How to Invest in the Stock Market

This website is a great resource for learning about the stock market, how to choose stocks and how to invest in the market. It has a very informative blog, reviews of different web-trading sites and resources, and even a free online investing course.

 

Investing IQ

 

You can read the expert reviews or submit your own review.  Also, they have an annual stock-picking contest where you can put your investing knowledge to the test against other stock market veterans and expert investors.

 

Check it out and let us know what you think.

Job Listings By College Degree

Have you recently received your college degree, only to wonder what kind of jobs you are now qualified for? Or even worse, not sure if you even want to work in a job that your college degree dictates you go into? The good news is that certain degrees often open doors to many positions that you may never have even thought of.

Try using the links below to search job listings that are appropriate for your respective degree:

Accounting Degree Jobs
Biology Degree Jobs
Business Administration Degree Jobs
Business Finance Degree Jobs
Business Management Degree Jobs
Communications Degree Jobs
Computer Science Degree Jobs
Criminal Justice Degree Jobs
Computer Science Degree Jobs
Economics Degree Jobs
Engineering Degree Jobs
English Degree Jobs
Health Science Degree Jobs
History Degree Jobs
International Relations Degree Jobs
Law Degree Jobs
Liberal Arts Degree Jobs
Marketing Degree Jobs
Math Degree Jobs
Political Science Degree Jobs
Psychology Degree Jobs
Sociology Degree Jobs
Teaching Jobs

No Degree Necessary Jobs
College Degree Jobs
Associate Degree Jobs
Bachelors Degree Jobs
Masters Degree Jobs

Good luck with your job search!

7 Questions you MUST ASK in your job interview

One of the top reasons given for not hiring a job candidate is that they didn’t ask enough (or any) questions in the job interview. This is absolutely crucial for so many reasons:

• It demonstrates an interest in the position and company,
• It engages the interviewer, and
• Basic psychology says that if you can get the other person to talk about themselves they will end up liking you more.

Given that, I have composed a list of seven questions that you should ask in every job interview:

What is the biggest difficulty that others have had in this position?
This will give you an idea of the company’s pain point at this position – use this to your advantage during follow-up interviews (or a thank-you letter if this will be the only interview).

What are the top three priorities that you would like to see accomplished by someone in this position?
If you don’t know what the main objectives of the position are then you don’t really know if the position is a fit for you. Asking this question will demonstrate that you really want to find out if the position is a good fit…which will separate you from those that are just looking for any short-term job to pay the bills.

What are the advancement opportunities for a person who is successful in this position?
This demonstrates that you are ambitious and focused on long-term growth within the company. It’s also good information for you to know to make sure that the company is a fit for your short and long-term objectives for your career.

What are this company’s short-term goals?
What are this company’s long-term goals?
These questions not only demonstrate an interest in the company, but also will help you decide if the company is a good fit for you.

What do you see as the biggest challenges in meeting these goals?
This demonstrates that you are a problem solver. The first step in problem solving is to identify the main challenge. Unless you’re interviewing with Google, the company will definitely have problems and challenges.

I noticed on your website that your mission statement is (summarize company’s mission); how is this mission statement significant in today’s economy?
No hiring manager got to where they’re at without being passionate about the company’s mission statement. Get the interviewer to open up and talk about something that they are passionate about, and you will have them instantly engaged for the rest of the interview. In addition, there’s a story behind every mission statement, so it’s always good to hear this from the managers that truly believe in it.

Obviously feel free to alter these accordingly. Also, this may sound obvious, but add questions that come to mind based on their answers. This shows active listening and will turn the experience into more of a conversation than an interview. If you have a bigger problem answering questions than asking them, then make sure to check out 3 words that will help you answer any job interview question.

Do you have a story about a question that you asked in a job interview that you wish you hadn’t? Please leave a comment below with your story.

