How to apply what you are learning in the classroom to your job, life, and volunteer work.

Applying classroom knowledge to life is not always about the specific material that is taught, but the critical thinking skills we learn along with that material. Self-motivation is one of the key skills that lead us to achieving our personal goals.  We need to have goals in order to achieve personal success associated with our physical, spiritual, and intellectual needs. The classroom experience teaches us how to set and reach those personal goals.

The classroom gives us the opportunity to work with diverse groups of people, which is an important skill to have in life and in the work force. From learning to write effectively, to meeting deadlines, the classroom provides us with skills for life and the work force.  In life we will fail, and with our classroom experience we can learn to take that failure and come back better than we were before.

Professionally Presenting Yourself in a Job Interview Using a Blog

Creating a blog for personal or professional use seems to be a trend that is being used in the business world today.  Social media is great for finding out information on a potential business one would like to work for, but it is also being used for employers to look at potential employees.  A blog allows a person to put more detailed information about themselves, which is good if done professionally.

At a job interview, you want to boast about yourself to your potential employer.  A blog provides a way for you to show information instead of just telling it to the employer or having them read it on your resume.  Say I was applying for a large public relations corporation and I had done many events relating to the occupation in the past.  A blog would provide a way for me to show the potential employer pictures, testimonials, and other interesting facts related to that event.  If done well, a blog can be a large advantage to a job interview.

Doing More With Less... (Blog 2)

Doing more with less travel, expense, and time seems to be the corporate theme in modern business.  The use of collaborative technologies as those in the Google suite allow employees the opportunity to effectively contribute to ROI, sales, collective intelligence, and of course, communication.

Imagine the power of the marketing division communicating to the operations division with collaborative spreadsheets, presentations, calendars, and up-to-date messaging with the use of Google Docs, Google Calendar, or Google Wave[1].  Companies can increase the power of multi-divisional units working holistically together, maximizing strategic goals and accomplishing the corporate missions.

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[1] Miller, Michael, Introduction to Google Apps, Prentice Hall, 2010

What can Professional Blogs do for Business?

The phenomenon of online availability has affected businesses, organizations, and individuals alike.  Businesses have seen the power and cost effectiveness of informing and serving their customers in an online 24/7 environment.  Although professional blogs can be used internally or externally, I will focus on external blogging.  Professional blogs, if used correctly, can be a strong marketing tool, provide interactive journaling, and initiate feedback.

            Marketing is vital to business success.  One such way blogs can aid in the marketing process is through cross-promotional deals, where two companies will jointly agree to promote each other’s product or service.  These joint ventures allow readership from one blog group to learn the products and services of another company.

            Customers expect “real-time performance” (Thill/Seitel, pg. 542). For example, if customers need detailed information about a particular product or service, a professional blog would readily provide access to that information.  Additionally, feedback on a well-orchestrated blog page combines information as well as customer comments/suggestions. This dynamic exchange affords the companies opportunities to consistently better their products and services, while learning customer trends and expectations.  Overall, company competitive strategies can be strengthened with marketing, journaling, and customer feedback from the professional blog site.