1. Prepare for Change

Before transitioning into a new job it is important to prepare yourself for a major change. Factors you should consider include your savings, health insurance, retirement benefits, and monthly expenses. A common mistake many people make is leaving one job without being truly prepared for a new job. If you plan on being without employment for a period of time, you will first need to ensure that you have the financial reserves to take such as step. Plan out your monthly budget needs and determine if you have enough money saved to cover these expenses. Experts also warn that job searches often take considerably longer than expected, so you should consider remaining at your current job until you find a new one.

2. Conduct a Career Assessment

Before you move on, you need to take the time to consider exactly why you need a new job. Is it due to factors specific to your current employer? Or is it because you have realized that you are unhappy or unsatisfied with your career? If your reason for change comes from within, conducting a career assessment can help ensure that your next job will be an ideal match for your personality, interests, talents, and skills.

3. Utilize Your Networking Contacts

Networking is often the single most important means of learning about new job opportunities. When you need a new job, contact individuals in your network to discuss potential job opportunities or to ask for suggestions about your job search. Your networking contacts can often provide details on job openings that you might not have access to through other means, so be sure to utilize this important resource.

4. Sell Yourself

Once you have located a potential new job, it is important to demonstrate that you have the credentials, skills, and experience that make you uniquely qualified for the job. Improve your resume to ensure that it is current and well written. It is important to modify your resume to make it specific for each individual job that you apply for. Other important steps include preparing yourself for an interview, dressing appropriately when meeting potential employers, and sending thank you notes after each interview.

5. Make the Change

Your work is done once you have been hired for a new position, right? Well, not exactly. Making the transition into a new job can take several weeks and can lead to significant amount of stress. During this time, you may experience feelings of regret for leaving your old job, especially now that you have been forced out of your comfort zone and might be experience insecurity about succeeding at your new job. One way of easing this initial stress is to find a mentor who can guide you through the learning curve in your new role. Talk to co-workers and start to build relationships and contacts with those around you. These interactions can help ease the transition into your new job.

Summary: If you need a new job, it is important to take steps that will make your job search easier. Preparing for change, assessing your career needs, networking, and self-promotion can help pave the path towards a successful and satisfying new job.

The cost of tuition for a master’s level degree ranges from $12,000 at smaller colleges to in excess of $80,000 at some of the Ivy League schools. On average, at a state university, a student can expect a total cost of about $40,000. Be aware that these are just tuition costs. Traditionally, there are also costs for each book, registration fees, and application fees as well as possible fees for parking depending on your school.

Then, there is also the cost of living. You know more about your unique financial situation than anyone else. So, it is up to you to decide how you will handle this. Be sure to interview people in the academics department, career services office as well as current students if you can. This way, you will get a more accurate portrayal of life at the school. You can then determine whether or not you will need to work full time, part time or not work at all. If you are in a financial situation that does not require you to work during your degree, you may consider volunteering at a company that operates in your chosen field of study. Or, the career services office may be able to help find an internship near your school. True, these options may add a part time job to your schedule, but you will be better off in the long run for a couple of different reasons. First, internships allow you a place to network among peers in the industry. I am sure you are aware of the old adage, it is not what you know, but who you know. If you play your cards right, you might just find yourself a job before you have completed your degree. Second, even if you do not find a job with the company you volunteer at or intern with, you will gain valuable insight into the industry while providing yourself with professional references and experience.

Finally, you should always have money set aside for emergencies as well as health insurance. Too often, people fail to plan in these areas and end up making a costly mistake because of an unforeseen circumstance.

So, you need to decide how much it will cost you to live every month. Do not be afraid to put yourself on a budget and adhere to it! Outside of that, planning ahead is the best action that you can take to ensure your success in school.

How can you learn more about your own unique strengths? The following are some helpful methods that can reveal your special talents, interests, and motivations. Try out several different methods in order to find out more about yourself.

1. Think about some of your past experiences. Have there been any significant events that helped shape you into who you are now? How did you deal with these experiences? The way you cope with different life events can reveal a great deal about your unique strengths. Write down how you reacted to each experience and then list the skills and abilities that you relied on. These methods of dealing with each experience are talents that form an important part of your personality and self-image.

2. Think about your past accomplishments. How did you achieve these things? Write down the steps you took to pull off each accomplishment. Your ability to set goals, your motivation to accomplish these goals, and your continued resolve to complete future goals are an important component of your unique self. Also consider why these goals were so important to you.

