"You Majored In what" chapter 3

" College is supposed to be a time for thinking,but again if you watch movies about the college scene
(Animal House anyone?), You sure wouldn't know"

    This quote stood out to me because it represented my outloook on collge before i started. Many movies and shows that i watched related to college were about sororities competing against other sororities or who was cool opposed to who was lame. These shows never once reflected the importance of education or hard work required to be successful in college. The cool and flashy student were looked at as royalty while the lest flash smarter kids were looked at as nerds.


"right-mind thinking doesn't mean you ignore challenges or pretend that something bad is really good. Instead, you take what is challenging and find a way to mentally approach the challenge so that ultimately you succeed in the situation." 

      This quote is especially true in the job world. There may be jobs and managers that are hard to deal with but throughout it all you know your one mail goal which is to get the job done and not lose your job. With this in mind you will always prosper in any situation that may at first seem impossible. you don't have to pretend to like something that is not to your liking. All you have to do is focus on the reason you even accepted the challenge and you will come out a winner.

"determine what is and and isn't working, why it isn't working, and how it can be changed;"

      This is very important in order to have an organized life. I find that if something is wrong or not working out, don't immediately stress about it. Rather find out what the problem is and find out why is it a problem. My mother always tells me that to every problem there is a solution. As i get older i see that this is always true. With this method of thinking life and is problem will be easier.

"You majored in what" chapter 2

"what is there was a special way to help you identify what makes you special and interesting to employers?"

     This quote stood out to me because it was always one of the things I wondered about and wish I could find the answer to. The fact that when applying for a job there are a bunch of other people interviewing and hoping to get the same job was always a very discouraging thought for me. I would always think what makes me so special when there are a bunch of other applicants who probably feel they are just as qualified and as special as me.
   
"how what you study in one class seems to dovetail with what your learning in another
   
    This quote stood out to me because I noticed this connection between my poetry class I am taking now and my english 102 class i previously took. The work in my poetry class goes hand in hand with what was taught to me before. On monday i heard my teacher reviewing words like imagery, allusion, personification, connotation and alliteration. I immediately remembered my previous professor going over these things with other pieces of writings we were analyzing. This was very pleasing to me being that I would not have to be learning these things for the first time which can be difficult rather it felt like a review of things i already knew.

"When we take what we learn in one sphere of our life and apply it to another our knowledge and understanding increase substantially and e open the doors for creative thinking and brilliant new insights and ideas"

  I found myself doing exactly what this quote is saying when I was having a conversation with my mother while watching Dr.Oz on television. A lot of the things that he says coincides with the teachings of a biology professor i had. Dr Oz was talking about how the level of ph in the foods that you eat can affect and destroy the lining in your esophagus. In class the professor was telling us this exact same thing and talking about how important it is to keep your body healthy. This was sort of a wake up call for me because I was diagnosed with acid reflux disease a few years ago. I had started consuming less greasy foods and acidic drinks and the feelings of heartburn and nausea gradually went away. I began thinking that i was fine and somehow managed to go back into the bad habit of eating greasy foods and drinking sodas which were high in acids. After remembering what my bio professor said and hearing Dr Oz talk about the long term cancerous effects of this disease if not taken serious, I made a conscious decision to try my best to remove greasy foods and acidic drinks from my diet.

Professional Associations

These two organizations are important to me because they deal with jobs and careers in the fields of law that I am interested in.


http://www.nalp.org/

The NALP Foundation for Law Career Research and Education, this  organization, was incorporated in 1996 to ensure that the legal community and society  benefit from an objective source of in-depth research and information in the areas of legal career planning, lawyer recruitment, and attorney development.

Founded in 1971 as the National Association for Law Placement, NALP — The Association for Legal Career Professionals —is a nonprofit educational association established to meet the needs of all participants in the legal employment process (career planning, recruitment and hiring, and professional development of law students and lawyers) for information, coordination and standards. NALP’s membership includes virtually every ABA-approved law school in the US, Canadian law schools and hundreds of legal employers from both the public and private sectors. NALP is dedicated to continuously improving career counseling and planning, recruitment and retention, and the professional development of law students, lawyers, and its members.


           http://www.nala.org/

NALA is the nation's leading professional association for paralegals. As a non-profit organization, NALA provides continuing education and professional development programs for paralegals - from novice to experienced professionals. Its mission is to provide continuing education and professional development programs to all paralegals. NALA provides current information about the profession, continuing education materials and seminars, networking opportunities, professional certification programs, occupational survey findings and manuals to help paralegals excel in the workplace. NALA representsg over 18,000 paralegals,

The link to my linked in profile

http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?trk=hb_tab_pro_top

Chapter 1 You Majored In What

3quotes from chapter one that stood out to me


"My major equals my career" 
      This quote was especially important to me. The reason being is it represents the way I have always thought of the connection between my Major and career. Prior to reading chapter one I always thought that your major would always guarantee you a job in the field you are interested in as long as they coincide with each other. My major is criminal justice is not only because i wanted to attend John Jay college of criminal Justice pior to attending Lagcc and still aspire to. But mainly because i want to become a lawyer.

