Tag Archives: resume

Incredibly Uncomfortable New Experiences

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Hello! It’s been awhile since I last blogged, and a lot has happened in my career journey since then. Over my spring break, I networked and went on a group job interview in New York City. Now, I’m experiencing the excruciating pain of waiting for that job to get back to me. All of these things have been new experiences for me, and I’ve been uncomfortable a lot. Still, I think I’ve learned a lot from them.

The job interview that I went on was for the organization that I previously mentioned, which runs an academic summer camp for underprivileged NYC schoolchildren. I was applying to be a teacher’s assistant, and the interview was at 9 am the day after I flew into Newark airport from LAX. Because the interview was on a Saturday (and couldn’t be any other day of the week), I had to drive into New York by myself. This means that I had to get up at 6:30 Eastern time in order to shower, get dressed, and still make it to the interview on time. Needless to say, I was exhausted- my flight had gotten in at 10 pm the day before, and the time difference was killing me.

I got into the city okay, and got some coffee as soon as I could. I usually don’t do well on coffee- it makes me anxious- but I figured I could use some caffeine in my system; besides, I used to drink it every day in high school, when I would never get enough sleep. While it kept me awake, it certainly didn’t calm my nerves. As soon as I got to the interview, the woman who was interviewing me and the other candidates asked if I had a printed copy of my résumé, because she had everyone else’s but mine. I didn’t, and profusely apologized. I was so embarrassed that I debated just calling it a day, but there were two other parts to the interview process I still had to go through.

The first part of the interview process involved me being in a classroom with first-graders. I loved this part. It was great to see the individual attention that each child was getting- there was an adult in the room for every two kids. The teacher was excellent, and she made sure that all the children were working, happy, and focused. While I didn’t get to spend as much time as I would’ve liked working with the children, I did spend a lot of time talking to the teacher and learning more about their teaching philosophy. Everything they do there is student based, and I knew I was in a community of people that truly cared about the children they were teaching. It was a place that I would love to work.

After my time in the classroom, I went back to meet with the interviewer and the other candidates. We had a group interview, and this is the part where I got spooked (not unlike a horse). I was interested in working for the organization because I love working with children, and because they were a non-profit- I’m double majoring in English and Organizational Studies, essentially non-profit work. Everyone else at the table was an early-education major, except for one woman, who was an actual full-time teacher in the city. Not only that, but she was working with a school where she was specifically working with students with special needs. I realized early on that while the job description posted online had asked for some pretty basic stuff- the ability to work with children, and to guide them throughout the day- they were looking for people who had experience specifically working with troubled children, in classroom environments. While I have tutored children with a range of emotional problems before, I had never done so in classroom environment. The other candidates, on the other hand, seemed to have been doing so since they were children themselves. I was really intimidated, and on top of the jetlag, I don’t think that some of my answers to the questions asked were the best they can be.

While I may end up not getting the job, I still felt like I learned a lot from the experience. I learned to always, always, always bring a printed résumé to interviews. I learned to never schedule an interview at 9 am the morning after a cross-country flight. I learned that you probably shouldn’t apply to jobs just because they’re at non-profit organizations. I’m hoping that the fact that a Scripps alumnus, who I’ve connected with, is on the Board of Directors may prove beneficial. I’ve been told that I’ll receive my decision shortly, and now, all I have to do is wait.

Using the Career Services Guide (and Common Sense)

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Hi again! Last week, I left off my career journey with a definitive lack of plan, and a trip to CP&R that didn’t, as I had previously hoped, spell out my entire career path for me. Looking back, I admit that my expectations were a bit unrealistic, as my future is something that I can only figure out for myself. However, as I immersed myself once again into the internship application process this week, I remembered a wise little anecdote that the woman who I had consulted with at CP&R bestowed upon me: “Have you tried reading this?”
I recognize that out of context, this wise little anecdote doesn’t seem that wise-but bear with me. The book she offered me was the CP&R Career Services Guide– the same one that is given to all first years upon their first meeting with CP&R; the same one that had been laying dormant in my desk drawer ever since that initial meeting. Wanting to seem like a smart, confident, and professional woman, I said I had- but that I’ll take an extra copy of the book, because my other one was getting worn down from excessive use.
Later that evening, I cracked open the guide as I stumbled upon an internship that I was interested in applying to on idealist.org. I was curious to see if it could tell me more than I already knew about cover letters and résumés, which I had, of course, Googled the format of. What else could there be to know?

