With March only a couple of days away, one thing seems to be on everyone's mind: Spring Break. Trying to find a low cost, fun, and warm destination seems to be most people's priority and the aspect of life we are most willing to work on at this time. Last year, my roommates and I were extremely lucky when it came to planning an amazing trip. Two weeks before Spring break and we still didn't have any plans, so we were just going to all head to our homes to spend a week with family and friends. To our surprise, we received a phone call from Advantage Property Management, who we rent through, and we had won $3000 to go towards any vacation within a years time. Of course, we immediately thought Spring break and headed to the travel agency where the money was in our name. Lots of places were booked and with that short notice, flights were out of control. Finally, we came across Punta Cana located in the Dominican Republic. Everything was great and all we needed to do now was get passports in only two weeks. That same day we went to the post office, filled out a form, got a picture and spent a rediculous amount of money for a little book. Not only did we have to overnight our information there and pay for them to overnight it back, but we had to expedite the passports as well. In reality, this is a stupid thing to complain about seeing how we all just won an amazing trip that ended up costing $200.
Unfortunately, we are not in any raffle or contest this spring but we have managed to find some fun things to do. We are all going out separete ways, mostly in Florida, but I'm sure that we will manage to have a great time, somehow !
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
Cover Letters
Something that really struck my attention was the first piece about the reality of cover letters. I agree on some points, but I can also still see the other side to the issue. When it states that a cover letter is never really looked at unless the employer is interested in the resume, I can see two sides. First, I can see that if it is a big corporation or company that this would be the case. On the other hand, if it is a smaller, more personable atmosphere, I see the boss taking the time to look at the effort put into the resume from beginning to end- looking at the whole package, not just the qualifications.
I do agree however, that cover letters should be directed for the intended audience, not to show who you are as a person. It is important to pitch yourself to the company, not just yourself to see if they like you.
I also learned that sending out mass resumes is not a good idea. I always thought "the more, the better" but as stated in the article, big corporations have teams designed to go throught resumes, and these unsolicited resumes often get passed by.
I do agree however, that cover letters should be directed for the intended audience, not to show who you are as a person. It is important to pitch yourself to the company, not just yourself to see if they like you.
I also learned that sending out mass resumes is not a good idea. I always thought "the more, the better" but as stated in the article, big corporations have teams designed to go throught resumes, and these unsolicited resumes often get passed by.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Preparing for an Interview
I chose to read the article "A Crash Course in Interview Preparation" for this week's blog. I found it very helpful with the hints and tips on how to not only make it through your interview, but to really impress your possible employers.
The first and most helpful hints for me where the ones on supply preparation. Having ample number of resumes and any other documents you may want to hand in is a great idea. Also, simply having everything organized and neat is also a great way to impress the company you are interviewing for.
A simple, yet very useful hint, that I would not have thought of is to have plenty of tissues! We have all been in a situation when we needed a tissue and there is none to be found! It may sound silly, but I think that this is a great tip to have when going in for an interview.
Another great tip was to have an umbrella on hand. The weather in Charleston is pretty predictable, but the occasional afternoon storm can come out of no where and have you soaking wet in two seconds. Having the umbrella really goes to show you are prepared and thinking about any possible situation that could come your way.
The mock interviews with either a friend or yourself is a great tip as well. Although they may not ask you any of the questions you practiced, the mock interview can help you think on your toes and create smoothe transitions between aspects of the interview. This preparation is another way to impress your possible boss.
All these hints really helped me to realize what I will need to do when my first rounds of interviews begins after graduation.
The first and most helpful hints for me where the ones on supply preparation. Having ample number of resumes and any other documents you may want to hand in is a great idea. Also, simply having everything organized and neat is also a great way to impress the company you are interviewing for.
A simple, yet very useful hint, that I would not have thought of is to have plenty of tissues! We have all been in a situation when we needed a tissue and there is none to be found! It may sound silly, but I think that this is a great tip to have when going in for an interview.
Another great tip was to have an umbrella on hand. The weather in Charleston is pretty predictable, but the occasional afternoon storm can come out of no where and have you soaking wet in two seconds. Having the umbrella really goes to show you are prepared and thinking about any possible situation that could come your way.
The mock interviews with either a friend or yourself is a great tip as well. Although they may not ask you any of the questions you practiced, the mock interview can help you think on your toes and create smoothe transitions between aspects of the interview. This preparation is another way to impress your possible boss.
