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Going Back to School - Financial Aid

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JobMonkey.com
Volume VIII, Issue #43
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Welcome to the JobMonkey newsletter. A few weeks ago, we talked about the growing trend toward retraining to advance your career. With the recession still in full force, would-be job seekers are seeking refuge in colleges -- both online and brick-and-mortar. However, financing that education is a major question mark for potential students. (If you didn't read our newsletter on financial aid for non-traditional students, please do.) One of the best ways to pay for college or professional development courses is with scholarships. But do you know how to find the scholarships for which you qualify? Learn how from this week's newsletter.

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IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

1) Career Advisor: Interim Jobs
2) Spotlight: 5 Ways to Find Scholarships for College
3) Around the Monkey: Financial Aid for Non-Traditional Students
4) JobMonkey Job Center: Jobs for College Grads

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CAREER ADVISOR: Interim Jobs
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by Amy Lindgren

If you're having trouble getting your goal job - and who isn't? - it might be time to look at an interim job. By popular definition, an interim job is one that comes between the real jobs, or the career-level positions that you would prefer to have.

Other characteristics of an interim job? It's usually lesser-paying than your real work, and lower skilled. It may also be part-time or contract, with minimal benefits. To add insult to injury, you'll have to create a new resume for this interim search, even though you may think it's obvious that a person who can (fill in the blank) could obviously operate the latte machine at the local coffee shop.

Well, think again. Because it's just that kind of over-confidence that's going to cost you the opportunity to wear the coffee shop baseball cap. What you think is obvious not only isn't, but it may not even be true. The coffee shop manager knows that, so it's important that you do too, or you'll blow the interview.

For example, you may think you have excellent customer service skills from being an advertising account manager, but have you ever applied those skills in a retail employment situation? Although both are customer service, sitting at your desk in an office talking to clients is entirely different from standing all day making coffee drinks for impatient, indecisive patrons.

To get this interim job then, list the skills the boss really needs, then use your resume and the interview to describe skills from that list that you have. By making this matchup clear, you will help the manager make the decision to hire you.

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SPOTLIGHT: 5 Ways to Find Scholarships for College
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If you are planning to go back to school, you have undoubtedly discovered just how expensive this smart career move is. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to make college more affordable, including grants, federal work-study and even student loans. One of the best ways, however to pay for college is with "free" money -- AKA college scholarships. If you are not sure where to find scholarships for which you might be qualified, here are five places to look:

1. Free scholarship search engines
There are hundreds of self-proclaimed scholarship search engines, so you may be dubious of their claims to help you find free money for college. The good news is that a handful of them really do what they claim: Give you access to thousands of scholarships with millions of dollars in support for students just like you. If you are not sure which ones are worth their salt, here are some pointers:

* Don't pay anyone to conduct a scholarship search. The best and most reputable search engines are free.

* There is no such thing as a "secret" source of scholarships, so beware of any company that claims they can get you scholarships that no one else knows about.

* Be prepared to answer a lot of questions about your background, skills and talents, college major, and more. By answering these questions as completely as possible, you increase your chances of finding the best matches in the scholarship world.

2. The Office of Financial Aid
As soon as you are admitted to a particular school, be in touch with its Office of Financial Aid.  They should have detailed files of private scholarships just for students at your school. These scholarships might target students from specific ethnic groups or particular areas of the country, or maybe they are for students with a certain academic major. Whatever the niche group they are looking for, you just might be the perfect person for the scholarship! Also make it a point to get to know your financial aid counselor -- he or she will be an invaluable resource.

3. Community organizations and religious groups
Spend a few days calling your local Kiwanis clubs, Chambers of Commerce, churches or synagogues, and any other relevant community service groups you can think of. Most of them have scholarships for members or affiliates. The dollar amount might be just a few hundred dollars -- but win three or four of them, and you suddenly have enough money to pay for fees and textbooks. If the organization doesn't currently offer a scholarship, ask them if they would like to: You never know!

4. Your place of employment
Your current place of employment should actually be the first place that you look for support in going back to school. There may be scholarships (or work-to-learn programs) already in place. If not, put together a strong proposal that you can present to your boss or the Human Resources department, asking them to considering sponsoring a scholarship for you to go back to school. Strengthen your case by making a commitment to continue working for the company post-graduation and by pointing out how your degree will benefit your department.

5. Financial Aid Finder
Financial Aid Finder is one of the leading college financing blogs, featuring a weekly "scholarship announcement" post of scholarships with upcoming deadlines. Most of the scholarships have broad, national appeal, so you are likely to find at least one or two that you qualify for over the course of several weeks.

Winning scholarships for college is truly a numbers game. The more scholarships you apply for, the better your chances of winning some. No, you won't win them all. You may not even win 10 percent of them. But if you do your due diligence in finding suitable scholarships, you can win serious money to help pay for school.

To learn more about how to find and win college scholarships, visit JobMonkey's Guide to Student Financial Aid & Student Scholarships.

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AROUND THE MONKEY: Financial Aid For Going Back to School
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Planning to go back to school to advance your career? Make sure you have a game plan for landing a great job after you graduate (especially if you have piled up some student loans that will need to be paid back!) The JobMonkey Blog is *the* place to come to learn about finding a job post-graduation, with posts like:

Reader Mailbag - Job Search Tips for College Grads
Feature - Six Figure Jobs
Career Tips for College Seniors
Tips for College Graduates Looking for a Job

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JOB CENTER REPORT: Jobs for College Grads
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Did you know that college graduates earn four times more than their peers without a degree? To find some of these high paying jobs, check out the JobMonkey Job Center. The Job Center is a free service featuring thousands of job leads from around the country -- and the world, including a number of exciting opportunities available only to those of you with a college degree, such as:

Senior Geologist Job @ Subsurface Consultants & Associates, LLC in Fayateville , AR

Director of Information Technology Job @ Touchstone Energy Cooperatives in Lincoln, NE

Senior Benefits Representative Job @ Baker Hughes in Houston, TX

 

 

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