By Shun McGhee
Contributor, Career Services

On a hot and sunny day in the 90’s, my mother and aunt drove me to West Virginia State University. During that seven-hour ride to “State,” I thought about attending college and all it entailed, and I realized I had not chosen a major. I confessed this to my mother, and I asked her what she thought was a good major. She replied, “You should major in business because most professions will have some type of business fundamentals associated with it.” So, I declared Business Management as my major. I’ve found that I’m not alone in this situation; many of the students I’ve spoken with have chosen a major blindly.

By Dr. John Richard Horne
Faculty Member, School of Business at American Public University

A common problem for many project managers is that team members show up late for scheduled meetings or, worse yet, do not show up at all. Sometimes the reason is that team members have too many conflicts on their calendars. However, this could be an indication that the meetings are not of great value to the participants.

By Robert Gordon
Program Director, Reverse Logistics Management at American Public University

Statistically speaking most Americans will experience job loss at some point in their career. Job loss is not restricted to poor performers of an organization. Organizations are eliminating jobs and closing altogether with amazing frequency and today’s professional must prepare for the likelihood of job loss.

By Nancy A. Woolever, MAIS, SHRM-SCP
Director, Academic Initiatives, Society for Human Resource Management

In higher education, competency-based education is emerging as an approach to help students leverage past experiences and to help universities create more customized educational experiences. Students may bypass already-mastered subjects as determined by various measures that gauge the student’s competency. This allows a student to broaden his or her educational experience.

In general, competencies represent a collection of knowledge and behaviors that demonstrate mastery of knowledge, yet also show how an individual uses what he or she knows by consistently behaving in a manner that indicates proficiency.

By Nichole Ahlstrom
COLL100 Faculty at American Public University

While mentoring is generally regarded as something you do to help others, the role of mentor can actually help you to succeed in your career. Mentors have an opportunity to think beyond their own situation, get insight into the perspectives of others, and develop relationships and trust with those they mentor.

Guiding a mentee with career advice can play a vital role in the person’s career decisions and successes. The mentor/mentee relationship involves shared accountability and a focus on common objectives and goals.

By Brooke Chaplan
Online Career Tips Contributor

The National Association of Colleges and Employers sent out questionnaires to 260 companies asking which types of degrees would be most beneficial for new graduates to be hired by their companies. NACE then compiled the data and created a list of the top ten degrees in terms of employer demand. The data was further broken down according to Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate degrees. Here is a list of some of the degrees proving to be most useful in today’s job market.

By Donald Ray West, PhD, PE, MBA
Faculty Member, School of Business at American Public University

Everyone knows the saying that one only has one opportunity to make a first impression. This is as true in your career as in any other aspect of life.

Manage your own first impression. Start with a strong professional approach to start time, dress, preparation, and advertisement. A quick review of each of these is in order.

By Robert Gordon
Program Director, Reverse Logistics Management at American Public University

Many studies have shown that there is a significant difference between wages earned by people with bachelor’s degrees than those with just a high school diploma. A quick look on any job site will show that an advanced degree is a requirement for many jobs. But it is not enough to get a degree to earn more; plan a degree program that involves courses that will help you with your career, now and into the future.

In most degree programs, there is an amount of latitude with elective credits. Many students choose the easiest classes to fill these elective credits to lessen the workload or to boost their GPA. These classes are often unrelated to their focus and the knowledge gained in these classes will be forgotten shortly after the class has ended.

Instead of falling into this trap, have a plan for what you want to do after graduation. Take the courses that help round out the knowledge needed for your goal. Focus on taking classes that will be helpful long past graduation.

By Lee Westell
Principal – New Media Marketing Strategies, LLC.  And APUS Industry Advisory Council Member

Social media means big business. Statista, a leading online statistics portal, projects by the end of 2015, worldwide social commerce revenue will reach $30 billion. In my work with companies, here’s what I’m seeing as the top three problems companies have when using social media.