Tag Archives: CP&R drop-in hours

Just Keep Swimming

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Right now, I’m taking my inspiration from Dory. I’m in 5 classes, 1 CLORG, write for 2 publications, work as a manager for Scripps College Phonathon, and am applying for internships and study abroad. Each piece of every day isn’t unmanageable, but boy do I feel like drowning sometimes from the constant work. As it’s the week before spring break, I’m sure I’m not the only Scripps student who feels like she’s swimming against the current!! So I’m going to be like Dory and swim at my own pace and keep at it. Obviously, if you’re swamped and need to say good-bye to some activities or commitments, that’s a completely valid choice.

Accurate.

Accurate.

I, however, have decided that I love everything that I’m doing and that I won’t be cutting out activities or a 5th class to have more free time. Will I ever overload again? Hopefully NOT, but I do love all my classes and my professors are all great. “Just keep swimming” doesn’t mean overextend yourself or flail until you get some air. To me, it means: keep working at what you’re doing and don’t let yourself or jellyfish or anything else get in the way of you doing what you love.

 

KeepSwimmingWhen I have a lot to do, I tend to get overwhelmed and shut down and I certainly don’t keep up with my applications. But I have been trying to combat that this semester by making a lot of to-do lists and prioritizing my internship search even when it’s hard. There is always time, but sometimes you have to just be steady and persistent and make time for what you need to do. With 6 papers in one week, it’s hard to remember to write cover letters and fill out applications, but sometimes your schoolwork and internship search overlap. I’ve found that making lists and staying organized allow me to keep swimming. It may seem counterintuitive, but I would advise going to CP&R if you’re feeling overwhelmed and like you don’t know how to make time for your internship search. It may seem like you can’t take the time out of your day to go to an appointment or drop-in hours, but really it allows you to be more efficient.

 

Dory

Follow this list!

So let’s list what you can do to keep swimming because we all know that’s what I’m good for:

  1. Remember to breathe. Not breathing is clearly a bad plan in the first place, but remember to give yourself breaks and maybe a Motley drink or two to relax.
  2. Go talk to CP&R and make a plan. Why just make a plan when you can get expert advice on your plan?
  3. Keep up with your to-do lists. Once you’ve laid out what you have to do, it’s important to make sure that you’re keeping up with that and initiating your plan.
  4. Have a set time for internship applications. It’s sometimes hard to do, but this makes sure you’re applying AND not using applications as procrastination *I see you not finishing your essay while writing that cover letter*
  5. Apply to positions that motivate you. If you’re excited about the opportunity, chances are that you will want to apply for it.

 

Whale2

Try speaking whale in your next interview! It’ll work woooooondeeerrrrrrrssss!

Remember to stay positive and keep swimming! That doesn’t mean go as fast as possible, but just to keep working at your own pace. The internship search can feel very daunting–especially as it is later in the game–but try to remember that internships are cool opportunities for you to take advantage of!! Keep swimming and I’ll report back on my swim next week 😉

What Happens When You “Drop-In” at CP&R

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I’m ashamed to admit that last Wednesday was the first time I ever “dropped-in” at CP&R’s office in Seal Court. I was familiar with many of CP&R’s electronic resources, such as the Career Courier and the Gateway, but I’d never actually met with a career consultant. Finding job postings online or on various bulletin boards around campus usually doesn’t require professional assistance, but sooner or later during our undergrad careers we will need some one-on-one help. My time is now, though I wish I’d realized it sooner. To think I’d been suffering all this time, enduring the vast wasteland that is today’s job market… alone and alone without reason!

I dropped in around 10:00am after a late breakfast. After signing in, I sat down with a career consultant who I was pleased to see was peer (she was actually a lovely student I took Writing 50 with my first year). Phew! It was nice to see a familiar face, as I was actually quite nervous. If you need professional help with anything that means you have a problem… right? You’re in trouble… right?? Well, not exactly. I came to the CP&R office with a “problem” I’d already worked a fair number of kinks out of: my resume. I just needed a little more help (or so I thought).

As a college sophomore I had a resume I’d been updating since I was a high school student. It was an awkward collage that resembled sample resumes I found via a quick Google search. I should have known that my resume was probably not supposed to look like that of Jane Doe, who has been an associate at Big Time Law Firm for eight years. CP&R helped me edit and clean up my resume; it now looks like the resume of Christie Kweon, language and literature enthusiast, tutor and mentor extraordinaire.

I had to reformat my entire resume. Some sections were moved around and others entirely removed because some parts of a resume should be highlighted more than others. For instance, I learned from my career consultant that at this point in my career it’s standard to list “Education” before “Experience”. Some additional edits such as the merging of dates and locations were necessary, and I also rephrased some points to compact my resume. I unfortunately had brought in a two-page resume, which is a bit on the long side.

I could go on about little details I had to add and others I had to take out, but I can hardly remember them all at the top of my head. Most of my career consultant’s comments from our half hour session were recorded in her scribbly cursive on my resume. The whole process of reviewing my resume with Lauren was rather remnant of the peer editing workshops that are oh-so-popular among Scripps classes. I honestly don’t know why I was nervous about coming in during drop-in hours, which are from 10:00am to 4:00pm Monday through Friday.

Be sure to drop-in or set up an appointment with CP&R before important datelines, or if you’re busy studying for midterms now, at least stop by to pick up a copy of the 2013 Career Services Guide (It’s an invaluable, free resource!) and check out the intranet page on resumes and cover letters.

What important deadlines are coming up in October? Is anyone already searching for a summer job or internship?

CP&R Drop-in Hours

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So the process has begun.

Yesterday, I started my first internship application, writing up a draft of my cover letter, figuring out which clips to submit, emailing people for letters of reference, and tailoring my resume. I did my best to research what the internship required and would entail, and even contacted the person to whom I’m submitting the application with further questions.

Especially since this is one of the more competitive internships I’m applying for (I can’t know for sure, but it’s a guess), I’m making use of CP&R as much as possible. Today, I stopped by during drop-in hours and was helped by one of the student workers, who went over my resume and cover letter very closely, making really good recommendations.

Officially, here is my piece of advice to every and any student applying for an internship or for a job—and CP&R will love this—GET HELP FROM CP&R! It was great!

When I first started my cover letter on Sunday night, I felt very unsure about myself. I haven’t really written a cover letter before, and it all seemed pretty iffy—what should I write about, how should I write it, etc. Eventually, I worked out something acceptable. After being helped in CP&R, however, I took those comment and critique-covered pages back to my room and tackled them some more. The cover letter may still not be the best it could be, but I actually feel good about both that and my resume now, and it was even kind of fun—because, let’s be honest, what’s a better mood-booster than preparing a couple documents making you sound like a competent, witty, and brilliant person?

I am pretty nervous, since this is the first internship I’ve applied to and the first time I’ve really gone through this process. After being helped at CP&R though, I no longer regard the internship application process as a “necessary evil:” time-consuming, daunting, and nerve-wracking. Of course I’m still a bit nervous, but as I said, it was kind of fun, too. (Then again, this is coming from someone who thought college applications were kind of fun, too.)

Worse comes to worst—even if I don’t even get considered for an interview—at least I will still feel proud about my cover letter and resume.