Set goals and timelines when it comes to studying. These tests are predictable and have a set time and question limit, so try to start early. A big strategic part of these exams is time management, which can be honed by becoming overly familiar with the structure of the test. As our Your Career+ guest, Claudia Sanchez mentioned, routine is everything. Creating a schedule for yourself allows you to think ahead about what sections you'll need to spend more time on, while also providing a cushion for when life starts to… life.
Spring has sprung. While there is much to love about the pre-summertime, there's also an air of stress as opportunities start to bloom that will have a major impact on your future success. From preparing to take the SATs, ACTs, or APs, to getting college decision letters, to scheduling internship interviews — there is A LOT going on. We've been there, and that's why it's our turn to pay it forward. Starting with giving you the tools for how to navigate these moments.
Before you apply to college and prioritize internships, you need to slay this dragon — the dreaded standardized test. You may think you need to be a genius to do well on standardized tests, but you don't. The SATs is like a game, and once you master how it's played, you can master the test. Which is why what you need is preparation and confidence, both of which reinforce each other.
Here's some quick preparation tips:
Another tip from the episode (literally, if you're not watching, what are you doing?!): every failure has a lesson that can be applied as you move forward. Once you know your weak spots, you can dedicate more of your time to studying up on those vs. spending time on your best subject areas.
And one last bit of advice from our girl Claudia: “learn the fundamentals, the rest will follow.” Once you have the basic building blocks, you can apply them to any problem or question.
On the other hand, having confidence means not allowing one hard question to derail you by either spending too much time trying to figure it out or causing doubt about all your other answers. Instead, you recognize that this question is a tiny blip and bypass it until the end of the section, when you can return and spend time making an educated attempt at answering it.
Pro-tip: An underrated tool for building confidence? Manifesting.
Taking standardized tests is really just a function of trying to get into college. Still in the midst of figuring out what colleges you want to apply to? Start by exploring traditional and nontraditional options like HBCUs, HSIs, and community colleges. At the end of your college planning journey and starting to receive college decisions? You're in the right place.
Receiving college decisions creates a mixed bag of feelings. There can be joy, relief, disappointment, and anxiety occurring at once or simultaneously. So, what do you do?
If you don't remember anything else, remember that whatever happens, you'll be okay. We know this is kind of cliche advice, but the reason it's cliche is because we've been through it and can attest to being okay. And believe it or not, the universe kind of agrees with us. But whether or not you're an angel number believer, it's important to know that everything will happen the way it's supposed to. When everything feels intense, take your time, lean on your support network, and remember that you have options!
Now, we can admit that having options can be overwhelming — but that's why we have this handy dandy resource for you to use when evaluating which opportunity is the right fit for YOU. As thorough as this resource is, it all goes back to a very simple question that Claudia shared: “What exactly do you want?” From there, it's then about figuring out where these different wants fall in priority, and which actually might be a need.
If you haven't already, we encourage you to visit the campuses of your top picks and get more information that can address how they'll meet your needs. Here's a sample list of questions to get you started!
Now, this might be something that comes before you enter college as there are internship opportunities for high school students. However, for a lot of students, this becomes more critical during college. After submitting your applications, companies will likely be in your inbox with interview requests.
While many prefer to wing interviews and use the rationale that they'll be talking about the subject they know the best (themselves), it's more strategic than that.
Companies are looking to learn more about how your skills and experiences relate to their needs, and if you would be a good culture fit. In order to do that, you must have knowledge of what the position and culture of that company entails. Then, you have to take the time to recall the right experiences that align and address those company specifics. Plus, you also want to learn if this company is the right fit for you. Find more advice over here. Plus, we also know these days, most of the vetting process takes place virtually, so we've got some special tips for that too.
When it comes to these interviews, all you can do is your very best. Anxiety is definitely normal! There are accounting professionals who have had a decade of interview experience and still get the recruitment jitters. Carol Ruiz, an accountant veteran of over 20 years, shares that as a student, the best thing she learned was to be okay with getting out of her “comfort zone” and remembering that she “had nothing to lose because [she] was already succeeding by being there and getting those opportunities.”
Similarly, Lucia Nava Suarez, an accountant who recently graduated, believes that no matter what, every interview can be a learning experience: “The first internship that I interviewed for, I did not get. However, I used what I learned from that interview and used it for future interviews. I later got two offers for an internship and full time offers.”
This will be your next big thing. Start Now.
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