Kris Alban
iGrad – Resources for life after college

How to steal your boss’ job

Ahh, I'm also gonna need you to go ahead and come in on Sunday, too

There’s a trait that is becoming more and more of a buzzword when evaluating talent within today’s companies. This term is used to define a summation of traits that are sought after at every level in a successful company: hiring managers look for it in the initial job interviews while their supervisors look for it in them to determine their promotability (yes, it’s really a word…I double-checked).

This term is Executive Presence. Know these characteristics and follow these steps to develop them and in no time you’ll be expensing thousand-dollar lunches and using the good toilet paper in the executive washroom.

Credibility

How to accomplish it: Position yourself as an expert and someone with integrity. Positioning yourself as an expert is all about personal branding. Pick a topic that is relevant to your field. Set up several daily Google Alerts using keywords for this topic (ie. If you want to position yourself as an expert on social media marketing, you will want to use keywords like “Twitter Marketing Techniques”). Set aside 15-20 minutes per day to skim these articles that are delivered to your email so that you are knowledgeable on the best practices and also so that you constantly have your finger on the pulse of up-to-the-minute happenings in your field.

To establish integrity you must know the company’s mission statement. This mission statement should be the first thing you consider before every major decision. If you’re interviewing for a job, weaving the company’s mission statement into one of your answers is brown-nosing at its finest…although I don’t suggest this unless you have built a little rapport first, otherwise you may end up coming off as a total kiss-ass.

Communication

How to accomplish it: Effective communication is about engaging people. First and foremost, smile and make eye contact. Whether you’re interviewing for a job or just interacting with supervisors or colleagues, ask people what they think about something and why. Be genuine and listen to their answer though…I’ve found that just about everyone has a unique and interesting opinion if you just ask. Asking someone’s opinion is absolutely the easiest way to engage someone. If you’d like more great tips on how to engage someone in an interview, read 3 words that will help you answer any job interview question.

Confidence

How to accomplish it: My best advice is that you truly must believe that the only power that someone has over you is the power that you are giving them. If you are in a job interview, you must realize that it is just as much about you determining if a company is right for you, as it is for the interviewer determining if you are the proper fit for them. If you aren’t asking thought-provoking questions in your interview than you are not only doing a disservice to yourself but also not engaging the interviewer properly (not to mention that stumping the interviewer with a question is the easiest way to regain power if you feel that it is falling out of balance).

Comfortable getting out of your comfort zone

How to accomplish it: Easy – do things that take you out of your comfort zone. You’re faced with opportunities to do this on a daily basis, but unless you start taking these chances you will always have anxiety about it. The more you do this, the more you will desensitize yourself for this situation for when it really counts.

Companies are looking for these traits more and more everyday…so start working on these things now or else you may find yourself working at Initech on Sundays.

Kris Alban
iGrad – Resources for life after college

Lighter Side: Job search tips from an unemployed Stormtrooper [video]

Sometimes you have to look outside-the-box in order to find useful job search advice. Get some tips from this Stormtrooper’s job search, or at the very least a few laughs.

After a 3-year absence, the unemployed Stormtrooper revises his résumé and resumes his search for a new job:

Videos courtesy of TomJalana.

Kris Alban
iGrad – Resources for life after college

4 free computer programs that you should already be using

Examples of the one-click editing features of Paint.net

In the wake of a recession we’re all looking save a buck whenever we get the chance. Whether it’s eating ramen noodles instead of filet or drinking wine-out-of-a-box instead of your normal Pinot – saving money on simple things can give really give you a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. That’s why it’s great to know that if there’s something that you want, there’s almost always a way to find it for free on the internet…it’s just a matter of putting in some quality surfing time.

To save you the hassle, I’ve searched around and picked out four of the best, free software programs that are available for download on the internet.

Paint.net (www.getpaint.net) is an image and photo editing software for computers that run on Microsoft Windows. Originally developed as a replacement for Microsoft Paint, Paint.net has developed into an extremely powerful and easy-to-use editing tool that is often compared to Adobe Photoshop ($699). This program has several “one-click” design features that will have you looking like an internet Picasso in no time. Check out this video to see how you can use Paint.net to create your own custom YouTube page.

OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org) is an open-source office program for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It’s compatible with most office software suites such as Microsoft Office, and also works on all common computers. It’s actually easier to use than Microsoft Office since any document can be created from the same program, instead of using one for spreadsheets, one for word processing, one for graphics, etc. In addition, OpenOffice will also convert any of these documents into a pdf.

Google Reader (www.google.com/reader) is like a fully customizable newspaper, which delivers stories to you as soon as they are posted. You pick the news sites and blogs that you want to subscribe to, and the stories are delivered to you as soon as the site is updated. There are many different useful applications for this. For example, instead of constantly searching Craigslist, you can set Google Reader to deliver specific posts to you immediately once they are published…making it easy for you to be the first one to make contact. You can use this in your job search or “for sale” items.

RoboForm (www.roboform.com) saves your username and password info so that you need only click one button on your browser to immediately log-in to the site that you are on (up to 10 passwords for the free version). In addition, enter all of your profile information once and the program can be used to fill out forms online with one click (including name, address, telephone, fax, email etc..even credit card info if you want). All passwords are encrypted for your security. RoboForm has won several awards including CNET’s “Software of the Year” and one of PC World’s “25 Products We Can’t Live Without”.

Do you think you can use Paint.net to make a better picture of Mr.T? Upload your best attempt to iGrad’s Facebook Page.

Kris Alban
iGrad – Resources for life after college

3 words that will help you answer ANY job interview question

 

"U.S. Americans could learn something from this blog"

We’ve all been there:

You’re acing your job interview, regurgitating all the BS that you’ve read on how each question should be answered, and then all of the sudden you are hit with it!  “It” could be a curveball, a question that you’ve never prepared for, or just a question that you know how to answer but for some reason are just blanking on.  No matter what the situation is, or how tough the job interview question is, there are three words that can always save you.

What are those three words?

“Just be attractive”?  Nope.  Just ask Miss South Carolina Teen USA.  It didn’t work for her. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about you owe it to yourself to check out this video)

“Use the bathroom”?  An interesting strategy.  Excuse yourself in mid-questioning, giving additional time to come up with a well thought-out answer.  Although I have never field-tested it, I’m gonna have to say no.

The three words that you need to know are “tell a story”.  The truth is that if 10 people are asked why the company should hire them, often 8-9 of them will simply recite a list of ideal qualities for the position.  Even a bad story will make for a better answer than that.  Let me give you an example:

Answer 1: “Well, I’m an extremely hard-worker.  I graduated with honors at Syracuse.  My old boss said that I was the most creative person that she had ever worked with.  And I’m extremely detail-oriented, some even call me a perfectionist.”  Blah, blah, blah.

Answer 2: “It’s funny that you should ask that.  My boss at my last job started off the interview with the exact same question.  I didn’t really know how to answer since I had just gotten out of college and lacked the experience that the position required.  But he saw something in me and took a chance.  I felt a constant pressure to validate his choice, so I would take online courses at home to teach me the skills that I needed to excel in the position.  My hard work paid off after a couple of years, and I was promoted to an advanced position where I gained even more valuable experience.  But even after my promotion I always continued my efforts to advance my knowledge whenever possible, knowing that one day it would give me the advantage over others in instances like this.”

It isn’t the best answer ever, but it demonstrates the difference that a story can make.  If you can apply the story to the position or company that you are applying for, even better – but let’s just focus on baby steps for now.

The bottom line is that a story is much more engaging than a list of qualities.  You have to tell it from the heart though.  While I’m definitely a huge supporter of embellishment, people rarely tell a story with the same passion if it’s one that is completely fabricated.  But if you happen to be a person that can fake this, maybe you should be at an audition in Hollywood instead of a job interview.  Or in law school.

If you’re a bad story teller, there’s still hope for you.  Go read my previous post on 4 ways to get a job without even trying.