"I should wait until i graduate to start my job search" 
    This is my exact plan when it comes to the time for me to enter the job world. I am currently 19 years old and my intention was always to get my bachelors, start looking for a job by the time im 21. I expect to be  working while i am in law school. I do have my career plan set in my mind but as for job search or places i aspire to work i have not put long thought into it.

"Every lawyer I've ever met is untrustworthy" 
       The importance of this quote is because it represents the reaction my friends and other people give me when i tell them i wish to become a Lawyer some day. I have even had a philosophy professor tell me the same thing. Being that I pride myself on doing things that will have a good effect on mankind this made me a little unsure. I would then begin to think its  hard for me to go outside my character and comfort zone to be an untrustworthy person in order to suit a career. My solution to this problem was simple, i chose to be trustworthy and pride my self on taking cases that i know the person i am defending is not guilty or willfully admitting to being guilty all other cases that i feel unjustified i will simply not handle. My goal as a potential Lawyer is to change peoples negative outlook on lawyers and show that there are some people who are actually genuine and have no problem reflecting this in their work.

Job Interview Expectations

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewquestionsanswers/a/interviewquest.htm


   very helpful and explains what to expect on a job interview. It gave specific questions that may be asked along with the best answers to them.There are different types of job interviews depending on the job you are trying to acquire. Some may be a little bit about you but mostly your work experience and other may be strictly about you as a person.
Examples are:

                 Interview questions work history

• Name of company, position title and description, dates of employment. -
• What were your expectations for the job and to what extent were they met? - 
• What were your starting and final levels of compensation? - 
• What were your responsibilities? - 
• What major challenges and problems did you face? How did you handle them? - 
• What have you learned from your mistakes? - 
• What did you like or dislike about your previous job? - 
• Which was most / least rewarding? - 
• What was the biggest accomplishment / failure in this position? - 
• Questions about your supervisors and co-workers. - 
• What was it like working for your supervisor? - 
• What do you expect from a supervisor? - 
• What problems have you encountered at work? - 
• Have you ever had difficulty working with a manager? - 
• Who was your best boss and who was the worst? -
• Why are you leaving your job? - 
• Why did you resign? - 
• Why did you quit your job? -
• What have you been doing since your last job? -
• Why were you fired? - 

Job Interview Questions About You

• What is your greatest weakness? - 
• What is your greatest strength? - 
• How will your greatest strength help you perform? - 
• How would you describe yourself? - 
• Describe a typical work week. - 
• Describe your work style. - 
• Do you take work home with you? - 
• How many hours do you normally work? - 
• How would you describe the pace at which you work? - 
• How do you handle stress and pressure? - 
• What motivates you? - 
• Are you a self motivator? - 
• What are your salary expectations? - 
• What do you find are the most difficult decisions to make? - 
• Tell me about yourself. - 
• What has been the greatest disappointment in your life? - 
• What are you passionate about? -
• What are your pet peeves? - 
• What do people most often criticize about you? - 
• When was the last time you were angry? What happened? -
• If you could relive the last 10 years of your life, what would you do differently? -
• If the people who know you were asked why you should be hired, what would they say?
• Do you prefer to work independently or on a team? -
• Give some examples of teamwork. - 
• More teamwork interview questions. - 
• What type of work environment do you prefer? - 
• How do you evaluate success? - 
• If you know your boss is 100% wrong about something how would you handle it? - 
• Describe a difficult work situation / project and how you overcame it. - 
• Describe a time when your workload was heavy and how you handled it. -
• More job interview questions about your abilities. - 
• More job interview questions about you. - 

http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2010/09/13/when-job-interview-questions-become-too-personal/

    

      Made me aware of the questions a potential employer may ask while interviewing that may at time be too personal. The person interviewing may ask questions in a slick manner so you may not realize what they are really trying to ask. For example the question “I love your accent; where are you from?” (This one suggests ethnic or racial discrimination.) “When did you graduate from high school?” (This one smacks of age discrimination.) “Are you currently using birth control?” (Again, implies pregnancy discrimination.). These things are illegal for employers with 15 or more employees under the federal anti-discrimination law, which makes sex and pregnancy discrimination illegal; a few states, including New York, New Jersey and California, have anti-bias laws covering smaller employers.



http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-answer-companyrelated-questions-at-job-inte.html


  This website basically gave interview questions and expectations in a simplified form.


