Nerdify reviews team strikes again! 

If you haven’t tried educational podcasts yet, it’s high time to choose podcasts to ease your learning. With your academic success in my mind, Nerdify reviews top-10 podcasts that raise learning to a whole new level! So, fasten your seatbelts, and we’ll start!

For those of you who do not have a clue what a podcast is, we strongly recommend consulting a dictionary, where you’ll learn that podcast is “a broadcast that is placed on the Internet who wants to listen to it or watch it.” Sounds boring? At all! These ten podcasts will change your perception of learning as a tiresome process!

1. TED Talks Daily

It’s probably the best podcast one could ever imagine! Every weekday, a new episode is waiting for your attention! What are these episodes about? Well, I can’t imagine a topic that hasn’t been discussed in TED Talks! Social problems, zoology, archeology, artificial intelligence…The whole vibrant world is just a click away!

2. School Psyched!

In the upcoming study year, Anna, Rachael, and Rebecca will be your best friends! Reasons? No doubt, they are enormously cool!!! Just imagine three ladies discussing a myriad of educational topics, starting with time management and to ADHD strategies. Willing to join the conversation? Then, be ready to find yourself in the company of outstanding personalities like Dr. Richard A. Cash. You’ll definitely like Dr. Cash for he’s got a wealth of experience as an international education consultant.

3. The Knowledge Project

What is the Knowledge Project about? Well, it’s a pretty tricky question; so, I’d better tell you what it is not about. The Knowledge Project is not about…boredom:)

The Knowledge Project is ready to introduce you to dozens of great people, and they are waiting to share the secret of their success with you!

Test the coolness of the Knowledge Project by starting with:

• Life Lessons from a Self-Made Billionaire: My Conversation with Ray Dalio
• Getting Better by Being Wrong, a conversation with Annie Duke, former professional poker player and an author of the book Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts
• The Science of Doing Good with William MacAskill, the co-founder and President of the Centre for Effective Altruism.

4. Back to Work

I can bet that the talk show with Merlin Mann and David Benjamin will completely grab your attention! So, be aware that conversations about productivity, communication, and time management are so exciting that you can easily lose track of your time when listening to them:)        

5. WorkLife with Adam Grant

Good conversations are never enough, and Adam Grant is ready to discuss a bunch of interesting topics with you.! Did you know that people spend around a quarter of their life at work? Some of them are happy with the fact, while others are not. If you are one of those unfortunate, you’ll want to learn about things that make a workplace great. By dissecting the world’s coolest workplaces, Adam Grant comes up with a series of worthy suggestions:

• trust people
• don’t be afraid of criticism
• understand your hidden personality

Everything that makes one a happy worker is at your disposal in WorkLife with Adam Grant podcast!

6. Revisionist History

History is terra incognita, but you’ll definitely enjoy discovering hidden events or reexamining misinterpreted ones if you have Malcolm Gladwell as a guide.  Gladwell is the author of the bestseller Outliers, so he’s probably the best companion in your travel along intricate historical trails!

Could you imagine that: “Saigon, 1965 is the story of three people who got caught up in that effort: a young Vietnamese woman, a refugee from Nazi Germany, and a brilliant Russian émigré. All saw the same things. All reached different conclusions. The Pentagon effort, run by the Rand Corporation, was one of the most ambitious studies of enemy combatants ever conducted — and no one could agree on what it meant.”?

In case you couldn’t, just keep in mind that Malcolm Gladwell has many more historical discoveries for you!

7. The Guardian’s Science Weekly

Everyone is familiar with the British news outlet called The Guardian, but a few know that they produce The Guardian’s Science Weekly. It is, without any exaggeration, an awesome project that will show you the world of science from a totally unexpected angle! Heatwaves, biomimicry, radiophobia, killing asbestos, and e-cigarettes are just a small portion of discussions that won’t leave you indifferent!

8. Moving at the Speed of Creativity

Moving at the speed of creativity is all you need this study year! It is a truly awesome podcast where you can learn about “education, twenty-first-century literacy, blended learning, technology integration, and educational leadership.” Being part of a vibrant intellectual community is the best experience one can ever have!

9. Mixed Mental Arts

Mixed Mental Arts will teach you…stealing! But don’t be scared; you’ll steal “the best cultural software from everywhere and apply the core principle of Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do. Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.” In other words, Mixed Mental Arts will teach you to be an efficient personality in this turbulent world!

BTW, of all the mentioned podcasts, Mixed Mental Arts has the most extensive content. So, you’re guaranteed to have an exciting time browsing through it!

10. 101 Series – Innovative Language!

Good news for those who are waiting for Monday to start learning a foreign language! With 101 Series – Innovative Language! there are no more excuses to keep language studies on the back burner! Choose from hundreds of audio and video lessons, pdf notes and flashcards to notice progress from the very first lesson!  