It turns out, there could be a lot more to know. If an internship search was another class, the CP&R Career Resources Guide would be the syllabus. The book contains pivotal information such as how to tailor your résumé in order to cater to the specific job you want (I thought all résumés were the same?!), and better words to highlight your own skills on your résumé. I used a bunch of these words to replace “worked on,” which had characterized my working experience for the past five years. The Career Services Guide is modern and consistent in the facts that it presents, such as that typing is not considered a skill in today’s society, and the “profile” section of résumés is outdated. Again, something that Google and my parents both failed to tell me. Furthermore, it tells you how to properly research the position you are applying to. I’ve begun to carry the guide around with me everywhere; it makes my career search feel more accessible and easy, something I can just do in my spare time. In summation, I am as enthused with the CP&R Career Services Guide as a Mormon is with the Book of Mormon, and I would not hesitate to travel the world in order to spread its word.

bookofmormon

I became even more enthused with the guide when I saw that it provided a sample résumé for someone trying to get an internship in Communications, the very field that I had just stumbled upon a really, really interesting internship in. Feeling confident, I used the book as a guide to type up a new and improved résumé that specifically highlighted my previous experience in communications, making being an editor of my high school newspaper sound like I was head editor of the New York Times. I was able to read the position description carefully, and match the tone of the description in my cover letter and writing samples that I provided. While I’m uncertain if I’ll actually get the internship, I at least now feel more confident in the skill of actually applying to them- even if applying to internships isn’t a skill I can formally list on my résumé. Sometimes it’s best to use the resources that are right in front of you, or in this case, the ones that have been sitting in your desk drawer for months.

The Most Valuable Transferable Skill: Writing

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Through the very persistent prodding of my dad, I self-published a book of creative writing and illustrations during my first year in high school. I compiled about 5 years of personal and class work along with self-made drawings and photographs. Since the first finished product, my dad prompted me to start the next one. The sparse collection of works for the next manuscript continues to live on my laptop. It’s a hodgepodge of high school creative writing assignments, intimate reflections polished for public eyes, and formal attempts and technique practice. Although I have unfortunately neglected my creative projects, I am always writing (how many times can I mention thesis in this post?).  I will always be expected to write well throughout career and life.

The real goal is to look this cuddly when writing…

To me, writing remains one of the most valuable, transferable skills. In this semester alone, I have probably already written over 30 pages of material, and thesis isn’t even done yet (double majoring isn’t really that bad until thesis happens…)! More and more I realize that academic and creative writing share a similar, general purpose: to communicate. During the summer of 2014, as part of my summer research program at the University of Chicago, I participated in a course on “Academic and Professional Writing.”  It sounds dry and daunting, but believe me, never have I been more informed of the tiniest of adjustments that can make a huge adjustment in writing (the professor was a former lawyer, so she definitely knew a thing or two about manipulating rhetoric).

  1. Avoid nominalizations

The word nominalization itself is a nominalization, turning a verb, adjective, or adverb into a noun. You know what I’m talking about, those words ending in “-tion” that seem to sputter out at 2 AM on the keyboard, making it that bit closer to the final page requirement. Take this example:

  • The lack of editing of the committee’s statements was a failure of responsibility and resulted in ineffective communication.

Revise nominalizations:

  • Lacking editing, the committee’s statements were responsible for ineffective communication.

Wow are those even the same sentence?! The second sentence clearly designates a subject. There is something accountable, the committee’s statements, for the ineffective communication. Yes, there are still nominalizations (i.e. lacking editing), but this gerund form actually serves as an adjective (wow, grammar nerd alert)! Nominalizations might be lurking everywhere on your resume or personal statements. In writing that has tight format restrictions or limited word count, revise and remove nominalizations! Those suckers take up too much space from what you actually want to say!

