Students

6 Tips and Tricks for New College Students

New college student

The toughest thing about starting college is knowing how to make wise choices – critical decision that lead to success. These 6 tips and tricks can help to set you up for a strong first-year experience.

  1. Go to class. There is a reason this is number one. College is an amazing experience, but you can’t stay if you fail your courses. Missing class is one of the worst things you can do. Remember: your ultimate goal is to graduate and get the career you always dreamed of. How are you going to do that if you can’t even make it to class regularly?
  2. Participate in events early on — especially during Orientation. Let’s be honest: not all events aimed at first-year students are super exciting. Tours of the library and silly-sounding mixers may not be your thing. But they connect you to the campus, help you meet people and network, and prepare you for academic success. So roll your eyes if you must, but go.
  3. Take risks. Do things that are outside of your comfort zone. Never participated in a club? Never tried a kind of food that’s available in the cafeteria? Never introduced yourself to a complete stranger? Step outside of your comfort zone and take some risks. You’re going to college to learn new stuff, right?
  4. Learn how to say “no.” This may be one of the most challenging skills to learn when you’re first in school. But saying “yes” to everything that sounds fun, interesting, and exciting will lead you to trouble. Your academics will suffer, your time management will be horrible, and you’ll burn yourself out.
  5. Ask for help before it’s too late. Algonquin is a very welcoming and nurturing place; no one there wants to see you do poorly. If you’re struggling in a class, ask your professor for help or book an appointment with your Student Success Specialist. If you’re having a hard time adjusting, talk to someone in Counseling Services. Fixing a smaller problem is almost always easier than fixing a big one. We are all “Here 2 Help” but you need to self-advocate!
  6. Stay on top of your finances and financial aid. It can be easy to forget that appointment with the Financial Aid Office or that deadline by which you had to submit a simple form. If you let your finances slip, however, you can quickly find yourself in a lot of trouble. Make sure you stick to your budget throughout the semester and be aware of the status of your financial aid.
Here 2 help sign
Remember be proactive, self-advocate and most importantly have fun. Welcome to the School of Business!
What are your tips and tricks for new college students? Do you have any stories about when you were a new student? Please share your thoughts.

 

10 things to avoid when building your LinkedIn profile!

LinkedIn image

It’s natural to feel unsure about a professional social media network like LinkedIn. It’s a place where people in all industries can go to build relationships with their colleagues and demonstrate their experience and expertise. It’s also a place where businesses and organizations can show off their work to prospective clients, customers, and even future employees.

The absolute last thing you want to do is to look like you don’t know what you are doing!

Here are some things to avoid when building your professional profile:

  1. Not understanding the difference between a LinkedIn Company Page and a LinkedIn Profile. There are two ways for you to demonstrate your expertise on LinkedIn. With a Company Page, you’ll be communicating as your business. This is similar to a Facebook Business Page, where prospective clients can learn more about your business. However, it is much more focused on informing your audience rather than building a community like you would on Facebook.
    With your LinkedIn Profile, you’ll be communicating as an individual rather than a business. Here you’ll connect with clients, colleagues, and other members of your professional network.
    Mixing this up is a guaranteed way to look foolish when starting out.
  2. Not having a profile photo. This might seem like a no-brainer, but not having a photo can have a big impact on the overall appearance of your profile. Even worse is using an unprofessional profile photo! Quirky photos that might fly on Facebook are not a good choice on LinkedIn. Keep your headshot professional.
  3. Not completing your entire profile. Having an incomplete profile not only looks lazy, but it also doesn’t portray all of the amazing credentials and experience you have. Show them off!
  4. Not including a personalized message. With every invitation you send to connect, you should always include a personal message. This is the place to add that little something extra. A personalized note goes a long way because it makes your invitation feel genuine.
  5. Not posting appropriate content. LinkedIn is a professional social networking site. The type of content you’d post on Facebook, might not be appropriate on LinkedIn. Keep content professional and relevant.
  6. Not proofreading your posts. An extra comma here and a misspelled word there may not seem like a big deal, but it does make you look less professional. Keep posts as grammatically sound as possible.
  7. Not being selective about the connections you accept. The people you choose to connect with are a representation of who you are. Don’t accept just anyone. Make sure you know who they are and their credentials.
  8. Sending too many requests = poor LinkedIn etiquette. Don’t bombard people with request after request. It gets annoying. You also want to be choosey about the people you request to connect with.
  9. Embellishing your responsibilities and accomplishments. Plain and simple, it’s just better not to embellish. Plus, I’m sure you have plenty of experience to show off. Tell people about it all!
  10. Not sharing rich media (i.e. links, videos, infographics, slideshare etc.) Take advantage! It’s an engaging, fun way to attract people to your profile!

Remember that professional networking sites, such as LinkedIn, have become a valuable place to find new employees, employers or clients, reconnect and strengthen relationships with friends and former colleagues, and get career-related advice.

What do you think about our list? Did we miss anything? Share your thoughts!

