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There’s one final hurdle to clear for that job you’ve been dreaming of – the interview. Knots in the stomach, sweaty palms, queasy feeling. Who hasn’t experienced these familiar symptoms of tension and nervousness going into an interview?

Unless you learn to breathe, relax and load up on confidence, your anxiety level will peak so high until you fumble and ultimately fail. But there’s a way to significantly decrease your anxiety level, and this involves a good measure of preparation. If you come to the interview fully prepared, you will feel more confident about yourself – and in the process talk with more eloquence about what you have to offer – your skills, talents and experience to leave a good impression with the interviewer.

Take to heart these interview do’s and don’ts that ensure a memorable appearance and make the grade at the interrogation room.

• Do your homework about the company. With the advent of the internet, information is just a clicked away. Use this information to engage in a deeper discussion and demonstrate your knowledge about the organization and its services.
• Get to know the interviewer beforehand. Ask from contacts inside the firm or undertake research if the interviewer is a prominent person.
• Ask a friend or family member to join you in a mock interview to prime you up for the real confrontation.
• Make sure you know how long it takes to get to the venue considering every possible cause of delay – traffic jams, mall sales, etc.
• Greet the receptionist and everyone you meet in the office. Prove at the outset that you can fit right in with the team.
• Prepare in advance questions about the company – culture, main goals, focus and the position, requirements and responsibilities.
• Provide the interviewer with reliable references.
• Have extra resumes handy. If you have a portfolio, bring it along as well. If asked to complete an application form, do so.
• Don’t argue that you already have a resume and there is no need to fill out the form.
• Talk about yourself and your skills in a professional and confident manner without bragging.

Coping with college life is surely not that easy. College students, especially the freshmen, have a lot of adjustments to do. So far, the most challenging skill that they need to develop is managing their time wisely. Time management is a skill and every student should be interested in it. If every student would be able to cope up the school requirements that need to be done, they would surely have a smoother college life ahead. The beauty of developing a Time Management skill is that the student will be able to prioritize all the activities that were scheduled, thus they will be able to avoid excess stress.

How to develop time management skills?

1. Make use of a calendar – this method is indeed effective because through the use of a calendar, where you can put remarks on all important dates, you will be guided and never lose track of your deadlines.
2. Write down everything- This includes those to-do-lists which may include your personal needs aside from those school requirements.
3. Get time to relax- Don’t wait for you to get burned out with all those back breaking school requirements, take time to relax and unwind to decompress yourself.
4. Keep trying new systems- If the old style doesn’t really help a lot, then make use of a new style which is more convenient and helpful to you.
5. Allow for flexibility- Don’t make your schedule too tight. You’ll never know what may lie ahead. Be flexible with your entire schedule.
6. Plan ahead- Try to figure out how long it takes to finish one activity that is due in next two weeks or earlier. Do not cram. Give more time to work on your requirements to avoid last-minute problems.
7. Plan for the unexpected- There are things that are just out of your control, therefore, give enough time for it.
8. Take time to unwind- After a long exam or a finished project, give yourself a reward by taking time to unwind with your friends.

Those are just few of the things that will help you in developing an effective time management skillset.

As the economy slowly spirals downward, so does the lives of many people. This is especially true for home owners who have mortgage loans they cannot pay. But there is hope. The United States Government initiated a Home Affordable Refinance Program or HARP which was thought of by the Obama administration in 2009. The sole purpose of this program is to enable home owners who are qualified to restructure and change the loan terms and conditions of their existing mortgage loan, making it easier for them to repay. It allows those who are at the tip of being foreclosed or even bankrupt and who are dealing with delinquency issues to have a chance to avoid this and still keep their homes.

In order for homeowners to enjoy and benefit from this, they have to be eligible first and meet the requirements set by the program. First of all, their mortgage must be guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. They should also be paying mortgage payments regularly and see to it that they have never been more than 30 days late in making a payment over the past 12 months. Another criterion is that their first mortgage should not have exceeded 125 percent of their home’s current market value, or in other words, the mortgage should have a current loan-to-value ratio greater than 80 percent. The homeowners should also give proof that they have the capacity to make payments. Lastly, people who apply for this should ensure that HARP would improve their mortgage’s stability and affordability in the long run.

This program definitely aims to alleviate financial constraints that are burdening people today. Through the Home Affordable Refinance Program, homeowners can lessen their monthly payments on their mortgage. And by doing so, they will be able to spend their money where it is needed.