3. Challenge yourself to try new things. Sometimes it’s easy to fall into a pattern where we only try the things we are comfortable with. Testing yourself to try new things can reveal a great deal about your unique strengths and abilities. Even if you completely successful, you will learn a great deal about how you deal with the unknown and how you respond to a challenge.

4. Take a career assessment to learn more about your unique abilities. Career assessments are a great way to get to the heart of your unique strengths, interests, and experiences. A career assessment involves taking stock of your career satisfaction, your individual passions, and your personality. A career assessment often involves taking personality and aptitude tests or filling out an interest inventory. These career-planning tools can provide excellent feedback on your unique talents and strengths.

5. Allow others to see your unique talents. Take advantage of opportunities to shine in your career. If you have a knack for public speaking, volunteer to give a presentation to clients. Any chance you have to use your unique abilities is a chance for others to notice and give credit to your strengths. Building on your one of a kind talent, interests, and experiences is the surest path to career success.

Employers like candidates who have worked in the past—especially those who have managed to both work and study at the same time. Even if you aren’t required to work your way through college, it is not a bad idea to get an outside part time job on or off campus. You should think about building up your resume very early on.

The problem with hiring students right out of college is that they may have limited work experience. Certainly, working towards completing a major takes an intensive amount of work, but this is not the same as true work experience. If an employer is looking at a resume of someone with hands-on work experience and one without, the first candidate has a much better chance.

While getting a part time job in a restaurant isn’t quite as impressive as an office job, it still exhibits a degree or diligence and resourcefulness. Ideally, you will find a job that has a direct correlation with your major. Some college programs will even have internships for academic credit.

Remember also that it’s not all about getting hired after you get out of college—though of course that’s a major consideration. It’s also about learning what it is you want to do. At an office job you’ll learn the ins and outs of a particular industry. You’ll get a sense of what a job entails day in, day out. While we all want to have something great to put on our resumes, part time work is also an important educational experience.

The idea is not just to get a job, but do it well. A part time job is like a second education. Once you have real office experience, you can then bring this knowledge into your job interviews at offices or job fairs. It looks very impressive if you can reference some real life experience, rather than books you read in Business 101.

While it’s still possible to get a job without part-time work experience, it is highly recommended. Keep in mind that you may have to apply for these jobs through the college, rather than through the traditional route of online job listings or classified ads. If you apply for a job and say that you can only work so many hours a week, due to classes, you might not get the job. When applying for part time work in college, you must find a job with a flexible schedule—one that can fit your normal college work schedule.

While scholarships and other forms of non-loan financial aid do have the ability in some cases to renew, student loans generally do not. At least, not in the conventional understanding of the term “automatically renew.”

Meaning, you will probably not receive the exact amount every year, and it will require at least a cursory update of information to the lender, whether it’s the federal government or a private lender.

Starting with federal student loans: the aid definitely does not automatically renew every year. It does not simply replenish every year because the amount you receive depends on your family’s current financial situation and updated government legislation.

So, a renewal of your FAFSA (Free Application For Student Aid) every year is necessary. An online personal identification number will be sent to returning students each year for online applications, or a student will be required to fill out a paper renewal to make the changes.

Private loans may require a less rigorous change process each year or semester, but there will still be some, for many of the same reasons a federal loan does, minus the federal guidelines.

Financial aid need needs to be evaluated each year or semester to account for a student’s evolving circumstances, as well as that of the economic and legislative environment, to make sure there is fairness in distribution of the aid.

A student’s tuition, housing or expenses might go up one year or semester, making it necessary to increase their aid amount. He or she might have become eligible or non-eligible for scholarships, grant programs or work-study situations that might impact the amount of money needed.

Additionally, his or her family finances could alter slightly or dramatically, making adjustments in the FAFSA or private loan calculation necessary.

Academic progress is an important factor in determining a student’s aid package each year, especially with regard to federal loans. If a student does not maintain a satisfactory grade point average, course load or has some disciplinary actions taken against him or her, aid could be restructured.

Funding and allowances from state, federal and university endowments might change, making the amount of funding from these sources fluctuate and the need to pull money from other private or federal sources necessary.

So, when considering your financial aid needs, remember that they are not automatically renewed each year, although major pieces of information (name, social security number, credit history, tax history) remain on your permanent file and the bulk of your initial information will probably not have to be redone.

