You’re only going to get the chance to make one first impression when you go in for an interview, so you want to do everything you can in advance to make sure that it will be a good one. While you have already done a good job on your resume and cover letter in order to be asked in for the interview, there’s still a lot of ways that you can prepare in order to put your best foot forward.

1.      Be professional in all communications

How you present yourself in emails and during phone calls with the hiring manager is important. Your ability to communicate is important to an employer. They want to know that if they hire you, you will project a good image of their company. They want to know that you will be polite and professional when speaking with customers. Therefore, take care when composing your email accepting the interview. Read through it carefully; proofread it. Address the employer as Mr. or Ms. Do not use slang or texting abbreviations. With phone calls, try to anticipate the questions you might be asked, such as your availability, potential start date, or required pay, so that you will have answers at the ready. Be polite and speak clearly.

2.      Dress to impress

The outfit you choose to wear to the interview is another opportunity to prove that you are qualified. Wear attire that is appropriate for the industry. If you’re unsure what this means, overdressing is better than under-dressing. Solid colors, rather than over-the-top patterns, are a safe choice. Try to put together an outfit that you’ll feel comfortable in. You want to be able to focus on the interview, rather than stressing over how you look during it. For women, don’t wear sky high heels, showy jewelry, or heavy makeup. If you choose to wear a skirt or dress, make sure the length is appropriate and consider pairing it with pantyhose. Like women, men should avoid wearing anything that's overly flashy. A simple blazer, a button-down dress shirt, dress slacks, and dress shoes with neutral-colored socks are always safe options. If you're debating whether or not to wear a tie, go for it; you can never go wrong by choosing to wear one. Finally, whatever you decide to wear, make it neat. Match colors, iron your jacket, tie your tie well, etc.

3.      Do your research

Go through the company’s website thoroughly. You should be familiar with the company you might be working for. This will allow you to determine if it will be a good fit for you, while you will also come across as interested and well-informed. Know the company’s mission as well as their current initiatives. Know the job description of the position that you applied for inside and out. Think of examples of past projects that you have done that used the skills the company is looking for; this will help to prove that you are right for the job. Write down questions that come up during your research. Having a list of questions will show that you took the time to think thoroughly about the interview and that you care about learning more about the company. It shows that you are taking initiative.

Follow these tips, and you’ll be on the road to rocking your interview and getting that job!

-Samantha Phillips

What are some of the ways that you prep for an interview?

Teachers are constantly facing the challenge of reaching out to and engaging their students’ parents, often employing a multitude of tactics to foster better communication between themselves and parents. Several studies and surveys done in the past two decades have suggested that student learning improves when their teachers have an understanding of their parents and home life, as this allows them to better cater to each student’s learning needs.

Because communication between parents and teachers is so crucial to ensuring students’ success, it is important for parents to reach out to teachers as well. Parents are often busy with their own weekly tasks and are unable to attend every event hosted by their youth’s teachers, but appearing at some of these events can be extremely helpful. In addition, parents should make time in their schedules to communicate outside of these teacher-hosted events, especially if they are unable to attend them. There are countless suggestions of how to foster healthy communication with your youth’s teachers that I have not listed, but parents should make an effort to do the following as often as possible:

1.      Attend meet-and-greets and open houses

Attending these events is a great way to initiate communication between yourself and your youth’s teachers, as they can help you understand teachers’ characteristics that may or may not mesh well with those of your youth. These are also often scheduled for a time that teachers assume are after normal work hours, so they may be a convenient way for you to begin and continue acquaintances with teachers and parents.

2.      Schedule routine meetings

Meeting with your youth’s teachers on a regular basis will help you stay up-to-date with how your youth is doing in school. It may be useful to pay more frequent visits to those who teach subjects that are challenging for your youth. If you are unable to fit meetings into your schedule, communicate frequently via phone, email, or another medium, as it’s important to keep tabs on what your youth is having success with and what he or she may be struggling to achieve.

