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Good Old War takes the Riv

On Wednesday October 3, indie-folk trio, Good Old War, graced the stage of the Riviera Theatre in Chicago, IL. Opening up for Dispatch, and Needtobreathe later this month, Good Old War is certainly making a name for themselves. This band, made up of Keith Goodwin on vocals/guitar/keyboard, Tim Arnold on vocals/drums/accordion and Dan Schwartz on vocals/guitar gave the audience a memorable performance with their acoustic-driven style. Together, their last names make up the name of the band: GOODwin, ArnOLD and SchWARtz.

They didn’t disappoint in Chi-town, playing fan favorites including Calling Me Names and Better Weather from their latest and most popular album Come Back As Rain. From beginning to end, they kept the audience on their feet with upbeat and organic sounds. For just being a three-man band, Good Old War had a surprisingly large array of instruments onstage and were able to produce a rich, full sound. Claiming folk as their main genre, they were able to have a raw, underlying folk sound while also exploding into rock every now and then. Dan Schwartz says it is important to get down to the basics.

“For us, one of the most important things about the band is we can walk into any room and perform all our songs with only our voices and guitars,” he says.

The band also simultaneously brings cheer and depth to the stage. The sound, while mostly happy and upbeat, at times contrasts lyrics about the weight of life. However, the three performers’ strong harmonization brought a balance between the cheerful environment and the serious content, creating an overall hollowed beauty. Needless to say, I bought the CD and it’s been playing on repeat.

What to look forward to in the future from Good Old War: Upcoming shows include opening for Needtobreathe and Xavier Rudd. Hopefully some more late-night talk show gigs and another awesome album are in the mix as well. For more info on these up-and-comers, check out their website at goodoldwar.com and their Facebook page.

How to build a resume the right way

find a job out of college

Many students about to graduate are asking how to build a resume now that they are one the verge of entering the working world and leaving the classroom behind. Odds are those that graduate and find employment in their desired fields knew how to build a resume and did it well. Building a good resume revolves around three key areas: having a readable format, promoting yourself and being able to show experience and a work history. Think about if you were a hiring manager, would you hire someone who had their information all over the place, didn’t’ list their qualifications and had little to no past employment? Chances are no.

But, before you sit down and try to build your resume, you need to list all of the positive aspects of yourself, and we don’t mean things like “great at rollerblading” or “really likes being nice.” Employers have seen statements like this on numerous resumes and typically don’t take these candidates serious at all, which means their resumes end up in the garbage. Think of aspects such as, your ability to complete a task without being distracted, multitasking and being detail oriented.

Now that we have scratched the tip of the iceberg on how to build a resume, it’s time to sit down a start crafting a resume that will land you your dream job.

Format is king with a resume. Employers do not want to waste their time searching for the information they need the most. Your name and contact information, including address, contact number and email should appear at the top of the resume. Then beneath this should come your education experience, work history, skills and any special awards or certifications that you have received. Seeing that a candidate has received an award or additional training in a field is exceptional to a potential employer. It shows that you have gone above and beyond to further your knowledge or that you are so exceptional that you have been recognized by others for your work. All of your content needs be neat too. That means that your school name and the names of your past employers need to be in bold and the related information to these needs to be bullet pointed beneath. Also, remember past work experience should be in the past tense. If you were teller at a bank two years ago, then you need to write, “Assisted clients and dealt with their financial issues.” Do not write, “Assists clients and deals with financial issues.”

Many when they ask how to build a resume feel that they need to be modest when writing about their past experiences and accomplishments, but this is not the case at all. You need to be proud of what you have done. Even if you were a stock boy at a grocery store, you most likely did your job and did it to the best of your abilities. Coming out of college employers understand that candidates have little to no experience outside the classroom in their field of study, but they do expect some solid work experience. With this, you need to show that you were the best employee possible. Writing, “Unpacked box and placed goods on shelves” is quite negative. Instead, write something along the lines of, “Received shipments from vendors and then organized and displayed them in the store so that they were visually appealing.” The second example illustrates your job and shows that you actually put forth effort and cared about your duties, even if they seem menial to you. It promotes you as an employee and shows your potential employer that you can work hard for them.

Since you are just coming out of college, your work history is sparse. But, you should have some type of work history. Employers want to see that others have hired you, been impressed with your performance and kept you around for a while. The length of your employment also factors into an employer’s decision to bring you on as part of the team. Since you are just coming out of school, it does not necessarily matter that you have had experience with other unrelated fields, but it does matter on how long you had worked there. Listing multiple jobs that you were at for only a few months each shows a company that you may only work there for a little bit. Having multiple years of experience with a past employer shows that you are reliable and dependable.

