Today’s college students are faced with the constant pressure of traveling and studying abroad for a summer or semester long program. They are told in order to be successful you have to be worldly. Well given the fact that international job opportunities are steadily increasing this isn’t short from the truth.
Over the past year the increase of international jobs on AgCareers.com has increased by more than 350%! With opportunities knocking on doors and offering benefit packages that include plane tickets home twice a year, double the salary, cheaper cost of living in some places or housing paid for and the opportunity to save more money towards retirement, international job opportunities are getting more attractive!
Good reviews, references and promotions come to employees that are easy to manage. It is essential that your supervisors do not find managing you a difficult task. Following are some suggestions to help you become a better employee:
• Ask questions: Everyone faces challenges that they are unable to handle on their own. Knowing when to ask for help is imperative. Promptly seek assistance from your manager or the appropriate person if you need help, but come prepared with research and suggestions. If directions for a project are not clear, ask questions so you are not spending too much time spinning your wheels.
• Provide updates: Give regular updates to your manager on the status of your projects. Follow-up with assigned tasks/accountabilities; let your boss know how you are progressing on projects and when or if they are completed. PAY ATTENTION TO DEADLINES! Discuss options with your supervisor if you do not think you’ll be able to meet a deadline and suggest alternatives. Providing frequent communication to your manager allows them to still feel engaged in the project. Updates also give managers a sense of comfort knowing where projects are at without having to micromanage.
Research continues to support that being unhappy at work really takes a toll on individual and family life. You may be surprised to know that research suggests that as much as 70% of the working population at unhappy at work. If you represent this statistic, you owe it to yourself, family and friends to make necessary adjustments to become happier to be around – both at work and home! Obviously staying in a work environment where you are de-motivated and disengaged is not sustainable; plus it is unhealthy for you and not fair to the organization employing you. Below are two roads of choice to consider if you unhappy at work:
by Victoria Price, 2015 AgCareers.com Marketing Intern
“A summer is only as productive or unproductive as you make it,” said Megan Grant, a sophomore at the University of Florida (UF). If you aren’t interning, as is typical for many college students during the summer, there are still many options to make your summer productive and beneficial for your future.
Work a summer job to save and make money while gaining work experience. Food, retail, summer camps, or any job involving customer service provides valuable skills for any career. People skills will make you stand out as a candidate. Alexandra Steele, a junior at UF, has worked different jobs each summer since high school. “I think they have been very beneficial because even though they haven’t been something that I’d want to make a career out of, these jobs have taught me life skills and good work ethic for the future,” she said. “They helped me narrow down my decisions on my career path.”
Take summer classes to get ahead or take some extra time to do well in a challenging course. For students in the STEM field, this is a great option in the summer to focus on courses that would be tougher to balance in the fall or spring. Summer school also allows students to remain active in school organizations and help recruit incoming freshman. Haley Shavemaker, a sophomore at UF, said that she is ahead of schedule with her courses. She can now have a lighter course load for the fall and spring semesters and pursue and enjoy more college activities.
by Victoria Price, 2015 AgCareers.com Marketing Intern
Crafting a resume or updating a resume can be challenging. It can also feel like employers don’t understand how much time you spent trying to perfect it. There are so many types of resumes and opinions on how to make the best resume, so what do you do? How do you create the perfect resume?
What to do
On average a resume is only viewed for approximately 10-30 seconds according to the Career Resource Center at the University of Florida. In 10- 30 seconds an employer can decide to move you to the next level or forget all about you. So, in order to make sure your resume stands out you need to remember it is an opportunity to sell yourself. “Use it as a marketing piece for yourself,” said Tina Dorner, Talent Acquisition specialist for college programs at CHS. Typically, Dorner looks at a resume initially for about a minute and will spend more time once the resume moves to next level. Dorner suggested making sure your description of experiences and skills catch the eye of those reviewing your resume. “Think of short sentences to describe the skills that you have,” Dorner said. “Make it generic enough but not too generic, so that it can appeal to other positions you may apply for.”
Three years ago, AgCareers.com provided a wonderful opportunity to its employees called “Spend a Day in Ag.” Employees were provided the day off to go and explore the world of agriculture. The goal was for our non-ag employees to learn more about the industry they support day in and day out by job shadowing. For our more experienced ag employees the goal was to learn more about an unfamiliar ag sector or to grow their ag knowledge.
The team did a great job at finding unique opportunities to experience agriculture. Overall, I feel our staff were excited to get out of the office, get our hands dirty (in some cases – not all ag jobs are dirty jobs) and learn something new. I grew up on a family farm and experienced livestock, crops and produce on a first hand basis. Finding something new to learn about seemed difficult, but I knew I wanted to go beyond what was familiar. These thoughts led me to question where all of the ag products go after they are harvested and processed.
by Victoria Price, 2015 AgCareers.com Marketing Intern
Shannon Fawns serves as the Eastern Canadian Account Manager for AgCareers.com, operating out of the Canadian office in Guelph, Ontario. Shannon has been with AgCareers.com since October 2012.
She recently returned from maternity leave on June 1, and is happy to be back with the team again.
Q: What do you do on a day-to-day basis?
Day-to-day, I work with employers and AgCareers.com Partnership clients across Eastern Canada, a region that stretches from Manitoba to the Eastern shore. I help clients get the most out of their job postings on the site and ensure that the postings are receiving ample job seeker traffic. Additionally, I educate our clients about the many other resources available on the site.
Q: What do you enjoy about working here?
I love the variety this job offers; so much of what we do is at the computer, but it is exciting to go to career fairs and trade shows. I love talking to exhibitors and learning how some of them found their job on AgCareers.com. Meeting successful job seekers is probably the most rewarding aspect for me.
AgCareers.com recently offered a webinar for HR professionals regarding tips for setting up a telecommuting policy for their employees. I attended not only as a telecommuter but also as someone who helps guide companies on such topics. If you’d like to read the thoughts from the employer’s perspective, check out Setting up a Telecommuting Plan for Your Employees, on our Talent Harvest blog.
As someone who has been telecommuting full time for nearly 6 years, I had quite a few ‘ah-ha’ moments while listening to the presenter. Dr. Di Ann Sanchez shared a ton of great stats that support creating a telecommuting plan for your employees. Right off the bat she mentioned that there are almost no 100% telecommuters in the general workplace. Most employees who telecommute average one day a week, either Monday or Friday. I’ve been a 100% teleworker for 6 years now, rather than viewing myself as the odd woman out on this fact, I’m looking at the glass half full and considering myself one of the privileged few! After all, 80% of employees consider telework a job perk! It was a great bit of information for me to hear though, the struggles, and benefits, of working from home are real! While two thirds of people want to work from home, they, and their employers, know it can be a challenge to be in a home office 100% of the time.