It is common for Freshmen students to encounter problems during their first few months of going to school. It is undeniable that there are students who are not as friendly as you expect them to be. Not only that, you will also get to encounter hard-to-please instructors who will add burden to the ordeal. Well, this is the common scenario especially in higher education. Those transferees are not even spared this kind of harsh reality in getting through the first semester in college. This kind of issue should not be taken for granted. As for me, it is the responsibility of the guidance personnel to address this kind of problem. Parents should also be aware of this. If the students are not strong enough to combat the situation, chances are, they will lose the desire to continue with their studies. Much more if the students are living in a dormitory wherein the atmosphere inside the room can possibly be as hostile as it could be. Of course this may not apply to all considering that there are dorm caretakers who took the responsibility of establishing camaraderie and good rapport among the students who are living in the same room or dormitory.

Problems like this don’t really last because usually as the semester ends, friendship can already be established and everybody is now comfortable with each other. For those who cannot cope easily, it is just rightful for them to seek assistance from school administrators. The teacher must also take the initiative to think of an activity that could ease up the anxiety of the students. Joining an organization is also a great help. I do believe also that in every school or university, there is always a support group who is willing to spend their time and effort just to set the newbies at ease. The student facing this kind of dilemma must also learn to observe and be cautious to the kind of groups that they might want to hang around with. Student life isn’t really that easy. All you need is to be observant and always be friendly.

I have several friends that have advanced degrees that are currently working as waiters in local restaurants. While one of them is looking at this set back as a part of life the other guy is clearly angry that there are no entry level jobs in his industry that pay as much as what he is making as a waiter.

With over $80,000 in student loans that are still being deferred and yet to be paid, who can blame him? Both these guys are hard workers and straight up. The kind of people you want as friends and I hate that they are in this situation. They did exactly what their parents asked of them; go to college, study hard and get good grades so you can graduate and get started on a great career. They did their part. Industry, government, Wall Street or whoever let them down.

So I did what ever kid does, I went and talked to my dad and asked him what he thought. What he told me was one of the biggest surprises I ever got because this is one of the most financially conservative people I thought I knew.

“We all have been lied to but we’re just now figuring it out.” He went on. “It’s like what happened when my grandfather died. Everyone loved him and thought my grandmother was a bit of a stick in the mud. But once the funeral was over, all the things grand dad did, passes at the aunts, carousing about, etc started to come out. Before you knew it, my grandmother became a saint and it was all because the truth came out.

However, there was a time that no one wanted to believe grand-dad was like that. It was a lot easier to believe he was an upstanding, church going fellow. That’s where we are today in our country’s history. There are still a lot of people who would rather believe in what they’ve been told than to open their eyes and see we’ve been led by the nose down this path.”

So I asked him what we should do. He took in a long breath and said, “Do what we didn’t do. Ask the hard questions and don’t sit down until you get answers. Be on the side of people and not money because I have never known anyone who was loved or honored by their money. Don’t be seduced by power or the powerful. Stay strong and don’t get lazy. Tell your friends to fight for the right to a fair and equitable playing field and be truthful. Watch that you do not become part of the lie.”

Maintaining personal safety at all times is of the utmost importance. Being alert, conscious and aware of one’s surroundings is the first step to keeping yourself safe in most circumstances. College can be an exciting and nerve wrecking time for many and things like stress level and having too much on your mind can contribute to making unsafe decisions, such as where to walk, where to park, and even how to behave at parties.

Often times, when kids just graduate high school the idea and prospect of college is both thrilling and scary. Going out into the real world, without the cocoon of your home town, your family and your friends can suddenly seem like it’s more than you bargained for. Understand and realize the importance of keeping safe at college with these 3 tips below.

1) Never park your car away from busy streets and roads. Many colleges have heavy traffic in surrounding areas, like restaurants and shopping centers. If you are unable to park directly on campus, park as close as you can to a heavily trafficked area. Make sure to notice streetlights around the area that your car is located so that you won’t be walking in complete darkness once the sun goes down. (This is also applicable to those who walk everywhere; always walk in well lit areas.)

2) Always be mindful of what’s going on around you. Don’t have your iPod blaring too loudly and not be paying attention to your immediate surroundings, especially at night or when there are fewer and fewer people around. Don’t be easily distracted by a phone conversation or even zone out into your own head. It’s easier for perpetrators to attack when they think you aren’t paying attention and can be caught off guard.

3) Do not EVER drink and drive. Call a cab, call a friend, or call AAA (they’ll even tow your car to your residence for you.) Your life and the life of others is more important than the assumption that you are in control after you’ve been drinking.

The need for young people to acquire high quality education through the notion that good education leads to better life, leads to most students wanting to take up university and college degrees. However, due to the high costs of living and rising inflation, the cost of university education has continued to rise over the years. This has caused a heavy burden to both students and the parents. This is especially the case for the poor students.

Most countries over the years have come to their aid by providing loans to the students. The loan fund was created as a pool with the hope that the students would promptly pay back the loans, plus a small rate of interest and soon as they graduate and find stable jobs and that the revolving fund would be able to sustain itself.