Be sure to stay organized and aware of any “new” or “renewal” application dates, and submit all your paperwork on time. This will ensure a smooth financial aid transition throughout all the years you are in school, and be as close to an “automatic renewal” as possible.

Here are 10 ways that you can maximize your time when you are off from school:

1. Review what you have learned
Although your classes may all be completed for the quarter (or the semester), it’s not a bad idea to review what you’ve just learned over the course of many weeks. Reread your notes, papers, tests and skim through the books you’ve just read. Finalize the imprinting of fresh information in your mind so that you can retain what you’ve learned over the long term.

2. Read ahead
If you already know what courses you will be taking in the upcoming quarter, start reading ahead. If you are going to have some time to kill, might as well get a jump start on your upcoming classes. Contact your professors and collect copies of syllabi. Purchase your materials and begin reviewing them before your class begins.

3. Go back to your roots and reconnect with family and friends
Go home. Say hi to the family and reconnect with old friends. College isn’t about severing all of your previous ties. Keep up your network and pay the people you love a visit.

4. Stick around and explore the town
Forget about going home. Stick around and explore your college town. Find new places to buy groceries and new bars to frequent. Take a mini-road trip to some nearby destination that you’ve always wanted to see. Take your time off of school as an opportunity to experience your surroundings.

5. Travel
Drive cross-country or travel abroad. See the world, or a tiny piece of it. Take your new outlook on life and expose yourself to different peoples and places. Visit a destination or place of interest that you have just studied. Travel with a partner, in a group, or go venturing off on your own.

6. Get an internship
Find an internship in the field that you are studying. Supplement your classroom work with real life on-the-job training. This way when you graduate, you will already have solid academic and professional experience.

7. Lay the groundwork for future employment.
Explore your career interests. Market yourself and your abilities. Try to find an organization that you want to target for employment once you’ve graduated. Find out what the minimum professional and educational requirements are for the specific job that you are interested in. Take measures to fulfill those requirements before you graduate.

8. Explore the course catalog and schedule of classes
Get lost in the pages of your course catalog. Map out different schedule scenarios. Find out if that class you really want to take is offered in alternate academic years, and then plan your schedule accordingly. Pick a focus in your major and consider all the courses that you’d like to take. You’ll be surprised how quickly your time in school will fly by, so you need to construct a solid schedule.

9. Apply for scholarships
Find some more money. Buy a book or do Internet research. Apply for as many scholarships as you can. Each application may seem like a bit of a hassle, but the results could seriously alleviate any financial burdens you may have accrued.

10. Just relax and take a break
Don’t do a damn thing! You’ve spent months cramming, pulling off all-nighters, and wowing you professors with your polished intellectual abilities. You’ve earned a break, so enjoy it, and come back to school refreshed and ready for anything.

If you utilize your vacations properly, you will be a better student. Just remember not to stress out too much. Whether you are in school or not, you are in control of your life, so make the most of it.

Employers who require employees to have a college degree care that you have one from somewhere. Traditionally, there are about 20 colleges in the United States (the Ivies and a handful of other prominent schools) that make employers sit up and take notice about where your degree came from. If you did not attend one of these places, you are like most people, who find that the name of their school is less important to their employers than how they performed academically, and what they studied.

In fact, your online degree may set you apart in a positive way from the rest of the pack of applicants. Successfully obtaining your degree online tells prospective employers that you are a person who will get the job done even when no one is looking. Online degrees testify that their recipients are self-motivated individuals who are capable of managing multiple priorities. And whatever job you’re applying for, rest assured that those are two qualities all organizations prize.

Furthermore, online universities are becoming more and more popular. While your online degree can set you apart in the aforementioned ways, you should have no fear that it will stigmatize you. Each day, it becomes more and more likely that the person you sit down to interview with may have attended the same online school that you did!

Another benefit of the online university experience in the eyes of employers is that it is designed in large part for working professionals. The fact that you’ve made it through an online degree program tells your prospective employer that you have had intense exposure to the types of collegial interactions you will face in the working world. Online universities emphasize and develop the ability to work with others, to manage and meet deadlines, and to be responsible for learning on your own. When you consider all of the things a degree from an online university says about you, you should realize that you’re more of a proven commodity, a “safer” hire than recent graduates from brick and mortar universities.

What Can You Do With It?

Anything. I mean it, you can do almost anything with your MBA. You may not be able to be a brain surgeon, but you can certainly tackle most upper level jobs and ask for promotions more easily than you can now. With advanced management skills and documentation to prove that you’ve been trained with advanced management skills, you can qualify for most upper level management and specialty jobs in the business world.