What’s the toughest job interview question that you have ever been asked?  Please share your story below.

Kris Alban

iGrad – Resources for life after college

How March Madness can help YOU land a job

My bracket is busted!  How often have you heard this?  The truth is, unless you have Utah State defeating San Diego State for the championship like one of my colleagues, it’s still anyone’s game (sorry David).  But even if you haven’t filled out a bracket, you can still learn some very important life lessons from the tournament, including tips you can use to land a job.

What you did during the regular season doesn’t matter.  Analysts often refer to a team’s regular season performance as their résumé.  And if this is the case, then the tournament is the job interview.  It always boggles my mind when I hear people say that they won’t get a job because they’re not qualified enough.  This self-defeatist attitude is truly your biggest obstacle.  Similar to March Madness, your résumé is just to get you in…what happens after that is entirely up to you.

The best team on paper doesn’t always win.  Every college basketball fan knows that any team can win under the right circumstances (hence the “Madness” in March Madness).  If your experience is good enough to get you the job interview, then you have the same opportunity to get the job.  Underdogs win all the time, and they use the following tactics to increase their odds.

Preparation is paramount.  Teams prepare for their games by studying tapes of past games.  Think of the internet as your tapes – research the company and interviewer by reviewing the company’s website, searching news articles and press releases, and cyber-stalking them on LinkedIn.

Develop a solid game plan.  Strategize by preparing questions to ask in a job interview.  Hiring managers want to see that you are knowledgeable about their company, but also that you are eager to learn more.  Know the company’s mission statement (find it in the “About Us” section of their website), and ask them about its significance…no hiring manager has gotten to where they are without being passionate about their company’s mission statement.

Follow through to the finish.  How many times have you seen a team take a lead into the closing minutes, only to collapse at the last possible moment and lose the game?  This is because that team lacks follow-through: the ability to play with the same intensity for every second until the game is over.  You should demonstrate your follow-through by sending a thank-you letter soon after the interview.  I suggest mailing a hand-written note…it’s more personal and will really set you apart from the crowd.  Check out this helpful article for other thank-you letter tips.

For other tips on landing a job, check out my past posts:

4 ways to get a job without even trying, and

4 job-hunting tips that you HAVEN’T heard

What team do you think is going to win the whole thing?  Leave a comment below.  I personally have Ohio State winning the whole thing…but anything can happen.

Kris Alban

iGrad – Resources for life after college

5 easy and effective April Fools’ pranks

"Clippy"

With April Fools’ Day right around the corner, it’s time to start ramping up your arsenal of pranks.  Now, if you’ve read my last couple of blogs (4 ways to get a job without even trying and 4 job-hunting tips that you HAVEN’T heard), then you undoubtedly have been successful finding a new job…congratulations!  Because of this I am going to focus on computer pranks…because nothing will win over the hearts of your new coworkers like belittling them with a clever little office prank.  To perform these pranks you will need to access your coworker’s computer when they take a break, download a program and then run it.  These programs take seconds to download, and are easily removable.  Here are five of my favorites:

Clippy

I absolutely LOVE Clippy.  Clippy is an extremely annoying, absolutely useless Desktop Assistant shaped like a big paper clip with eyes (similar to the old Windows assistant).  Once you install this and run the program, Clippy will appear once every 60 seconds with a tip that’s either completely useless or shockingly condescending.  A couple of my favorites are:

“Background processing has rated your typing speed to be below normal.”

“I noticed you have Internet Explorer installed on your system. You can use that to find things on the Internet.”

You can even write your own tidbits of advice for Clippy to use.  Visit the discussion board on iGrad’s Facebook Page to submit your best suggestion for a Clippy quote.

Download April Fools’ Prank here.

Blue Screen of Death

"Blue Screen of Death"

You may already know about this one, but the great thing about it is that even if you have heard of it, you will still end up with the same panicked look on your face as a man crossing the street in front of a Prius.  All you have to do is download and install the screensaver. ..and your coworker will come back to the dreaded Blue Screen of Death.  Depending on how high you want your coworker’s blood pressure to spike, you may also want to unplug the mouse and keyboard for maximum effect.

