Four Secrets to a Successful Application

QOTD: What do you think is the best measure for intelligence?

At some point during your life, you will find yourself in a situation in which you will have to apply for something--perhaps a job, college, scholarships, or even a higher position at work. I hope you find these four key steps I've listed below to be a beneficial and encouraging guide towards making your application stick out from all the rest.

1. Avoid wordiness, and vary your sentence structure. Cut out any unnecessary phrases that might be 1) stating the obvious, 2) repetitious of another similar phrase you wrote, or 3) is less than flattering/doesn't help your case. Every word in your application should have a purpose. That being said, vary your syntax and diction use--try not to use an adjective (such as "enthusiastic" or "inspiring" or "transforming") more than twice and avoid using the same phrase more than once. If you have to, paraphrase or reword a sentence. Also, try not to use useless words like "very, extremely, hardly, etc." Get the point and be straightforward.

2. Remember, when you are filling out an application, you are selling yourself. Don't feel like you need to be too modest or timid, but at the same time don't come off as arrogant or snooty. Tell the truth without exaggerating. For instance, don't say "I often try to stay positive during hard situations as best as I can." Instead, say "I am a positive person, and always focus on keeping a positive outlook when I am faced with a difficult situation." This shows that you have a sense of confidence and truly packs a punch. Application readers remember and are impressed by applicants who know and recognize their strengths and play at them.

3. Use your anecdotes wisely. Anecdotes are a great way for you to make your application unique. Just as every word should have a purpose, every anecdote you use should too. They should tell something about yourself and who you are in terms of values, personality, and/or preferences. However, in an essay, an anecdote should only be a third of the essay, and the other two-thirds should be focused on providing reasoning and persuasion of why the readers should pick you, using your anecdote as an example and as proof to help you back up what you say.

4. As closely as you can without going insane, pay attention to the little things. This not only includes making sure your spelling and grammar is correct, but also the format. If your application ends up being two pages and two sentences, you should eliminate those last two so that your entire paper takes up two neat little pages. You don’t want any tails hanging on at the end, printed on yet another brand new page with the rest being occupied by white space. Same with sentences--try to avoid trailing tails. Be consistent when you bold/italicize/underline and make sure you have no careless mistakes such as extra spaces between words or the absence of a period at the end of a sentence. This may seem really nit-picky, but it can really irk readers to find an easily avoidable error that "pops out" and takes away their attention from what's important--your application.

Four Secrets to a Successful Application

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30-Day Challenge 23: The Secrets to a Hot Blog

Question of the Day: Today, I'd like to know what you think of my blog layout. I need your critique, your feedback! Should I stick with it? Is the foreground a little too narrow? What can I do to make my blog appearance more attractive to my readers' eyes?

Day 23: Something you crave for a lot. Oh my!! I will definitely have to say my craving for Smartfood popcorn is rather alarming and sempiternal. This popcorn has been my #1 go-to snack since before my age had double digits.

Today I'd like to talk about what makes a hot blog.....hot. Look on your Blog Profile, scroll down to your List of Blogs. What about those blogs made you want to follow them in the first place? Was it the colorful layout, the sexy font, the helpful content in posts, or perhaps the unique blog name?

I wouldn't call myself picky, but there are some absolute musts in my rulebook that, when I look at a blog, make me want to go 'w-o-w-z-a gimme summa dat!', and hit 'Follow.'

Check out these tips I've gathered during my time as a blogger, think about what attracts you to a blog, and ask yourself:

Does your blog need a makeover? Or is it one of the hottest blogs on the block?

1) Minimal White Space. By white space, I don't literally mean space on your blog that is white. "White space" is simply areas on your blog that don't have any content (graphics, links, text) on it at all. Of course, you don't need to cover your whole blog with junk, and not all white space is bad, but make sure everything is laid out evenly (and not too cramped!) so that there aren't any areas that look empty/blank/out of place. Exception = when your blog layout is white or some other solid color (in that case, move along now).

