Friday, August 31, 2012

Just a number


By Yameng Zhang

Today is Friday, August 31, 2012. I had 2 slices of bread at lunch, 150 calories. I learned 37 new words. I paid 430 dollar rent. I got 3 out of 5 on today's quiz. I spent 7 bucks for dinner.  Numbers are not only numbers, those are the numbers define my day.

I am a number person, because numbers matter to me. Yet, I hate that. Since kindergarten, I started to strive for those 100s, because my mom told me that the kid who scored 100 was the best. At college, GPA is what I am striving for. The higher, the better. Because before I got an interview from a company, my GPA can be the one that tells something about me.

For most cases, the achievement of how many awards you had, how many people attended the events you managed, how much money you raised, how many people you had led, how much you scored in the GRE test, how many years of experience you’ve had, those do matter since those are the numbers that will define you as a candidate. For a college admission, they may never see your face, but they will tell if you’re good enough by those numbers you had. That's the magic of numbers, and those are the magic numbers, and it is not cool to rely on those numbers.

Numbers are being overstressed that they become the ones that defines a person's value, instead of the person itself. We all know it is not easy to get all the good numbers in everything we do, the point is, don’t let them burden you, neither let them label you, no matter they are good or bad. 

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Get a Job


As much as I like to pretend that nothing stresses me out, balancing classes, my internship, job searching, being president of Twin Pines Cooperative, and trying to have a social life my last semester of college is proving to be a challenging balancing act. With so many things that seem so pressing, it’s easy to let job-searching sort of slip to the bottom of the list. This is especially true when I spend countless hours sending out resumes to no avail.  Every time my parents ask me how it’s going I feel like Charlie from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia yelling “Oh, get a job? Just get a job? Why don’t I strap on my job helmet and squeeze down into a job cannon and fire off into job land, where jobs grow on little jobbies?!” It certainly hasn’t been an easy task.

But the truth is companies are actually hiring. Now. Apply now. If there’s anything that you take out of this blog, let it be that piece of advice. Companies go through what’s called ‘hiring cycles’ where they typically conduct more interviews and take more new people on to the team. For many companies, this happens in the fall. If you wait to apply until the spring, you’re already behind. Take the time to sit down now (even over the long weekend, maybe?) and think about what you want from a company: large or small, relaxed or strict corporate cultures, location, etc. Once you have an idea of the kind of company where you want to apply, start doing your research. Jobs are posted daily on LinkedIn, and the LACD Pinterest (@LiberalArts CareerDevelopment) has an entire board for job seeking websites. Use all of the resources provided to you by being a Purdue student.

Whatever you do, don’t procrastinate. Just take a few hours a week to make sure you’re researching enough to keep your bases covered. It would be terrible to miss out on your dream job just because you didn’t send your resume early enough in the fall and missed their hiring cycle. Miss this week’s episode of The Real World, and start applying for jobs in the real world. You won’t regret it!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Never in an Interview...


By Samantha Werry

Based of a career article I found by Caroline Dowd-Higgins, these are the top things to never do in an interview. I found these top 6 to be very inspiring and now I know I will never forget these little pieces of information when I am interviewing for any job. For many people, the most stressful part is the interview process, so if you remember these little tips, it can help you out a whole bunch.

The first one she mentioned was Carrying too much stuff into the interview. For me, I bring a portfolio of my past work with my resume as well, and a pen or pencil and nothing more. You want to appear as a professional, not a harried student with a backpack and folders at hand trying to get to class on time. I know many of us are students who have interviews here on campus. If you do, always ask if you can store your backpack or jacket somewhere while you are interviewing. When it comes to drinks, do not bring any. Have water stored in your backpack just in case. If they offer you water, always take it. You never know when you will get thirsty or a coughing fit will happen.

The next tip she mentioned was Bragging that you're a 'perfectionist.' Many interviewers will see this as a red flag. It can mean you are difficult to work with and always want things to go your way. You want to tell the truth, but do it in a flattering way by saying you are detail-oriented. This way you are still telling the truth, but in a calmer way that will not freak out the interviewer.

Confessing to multiple weaknesses was the next talked about. Typically, interviewers ask you to describe your biggest weakness to see if you are self-aware enough to identify something you can improve upon. But that doesn't mean you should rattle off a full, big list. Name at least one weakness that is relevant to the job and yourself, and explain how you are working to improve that skill.

When she mentioned Giving obviously rehearsed answers, it made me think, I want to be prepared don’t I? Well after I thought about it, yes you do want to be prepared, but not set on answering a set way. It's important that you seem relatable, natural and likable, as well as smart. You do not want to seem like a drone doing only what you have to. Let your personality shine and if you do not fit, then the job was not right for you in the first place.

This one is my favorite and is so the truth. Having no clue about the company you're interviewing with. You should always be able to answer questions about the company. If not, you seem unprepared and not even interested in working there at all. It seems like you are not wanting to be there and they know that. Before the interview, you need to check out the company's website and speak with people who might also know the organization. This is they determines if you are just trying to get any job or you are genuinely interested in their company and this particular opportunity. An interviewer wants to know that you took the time to get to know them since competition is fierce and not preparing points out a lack of seriousness. Always go to their website for more information.