Nerdify reviews team has piled dozens of podcasts here to provide all the information that you need to succeed. Learning is always fun if you have the right tools in your hand!  

Howdy, pals! Even though you may think that your time management skills in college are good enough, Nerdify reminds you that there are still some helpful tips and tricks. 

They will help you upgrade your knowledge and see how you can make your college life much easier and fun.  One of the reasons why your time management skills upgrade can be essential is because you may want to add more to your schedule and get involved in all the fun activities, yet there seems to be never enough time to do it all! Let us see how you can act as an engineer of your own time and resources in a little bit unusual way!

1. Learn to study in blocks!                                                                                           

The trick here is to approach the different study scenarios where you try different time passages or the time-blocks for your college assignments and the times of leisure. This way you can see how much time you may need to get focused in a proper way! While 30-40 minutes time blocks are ideal for studying before you take some rest, you may still need to make them either shorter or longer to see what fits you best. Remember that you have to take the breaks and switch from subject to subject to have a clear mind before you continue with the same or a completely new task. You can take a walk and have a cuppa before you continue with the studies.

The difference in such approach is your being aware of how much time you are going to spend as you study. You do not have to fear that there are hours and hours of studies ahead before you can finally have some rest! Give yourself some credit and remember that you deserve something for a change. Such an approach will not only keep you organized but will help you to divide your homework assignments by the level of importance and complexity as you form your time blocks. Start with the easy tasks first, so you may get an idea of how much time you may need. This way you can also plan the times of leisure for the day ahead when you are the one in control of your plans with all the classes getting in the way!  

2. Do not underestimate college help resources!

Most students spend the majority of their free time by trying to understand how to start with a homework assignment and how to approach an unknown writing format. Of course, there are countless questions that you try to look up online, yet it does not seem clear or your college professor has a different idea about certain rules. You can definitely save some precious time by turning to the writing help center at college and talking to your professor if you are unsure of a something. It does not make you any less smart if you take some time to speak of your concerns instead of acting cool and trying to find solutions on your own.

There are additional study groups and the special support classes almost at every college that will help you to get a guidance and assistance with the most challenging classes. If there are debates, conferences, social work, and laboratory experiments, make sure that you join the fellow students and stay as active as you can. This way you help to make your name known to others as your social network of friends starts to grow. Smart students will start to notice you and share their knowledge. Professor will see that you are a dedicated student who walks an extra mile to study. It will not only improve your chances for a scholarship and financial aid but will also help you to receive timely help!

3. Join College Study Groups!

Sometimes all your free time may be ruined by a single college class that you are struggling with! Even though you may do well in the rest of your classes, failing to understand a subject or follow professor’s speech in your English class or in Quantum Physics is a great challenge! Still, there is a trick that helps you to address the problem professionally – the college study groups. What these study groups offer is a unique advantage to focus on a single subject in a special way where you receive tutoring to cover the curriculum in a faster way. As you join the study group, you can research and ask questions without embarrassment as it is exactly why you are there. In order to help you through the class, you are offered a topic to work at, so you can collaborate with a fellow student on a group task. They call it an enhanced learning because you learn to share and work together starting from the class lecture notes to exploring additional subjects to help you understand the class in a deeper way. In a certain sense, it is like a free tutoring opportunity where you can finally liven up your study sessions and save some time that you spend trying to understand a complex assignment!

4. A Daily Schedule Approach!

While it may sound boring to you, it does help to challenge and upgrade your current time-management skills in college! A daily schedule approach will not only motivate you as a student but help you to manage your time in a more efficient way. Here is how it works:

• Make a list of your daily tasks that you have to complete!
• Write the next list with two columns of more important and less important tasks.
• Mark the tasks that are urgent and should be done with one color.
• Mark the tasks that can wait with the other color.
• Place a checkmark next to each task as you get it complete.
• Try to write down an approximate time that you have spent on each task.
• Make an additional list of all the fun things that you may want to do, so you can add it to your primary schedule!

As you try to work with a daily schedule of your college tasks, share it with your roommate and the fellow students, so you can see how it can be adjusted and what helpful techniques you may learn! Keep the daily schedule always by your side, so you can keep organized and focused!

5. Work at your soft skills!

Your personal development and growth of time management skills depend on the presence of soft skills. What it means, in reality, is your ability to be independent, adhere to strong ethics, and work at your communication skills. You have to stay patient and unbiased as you choose your sources and the books as you study. Setting the goals and trying to be flexible, you have to work at your character and coordinate what you have to learn with your true passions. The way how you approach your college life with all the studies and fun is a reflection of how well you can do in a future career. This work and experience have already started, so one has to be strong and seek for inspiration inside!

Some Nerdy tips and time management observations!