2. Who is the doer of the action?

Like I mentioned above, writing is much more powerful if there is something or someone accountable for the actions of a sentence. This tip is tricky when it comes to academic writing. We avoid personal pronouns. Even in academic writing, the doer of the action can be clear (fun fact, the following sentence is from my thesis):

  • The formality of classical music culture focuses heavily on a live performance as an assessment of skill and level which effects levels of MPA.

There are two verbs here, focuses and effects. How can these two “actions” be streamlined?

  • Classical music culture focuses on live performances as skill and talent assessments, effecting musicians level of performance anxiety.

Now, it is clear that classical music culture is what focuses on live performance and performance anxiety. “The formality” served as another nominalization.

3. Get it all out, and then revise, revise, revise…

… and have multiple people look over it if you can. It is important to get the “bad first draft” out of the way and then to revise from there. If possible, have as many pairs of eyes look over your work. They are bound to catch something you haven’t and if they don’t understand what you’re saying, there’s a chance not many other people will either.

4. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE!

If you take anything away form this blog post, other than I need to edit my thesis still, take away this tip. When writing, always know your audience. I have heard this from so many of my mentors and professors in all types of fields. For instance, in a cover letter, an employer will know their company’s history, so you shouldn’t go into a long history about the place. But has this company shaped your opinion on a topic you learned in a class and you want to write about it for a final paper? That’s where the history should go, and how it has informed your understanding and opinion.

When you’re writing, a paper, a cover letter, an official statement, what is your process? How do you shape your personal voice while still maintaining content integrity? Whatever it is, I hope it comes with a constant vigilance for fixing typos and communicating the message to your reader!

How Making Toast Could Be Your Work “Superpower”

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Hello my lovely Scripps students and happy, happy Life After Scripps Week! For those of you that have no clue what I am talking about, I highly encourage you to check in with CP&R this week because they have put together a wonderful program filled with opportunities every day to help you strengthen your future’s possibilities. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but make sure to check out the Create Your Own Career Adventure this Thursday from 12:00-1:30 in Humanities 204! If you have enjoyed receiving advice from the many Scripps graduates through this blog, this is your chance to get even more advice. Not only that, but a little birdie told me there would be pizza and baked goods…

Now, let’s get down to business (to defeat *dun dun* the Huns…). Today, I am going to focus ’74 Scripps alumna Carolyn’s advice. Carolyn, a history major, currently has an amazing legal position at a very well known movie production company. During her time at college, she excelled in history class. This was not something she took for granted; rather she used it to her advantage.

“Everybody is going to be good at one or more things and the things you are naturally accomplished at, you tend to not value as much yourself…People make the mistake of not going with their talents because they assume they’re easy for everyone else, too.”

At first glance, her advice seems simple enough: hone in on what you’re good at and then go with it. Simple, right?

Wrong!

In today’s day and age, it’s very easy to get caught up thinking everyone has the same basic skill set. We assume everyone knows how to use Facebook. We assume everyone knows how to cook pasta. We assume everybody knows 2+2=4 and not 5… (Well, hopefully everybody at our age knows this). But just because we assume these are skills everyone possesses, doesn’t mean that they do.

Self reflect for a minute to the very basic level of all basic levels (think pumpkin spice latte level). What is something that comes naturally to you? I don’t mean advanced algebra or biology (even though those are very important and cool!), I mean something you do all the time without even thinking about it.

For me, I’m really good at constructing emails. However, I never really knew that this was an important skill until I got to my senior year of high school and had to start emailing college professors and representatives. I assumed it was basic nature for everyone in our day and age how to write a good email. Then, when I got to college, my roommate would complain about how hard it was to construct emails or texts. A lot of the time, I found myself instructing her what to say and she would be very grateful. I was so surprised—I thought that it was something everybody knew how to do.

Now, let’s dig further into this skill. What does an email or text entail? I would say it is the concise construction of words and phrases based around your targeted audience, all while keeping in mind what you hope to receive from your outreach. Looking into each part of that, I want to demonstrate how an easily overlooked skill can be crucial to a resume, job interview, etc. My ability to concisely construct words and phrases can help me not only build a resume that fully demonstrates my skills in an orderly structure, but it can also help me in a career. I can put those skills towards presentations for co-workers, using only a brief amount of time to make sure they stay interested. If I go into editing, I will be able to better communicate with my clients so they understand my comments and can increase their book’s potential.

