Why Education And Experience Matter

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“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi had many wise words, but these words align well with our topic of discussion for this week. The debate around whether education equips students with the relevant skills and expertise to function optimally in the working world, has been longstanding. This week we look at some of the key benefits of education and experience, to establish why they complement each other to ensure you are well equipped for your future career:

Your education…

• . . . ensures that you develop basic skills that you would require in the working world. Whether your teacher encourages you to share books or other learning equipment with your fellow students or teaches you the importance of time management for example.
• . . . gives you the theoretical framework for your chosen career, ensuring that you operate within legal and industry standards.
• . . . gives you the opportunity to benefit from developing skills within a controlled environment, allowing you to bounce ideas off peers and experiment with different skills that you might need in the working world.
• . . . gives your CV the “stamp of approval” and indicates to future employers that you have the required knowledge to practice in your chosen field.

Experience…

• …allows you to observe professionals who already work in your chosen industry.
• …offers you a real look into the day-to-day challenges of the job.
• …encourages you to practice your skills and get rewarded for the product or service that you offer.
• …gives you extra knowledge that you cannot learn from a textbook.

For these reasons it is very important to balance your education and your experience to get the best results and to keep on achieving more in your career. Remember that you can always continue to further your education or training, even while you are building experience and working in your chosen career!

At Eduloan, we have several loan options that you can consider – whether you are studying full-time, part-time or whether you want to further you studies with a short course, our loan offering allow you to unlock even more potential without the burden of paying off your debt after you complete your studies! Contact us today to find out how we can assist you with a study loan! 

5 Things You Can Do Now To Enhance Your CV

Taking great care in putting together your CV can have its benefits. We’re not only referring to the actual task of filling in your personal details and presenting your qualifications in a logical order… we are also referring to the things that you can do to enhance your CV, no matter where you are in your career! Here are 5 things that you can do to improve your CV… and that will set your CV apart from the rest.

Tip #1 – Community Service

Whether you are at school, college or university and even if you are already working, putting in the time for community service or to work as a volunteer is not only rewarding, but it also shows future employers that you like to take time out to do something for someone else.

Tip #2 – Work Experience

By gaining work experience you are showing initiative by engaging with the industry that you want to work in. Your future employer will see this as an advantage, because they will accept that you have experienced the working environment and that you do not have unrealistic expectations of the job.

Tip #3 – Get a hobby

Hobbies like photography, writing or even participating in a choir amongst others indicate that you enjoy a variety of skills and that you understand the importance of achieving balance in your life.

Tip #4 – Participate in sport

Much like having a hobby, sport indicates that you understand the importance of a healthy balanced lifestyle. It also assists with skills like hand-eye co-ordination and teamwork.

Tip #5 – Short courses

Short courses are an easy way to develop your skills in your current field of work or to develop a new set of skills that you will be able to apply immediately, once your course is completed. You get to complete these while you are still working, so you do not have to interrupt your work schedule in order to give yourself a head start! Short courses also show future employers that you are eager to continue learning.

Did you know…

Eduloan offer loans to suit your educational needs. We also have loan options that cater for specialist equipment for your course like textbooks, laptops and even tablets! If you are looking to further your career with a study loan, you can contact Eduloan and one of our consultants will be able to give you all the information you require to get the financial assistance. For more information or to speak to one of our Eduloan consultants, visit our website www.eduloan.co.za.

10 Ways Your Education Equips You For The Working World

They always say that every bit helps, but what does school, college and university actually offer your career? Below we take a look at 10 ways your education can get you ready for the working world:

One

Writing skills is something you get to work on every day at school, university or college. Whether you learn basic writing etiquette, how to write different types of documents or how to adjust your tone of voice, this skill will be one you will use well beyond the deadline for you 5 000 word essay.

Two

Speaking skills are important in addressing clients or suppliers and colleagues one-on-one or even speaking to a group of people. It is very important to keep in mind what you discuss, how you discuss it and how you interact with others, depending on the situation. Being able to converse in a variety of situations will help you in any industry!

Three

Group work and other projects where you have to work in teams are important for the “real world”, mainly because you will have to deal with a range of different personalities and types of people in your day-to-day life.

Four

Problem solving is an integrated part of your curriculum from preschool. In the beginning you are asked to place a shape in its allocated space or to build things with building blocks. When you get a bit older, you have a complex mathematics equation in algebra as well as other challenges such as completing something according to a ‘brief’. The ability to problem solve is applied to your day-to-day life, but is even more valuable in the workplace.

Five

Every time you participate in class or if you choose a topic for a project, you learn to take initiative. Employers love candidates who show initiative, come up with new ideas and who can track their activities throughout a project.

Six

Throughout your studies, you will be faced with deadlines. Some of them will be for larger projects that will allow you more time to meet the deadline and some tasks will have to occur in a much shorter time frame  You might have more than one subject and that means multiple deadlines. Add your extramural activities like sport, hanging out with family and friends and other commitments and you have tons of deadlines to juggle. Time management is a very important element of the working world… so start focusing on this as soon as possible, because missing a deadline in the work environment might have larger penalties than a deduction of 5% off your assignment.

