Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Preparing An Effective Search For Civil Engineering Graduate Jobs

The field of civil engineering is one of the oldest in the world dating back to the viaducts and roadways created during the Roman Empire. University students throughout the United Kingdom pursue a civil engineering degree to take advantage of their aptitude for mathematics and their desire for a meaningful career. The influx of foreign professionals into civil engineering firms and public agencies has meant greater competition for new graduates.

Your desire to find a civil engineering graduate job immediately after you complete school can be fulfilled with a deliberate job search. Before you begin filling out applications and heading in for interviews, you need to put together a portfolio that will impress potential employers. You should utilise student projects, sketches and recommendations from former professors to demonstrate your engineering skills. It is also important to contact references in your curriculum vitae to let them know that engineering firms may be making contact on your behalf.

Once you have your portfolio completed, you need to build a network of resources to find job openings. Daily investigations of engineering job web-sites allow you to place your name into consideration for dozens of positions with online resume tools. These web-sites are frequented by thousands of engineering candidates and many hiring managers select a limited number of resumes to review. There are a number of resources you can use to supplement your use of highly-used job web-sites.

Civil engineers should look to trade publications and engineering organisations for information on jobs for graduates. These publications have a limited distribution and feature internship and training programmes that are focused on a select audience. You should look at public libraries and your university’s careers office to find free versions of these publications during your job search.

You also need to do some legwork in order to find civil engineering graduate jobs with a high amount of potential. A review of an engineering firm’s web-site may yield some results but you should also call and send your credentials to a firm’s human resources department for future consideration. Many graduates fail to utilise their connections to the engineering field among family, friends and former employers. You should contact your references as well as friends that have worked in the engineering industry to gain insight into what it takes to get hired. With a few phone calls and e-mails to your natural network of resources, you can find plenty of graduate opportunities in civil engineering.


http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Preparing-an-Effective-Search-for-Civil-Engineering-Graduate-Jobs/348457

Moving Beyond College Housing After Graduation

You have spent several years of college getting used to small spaces, shared accommodations and the nuances of college living. While you may not have imagined college housing as a comfortable place on your first day of school, you will be reluctant to leave for the real world. There are a number of ways to find housing after college that will help you feel at home after work.

One way to replicate the cosiness of college housing is to find an apartment situated between work and a local university. The atmosphere created by university students and professors as they walk along the streets in fall can help you relive your school days every day. You should also look to save elements of college housing design like lighting and wall hangings that fit into your home’s décor. You also need to find post-graduate housing that passes the initial visual test. Your best tool when searching for a new apartment or home is your first impressions. It is critical that you take a look at the exterior as well as every room in the interior to develop an initial judgement. Your college housing may have left a lot to the imagination when you moved in but as a graduate you can dictate the type of dwelling you use.
An area of housing that is often misunderstood by university graduates is the cost of living. Graduates with experience living in regular apartments away from campus may understand the price of utilities and groceries but the safety net of college is yanked from many students in an instant. You need to add several hundred pounds onto any monthly rent to accurately assess your financial burden. A determination of your savings and loan repayments for school loans is also critical for an accurate budget.

You may be eager to get started on turning your new apartment into a home but it is critical that you get every agreement with an apartment manager in writing. The apartment lease is the most basic document needed in your portfolio to avoid misunderstandings about rent and other responsibilities. You should also approach verbal agreements with extreme caution as they are difficult to enforce in the legal system. A template contract found on most word processing software can be printed off with the appropriate information and signed by an apartment manager as proof of informal agreements.


http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Moving-Beyond-College-Housing-After-Graduation/348454

Living In College Apartments Beyond Graduation To Save Money

Many universities in the United Kingdom and Europe have begun working with private developers to find housing for students away from university grounds. The aging buildings of elite universities in the United Kingdom are not inviting to students that need to live away from home for several years. The use of college apartments for undergraduate and graduate students does not necessarily need to end upon graduation.

Unlike traditional residence halls on campus, college apartments are designated spaces within a private apartment development surrounded by apartments filled with families and professionals. The prices are negotiated between schools and apartment owners to help students defray costs while they are studying for a degree. If you want to live in college apartments beyond your last day of courses, there are a number of steps to take.

Some schools may offer a transition program to graduates that keep young professionals in the community. This transition program may feature moving assistance or a continued subsidy of rental prices that help ease the financial burden on graduates. You may need to move into a different apartment within the same complex but transition assistance helps you avoid hunting for a new apartment while you are searching for a job.

You need to approach your college apartment manager at least two months before graduation to learn all of your options. Apartment managers are concerned with filling vacancies and dealing with administrative work as far ahead as possible. This step is not only a demonstration of courtesy on your part but it can help you determine the availability of college apartments after you complete your studies.

Once you have decided that you want to stay in a college apartment beyond graduation, you need to consider redecoration. The apartments of a university student and a professional differ greatly from one another. You can use your location in the midst of college students to sell off old furniture and housing accessories to help you pay for new furnishings. You can also take the opportunity to clean your apartment and apply a layer of paint to cover up any damage caused during your college days.