Next, let’s look at targeting your audience. This is a skill that can be put towards anything. When I’m interviewing for jobs, I will have a good understanding of what the company is looking for and how I can best present myself in a way that is attractive to them (while staying true to myself). I will also be able to help with marketing at a book publishing company, knowing what book cover, for example, would be more captivating to the audience.

Finally, I think it is incredibly important to keep in mind your goal. When I make that presentation to my coworkers, I need to have an endpoint in mind. My presentation will have to be geared to convince them of my awesome idea. When I’m interviewing, I will need to remember that I want to be a member of the company in order to get their attention.

I really encourage all of you to take Carolyn’s advice. Take ten minutes and write down everything you are good at, and really try to focus on things that you think may be basic, everyday actions. Next, think about what that skill does for you and how you can put it towards your future goals. Who knows? You’re ability to toast bread to the perfect consistency every single time may be what your dream company is really looking for.

P.S. I would love to know what you guys discover about yourself! Please comment below if you have anything to share J

What Time Is It? ft. Chad Danforth

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SPOILER ALERT: It’s summer time

don’t click that link, you know already know what it is.

Also, just to clarify, as much as I love Chad Danforth, Troy Bolton will always be my number #1 (or rather my #14)

hsmblog

so this is me and Troy Bolton basically twinning. if you can’t tell that my jersey number is 14, that might because I didn’t have a lot of middle school volleyball pics to choose from (for braces reasons mostly) enjoy that sweet 6th grade awkwardness fam

But we’re not talking about Troy because he had a pretty sweet constant influx of opportunities which is definitely not as relatable as Chad, and whatever problem he has that made this a thing:

homeboy must wear 3 watches for a reason, right?

homeboy must wear 3 watches for a reason, right?

So here’s the deal, I might have some stuff lined up for this summer. MIGHT. Which is weird, because normally, when people are like, “I’m not gonna have an internship, or a job, or a sense of purpose, or a chance at happiness”

I’m like

andimgonnaberighttherewithyou

but weirdly I may or may not be taking intro animation classes at my local Community College, and/or interning at this architecture and design firm back home.

And while I’m really excited about both of these opportunities, both are still a little up in the air, and interfere with my ideal summer plans which include sleeping in and chilling with my besties

sleepingin

the boys are back

this really was an amazing trilogy

But more importantly, if I want this internship (which I do) I have to do all that applying for an internship stuff. (>>>)                                foriegnterritory

So because I literally wandered into my only real world job, my resume is literally a series of questionable design choices designed to hide the fact that I had zero work experience.

I’m not going to include it because it’s even more embarrassing than that volleyball photo, so here’s a .gif that reflects pretty much exactly how i felt while making it. (vvv)

awkwardlyholdingflowers

that wilted bouquet represents my meager list of accomplishments

 

So this time I went to the professionals, by which I mean CP&R.

So it’s probably time to admit that, for a CP&R blogger, I don’t actually utilize their resources as much as I should, but they have drop-in hours from 10-4 on weekdays and I had zero ideas on resume writing so I figured it was probably time.

First of all, those magazine looking things by the door have sample resumes inside them which means if you feel really self-conscious about how bad/non-existent your resume is YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE TO TALK TO A PERSONastonished

But you probably should, i just found it useful to get started before having someone else look at it.

The super helpful/friendly people at CP&R can give you helpful tips like where to put numbers or how to use nifty action verbs to make your resume stand out (vvv)

making your resume stand out

So basically, the point of this Chad Danforth themed post is that you have a team to help you with summer things!

WHAT TEAM?   CP.. no, that’s actually sacrilegious, it’s the Wildcats, it’s always the Wildcats

 

And, when you have a team that has your back, there’s a lot of stuff you can do, like trying something really new!

like, reeeaaaaaaaaallly new

like, reeeaaaaaaaaallly new

Unfortunately, there’s one other thing I feel I should mention, and I really hate to end this post on a sour note, but this is important.

You can have all the support in the world, and all the experience a person could ask for. You could fill out all the petitions that Kelly has to offer, and still, I’m pretty sure, that despite all this effort and all the hope in the world, you still can’t major in vacation.

you filthy filthy liar

you filthy filthy liar