NEVER  Answer your phone or fumble with it. Sure, it's rude if the interviewer is constantly checking his phone, but if your phone goes off during the interview, you just look unprofessional. You better say sorry about 50 times and turn if off and store it away from you. Good rule of thumb, turn if off or don’t bring it inside with you.

After all of her topics, I believe these are a great rule of thumb to always consider. My number one thing is to let your personality shine, because if you are being what they want you to be, you might end up hating the job you get. You should always get a job you really are interested about because in the end if you hate it, you will quite shortly after and then you have to go through this process all over again.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Study Abroad

Like most college students, I dream of traveling the world one day. I want to experience as much of it as I can. However, I have yet to attend a study abroad fair. Like most college students, my life is extremely busy, studying abroad can put a heavy strain on my income for the semester, and lets face it....I'm scared about leaving my friends and family for an extended period of time!

But this way of thinking needs to stop right now for me. While it may seem like there are many challenges when trying to study abroad, there are countless benefits that come along with it that outweigh all the negatives. Here are four simple reasons why studying abroad during college will be one of the best decisions you make in your life:

1. International Experience
When you get the opportunity to experience how other cultures work and operate, it gives you a more worldly experience. You can bring this experience with you into your future career, which will give you countless advantages later in life.

2. Your Resume Will Stand Out
Not many students can say they have lived outside of the United States for an extended period of time. And in this day and age, every little experience that helps you stand out to employers can be beneficial. Employers will recognize that studying abroad takes time and determination, and this will make you a better candidate for any position you are seeking.

3. Networking
We you travel abroad, you have to opportunity to meet new people who live all over the world. Building a large professional network will help you establish yourself professionally on a much larger scale than your peers. And also, who couldn't use more friends, right?

4. Have Fun!
This might be your only opportunity to live somewhere outside of the United States, so take advantage of it. Don't let something as important and studying abroad pass you by!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

The Success in Failure

By Corinne Feight


Students are placed on an impossible pedestal, especially in college. In twenty-two years, are we really supposed to have it all figured out? That seems to be the expectation. Pick a major equates to pick a life. Are we really mentally prepared for the gravity of that decision?

I’m certainly not, but then again, I think failure is a crucial part of the human equation. We have to fail. We have to make poor decisions. We have to choose political science over photography, only to later realize (usually in our senior year) that this really is not where our passions lie. So what do we do? We run that victory lap, knowing that in the end our happiness will (eventually) trump that extra couple thousand in student loans. Still, maybe we don’t figure it out right now. Maybe it takes that first week on the job or the months spent on the road.

I heard a professor give a speech last year. It was funny. It was sad. It was real. He took the crowd through his life. He told us about his house growing up where his dad built their front door because their family was too poor to afford one from the store. He showed us that he was a childhood deviant. He broke the rules. He didn’t apply himself in school. Yet the funny thing was that he was before us, a professor at a prestigious university, laughing as if he only could have known. His recent past is littered with awards and honors—his greatness extending far beyond his reach.

Yet throughout his memoir, he only wanted to leave us with three points. A send-off, if you will, combined with a strong hope. He wanted us to believe in ourselves. He wanted us to live everyday to the fullest, and he wanted us to be persistent, realizing that persistence must sometimes follow the most tragic of failures. Even with his checkered past, he told us that he’d made it. He was standing on that stage—recently voted the most popular professor across the entire campus.

As I stand here, staring ahead at the daunting task of project managing the spring career fair, I know wholeheartedly that I will make mistakes. I will encounter setbacks. I will fail, completely and utterly, to translate the seamlessness in my head to the reality of those four days. Still, success is buried in each floundered attempt. We’re supposed to fail sometimes. For without failure, how bland and lackluster would our college experience be? I think we need to go big or go home. So I intend to go down in flames, so that the end result will not only be more magnificent, but even better than the budding picture in my mind.

The past and the present are ever evolving, malleable and shifting. It’s strange to think that the direction I am headed now may not be anywhere close to where I’ll be years down the road. For Michael Morrison, it definitely wasn’t. But then again, isn’t the uncertainty half of the fun? Isn’t each failure really a blessing, mysteriously disguised as a fault?

It is Time


By Yameng Zhang

Summer has always been wonderful, the most enjoyable time of a year. The more relaxed I got during a summer, the more intense I feel when school begins. So every year when the end of August comes, I intended to mentally prepare myself for a transformation. Unfortunately, the first week of school proved that I am not ready yet there is no time. What I wish is that it is the case for all students. It is time, the time to face the fact that summer is gone and school is here.

I have a topic that I don’t want to bring up; however, it is ringing bells and making noises all the time in my head. I bet there is at least one in everyone’s head. I keep asking my friends and classmates what’s your plan after graduation, while I am afraid I may be asked the same question. It becomes a terrifying question for me when the time comes. Work or study? It is time to decide.

