miércoles, 9 de marzo de 2011

TWITTER FOR THE JOB HUNTER

Alma and I met during my presentation at Rutgers University just one week ago. That same day she opened a Twitter account and began connecting. By the fourth day, she sent this message into my stream:

@soylamar As an unemployed college student what can I do to take advantage of Twitter?less than a minute ago via txt



Being fully aware that my answer needed more time and definitely more than 140 characters, I asked her to give me time to gather my thoughts and blog about it. So here are my top tips:

  • Search & Save. Use relevant and popular hash tags such as #jobs or #careers, combine them with your ideal location such as #NJ #NY or a city #NYC. Save the search and you can always go back to check out the recent tweets with the hash tag. 
  • Find & Follow. Find the twitter accounts for recruiters of the organizations where you would like to work. Follow them and save these accounts in lists. If your stream gets flooded you can easily go back to the list and check out their latest tweets.
  • File in Favorites. While reading my stream, three jobs were tweeted and I wanted to mark them for this blog post. I selected them as favorites by clicking the star. So these were kept in my favorites, easy to find and retrieve.
  • Connect & Network. When you follow interesting people interacting is easy. You realize that job openings are generally filled through word of mouth recruiting. Twitter is great a vehicle for connectors. For example, my friends own their businesses, they asked me to help them fill job openings, I posted this information on facebook and tweeted about it.
Twitter is in constant motion and tweets can just get lost into what I call the black holes of twitterverse. So remember: Search & Save, Find & Follow, File in Favorites, and Connect & Network.

Muy agradecida for reaching out, hope these tips help your job hunt!
Reina

viernes, 4 de marzo de 2011

Zabby emprende su camino hacia Cornell

Les presento a Zabby Pardo-Moreno, miembro de la sociedad nacional de estudiantes con honores académicos (en Ingles es el National Honor Society), también es estudiante con altos Honores en  Manchester Regional High School, NJ. Actualmente está activa en varios grupos escolares como el consejo estudiantil, liderazgo juvenil, comité de mediación, equipo de volleyball, e InterAct, entre otros. Pero su mayor satisfacción la recibe al hacer la diferencia en el programa Make a Difference en el cual implementa actividades de diversión e inclusión para los estudiantes con necesidades especiales. Ella estudia el 11o. grado en la escuela superior y desea seguir la carrera de Sicología en la Universidad de Cornell. Cuando no está en la escuela, la encontrarán dando servicio voluntario en el Liberty Science Center.

Ana, la madre de Zabby, es madre soltera que soporta economicamente a su mamá y su hija con un presupuesto bastante limitado. Sin embargo, gana demasiado para calificar para cualquier clase de asistencia. Por lo cual, Zabby no recibe nada gratis, nisiquiera un almuerzo en la escuela.  Ana está muy orgullosa de su hija y la apoya totalmente pero el sueño de tener un título de una universidad del rango de Cornell está fuera de su alcance. "Nisiquiera sé de donde voy a sacar dinero para el costo de las solicitudes para las universidades" -dice Ana- al saber que el costo de educación en una escuela del calíbre "Ivy League" es más que su propio ingreso anual.

Acabo de compartir con ellas la información que recibí durante la fiesta de #LATISM (Latinos en Social Media) por medio de Twitter, a la cual asistieron representantes de Univision y el proyecto "Es El Momento". Ana y Zabby estan emocionadas al enterarse que hay medios y opciones para alcanzar metas educativas. El equipo de trabajo Madre-e-Hija se ha fijado metas altas. Su siguiente paso es encontrar el financiamiento para la universidad. Durante las próximas semanas, su trabajo se enfocará en averiguar todo lo relacionado a las becas, especialmente para estudiantes Latinos.

Preparar un buen portafolio y comenzar tempranito son elementos importantes para no perder la oportunidad y para no someter aplicaciones tardías. Siempre lo he dicho, entre un sueño y la realidad existe un plan de acción. El próximo paso de Zabby y Ana es un paso inteligente. Y... ¿Cuál es tu plan?

Estaré documentando el progreso aquí en mi AGENDA blog para que la experiencia de este dúo sea compartida con otros padres que enfrentan el mismo reto.  Les invito que pasen de nuevo a leer mi agenda, comentar y compartir con nosotros sus consejitos.

Para aprender más visite:

ES EL MOMENTO                                                                   LATISM

                
            

martes, 1 de marzo de 2011

Zabby's road to Cornell

Meet Zabby Pardo-Moreno, a National Honor Society member and High Honor Roll Student at Manchester Regional High School, NJ. She is involved in several school groups including the student council, youth leadership, peer mediation, volleyball team, and InterAct, among others. Her most rewarding work is with the Make a Difference Program, implementing fun activities to bring together students with special needs and the rest of the student body. She is  a Junior and wants to study Psychology at Cornell University. Outside school, you will find her volunteering at the Liberty Science Center.

Zabby’s mom, Ana, is a single mother who provides financial support for her mom and her daughter with an extremely limited budget. Yet, she earns too much to get any kind of assistance. So, there is no free school lunch for Zabby. Ana is a proud and supportive parent but the dream of having a professional degree from a top notch university is out of her reach. “I don’t even know how I’m going to come up with the money to cover college application fees” –she says- realizing that the Ivy League school her daughter wants to attend, costs more than she earns per year.

I shared with them the information I learned during the #LATISM family twitter party with representatives of Univision’s “Es El Momento”. Ana and Zabby were thrilled to learn that there are resources and options. The mother-daughter team have set high goals; their next step is to find ways to finance college. Over the next few weeks, their work will focus on researching all about scholarships.

Preparing a good portfolio is key and starting early is important so you don't miss the dreadful application deadlines. I’ve always said between a dream and a reality there is an action plan. Their next step is an intelligent one.  What is your plan?

I will be documenting their progress here in my blog to share their experience with other parents who are facing these same challenges.  So stop by to read, comment, and share your tips.

To learn more visit:

ES EL MOMENTO                                           LATISM