How to Answer Company-Related Questions at Job Interviews

During a job interview, you may need to answer some company-related questions. Employers expect you to grasp how the job fits into the overall company picture and what the position entails. Some of these questions could include: What do you see as the direction of this company? What do you know about our competition?

Here are some ways to respond to these and other company-related job interview questions.

If you mention problems in the company’s performance, offer general solutions ,Cite figures to back up the problems you note along with your bright ideas to remedy them.

What do you know about this position?

• From your research, discuss how the position fits into the company structure and how you would fit like a glove into that position.
• Mention how you can help the company achieve its goals.
• Confirm your understanding of the broad responsibilities of the position. Ask whether you missed any key points (thereby setting up topics to discuss your qualifications).

What do you know about our competition?

• Discuss the current climate of the industry and how competitors are affected.
• Add details that show you truly understand the industry and the competition.
• Analyze the impact global competition is having on the industry.

What are your opinions about some of the challenges facing our company?

• Show the depth of your research by discussing some of the company’s upcoming projects.
• Mention several possible solutions to potential problems the company may be facing, acknowledging that you lack certainty without proprietary facts.

What do you see as the direction of this company?

• Give a brief but somewhat detailed answer, displaying a solid grasp of the company’s movement in the industry. Add how you can help.
• Support your answer with facts and figures, citing their source.

Why did you apply to this company?

• The position is a compelling opportunity and the company a place where your qualifications can make a difference. Explain why.
• You heard about a new service the company is launching, which is somewhat related to a project you helped create in a (college) senior year project; you find the potential exciting. Ask if the interviewer would like to hear about your project.

Our company has a mission statement; do you have a personal mission statement — or personal vision?

• In one or two sentences, give examples of your values (customer service, ethics, honor, keeping one’s word, and so on) that are compatible with the company’s.
• Review the company’s mission statement on its Web site and describe a compatible aim.

How will you help our company?

• Summarize how your key skills can help the company toward its goals.
• Describe the wide circle of contacts and other intangible benefits you can bring to the company.

Resume Writing Research

http://jobsearch.about.com/cs/resumewriting/a/firstresume.htm

     showed how to write a resume without using the words I or My too much. It spoke about Resume Keywords that will spark a potential employers interest. "The keywords in your resume should refer to specific job requirements, including your skills, software and technology competencies, relevant credentials, and previous employers." To find these key words you have to look at job postings,ads, etc and stay specific and when writing your resume match your words as best you can with what is being mentioned on the ad. This website mentioned resume templates and many other things a person viewing your resume will use to judge our efficiency.



http://www.dailywritingtips.com/resume-writing-tips/

     This website gave the 44 basic tips for resume writing. It spoke about adding things to your resume that an employer might say "no kidding" about. For example writing"available for interview" this is obvious if your sending in a resume. Other importants tips were; dont just copy and paste resume templates if your trying to be original. Know the purpose of your resume dont just write your resume as if your desperately trying to land a job. The purpose of your resume is to land a job interview so sound as interesting and to the point as possible. Backing up your qualities and strengths is especially important. Instead of a long boring list like creative, problem solver etc you have to back these things up with proof or an example so you dont sound like your trying to exaggerate things. Use effective titles such as "Management of A/R and A/P and Record keeping as opposed to simply saying "Accounting. Basically this website gave a excellent overview of the 44 key tips that will ensure a great resume.


http://www.free-resume-tips.com/10tips.html


 Also described 10 important tips for resume writing;

Tip 1 - Use Titles or Headings That Match The Jobs You Wan

t

Tip 2 - Use Design That Grabs Attention

Tip 3 - Create Content That Sells

Tip 4 - Quantify and Use Power Words

Tip 5 - Analyze Ads and Job Descriptions to Identify Key Words

Tip 6 -Identify and Solve Employer's Hidden Needs

Tip 7 - Sell the Benefits of Your Skills

Tip 8 - Create An Image That Matches The Salary You Want

Tip 9 - Prioritize the Content of Your Resume

Tip 10 - Tweak and Target Your Resumes and Cover Letters