Download Blue Screen of Death here.

Click Me

Downloading this program will place a “Click Me” box to appear on the computer’s desktop.  The box will move whenever the mouse cursor gets near it, so no matter how quick you are you will never be able to click on it.

Download Office Prank here.

Email Fun

No matter what button they press the program will continue

Imagine that your computer takes it upon itself to open up an email, start typing a message, and proceed to send it to your entire Address Book.  Now imagine it happening to your coworker as you try to refrain from laughing at the horrified look on their face.  All of this is just an illusion, but it looks real enough to make your heart skip a beat or two.  The only thing that you have to do for this gem to work is to send an email to your coworker with this attached.

Download Computer Prank here.

Total Confusion Combo Pack for Firefox

What makes this program so great is that you can download it to your coworker’s computer whenever you want, and it will automatically become active on April 1st.  The only downside is that this will only work on people that use the FireFox browser.  This program has several pranks:

“Two Steps Back” will make the “Back” button on the browser go back two screens instead of one…not all the time, but just enough to get very annoying very quickly.

“Rick Roll” will sporadically replace videos with a great ’80’s Rick Astley video.

“The Devil’s Inbox” will change the number of unread emails in your Gmail account 666.

“Highs and Lows”, “Sarcarsm Enhancer” and “For Real” will add comments like “LOL”, *sigh*, “yo”, “for real” and “whatever” into many of the web pages that come up.

Download Firefox Pranks here.

Do you have a better prank?  Please share it below…the best one will be played on my boss, videotaped, and posted on iGrad’s Facebook page.



















Kris Alban
iGrad – Resources for life after college

iGrad Contributor – articles on jobs, internships, budgeting & lifestyle tips for college students & recent graduates

4 ways to get a job without even trying

This is how my cat found a job.

Do you ever wonder why some people seem to find a job without even trying?!  Meanwhile you’ve sent out close to 1,000 résumés and all you have to show for it is one interview for a Multi-Level Marketing job?  Well, that’s all about to change.  Now, I’m not saying give up your job search, sit back and watch American Idol, and a job will just fall in your lap.  But there are some things that you can do in addition to your job search, that are very productive and a lot more fun.

• Volunteer. It’s fun, rewarding and no matter how much you slack off you can never get fired.  Check out Idealist.org…most of the time you can find volunteer opportunities that will actually give you experience in your field.  There are positions for Marketing, Web Design, even Tax Preparation.  Most of the time you will be working alongside others that are in your field and actively employed…instant networking!!

• Paint Your Résumé on Your Car.  Here’s an article about a Loyola student who got job interviews just by driving around.  I have to to thank my sister Kelly in Maryland for telling me about this.  You don’t necessarily have to defile your car…the morale of the story is be creative.

• Interview the Interviewer.  Sick of going on job interviews?  Then conduct some of your own.  Find some people in your field (or other fields you’re interested in) to interview.  An easy way to find and get in touch with them is through LinkedIn.  If you do not know how to do this, please take a second right now and watch this video showing how to network on LinkedIn.  The people that you interview will often be in a position to hire you or connect you to someone that can…either at their company or another.  Everyone loves giving interviews…it makes them feel important…especially when you tell them it’s for a report or for your blog.  What??  You don’t have a blog??

• Start a Blog.  Make sure that your blog is relevant to your field.  Promote your blog on all social media outlets.  Once you get 1 million followers you can make enough money off your blog that you won’t have to work.  Okay, this may be a long-shot…but blogging will keep your creative juices flowing and will also give you material for a portfolio.  If you don’t have a portfolio than you really need to read my last post: 4 job-hunting tips that you HAVEN’T heard.

• Do you have a good story about how you got a job without even trying?  Or any other tips?  Please share below if you do.

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

Kris Alban

iGrad – Resources for life after college