2) A complimentary color scheme. I recommend having at least two or three colors in your "color scheme," much of which is dependent on your blog layout and header/text fonts. (The exception is a white/solid color blog layout, which is actually pretty attractive and popular from what I see). Decide what colors you want to incorporate and why. For example, The Inspiration Tree blog has a color scheme that includes browns and pinks and emphasizes on the concept of nature, which is also prevalent in the blog name. Keep in mind, though, that you don't want your blog looking like a disorganized rainbow, either!

3) Organization. It's okay to have a lot of stuff on your blog, just make sure it's tidy and with a "boxed up" look--not messy. An example of the "boxed up" look is the right column of the blog oh, hello friend: you are loved. Put your links/graphics in different categories. Of course, a blog layout helps a lot with this. A three-column allows you to put more stuff on either side of your blog, but a two-column makes the blog look less cluttered and overwhelming to the reader.

4) Resources. We love resources! Blogfest links, lists to popular blog posts, a Goodreads shelf, Twitter feed, and recommended authors are all considered resources. Not only do they provide more lovely things for us to read but they also give us more information about what sort of common interests we may have with you. Also, they don't have to be all on your homepage--you can have separate tabs with them too. Examples of blogs with great resources include The Happiness Project, Ready. Write. Go., and Paperback Writer.

5) Unique blog name. Nothing is as boring and generic as "A Writer's World" or "The Diary of BLANK." Choose a blog name that is either or: fresh, mysterious, humorous, inspirational, romantic, unconventional, professional. Some of my favorite blog names include Adrielne's Box of Thoughts, Annelise White Photography, Big Apple, Little Bites, I'd like cheese on my entire family!, Left and Write Brained, and Sixtyfivewhatnow.

6) Theme + Different Posts. Have a healthy mixture of personal/random posts and posts that are related to your blog theme. I personally like spontaneity and am not a fan of designated weekly posts such as "Writing Wednesday" and "Picture Thursday" or "Friday Five," but some people really look forward to them. If you do plan on having designated weekly posts, make yours creative. An example of a successful and interesting weekly post is Lydia Kang's Medical Mondays. A blog with some pretty amazing and inspiring content is b-sPlendid.

7) A layout that tells a story, parallels with your personality, and is comfortable to the reader's eye. Customized blog layouts are the best, because they're usually pretty, impressive and spell P-R-O. It's okay if you don't use a customized blog layout, of course; if you use a 'premade' template, I would go with one that isn't overly used by other bloggers and balances out between the background and the foreground. Oh, hello friend: you are loved's and Talli Roland's blog layouts fit these criteria perfectly.

8) Correctly formatted blog posts. This is probably one of the more important elements I consider when looking at a blog. After all, these posts are what I am going to be reading every day! I've heard that shorter blog posts are better, but to me I don't think that's necessarily true. You just have to make sure that the text is formatted so your reader will be comfortable reading. Make sure you have plenty of paragraph breaks, perhaps a few bold sentences, and maybe even bulleted lists. Graphics or photos sometimes prevent the post from being too "texty". Also, you need to have a readable font. Nobody wants to read a post that is in Kristen or Joker. Keep your font face and size uniform throughout your blog.

Everyone has different preferences as to what they consider to be a hot blog. Share with us what makes a blog attractive (or what turns you off) and what makes you click 'Follow'!

*fire letters

30-Day Challenge 23: The Secrets to a Hot Blog

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30-Day Challenge 3: Public Speaking 101

Question of the Day: What characteristic or trait do you admire most in a person?

Day 03: A picture of you and your friends.

Once again, I have a no-real-photos policy at the moment so I decided to portray my friends and I through Yahoo! avatars. The first Avatar chick is actually me, you see...I am surrounded by books, have my signature "reporter" glasses and have a layered 'do. :) I'd like to introduce you to my amazing friends, all of whom have some spectacular and distinct personalities:

From left to right, top to bottom...

1) The Red Angel (me!) I don't look very red and I don't look like an angel though...

2) Madame Curlique loves the beach and everything that has to do with nature.

3) Jammin' Poe-Poe is one of those "I JUST WANNA PLAY MY MUSIC" kinda guys.

4) B-Ball4Eva likes sports and is a die-hard fan of our university teams.

