I thought the cover letter advice from Collegegrad.com was for the most part helpful. I thought it was interesting that the cover letter is often read after the resume! I just assumed that since it is essentially an opening to your resume, it was always read first. One thing that I am guilty of is mass-emailing my resume a few times. In my mind I thought it couldn’t hurt, but after reading how much of a waste of time it is and how important it is to personalize to each company, I won’t do that again! One thing I thought was unfortunate to read was that most entry level resumes are simply filed away. It was very discouraging as an undergrad to see but definitely a beneficial reality check. Another thing that I thought was helpful was its emphasis on researching and learning about the company to show your interest. I wrote my cover letter for internships about a year ago and will definitely be modifying it so it pertains more to each specific company. There were a few things I didn’t agree with on the site like the postscript technique. Depending on how conservative a company is, I think the P.S. may be too informal and may not be taken seriously, especially if it is handwritten. I think the cover letter checklist is very useful because it sums up everything your cover letter should include. It helps wean out anything that doesn’t look appealing to prospective companies. I thought this advice was very valuable and I plan on reviewing my cover letter to make it as professional as possible.

Client Visit

I thought this client visit was very interesting! Its good to know that Redfern really cares about the health of staff and students and wants to do something to improve everyone’s well being. I think its great that it incorporates the wellness of the people on campus and our campus itself. Its important that all aspects of “health” are covered and I think this program will certainly do so. First off, I think its very important to make everyone aware of the program. I also think its necessary that students take charge and pass on the word – I think it will be the most effective approach. Posters and signs around campus along with emails and such would be a great start. I really like the idea of making a website linked through Clemson with all kinds of things from exercise & health advice/tips to ways to keep our environment safe – something like a virtual magazine. It would also be valuable to include things like nutrition and environmental facts that are often ignored or missed to open more eyes to the importance of a healthy lifestyle in many ways. So far, our group has worked very well together. We communicate well and have each shared our ideas and will soon choose a specific direction for the project. I am excited to be a part of implementing this plan. The only thing I’m a little unsure of is the criteria of the project…are we just choosing a direction to take the Healthy Campus Initiative (like creating a website) and creating objectives and a plan?

Job Interview Mistakes

I definitely agree that these are some of the biggest mistakes you could make during a job interview. One, because I’m sure the writer knew what he/she was talking about and two, because these are definitely the types of things that run through my head when thinking about an interview. I’ve had both a phone interview and face-to-face interview and my biggest battles with both was sweating the little things and not practicing quite enough. The phone interview I had was for a Disney Internship where they asked me several scenario questions. I was somewhat caught off guard when they asked me what I’d do in each but I thankfully was able to answer them well. The face-to-face interview was much more intense! I had an interview with Avon in New York City this past summer and I honestly felt like I wasn’t prepared at all. It being my first official interview, I was very nervous and didn’t know what to expect outside of what I knew after talking to a few people. I had a hard time answering their questions involving work-related situations since I haven’t had many of those experiences yet. Next time, I’ll make sure I am much more prepared by trying to avoid many of these mistakes and practice, practice, practice! I’ll certainly make sure I also follow up to ensure I show my interest and just try to RELAX!

An Amazing Experience...

This was a tough one for me...just writing about anything we want because there are so many ways to go. Since its Superbowl Weekend, I thought I'd write about an experience I'll never forget. When we did the four sentences icebreaker in class, one of my truths was that I cheered at the ProBowl in Hawaii, so I thought I'd share my story of the wonderful opportunity. When I was 15, I cheered for a competitive cheerleading squad near my hometown in Montville, NJ. We had vigorous 3 hour practices 4x a week and would prepare for competition season until we were flawless. One of the big competitions we were invited to was in Atlantic City, NJ. During one of our pep talks before taking the floor, our coach had a few ribbons that he said he was going to hand out for us to tie on our shoes. He told us they were from a cheer association called ECU but didn’t explain. He said he only had 5 and that he would hand them out randomly and I was lucky enough to get one :). I thought, “Hey, this is cool…maybe I’ll get some free cheer stuff,” but didn’t think much else. He told us to tie them to our shoe laces before going on the floor. Later, during the trophy ceremony, an announcer from ECU explained that the ribbons were for an opportunity to cheer at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii that coming January. I thought that was pretty cool but didn’t get too excited because I remembered seeing a LOT of ribbons on other girl’s shoes! She explained that they watched each girl during their team’s performance and that they were going to read off names of who was invited. As she was reading down the names, I heard my own! I was so excited but didn’t think it would happen with all of the costs and worrying about missing school, so I was just happy to be chosen at all. When I talked to my mom right after, she told me that of course I could go…it was an experience of a lifetime that I just couldn’t miss out on! So, at the end of January I flew with mom, her fiancé and 2 other girls from my team. Hawaii was absolutely GORGEOUS! We had practice everyday right in front of the Diamond Head Volcano…that was pretty amazing! Come the day of the ProBowl, I was so excited to be a part of it all. We were a human flag during the National Anthem and did a routine with hundreds of other girls for halftime. It was really cool! I got autographs from many players and got a video of the whole show. To top off the experience, my Mom and fiancé hadn’t picked a wedding date yet so decided to plan a small Hawaiian wedding that was absolutely wonderful! This experience was one of many that I will truly remember forever. Oh, and back to football….GO CARDINALS! :)