The benefits of using college apartments from your first day on school until you are ready to own a home are apparent. You should avoid the temptation to find an expensive place that seems to exude professionalism to friends and visitors. New furniture and a new attitude can turn your school apartment into a reflection of your professional attitude.


http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Living-in-College-Apartments-Beyond-Graduation-to-Save-Money/348453

3 Cover Letter Tips Used By Professional Writers

Writing a cover letter is harder is many respects than writing a resume because resumes are more objective, or at least, appear to be. Consequently, you do not really have to scratch your head wondering how you can make an impression or make your letter sound personable. If we had to make a comparison, writing a resume is like writing a report. Once you’ve got the skills set, you’re pretty much good with most assignments that come your way. Writing a cover letter is more complicated, however, and is like writing an introduction to that report. How to make it so that the reader is captivated? How to make it so that the reader will start his reading with a positive attitude as opposed to looking at the report ahead as a dreadful burden?

The first tip that all good writers adhere to is to know what message you want to convey. Until you know what you want to communicate, how can you start writing? Yet, that is the mistake that too many people make. Why? Because most of us are lazy and we hope that inspiration will come as we go along. True, it doesn’t hurt to be inspired. That being said, it’s much easier to be inspired when all the right elements are in place. What should you do? Think it through in your head. What skills do you want to convey? What kind of impression do you want to make? As you go through these questions in your head, you should do some background research also. Just go on the Web and start browsing the employer’s website. This will definitely make your look smarter on paper as it will help you tailor your message. Hopefully, this is not too much to ask and will bring in big rewards eventually.
The next tip is to push yourself to stand out. If you write something that sounds too ordinary or just doesn’t sound right, it means you still need to put in more work. Whatever you write down needs to be exceptional, or at least good/ stand out. Good writers know that and that’s why they’re good. They have high expectations when they write and that’s how they improve. Stay away from clichés and try to be specific. Sell yourself and visualize other candidates as your competitors. You want to surpass them. Make that your goal.

The last tip is to go through a lot of drafts. Once your first draft done, go do something else and come back on it later (even a day later if necessary). Time does miracles and as you come back on your draft, you will see aspects of it that you don’t like. If after giving it some time, you come back to your draft, still like it, and have nothing else you want to add or change, then you can tell yourself that you’re done. Your cover letter is ready to be sent out.

The above tips may sound simple, but they really work. It’s simple common sense! Good luck in your job search!!


http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/3-Cover-Letter-Tips-Used-By-Professional-Writers/348381

Wildlife In The Attic - A Career Option You May Have Overlooked

It is early morning and you're awakened by the unmistakable patter of running feet in your attic. You quickly dismiss the thought that it is a thief. It's too small and besides, what thief would be running around the attic? Perhaps, it's a raccoon or a skunk then? How about a simple country mouse?

And you quickly come to the core of the problem. Once you know it's an animal up there, who are you going to call for aid? Not Ghostbusters, definitely. And surely, not SWAT. What are they going to do; shoot the poor thing?
The rapid growth of urban and suburban areas across the country is eating into the natural habitats of many animals. These displaced animals camp out in your backyard, make their home on your porch or slip into your attic.

These animals, though generally harmless, are indirectly dangerous. They can be like recalcitrant house pets and chew on your electrical wiring which can cause a fire. They will eat holes into your roof and ceiling as well and let the rain in.

Health-wise, there is no telling what diseases these wild animals carry: rabies is very high on the list. Bird or bat droppings that are allowed to accumulate in eaves and attics carry the risk of diseases such as histoplasmosis. And what homeowner would be happy when, on stepping outside for a breath of fresh air, he is confronted by the sight of a skunk family having feasting on his garden?

The increasing number of animal-human encounters has bred the need for wildlife management professionals who have the knowledge, equipment and experience to help homeowners deal with such problems.

--- The Growth of Wildlife Management ---

Admittedly, nuisance wildlife management was not really needed before. Then, there was a distinct border line between human and wildlife habitats. Population growth and urban/suburban expansion meant that people were 'trespassing' into traditional wildlife habitats. Most wildlife - especially the smaller ones - quickly learned to adapt to the human invasion.

Homes may be for humans, but wildlife can find a warm, comfortable nest in human households. Food is easy to find; they just need to dig around the garbage. If they're herbivores, humans are prone to planting gardens (both ornamental and vegetable) where the food is out there for the picking. Most homes have numerous nooks and crannies, as well as insulation (especially in cold areas) which provide a warm and safe environment for raising animal families.

Animals mean humans no harm. However, these animals can still present a danger to the humans in the house.

This is where wildlife management professionals come in. They have the training, temperament and equipment to handle the problem professionally, efficiently and humanely. They take special care not to harm the wildlife and they are forever looking for ways to reduce the conflict between humans and wildlife.

--- Prevention is the Key ---

The primary role of a wildlife management professional is to stop a problem from happening, and the best way to do this is by helping homeowners prevent it from happening in the first place.

If you're a homeowner in a recently developed urban/suburban area - one which was only recently uninhabited - it would be best to call in a wildlife expert to check out your house. If you want to do it yourself, check out your home's roof as well as sidings for entry points that wildlife can use.

Check out your chimney to ensure that no animal has moved in that way. Also have a regulated chimney cap installed. Inspect your porch, your roof and your sidings for holes where animals can comfortably burrow. Get up into the attic and check your attic screens and look for animal tracks. Torn screens and animal tracks are sure signs that an animal has either taken up residence with you, or is about to move in.

If there are animals already in residence, call in a wildlife management expert to evict them for you.


http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Wildlife-In-The-Attic---A-Career-Option-You-May-Have-Overlooked/348297