An MBA, or any kind of Master’s degree actually, can also open a different door – education. When you have a Master’s, you are qualified to teach most remedial and many general education classes. At some schools, you may even be able to be an adjunct professor in the business department. Even if you’ve never thought about teaching before, the pay is usually decent, and it’s a lot of fun to have a positive impact on a student’s life.

How Can You Get It For Free?

Another common question is “How can I get my MBA for free?” You’ve probably heard the great stories about other professionals getting their Master’s degree for free, and you want to know how to do the same. It all starts with your employer.

Many employers are willing to pay for your education if you promise to work with them for a certain amount of time. They want to reap the benefits of the education they are paying for, but they are usually willing to give you the raise you’ve earned once you get your degree.

Most employers will have an education policy in their handbook, and you can read over it to see if (1) it’s worthwhile and (2) you’re eligible. If your employer doesn’t have an education policy in writing, talk to your immediate supervisor about your interest, why it would be good for the company, and what you are planning. With the right sales pitch, you just might get your education for free.

Living Large

An MBA allows you to expand your options, and with all the competition in business, expanded options is certainly a good thing. If possible, get your education for free so that you will no longer have to worry about student loans. Once you get your degree, you will have thousands of options and you’ll be living large.

Review the application entirely. This is the first step in avoiding the disqualification of your application. Read over it before filling or signing anything. Review the requirements to complete, submit the application along with whatever supplemental documentation might be required. This can include, but is not limited to, transcripts, and essays. Make sure that you have plenty of copies of these documents handy to send off with all of your scholarship applications.

Do not confine your eligibility to one scholarship application. Find many academic scholarships for which you might be eligible. Apply for all of them. You might not make the finalist list for one, but you will for others. Give yourself as many opportunities as possible to get that free money!

When you have an application, fill it out completely. Make sure you have read it through and provided complete and accurate information. There are countless applications that are disqualified because the applicant cannot be contacted with the given information. Make sure to be very observant of what you are typing or writing and maybe even ask a friend or family member to proofread the items for you.

Another common mistake when completing applications is to apply for scholarships for which you are not eligible. This wastes your time, the evaluating committee’s time and that certainly won’t get you a scholarship, especially if you do not have the proper required credentials.

Remember, you are trying to apply for an academic scholarship. The application is your chance to shine! Check for completeness, grammar, spelling, accuracy and that you have all the right supporting documentation. Do not include things that have not been required, such as a photo of yourself or a non-essential essay. Many academic scholarships are reviewed by committees of people who review applications. They won’t read anything that isn’t part of the application. The application phase shows that you are organized, punctual and capable of following directions. Show them what you’ve got and they will show you the money!

Weigh Your Options
What are your goals? If you are somewhat lost and in need of direction, get busy on any one of several education sites to see what is offered and what might interest you. Believe it or not, getting started in the online education process does not have to be painful!

Accreditation
Possibly one of the most obvious yet overlooked necessities in a potential online education. If you want your degree, diploma or job certificate to amount to what you paid for it, your institution of choice MUST be accredited. You might learn a lot from Leroy’s Online Business School, but if it isn’t an accredited institution there’s a good chance it will come back to bite you in a future business interview!

Choosing a school
There are several schools, colleges, etc. that would love to help you achieve your educational goals for a reasonable fee; however, you need to be specific in searching for what you desire! Do you want a degree in art, business, philosophy or some other field? The more specific you get with your goals, the faster you’ll find the most appropriate fit!

Financial Aid
Do NOT fall into the mind trap that many students do in regards to financial aid! If you don’t have the cash on hand to pay for all of your credits, classes or degree program, it doesn’t mean you have to take out a loan! Look deeply into the world of scholarships! There are many available through government and private organizations, as well as grants and low interest loans that can be paid off at very reasonable rates!

Research
If your education is worthwhile, then it’s worthwhile to be patient in getting started. You may be chomping at the bit, but you need to find as close to a perfect fit as possible! Take time to read about your options and possibilities and subscribe to a quality over quantity philosophy! Contact universities and be sure you are as important to them as you want to be!

Focus
Don’t become easily distracted as your education process begins. Properly dealing with distractions and prioritizing will help create an excellent sense of self discipline that you can use in your research and studies. It is imperative to establish these good habits at the beginning, so your future online educational endeavors are smooth sailing!