Flugtag Anyone?

The Algonquin Airborne Aces – Red Bull Flugtag Challenge

Algonquin Airborne Aces Logo

The School of Business’ very own Alex Mahon, a current Business – Management and Entrepreneurship student is serving as team leader for The Algonquin Airborne Aces, in this year’s Red Bull Flugtag Challenge.

Alex, along with his ace team members, Akil Alyacoubi, Vincenzo Marcantonio, and Kevin Randing, are facing the Flugtag with heads held high as it “challenges the brave and the brainy to design, build and pilot homemade flying machines, and launch themselves off a 22-foot high flight deck in hopes of soaring into the wild blue yonder…or more often than not, plunging into the waters below.”

The challenge takes place on Saturday, July 27 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization here in Ottawa. Teams will be judged based on three criteria:

  1. Flight distance
  2. Creativity of the craft
  3. Showmanship

The Aces researched the most effective glider designs for distance and concluded that the canard design would create the most lift with minimal acceleration and speed. Flight distance – check!

Flying Machine

Creativity of the craft – check!

The team has also chosen to deck their flying machine out in a camouflage design to showcase the College’s support for the Canadian Armed Forces. Team member Vinnie is a service member in the artillery. Showmanship – check!

“A couple of us came together and said it would be really awesome if as an entry from the College, we could participate in this competition. The majority of the team members are Mechanical Engineering students in the 3-year Mechanical Engineering program. They’ve got skill sets from welding to framing to design work and the amount of actual computer design work that has gone in to this aircraft is crazy,” said Mahon.

This is one of the many ways for the School of Business students to get out there and flex their entrepreneurial spirit, skills and passion. We wish the best of luck to the Algonquin Airborne Aces as they complete the build and count down the days to the event!

  1. Check out Part One: Mission Report >>
  2. Check out Part Two: Construction Report >>
  3. Check out Part Three: Meet the Team >>
  4. Check out Part Four: The Results >>

Do you think you have the courage to build a flying machine?

3 Tips for Group Work

There will always be one group from your Algonquin College School of Business program that you will remember. Now this group might have been the best group, or the worst group. Depending on the nature of the project, group work is usually beneficial to learn and prepare for future employment.

Every group member has different ideas, temperaments, and schedules and it can get frustrating when there’s one person who doesn’t fully commit to doing the work (everyone else has to pick up the slack). It’s not fair, but you will be fully prepared and knowledgeable and the other person will have more struggles in their academic career.

college group work

In all our School of Business programs, we have group work so that you can learn skills that are needed in the “real world”.

Here are 3 tips for making the best of group work:

Have a diverse group

  • If your professor announces that next week you will be choosing your group members for the semester, make sure to go to that class! Having the chance to choose your own group members can diversify your group with different skills and abilities. Be careful if making a group of your friends; this can often create issues and friendships can be lost.

Hold Meetings

  • With everyone having different schedules, it is important to hold weekly meetings to stay on track and not get left behind. The goal is produce a quality piece that has a logical flow, rather than something that was thrown together in one nights work. In the initial meeting it will be a good idea to delegate a team leader/editor and assign tasks to everyone so there is no misinterpretation later on in the project. Ensure that the work is divided equally and to everyone’s specific skill set (if possible).

Constant communication

  • Create a communication plan by exchanging phone number’s/emails/class schedules with everyone to stay in touch throughout the project/semester.
  • Suggest that everyone in the group stay in communication so nobody can claim later that they were never told to complete a task.
  • Work with an online calendar and Google Docs to itemize a list of tasks that need to be completed and when. Group members should highlight these tasks when they are completed and sent to the group leader for editing/review.
  • Most importantly, stay on top of those deadlines so they don’t creep up on you!

What other tips would you add?

The Right Choice

Although most students are completing their study break and returning to the half-way mark of the winter semester, prospective students are beginning to decide where they want to go in the fall and what programs they need to take.

Given the variety of programming offered by Algonquin College and the School of Business, the options can be diverse and sometimes confusing. For that reason, the web site is constantly being updated to give current information and the School will be hosting a series of info sessions throughout the spring and summer to answer any questions and a opportuity to meet some of the professors and staff.

Whether you are a college or university graduate looking to develop specific skills sets and preparation for a specific industry through our graduate certificates, a person who is returning to school and wants the hands-on experiential training that we offer or a high school student looking at the next step in their career, we are pleased to answer any and all questions or concerns.

We would prefer that you choose other options that are right for you than mistakenly register for a program that you then realize is not right for you. If you are interested in a business career (which is a cornerstone for most careers) from professors who are from industry and care about your success, we have the programs. If you are interested ins studying in an institution that provides leading edge technology while providing classroom where the professor actually knows your name, we have the programs.

But to make sure we are right for you, check out information on upcoming information sessions or tweet your questions to @deandaved or @ACBizschool. We want to make sure you make the right choice!

Dean Dave Donaldson