customer satisfaction, sales, technical support and generating new business. Although I’ve held few sales positions, I believe every aspect of quality customer service also deals in sales on a daily basis. I have excellent written and oral communications skills, a fantastic personality, a positive attitude, and a respectful work ethic."

Paragraph 3 -- Company Info: Always do some research on the company you are applying to. Even if you just add one fact about the company, they see you are actually interested because you took the time to find out more. This is also a good place to state how you would fit into the company.

Example:

"Your reputation, honesty and stability in indirect wireless sales over the past 19 years are a welcome quality to the wireless business. I have dealt with indirect sales companies in previous positions and the lack of customer care was often apparent. Your strong and dedicated value towards the customer is a clear-cut reason for your success. I would be honored to take part in your mission and growth."

Paragraph 4 -- Contact Info: Here you should review your contact information as well as availability. (Try to be available as much as possible.) I would say anytime because a voice mail is better than them not calling because they were not available between 9am and noon.

Example:

"I appreciate your time and consideration in speaking with you further. I am available anytime at (931) xxx-xxxx or by email at jxxxx@yahoo.com. I would appreciate the opportunity to interview with you and discuss what I can bring to Moorehead Communications and The Cellular Connection."

Simple enough, right!

Well I've written two this morning, so honestly I'm all done with Job Letters for the day. However, good luck to you and let me know if I can help in any way.

Thanks for Reading.

Resumes Are For Getting The Interview...Not the Job!

Hey All! So, as promised, I thought we would talk about resumes, cover letters and interview techniques this week. Mainly due to the fact that is what I am studying in my Business Writing class and because (if you are like me) some of us are looking for a job, new job or just something more flexible.

My favorite "new" ideas about writing resumes are below:

Quadrant Test
There are so many different ways to write a resume. Has anyone ever heard of the "Quadrant Test" of a resume? Basically you take your resume and draw a + through it. With this, you have 4 quadrants. Most of your important info should be in quadrant 1 (top left). I had actually never heard this before, but hey I study business, not the human psychology of "resume readers." Hiring managers are more likely to just scan the info in the top left corner of your resume and may never look at anything else (unless something catches their eye.)

If you want to learn more about the Quadrant Test, check out the Purdue OWL site to learn more.

Simple is Good
Don't make your resume too spiffy! No colored paper, no special crazy fonts, and keep it simple (but detailed).

Remember the movie "Legally Blonde" where she hands the professor a pink resume that smells good. Yeah, that doesn't work in the real world. So keep your resume white paper and fragrance free, please.

I'm sure we've all heard about keeping it 1 page. (Impossible for me!) But there may be areas of unnecessary congestion, where perhaps you are repeating yourself. Combine duties and use bullet points. Reader friendly is good.

I was able to take my 3 page resume and turn it into 2 pages just by cutting out gibberish I didn't realize was there. (By the way, read your resume every once in a while. I just add to mine, never looking at what has been there for 10+ years. MISTAKE!)

Love Some Stats!
This is from the Purdue Owl website on Resume Design.

• Employers will usually take, at most, only 35 seconds (if you're lucky) to look at this one-page representation of yourself before deciding whether to keep or discard it.

35 SECONDS! It took me an hour to fill out their application (especially online), write a special cover letter just for that company and put together a resume to impress. They are only going to look at it for 35 seconds!? Crazy, but unfortunately, that is the card we are dealt by employers today.

Especially with the poor economy and more competitive job market (due to lack of jobs), you must allow your resume to hopefully stand out enough to make the cut. You can do this, by having awesome job letters (cover letters).

We'll talk about those on the next blog.

If you need help with your resume, feel free to email it to me @ jardan_143@yahoo.com. I would be happy to proof read it and make suggestions.

Thanks for reading!

I Almost Smacked A 20 Year Old

Did someone really ask me today, "Why go to school at your age? Aren't you kind of old? Why not save your money for your child's college education?"

Really, dude?! First and foremost, this guy was probably 20 years old. As if anything he says to me, I will take to heart or into consideration. Basically he was telling me that I had my chance to go to college and at this point in my life, I'm wasting my money by attending college at 32. I should be saving for my kids' education instead of creating debt for my own and that I will be too "old" to use my education to it's full degree.

Yes, by the time I finish Law school and begin my career, my daughter will be getting ready to graduate high school. My loan repayment process will kick in at that point. So how will my daughter be able to go to college? First of all, I'll be a lawyer....I think I can afford it. Second, if she needs financial assistance, there (hopefully) will be Federal aid available to her, as there is for me. It will be cool!

My parents did not have some secret savings account set aside for my college tuition. They made college part of my life plan, but never planned out how they were going to pay for it. It just kind of happened the first time around. Now as an adult, I take advantage of every resource possible to pay my tuition.

Sure, going to college now is killing me...financially and family wise. I sacrifice tons of quality time with my kids to study and go to class. Do I think it's worth it? Hell Yeah!! My children will definitely be proud of my accomplishments in the end. They will realize and appreciate the sacrifices we all have to make for Mommy to do this. Plus, our lives will ultimately improve because of my college degree....financially and family wise.

So, "guy with an opinion about my decision to return to school," .... Bite Me! You have no idea what is really going on in the world today. You are barely out of high school and still riding the coat tales of your parents. With outlandish and bold statements such as the one you provided me today...I pray for you (and your future wife).

Thanks for reading.

Preview: This Week, Resumes/Interview Tips (Purdue University Style)

I am taking a Business Writing class over the Summer Semester and I am learning tons of useful stuff.

This week, I will be concentrating on giving you tons of information concerning resumes, job letters, and interviews. I used to write resumes as a side business, so you are welcome to e-mail your resume to me @ jardan_143@yahoo.com for proofreading and suggestions. I'd love to help!

The job letters (cover letters), especially with the online attribute of submitting your resume, is very important and critical. I'll be sharing some samples and even show you my assignments from class for feedback.

Thanks for reading.

Happy 4th of July!

Well as we celebrate our Independence from Britain....(yes, I've been taking a General Business class with a historical agenda)...we should all take a moment and thank the men and women of this wonderful nation for keeping our freedom safe.

The weekend was good for my kids and I. I am currently enrolled in two summer classes (which are accelerated and kicking my butt). The holiday gave me a day off today, Monday July 5th, which has not actually been a day off at all. Although I did my best to get ahead before the holiday weekend, I find myself feeling a little tight on time with my assignments and reading. Perhaps I was not as ahead as I thought. I've had to read two chapters and take a Quiz. I'm also in the process of studying for midterms which are next week. So much for a day off!

However, I did get to spend some quality time with my kids this weekend. We purchased over priced fireworks and grilled out, all in the name of good fun. They are hating the fact I have been locked in my office all day studying. They want Mom to come back to the fun scene....immediately! Sorry Kids!