With these basics, you should have a good springboard for tackling your question of how to build a resume. Remember to make sure that you resume should be visually appealing and professionally appealing. You are going after your first job out of college, so the road ahead may seem daunting. But, with tenacity and the right knowledge behind you about resume and cover letter writing, you should soon be starting the career that you have always wanted.

Can you fill the STEM talent gap?

Cooler video games. More efficient cars. Better medicines. If you want to make a real difference in the world today—and well into your own future—a career in science or technology may be just what you need. Sound too geeky for your taste? Consider shedding some new light on what’s cool, as you consider the information below.

Technology is advancing every day, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) workers make it happen! Without the work of scientists, technicians, engineers, mathematicians, and other skilled workers, many new products and discoveries would never come about. Imagine: No cars. No TV. No computers!

Simply put, workers in STEM occupations use science, math, and technological innovations to solve problems. Educational requirements for STEM occupations can range from a high school diploma and on-the-job training all the way up to a Ph.D.—but all will require you to solve problems and think logically.

The STEM Talent Gap

Many factors are driving the demand for the knowledge, skills, and abilities of STEM workers. There are roughly 97 STEM occupations that account for 7.3 million jobs, or nearly 5.7% of U.S. employment. But the supply of STEM workers is not expected to keep up with the growing demand, making the current situation worse, and creating an even more significant gap in STEM talent.

What makes STEM jobs so great?

There are a lot of good reasons that working in a STEM career could make a difference in your life:

GET PAID

STEM workers enjoy wage premiums. The annual income for STEM employees averages about $77,880 per year, while the U.S. average income is just $43,460. The highest paying STEM occupations, all averaging more than $100K yearly, are:

  • Natural Science Managers
  • Engineering Managers
  • Computer/Info
  •  Systems Managers
  • Petroleum Engineers

Experts agree that STEM jobs are essential to a growing economy, and vital to our nation’s competitiveness. While relatively small in number, they create job growth, which in turn fuels the economy.

GET STABLE WORK

STEM workers experience relatively low unemployment. This is result of a growing talent drought for STEM positions, based on an increasing demand for talent, with a relatively stagnant supply.

A number of factors are contributing to talent supply challenges, including job defection—when qualified STEM workers leave for another profession. Women and minorities are also underrepresented in STEM, while students today are relatively not interested. Finally, the current STEM population is part of an aging workforce which will soon be retiring.

BE IN DEMAND

There is growing demand for STEM workers across the globe. Demand for STEM professionals is expected to increase 16.8% from 2010 to 2020, compared with 14.3% for other jobs—adding more than one million new STEM jobs to the workforce.

Strong demand for technology (IT) jobs is driving overall growth in STEM. Demand will be greatest for computer-related occupations, with numbers in this category expected to jump 21.8% through 2020. Out of the 10 fastest growing STEM occupations (through 2020, by numerical increase), eight are IT/computer-related.

Other factors fueling demand in STEM include:

  • Technology explosion
  • An aging and growing worldwide population
  • Renewed focus on innovation
  • Conservation and green energy
  • Heightened security measures
  • Adoption of nanotechnology

BE CHALLENGED

STEM jobs are often in the most innovative fields, working for the most progressive companies, leading to interesting and challenging work. STEM occupations make up more than half of industry employment in computer systems design and related services; architectural, engineering, and related services; scientific research and development services; software publishing; and computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing.

Just like the stem of a plant holds up other structures, STEM jobs are essential to our economy. They affect the way we communicate, work, live, travel, maintain our health, and enjoy our free time. Plus, STEM jobs are good for the economy, so STEM careers certainly hold great promise for current and future workers.

To find more about whether a STEM occupation may be for you, take a look at a brief infographic: STEM Careers: Demand is Up for Today’s Innovators. Or, read a new eBook from Kelly Services®: STEM Jobs Cultivate Success. A STEM occupation may just be in your future!

The value of a website

The Internet has single handedly revolutionized the way we interact with each other. It’s vast amount of knowledge and resources could fill every ocean on earth plus some. But, while simply surfing the net is fun. Having your own website could lead to much much more. Have a look at our infograph below and see the benefits.

Via: WebStarts