How do I answer questions on CareerVillage.org?

To answer a question on CareerVillage you must be registered as a professional or as an educator. Once you've completed that, you should see an input field on each question page where you can input your advice. If you feel that your account needs to be updated to be registered as a professional or educator you can contact the CareerVillage team to request a change. Professionals who use their LinkedIn account to login to CareerVillage have to spend less time setting up their volunteer profile on the site.

Why?
We want all answers to come from personal experience as a working professional or as an educator. That ensures that answers are of the highest quality and can be trusted by students to make important decisions.

How old do I have to be to qualify?
There's no set age, but the spirit of it is that you have completed your education and are therefore able to speak from experience about your field or career paths. That usually means you've completed high school or college. Giving advice to students is a great way to give back!

(Mason, thank you for asking this question. I think it's really wonderful that you want to give back and help others. There are a lot of ways to help out and give back, and many places where you could volunteer. Here on CareerVillage, we're here to serve you, so you don't have to do any of that. Here are two other ways you could help out here:

(1) Asking GREAT questions is a really awesome way to help out at CareerVillage. It turns out that many students are hesitant to post up a new question, so when you post it for them it really can help because the answers you get will be read by other students.

(2) "Like" the really good stuff on the site. Liking is how the best content rises to the top. Make sure you like the good answers often, so they get more attention.)

Are you a professional, educator and/or have a degree in a particular field? Even if you worked in a particular area for many years and know what goes into a particular career/trade, then your advice is viable. However, keep in mind that having a formal education, professional training and career experience are the necessary elements when providing education/insight on a topic. Moreover, education and learning is ongoing.

You will need to focus on stress and time management. In order to manage stress you have to manage your time wisely. <span style="background-color: transparent;">You have to set a routine for yourself and stick to it for the most part. Once you get into the groove of a routine it will be much easier for you to manage your time and have enough time for everything you need to do (including relaxing). Make yourself to-do lists on a weekly basis, use Google calendar or a planner to keep track of events, deadlines, and due dates. In addition to setting a routine and sticking to it, plan out relaxing activities into your day. Or set aside a time, after everything is done for the day, that you can have "me" time. I have also personally found it essential to not only find time for myself but also make use of that time in a way that is best for me and my holistic wellness. I have found the HeadSpace app to be an essential tool in helping me relax and generally feel more relaxed throughout the day, Guided meditation, even if you have a busy schedule, will make you feel more at ease and relaxed throughout the day as a whole (not just when you have the time to relax and focus on that "me" time).</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent;">Set a routine.Use Google Calendar.Set aside Me TimeWrite weekly to-do lists and use a planner.Find a peaceful and restful activity that will help you feel relaxed.</span>

Hi Mason,

Mentoring often begins in an educational environment, with a fellow student who is further along in the same program (a "peer advocate"), or between an instructor and a student. Mentorships can also be community-based, part of a church group or other organization designed to offer professional advice and guidance to those who've expressed an interest. Equally effective may be a managerial-subordinate pairing in either the same or different departments. But, depending on the goals of the mentoring relationship, the mentor and mentee don't have to be in the same industry.

Mentor pairings can be sought out through an established program or independently, and one-on-one meetings should take place on a consistent basis.

A mentor-mentee pairing requires work, commitment, and follow-through on both sides if it's going to succeed.

Read about importants skills of a mentoring in the link below:
http://www.inc.com/jayson-demers/7-key-qualities-of-an-effective-mentor.html

All the Best for you!