If you’re having trouble finding a convenient means of communication, try doing a little research. There are several apps and new technologies that are designed specifically for parent-teacher communication that you may want to suggest to your youth’s teachers. Some teachers may already use forms of communication similar to these for maintaining contact with students or parents, and utilizing these will help you “check in” when you don’t have time to write an email or schedule a meeting.

3.      Review progress reports

Teachers often send students home with progress reports or report cards. Whether these are sent home monthly or only at certain times of the year, make sure to ask your youth’s teachers for copies of the reports. If you have trouble understanding why your youth earned the grades that they received (both good and bad), follow up with teachers to learn how you can help your youth improve or continue to excel. If your youth does not receive reports, ask his or her teachers for updates often.

4.      Pay attention to positive feedback

Knowing what your youth can improve upon is necessary, but you should also be aware of what they’re doing well. In addition to giving your youth advice for improvement, be sure to give praise to accentuate their success. Praise will help to motivate your youth rather than discouraging them by focusing too heavily on criticisms.

- Hope Swedeen

What are some ways that you make time to communicate with your youth's teachers? How do you balance your own schedule and your youth's?

People want to use their graduation from high school, trade school, or college as a springboard for bigger and better things. They want to take the knowledge that they gained in the classroom and apply it. They plan to land that dream job upon entering the ‘real world’ and find success as soon as possible. But most of the workforce doesn’t come out of the gates and get an ideal position. Rather, you must work your way to the top. A slow climb can actually benefit you in the long run, though, so don’t dread paying your dues. You could actually stand to benefit from busywork. Here are a few tips on how to make the most of your first handful of positions:

Do What No One Else Wants To

Frederic Kerrest, cofounder and COO of Okta, points out that more than likely your first job will mean spending time in Excel, taking meeting notes, scheduling, and answering phones. But once you’re past these menial tasks, you’ll look back and realize how important they are to the company. Kerrest says, “Mastering the humble, small work of your industry may seem mundane at the time, but an understanding of the who, what, when, and how of the business will give you incredibly valuable insight that you can turn into smart recommendations and strategic guidance that will set you apart during the rest of your career.” If you were to skip the beginning work, you wouldn’t fully absorb or appreciate how those staff members fit into the big picture of the company, which they undeniably do.

Know the Industry’s Past and Present to Prepare for Your Future

In addition to understanding the big picture of how the company functions, you should also know how an industry has grown over time and how your company fits within that. Kerrest explains, “If you’re considering a new business venture, be a student of history: know the trends, the highs and lows, and the events that shaped the landscape. When you’re building your skills and setting goals, you can leverage their wins and losses to make smarter decisions along the way.” You wouldn’t be able to steer a company in the right direction if you couldn’t comprehend the trajectory it has been on. The time to learn this information is when you first start off; it will give you a strong advantage when you move into leadership positions.

Once you have a strong awareness of the industry’s past, research the current big players within it. Kerrest counsels, “You’ll learn more starting at the bottom than anywhere else, such as…the power of long-term relationships… Building a network of mentors and investing in your relationships with them for the long term is a necessity in business.” Shadan Deleveaux, director of sales multicultural beauty division at L’Oréal USA, adds, “A mentor can help you even before your career starts. When it comes to business, I think there are generally two ways to learn: through experience and through advice.” Oftentimes, it’s about who you know, and why not learn from the best? Research who has notable achievements in your field and company, and hopefully you will be able to put yourself in a position to gain insight from them, helping you on your journey up the ladder of success.

Have a Plan


Having a plan of where you want to end up in your career could really be a benefit to you. If you have some idea of what you want to be doing in the next five years, you'll be able to be strategic about your busywork. Instead of going in blind purely to have an income, there should be some purpose behind your first position. Making coffee for the people in the positions you want to hold in the future means that you can learn the ropes through observation and make connections (as mentioned before - networking is gold), rather than just making coffee. Starting off in an industry that allows you to use your strengths will make less exciting work worth it in the end, instead of getting stuck in a field that doesn't match up to your passions. While you shouldn't be rigid in your path to get where you want to be, try to follow a general direction towards an end goal that will make you happy. 

