Presentations

My three favorite presentations over the course of the past week were on the sport of lacrosse, the best active athlete, and Coors Light being the best light beer. I enjoyed learning more about lacrosse because I have never understood the rules of the game. I have some friends from Maryland who have always talked very highly about it, and it is slowly catching on near my home area of Ohio. He did a good job with his presentation of understanding his audience, and starting with the assumption that most of us didn't know much about it. Brett's presentation on Coors Light was done very professionally. His arguments may not sway my opinion, but I definitely now have more respect for the beer. I especially enjoyed the explanation of the best active athlete. The way he presented was successful in how he interacted with his audience. He was also able to bring some comedy to his presentation. I thought the presentations were a great way to not only learn about random things, but also to gain a little bit more understanding of our classmates. 

Cover Letter Tutorial

One of the first things that struck me about the cover letters were they aren't actually ready until after your resume has been looked at first. I was always under the assumption that your cover letter always was read before anything else. When I was writing previous cover letters, I concentrated more upon myself then the company in which I was interested in. I will definitely need to change this in the future. I had never put much thought into the cover letter, and was not aware of all the important purposes it holds. 

Its important to focus on the company you are applying to. It should be personalized and time should be spent learning about the individual company. The best part of this cover letter tutorial for me was the example. I hadn't had much experience in the past on applying for jobs, so I didn't find anything that I strongly disagreed with. I think the tutorial was a great introduction to me starting to write my cover letter. 

Client Visit

Jennifer Goree, our client from Redfern, came in and began to explain our group project for the semester on Monday. I think our group wants to take advantage of our creativity and computer skills and make an entertaining video. With a few architecture majors and a graphic design major, I think we will be able to think of some clever ideas. 

I'm pretty confident with how our group has been interacting with one another so far, and don't see any problems as we move into the beginning phases of the project. We have all been getting along great, and our first meeting at Bojangles last week went smoothly. Everyone has agreed to take on a specific role in the group. I'll make sure to inquire if I have any questions in the upcoming weeks. 

Interview Mistakes

I have to agree with the article regarding the interview mistakes. It seems like some of the most simple things can make a big difference. Because the company has such little experience working with you, the interview becomes the primary focus for how you would conduct yourself in the future. 

I think the biggest thing for me beginning to interview for jobs and graduate school is to just stay relaxed. I tend to get really nervous, and its easy to see. Practice and just more experience doing it will help me become more calm and relaxed. The three interviews I've had for my past summer internships had been really relaxed and to the point. I haven't had any with tough questions and required some thought beforehand like my biggest flaw or my best attributes. When I was a sophomore, I did have something similar to that when I was trying to get on the IPTAY student board. I wasn't prepared and froze a few times, and didn't end up getting it. I think I just need to take some time and think a little bit about everything and I'll be fine.