• Always have a time buffer because the days at college somehow go faster than you expect!
• Take advantage of the days and times when you feel creative and inspired. When you feel like working and know that you can do more, make sure that you do your best!
• Focus on one task at a time because even though you may be able to multitask, your brain easily becomes exhausted!
• Limit and challenge yourself with the deadlines because it keeps you more productive. If you have less time to get the task done, you work extra hard.
• Even though you may have flexible college deadlines, make sure not to procrastinate!
• Brainstorm the ideas and alternative solutions as you get stuck with your homework!
• Try to schedule the important tasks and meetings early in the day because the most challenging time is when you try to get ready for the actual task!
• Get rid of the most disturbing tasks first, so you can feel better about the rest of the items on your list!
• Always take notes and do not think that you can remember everything out there! Write it down and use it as a personal reference to turn to! It really helps to save some time!
• Do not forget to have fun and spend some time for yourself!

A kind reminder from Nerdify: your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow. Take care and practice time management!

Greetings, Nerdify fans! Imagine that you’ve been working on your resume for several hours, then sent it to different companies in the hoping to get an invitation for the interview. Finally, it happened, but you started panicking, as you don’t know what to do and how to behave.

Don’t be afraid! Follow Nerdify recommendations that will help you cope with stress and pass the interview successfully.

Before the interview:

1. Pick proper clothes

Good clothes open all doors. So try not to contradict the corporate style. Perhaps in the organization, they prefer to dress in casual. Then don’t stand out and don’t come in an office suit. Just from the doorway, you will be perceived as a stranger. Conversely, in areas where every employee must wear a suit, jeans and a sweater will look weird. Anyway, the clothes should be clean, ironed and neutral.

2. Explore the company

Most companies have websites where you can find all the information: from the history and the founders to the mission and contacts. Spend an hour or two on this site for a deeper study of the organization. Find out what qualities and skills the company values in employees and whether you have them. Knowledge is power, but it also shows that you are serious about it and you care about which company to work in.

3. Review your resume

You think that you already know your resume throughout and across but read it again, thinking about the possible questions of the employer. Try to correlate your answers with the position you are applying for.

4. Write an elevator pitch

Еlevator pitch is a short 30-second presentation of yourself, answering questions: ‘who are you?’, ‘what can you offer?’, ‘what contribution can you make to the company?’. It’s always difficult to write about your strengths and benefits, but you have to learn how to sell yourself as a professional.

5. Make a repetition

Invite a friend or family member to have a mini-interview with you. Tell them your elevator pitch. Ask them to ask you some typical questions, and you give them the best answers. You can also ask them for the feedback. Rehearsal interview allows you to get used to this process so that you feel comfortable and confident in a real interview.

6. Prepare questions on important topics

As you gather information about the company, write down the questions that arise. On some questions, you can find answers in the process of studying the company. The rest you can ask the interviewer. Don’t forget that the interview is primarily a dialogue. Moreover, interesting and reasonable questions characterize the applicant positively.

7. Prepare answers to typical questions

A good improvisation is a rehearsed improvisation. Prepare answers to potential questions whenever possible. Definitely, you will not define all the questions that you will be asked. And yet it does not prevent you from getting ready. Look at the lists of typical questions in the interview. Think about your answers. Most often, the interviewer will ask you the text of your resume: your last job, why you quit, etc.

Pronounce the prepared phrases aloud. Not everyone has an innate oratorical talent, so you should develop this skill at every opportunity. Especially before the interview.

During the interview: 

1. Follow the posture

Sit straight, spread your shoulders, don’t bring your head down. Nothing in your behavior should say that you are a lazy student. You are not a lazy student and you don’t want the interviewer to accept you for who you really are not. So, don’t slouch!

2. Maintain eye contact

By maintaining eye contact with the interviewer, you demonstrate your sincerity and confidence.

3. Do not apologize for lack of experience

Instead, emphasize your education, skills, and strengths.

4. Answer questions honestly

Never lie. Even if some of the interviewer’s questions make you uncomfortable, don’t lie and never change the subject. You have to tell the truth, only the truth and nothing but the truth. This is what is appreciated the most at Nerdify.

5. Omit some details

No one needs to know the details of your background. The more you explain these or those situations, the more you create an impression of yourself as an exculpatory and protective person. As it was mentioned before, don’t lie, speak about the facts but omit the details. Hold confession for your therapy session.

6. Use a professional language

Even if the interviewer is being rude, don’t follow his example. Maintain a professional level, refraining from the tartness, inappropriate jokes. As a student, you can’t boast of extensive experience, but you are able to show your ambitions, fresh and new look and readiness to work.

After the interview:

Send a thank you note by e-mail to your interviewer within 24 hours after the end of the interview. Thank him for the time and confirm your interest in this work. The letter shouldn’t be too long and make sure that it doesn’t contain grammatical errors.

You are still a beginner in the labor market and it will be difficult for you to pass the interview right away. Hever, these recommendations from Nerdify will help you prepare for all the pitfalls that may meet you on the way to getting a job.

Good luck!