All these hints really helped me to realize what I will need to do when my first rounds of interviews begins after graduation.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Persuasive Speeches
In class we discussed Martin Luther King Jr's letter from Birmingham Jail. This is one of the most famous, and influential examples of rhetoric. In his letter, Martin Luther King Jr uses ethos (appeach of the speaker), logos (appeal to logic), and pathos (appeal to emotion) in order to makethe letter persuasive. King Jr. makes sure that he touches his readers in every aspect throughout the letter- not only making his point, but giving himself credibility and working with the reader's emotion to see his point of view.
In class we also had guest speakers from the Army Recruit. Their presentation was very detailed on what makes a good persuasive speech, however, they never really gave us their persuasive speech. At the end of the presentation the class began to ask questions about being recruiters for the army and what they say to persuade people to join. It was at this time that I felt the class was interested and began to see what tactics they used. For example, money was a key ingredient in their success- they would say financial benefits and incentives and then pause so that the people could soak it in and think about it.
Just like what we saw in Martin Luther King Jr's letter and the Army recruiters, I saw in President Bush's speech on 9-11. In this speech, Bush touches all the key points of the rhetorical triangle. He begins by useing pathos- the appeal to our emotion- which is very appropriate seeing the subject that he is addressing. He recognizes the severity and emotional taxing nature of the event. Bush then begins to appeal to our logos by taking the people through the steps of why we would be a target yet still giving the people confidence that we are going to not only survive but prevail. Bush uses ethos, the appeal of the speaker, throughout the entire speech. One main way of doing this is by using "our", making him a part of the situation, not a third party just stating the facts and what we should do. He makes sure that the audience is connected with him, on the same emotional level, so that we feel in touch with him, therefore giving him our support. Bush goes back to using logos when he begins to explain the actions that he has already taken to ensure our security and what actions he intends to implement in the near future. Bush brings his speech to a close by asking the people of the United States for their prayers and support. By doing so, Bush is using ethos and pathos as a final reminder that he is one of us and is there for the long run. Bush also ends with a Psalm which appeals to the audience who is reaching out for prayer particularly at this point in time, and gives himself credibility because he is one of us. His last sentence appeals to all three points of the rhetorical triangle. He acknowledges the past and what we need to do about the future (logos), uses first person and makes him on the same level as his audience (ethos) and finally, gives us encouragement and hope for the future (logos): "This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget this day. Yet, we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world."
http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/speeches/George_W_Bush/index.htm
In class we also had guest speakers from the Army Recruit. Their presentation was very detailed on what makes a good persuasive speech, however, they never really gave us their persuasive speech. At the end of the presentation the class began to ask questions about being recruiters for the army and what they say to persuade people to join. It was at this time that I felt the class was interested and began to see what tactics they used. For example, money was a key ingredient in their success- they would say financial benefits and incentives and then pause so that the people could soak it in and think about it.
Just like what we saw in Martin Luther King Jr's letter and the Army recruiters, I saw in President Bush's speech on 9-11. In this speech, Bush touches all the key points of the rhetorical triangle. He begins by useing pathos- the appeal to our emotion- which is very appropriate seeing the subject that he is addressing. He recognizes the severity and emotional taxing nature of the event. Bush then begins to appeal to our logos by taking the people through the steps of why we would be a target yet still giving the people confidence that we are going to not only survive but prevail. Bush uses ethos, the appeal of the speaker, throughout the entire speech. One main way of doing this is by using "our", making him a part of the situation, not a third party just stating the facts and what we should do. He makes sure that the audience is connected with him, on the same emotional level, so that we feel in touch with him, therefore giving him our support. Bush goes back to using logos when he begins to explain the actions that he has already taken to ensure our security and what actions he intends to implement in the near future. Bush brings his speech to a close by asking the people of the United States for their prayers and support. By doing so, Bush is using ethos and pathos as a final reminder that he is one of us and is there for the long run. Bush also ends with a Psalm which appeals to the audience who is reaching out for prayer particularly at this point in time, and gives himself credibility because he is one of us. His last sentence appeals to all three points of the rhetorical triangle. He acknowledges the past and what we need to do about the future (logos), uses first person and makes him on the same level as his audience (ethos) and finally, gives us encouragement and hope for the future (logos): "This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget this day. Yet, we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world."
http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/speeches/George_W_Bush/index.htm
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