However the payments of the student loans have been met by various challenges which include:

• There are no criteria of determining the needy and the poor students hence most funds are received by students who do not need it.
• The job market is very poor with high unemployment rates forcing the students to have a difficult time in repaying the loans.
• Most start up salaries for the graduates are usually very low, thus burdening the students if they have to spend the first few years paying off the loans.

The dilemma with the loan funds is what should be done to avoid the high student debts and to make the fund self sustaining. Ways to improve the situation may include:

• Heavy penalties for the students with jobs but are not paying back the loans.
• The government should also limit the amounts given as loans to the students to cater only for tuition.
• Care should be taken to make sure that only the needy students are given loans.

For young people with an innate talent for art and design, finding the best route to further education is key. Many people with such talents will be keen enough to consider enrolling in a specialist college, institute or school. The next step is: how do they find a good design school that is accessible to them and affordable?

You will find that creative and artistic people in general benefit from being in an environment that attracts others of similar talents. Whatever specialism the student may want to pursue, being able to befriend and chat to other students who are in other artistic disciplines can be beneficial. Most serious design students would probably be best off considering a full time art and design institute of some sort. Some of the older institutes and schools have been around for decades, even a hundred years, and have a deeply creative environment that new students can feed off.

When it comes to finding a good design school, the choice is fortunately wide for those who can live away from home. Those who must live at home may be lucky to have a good design school within reach, or they may not. Of the well known art institutes that were founded a long time ago, the Art Institute of  Pittsburgh offers several design programs. These include media arts and animation, graphic design, web design and interior design. Students mix with others who will be studying photography and even culinary arts, fashion and hotel and restaurant management. The Institute of  Pittsburgh was founded in 1921.

For those intent on finding a good design school that is even more specialized, there is the Sheffield School in New York and others. The Sheffield School started out as an interior design school but has since added jewelry design and Feng Shui interior design and a few other programs.

There are many online courses available too but they lack the same level of interaction with other students. Whatever your final choice might be, it is wise to research well to find the school best suited to you.

So you get to college in the fall and just about the time you start feeling good about being away from home and getting thing together you have to start planning your trips to go home for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays! That’s on top of the stress of finals. It can be a really hard time in a kid’s life and a learning experience that can help in life.

One of the things you have to do first is establish the vacation on your time and not your parents; even if they are the ones that are paying your fare or gas to get home. Being able to discuss these types of things with your parents will be more and more important as you get older. Starting with a simple time/holiday schedule is a great and safe place to exercise the “I am an adult” muscle as well as the “I have something to say” muscle. Of course, I am assuming that you have spent more time doing the schoolwork and making good grades than hanging out in the bars and failing to do the work at college. If you are doing the latter, your parents have every right to get involved and take back some control; especially if they are the ones footing the bills! There are certain expectations you will need to make unless you have expressly told them you weren’t going to do it and they sent you anyway.

Once you have established some boundaries and ground rules get your calendar out and start planning your trips home. If you can afford to go home for both times and know it won’t affect your grades, by all means do it. However, if you feel like you need time to get your grades up, simply explain that to your folks and tell them you’ll be home for Christmas.

You’re going to have to grow up sooner than later. You might as well start now.

Packing for College? You may think what’s the big deal? No, it is not like whatever packing you have done in the past for weekend trips with friends or family. It may be more like the packing your dad did for you when you went to summer camp. Only this time you are going to do it and for a much longer duration! So how do we go about it?  No hassles and here is how.

One of the best ways to ensure you have packed everything you are going to need for at least one semester is to follow a simple exercise. Just close your eyes for a moment and imagine when you are arriving at the college campus and where you are going to stay there. Now you have the answer, for you are going to be in the college dorm. What do you need first? A change of clothes after the tiring journey? So now you have your first item, clothing and now you expand this into items of clothing such as underclothes, socks, vests, shirts, trousers and jeans. If the campus weather demands it take sweaters and jackets too. Now that you have tackled it successfully, imagine if you are going to take a shower before dinner (assuming you are reaching the campus by dusk, else change the scene) and what all do you need? Toiletries, of course! So think of tooth brush, tooth paste, shaving kit, after shave, soaps, creams, other cosmetics etc. and you are almost done, except you have forgotten your nightwear. Hey, don’t you need towels in the bath? If you are a girl, don’t forget your hair dryer, curling iron etc. Now come the bed and think of bed sheets, pillow & pillow cases, nightgown etc and you are almost there. It may be prudent to carry a medical kit with some essential over-the-counter emergency stuff. We haven’t touched the study at all! Carry your computer, set of CDs, note paper, stationery etc.

Though the above ‘visualization’ method is best and reliable, it can be best used as a counter check and depend on what most campuses list out in their websites as the main packing list. Both acting in conjunction, you are not likely to miss much!