Follow these tips to help make your time spent paying your dues worth it. Seemingly trivial work will become a stepping stone for the rest of your career, rather than an obstacle in your path. 

-Samantha Phillips

Have you or someone you know experienced logging hours in this type of entry level position? Did you find that it paid off later in your career? 

As summer begins again, students have been out of school for a few weeks and are probably embracing their feelings of freedom after a year at school. But after these few weeks are over and they begin to settle into a routine of relaxing, hanging out with friends, and generally spending their free time being “free,” it might be better to cut this routine short.
            Research suggests that during summer vacation, when youth participate in very little activity related to school or learning, they forget some or much of what they’ve learned during the school year. To combat this and keep students' skills and memories sharp, parents can do the following over the summer:

1.  Be sure your youth reads often and visits the library

Request the syllabus for next year’s English class to get ahead or ask the teacher for a list of books that are recommended to read to advance vocabulary and keep youths’ reading minds sharp. A syllabus from science or history class might also provide some topics that would be useful to read up on to get ahead before classes begin.

Research and find books that interest your youth to expand upon the reading list provided by a teacher, including fiction and non-fiction, to broaden your youth’s horizons and introduce material that he or she can take an interest in and read more of in the future.

If there is a particular subject or topic that interests your youth, the library is a great place for him or her to find out more about it.

2.  Make writing a must

Have your youth write letters to relatives to enhance his or her writing skills and keep him or her sharp for when essays come back around.

Encourage your youth to write down his or her thoughts about the books he or she is reading. Ask questions about the plot and characters often and demonstrate that writing about the books may help with reflection and understanding plots, especially if the books will be talked about next year at school.

Ask your youth to keep a journal. This is a great way for him or her to formulate thoughts without having to stick to a rigid format.

3.  Encourage your youth to volunteer

Volunteering is a great way for youth to play a part in their community, and the experience also looks great on job and college applications to show that the youth is interested in helping more than him or herself.

Some schools require students to participate in a set number of hours of community service. If this is the case for your youth, the summer is a great time to complete some of it while there is so much free time.

4.  Make math a priority

At home, play board games that might allow your youth to be the “banker” and calculate and dish out money, card games that may require tallying points and counting card values, and video or online games that focus on math.

Encourage work with fractions by baking or cooking and asking your youth to adjust the measurements of a recipe.

When shopping, ask your youth for help comparing prices or calculating percentages, and when going out to eat, have him or her calculate the tip.

5.  Help youth learn new skills

If your youth is interested in learning to do something, such as playing a sport or instrument, fixing cars, or doing a certain craft, help him or her learn that new skill. Fostering skills in areas that interest your youth may lead to an interest in an occupation related to that skill or may simply provide a valuable activity for him or her to engage in during free time.

6.  Enroll your youth in summer camp

No matter the nature of the camp, youth are bound to learn something from whatever programs and activities they are immersed in and may gain appreciation for new things that they can continue to learn about after camp.

7.  Set goals for next year

Help or have your youth make lists of goals he or she wants to accomplish next year, including when homework should be finished every night, how much time will be spent on studying, what grades will be achieved, and what will be gained from the year academically, socially, and otherwise. These lists don’t have to come to complete fruition, but setting goals will help your youth motivate him or herself over the summer and throughout the year, and routinely evaluating the success of these goals will help create new or better objectives.

8.  Allow for time to relax

It’s important for youth to keep their skills sharp so that they don’t fall behind next year, but it’s also important that they get a break from school, too. Summer should be a time for fun and relaxation to reward youth for putting in effort at school. Make sure to balance time spent learning and time spent relaxing so that there isn’t too much of either being done.