There is no good to open the doors to both paths, because you barely can. I believe if there is no determination, then good results can rarely come out. What happens on me is that when I was job searching, I stopped times when there are potential opportunities, what happened is that I hesitated, I questioned myself that if that is what I really want. What is happening on me is that I am preparing for graduate school, but I never looked into schools about their major requirement or application process. This is the problem. I have no clear plan, what I have is a list of things that I don’t want to do, what is left is still a whole world that full of options. Nonetheless, it is time, the time to determine who you want to be and find the way to be it.

Time has come, so please seize the day. Clear the mind, find the clue, stick to the plan and never hesitate.

School has come, so please switch the mode. Clean the room, find a place, spread out the books and start reading. 

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Joining the Real World


This week, I had my last ‘first day of school’ as an undergraduate.  As excited as I am to be able to say that I’m almost done with school, the daunting task of finding the perfect job right after graduation has been hanging over my head already. Although I feel I’ve been doing everything I can to prepare myself for the real world, it’s a humbling realization when you think about the number of people across the country applying for the same jobs you are, and with similar qualifications.

One of the only things keeping me sane is a concept I heard recently from one of my teachers: the first job you get doesn’t have to be your dream job. In fact for many of us, it won’t be. What matters is that you learn something from the job that you get right out of college, and keep that training in mind for the future. All you need to do is figure out what interested you enough in the position to make you apply for it in the first place, and focus on learning more about that aspect of the job. As long as you can tough it out for a year or two, then you can always take one job while still searching for another. Who knows, you may end up liking that job a lot more than you thought you would in the beginning.

If you’re still unhappy in your first real career, hopefully after plenty of valuable college experiences and a few years on the job the stars will align and you can end up with the job you’ve always wanted. After all, it’s like the old saying: sometimes the harder you work, the luckier you are. 

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Research and then research again

It's day three of the often called "syllabus week" but that doesn't mean we're slacking off here at the LACD office! Our team has started working on some great projects for this semester and I'm really excited to see how things unfold.

One thing that I think it integral to any project is research. No matter what your major or career field, research should always be one of the starting points of a project. Even in my major (Visual Communications Design) I never underestimate how important research is going to be. Researching my topic or subject matter allows me to become more knowledgeable about what I'm working with, it helps me when coming up with ideas for the project and it allows the project to become more credible (it's very hard to argue with someone who's done their research).

Not only is research necessary when working on projects, it can also be helpful in the job market. Whether you are looking for an internship or a job after graduation, researching companies and getting to know what they're all about will help you TREMENDOUSLY. There's nothing more embarrassing than being in an interview when they ask the question "Why do you want to work for us?" and not having an answer. Being knowledgeable about the company and its mission will definitely make a good impression on the interviewer or job recruiter.

What have we learned today? Research everything. If you don't know what you're talking about or working on, things are not going to go well.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Be Friends with Everyone


By Samantha Werry

In the summer right before my senior year, I had the most amazing internship at a company called RCI. Besides furthering myself with my design work, the fabulous people there told me a few important ideas to remember, one being to get to know everyone you can.

Whether you need someone’s help finding a job, someone to put in a good word for you, help with resume building, someone to write a recommendation letter, someone you made a difference with by a good first impression, or someone to even get a job from and work for, those people you remember can help you get THE job you want. You never know when you will run into that person again, so it can never hurt to always put your best foot forward when meetings someone. Always let your personality shine and never hold back on what you know you can do and what you believe in. Do not be afraid to start a conversation, ask for help, or anything especially in an internship. They are here to help you learn as well.

I know there are a lot of social medias out there to help with staying connected. My big advice is to use LinkedIn. If you haven’t heard of it, it is basically a professional Facebook in my opinion. You can stay connected with everyone you meet, and always see if they want to catch up. It can never hurt to put your self out there. Who knows, maybe the person in a call center will remember you and hire you at a big new company? So all in all, be yourself, use LinkedIn, ask questions, catch up with people, and let yourself shine.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Round Two

Welcome back to Purdue everyone!

Today was the first day for the LACD fall 2012 interns, and boy did we get right to work! We have lots of exciting events coming up in the near future and all the details need to start being planned. Our team this semester is top notch, and I am so excited to see what we will accomplish.

This is my second semester with the LACD internship, and as I start off my first day I think it is important to set goals for myself. Goals are important in every day life, whether you apply them to your classes, job, or extracurricular activites. They help you stretch and grow, and sometimes they even help you become successful in something you never thought was possible.

This semester my goal is to work on my leadership and team building skills. I am taking on more responsibilites and because of that I need to push myself farther. My teammates are also incredible people, so working well with them is also something I am looking forward to. Although we may seem like different people at times, we have a variety of skills that I am positive will help us be successful.

I can't wait to see what this year brings and all the wonderful work that is about to occur. Happy first day of school everyone!