Seven

Every time you choose not to copy your friend’s work or just taking information off the Internet, you choose integrity. Honesty and integrity are highly regarded values when employees look for suitable candidates.

Eight

Often your teacher will choose not to keep an eye on you, allowing you to take responsibility for your actions and for the projects that you have to do. This is to teach you responsibility. As you grow, you might not have someone available to take the responsibility on your behalf, to make decisions or to own up to problems when they occur.

Nine

By engaging in a variety of activities, you learn to develop different skills. Even if you are not sporty, partaking in sport will assist you in developing skills like hand-eye co-ordination or teamwork where as art might inspire you to get creative. By engaging in a variety of activities, you can remain stimulated and it will allow you to keep on growing your skills set.

Ten

The knowledge you learn at school, college and university will assist you directly in approaching your industry. If you are studying towards becoming an artisan, the skills that you learn are directly transferrable in the working world. Don’t discard your studies, as they can empower you to achieve even more!

Eduloan has a solution for full-time and part-time students and even offer you the opportunity to deduct your fixed monthly repayments from your salary. For more information and to speak to one of our Eduloan consultants, visit our website (www.eduloan.co.za), like our page on Facebook         (www.facebook.com/EduloanSA) and follow us on Twitter (@EduloanSA).

Here are four tips for making study or career decisions

·       Identify career opportunities that suit your interests

·       Evaluate your skills and strengths

·       Research the prerequisites of your chosen career (do you need science or biology or do you need a certain qualification to make sure that you have the knowledge to practice in your field?)

·       Constantly develop skills and experience

The entrepreneurial student – ten ways to supplement your income while studying

Now has never been a better time for tertiary students to start a business.  Much more than the graduates of the past couple of decades, current students need to be prepared to find ways to supplement their incomes. Let’s face it; the cost of living continues to increase every year and the job market is a tough place to break into, making it harder for students to make ends meet while they are studying and to find a job after they’ve finished. 

Launching a business while you’re studying sets you up for success.  Here are ten business ideas you can start while you’re studying that shouldn’t cost you an arm and a leg to set up.  You can use one of these ideas or come up with your own.  Some of them may work better than others, or may not work at all, depending on your personal circumstances.   So choose wisely, and remember to adjust quickly if the business you start isn’t growing.

Before we start, let’s look at some quick tips for creating a successful student business:

* Innovation is good but it can also be overrated.  Don’t feel like you have to come up with the next big idea. The main idea is to start a simple business that generates a profit.  And that’s the main idea.

* Pick an idea that has an immediate and obvious customer base that needs or strongly wants what you plan to sell. Ask yourself if there is a demand for your product or service.

* After your initial investment, don’t put any more outside money into the business.  That’s your test for whether you’re succeeding.  The business needs to pay for itself and pay you.  Once you start, the business should generate enough for you to reinvest into the business and then begin to pay yourself.  If you see things dwindling, figure out whether you need to adjust prices, offerings, or do more marketing and selling.  Pay attention to customer inquiries and demands. They will lead you in the right direction.

* Remember the business is a great experience but it’s not the main reason you are on campus.  You are there to get a great education.  So develop discipline and time management skills that will allow you to go to class, get good results and still operate your business in your free time.

Our 10 student business ideas:

1. Tutoring service – if you’re attending university or college on a scholarship or bursary and know a required subject very well, consider start a tutoring service for local elementary or high school students who want to get into a good university or college like you.

2. Staffing service specializing in internships – start an on-campus staffing service where you help local or national businesses connect with the best students for internships and help students who want to do internships find the best opportunity.

3. Personal training service – are you athletic and into sports?  Think about starting a personal training service for students wanting to get fit and active.

4. Graphic arts and design services for presentations and papers – if you enjoy graphic arts and presentation design and you’re good at it, think about offering these services to students (and perhaps lecturers too) who want to jazz up their research and reports.

5. CV writing service – are you good at finding the best angles to present information? Start a CV writing service helping students put their experience in the best possible format and phrasing to attract interview and career opportunities.

6. Hair styling and grooming services – provide hair cuts or hair styling as a mobile hairdresser or stylist.

7. Babysitting service – if you know how to look after children and you’re responsible and reliable, starting a small au pair business could be an easy way to make extra income.

8. Bookkeeping service – if you’re studying accounting and have a love for numbers offer to keep books for a few small local businesses or find customers online.

9. Photography and video services – if you have a great eye for composing scenes and images consider starting a photography and video service. You can offer your services to students and faculty, take photos and videos of campus events and help local businesses produce and post videos online.

10. T-shirt company – really cool t-shirts just never get old and they’re the standard uniform for lots of college students. Come up with neat designs or funny sayings or create custom shirts for on-campus organisations and find someone to print the shirts for you and you’re in business!

Are you a student thinking about starting a small business? What do you think about these ideas? What are you excited about, or maybe scared about? Tell us what you think in the comments section below!