Monday, December 17, 2007

Internet Marketing Resources for Students Transitioning to Careers

Getting ready to launch your career? Looking for help beyond the resume & cover letter? How about resources from the internet?!?

You may want to check out these resources from Mike Sansone, one of the top blogging coaches I've found...

Last month he spoke to students and instead of passing out handouts, in true Web 2.0 fashion Mike posted links:

1. Delicious bookmarks: http://del.icio.us/mikesansone/JannFreed to key websites and blogposts

2. His books recommendations from the Shelfari bookshelf - a neat way to recommend and share books http://www.shelfari.com/

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Go Red for Women -- Doctor & Spokesperson

Dr. Debbie Plate has combined her role as doctor and public speaker. She spoke to a group of women in Akron to make us more aware about heart health. If you are considering a career as a health professional, you might not realize how much public speaking could play a role in your career.

Knowing how to communicate key information in front of an audience using a laptop, projector and PowerPoint is a skill that transcends many careers.

This morning while attending the American Heart Association breakfast to promote awareness of Go Red for Women, I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Debbie Plate describe some rather startling facts about women's heart health in the United States:
  • 460,000 Women per year die of heart failure, making it one per minute. That's more from Heart Failure than the next 5 killers combined! (Cancer is #2 and stroke is #3.)
  • Among women over 20, about 30% have high blood pressure.

  • Overweight women in the USA over 20: 58% of the white women and 79% of African American.

Dr. Plate is a communications person and a doctor. Besides speaking throughout the community, she is often seen on TV representing Akron General Medical Center and interviewing other doctors about their specialties.

She urged the audience to wear RED the first Friday in February to help build awareness of heart health among women. May 8th is the fundraising luncheon to help build awareness.

When something is the number one killer, and so many of the problems are preventable, doesn't it make sense that we should focus on this?

It's amazing to me that wearing seat belts and not cutting your vegetables & chicken with the same knife & cutting board or eating raw eggs seems like it has more public awareness than the actions that cause heart failure. (but I digress.)

If you enjoy public speaking, you are probably in the minority. Many people fear public speaking more than anything else -- even death, rattlesnakes or heights!! Making your career into something where you combine two passions can be a real great way to find the work you love.

And. Oh yeah. Go eat some vegetables for your heart!!

Saturday, December 01, 2007

25 Tips for Women to Make More Money than Men

When I entered the workforce women made 56 cents to men's dollar. Although it is improving, recent statistics show women make only 89 cents according to a New York Times article from this year that discusses a Queens College study. Others say 75 cents, 76 cents or 12 cents. I guess it depends on how you measure: Hourly? Salary? Same job? Same education? Same amount of experience?

There are ways to increase your earnings. Robyn McMaster at Brain Based Biz offers a book called Why Men Earn More: The startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap -- and What Women Can Do About It by Dr. Warren Farrell in her recent post Men, Women, Brains and Earning Power

The 25 strategies boil down to 3 categories 1) be more productive, 2) put in more hours and 3) choose careers that pay more.

Ironically most of the 25 strategies suggest giving up up some quality of life and job satisfaction. (IE be a prison guard vs a child care worker. Or travel extensively as a sales person.)

Many women (most women?!) choose to figure out a way to create a job that fits with their life rather than make their life fit their job. Is it that way for men too? As more men realize the lifelong satisfaction of raising children like being there at the teachable moment or for the school play or being the team manager, I believe the salaries and wages will become closer and closer.

We want to have our cake and eat it too. And why not?!

But still, as you select your career, take some time to picture how you might increase the salary by selecting a different job within the career (example, a nurse anesthetists and traveling nurses each make twice the pay of regular nurses.)