5) Mr. Senator has always loved everything politics.

6) Gloss&Shiny has beautiful hair, loves colorful things, and owns a fantastic imagination.

I apologize for the long wait for this post! Finally, all my midterms are over and the stressful study sessions and all-nighters have paid off. Hooray!

~~~

Probably one of the most frightening experiences you could ever have is speaking in front of a class full of college students. The best thing you can get out of it? A response.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of talking in front of a few Creative Writing/Poetry classes about our literary magazine and what a great opportunity it is to submit work and possibly get published. I'd just like to point out that I stutter, shake, and sweat when I am nervous. Specifically, when I am nervous about speaking in public. Who am I to tell these 18-21 year olds what to do with their time? Who am I to interrupt their daily learning hour (or, rather, Facebook-stalking hour) with my public service announcement? What could I possibly have to say that would interest them?

As a freshman in college, I believe that my public-speaking abilities have improved greatly through the speeches, conferences, interviews, and class talks that I've been thrust into participating in. And now that I'm able to talk in front of a group of people and not feel like barfing, I actually somewhat enjoy the experience and have really come to value the importance of such a skill.

The Do's & Don'ts of Public Speaking

1) DO: Briefly rehearse what you are going to say before the spotlight is on you. Even if you are in a seminar where colloquial discussions are encouraged, it helps a lot if you know what points you want to make and any reasoning you want to add on to make your argument stronger. Or if you, like me, are standing up to persuade your audience to be a part of something or advertise a certain product or thing, make sure you back your information with the types of incentives or positive results that what you are advertising could lead to.

DON'T: Spend hours making note cards or writing a speech out from scratch. 99% of the time, you will end up changing what you say during the actual moment. And then, drifting away from the strictly bullet-pointed dialogue you created might even result in a total screw-up. At the very most, make a short outline of all the most important things you want to talk about and use that as a guide.

2) DO: Make eye contact. This is so much harder than it sounds like, and I know from experience. When you have a hundred, or even just twenty, professors/peers/parents/people staring you down as you speak, it takes all you've got to not run away at that moment. But staring right back not only makes you appear to be confident (even if you aren't), but doing so also lets you identify with your audience on a more personal if unspoken level.

DON'T: Look down. Looking up and looking just to the right or just to the left are all bad, bad, bad...but looking down is the very worst thing you could do. People will eventually get bored with what you have to say, not because what you're talking about isn't interesting, but because you look scared and small. Staring at the floor gives such a negative message to the people who are listening, a message that says: OmgIdon'twannabeherepleaselemmegetthisoverwith! Not attractive.

3) DO: Speak with your hands as much as you speak with your voice. For some reason, the use of body language seems to ease the stress of public speakers. A lot. Hand movement helps emphasize what you're saying, plus it prevents anyone from falling asleep. Sure, a strong voice can go a long way, but there's no reason to add that extra oomph with your spirit fingers (seen "Bring It On" lately?). Plus, you will look, sound, and feel 10x more passionate and confident.

DON'T: Be stiff. If all you do is look straight ahead and recite, you're going to end up talking to a bunch of snoring faces. Take a few steps here and there, move your hands, and tilt your head from one side to another to make sure you're putting equal amounts of attention on the whole audience. Act like you're talking in a conversation with another person, not a wall. Don't be afraid to move. Your audience will thank you for not being just another robot.

4) DO: Take things lightly, smile, and crack a joke. When I went to speak in front of those literature classes, I decided that I just wanted to get it over with and didn't spend that much time preparing apart from the main ideas I wanted to get across. For once, I wasn't freaking out and I didn't get nervous and I didn't spazz out, simply because I didn't want to spend all that time and energy worrying about talking in front of some college kids. And it actually made the whole thing go a lot smoother. I made a few sarcastic jokes and--*yay*--my peers chuckled, grinned, nodded. Heck, they responded the way I wanted to! I was funny! And that's when I realized this whole public-speaking thing isn't that big of a deal after all. :)

*This post was inspired by Search for Hope.

30-Day Challenge 3: Public Speaking 101

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