Today during EDUC 131 we talked about the Career Expo. We discussed how we should dress, what we should say, and how we should act. When we first discussed the need for having a 30 second elevator pitch I panicked a little. However, after discussing what should be said in an elevator pitch and practicing, I felt a lot more confident about crafting my own elevator pitch for the Career Expo. I learned that I should start by introducing myself and then go into talking about where I have been, what I have done, and what skills I have. For me, this will include discussing leadership positions I have held and volunteer work I have done.
I have to admit that engaging with recruiters at the Career Expo still makes me pretty nervous. I have always been an introverted person so talking with new people is a bit of a struggle for me personally. My biggest concern about talking with recruiters is that they are going to place emphasis on previous work experience, and that is something I definitely am lacking in. The only official job (so not including babysitting) that I have had has been working at Tokyo Express, a fast food hibachi restaurant, for one summer. I am hopeful though that the recruiters will recognize that I am only 18 years old, so it should be pretty ordinary that my work experience is fairly limited. However, I know that when talking to the recruiter I will try to bring up some of my accomplishments, such as being President of my school’s Beta club for one year and Treasurer of my school’s FBLA club (a business club) for two years. Although these are not jobs, I do think I can discuss how these positions taught me leadership skills. Another concern that I have about going to the Career Expo is in my ability to craft good answers to tough questions. I think that the recruiters will expect us to know a lot about ourselves and our interests, and I am not easily able to list what my interests are which is why I am taking EDUC 131 (to learn more about myself and explore possible career paths). I know that I will be asked many questions, but I anticipate that I will also be allowed to ask the recruiters some questions of my own. First I will ask the recruiter what they look for in potential employees or interns. I will ask this question to get a better idea of what traits I should present about myself. For instance, if the recruiter says they look for leadership then I will discuss the positions I held in clubs during high school. Secondly I will ask the recruiter if they have entry level positions. This question is fairly important to me since I do not have a degree, nor do I have much work experience. Lastly I will ask the recruiter what the job entails. While I anticipate that I will already have an idea from researching their company beforehand, it will be helpful to hear in person what the job entails so that I can get further explanation of the job requirements. Overall, I am a little nervous about the Career Expo, but feel that class will prepare me well.
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Today in Educ 131 we went over the syllabus and watched some videos. Based on the syllabus and these videos, I am expecting that from taking this class I will gain knowledge about the process that goes into getting a job. The first video that we watched mentioned how potential employers will often look at your social media when deciding if they are going to hire you. After watching this video, I am expecting that we will discuss social media some. I expect that I will learn about the dangers of putting up images that can harm your reputation on your social media. Along with learning the detriments of social media use, I also expect that I will learn about some of the benefits of using social media (such as the possibility to network and create an image of yourself that a potential employer would like to see).
After watching the videos and going over the syllabus, we did an activity in which we put our names under words that we believe describe us. I described myself as a doer, thinker, and organizer, and after Ms. Taylor further described these words I still believe that these are good descriptions of me. This was a pretty encouraging feeling as I know that knowing who you are and what you are like is helpful in finding the career choice for you. However, after the first class I am feeling a little nervous about the career exploration process because I still feel that I have no clue what I want to do with my life. However, I am telling myself that this is a process and will take time, but I am hoping that by the end of the semester I will have a better idea of my next steps. I think that one problem I come across when thinking about my future career possibilities is that it is hard for me to come up with a list of things that interest me. For a while in my life I really wanted to be a lawyer. My father is a lawyer and I liked the idea that work would not always be the same thing day after day since every case is different (even if only by a little bit). I don’t think that I would enjoy working somewhere if things are constantly the same. While in high school I volunteered for a program called Orange County Teen Court. This program deals with punishing teens who have committed a minor offense, such as drinking under age or getting in a fight at school. In this program, I participated as a lawyer. After volunteering here for a while I determined that I wasn’t all that interested in being a lawyer. It consisted of too much reading and writing for me. So I am now starting over my attempt to figure out what I want to be. I know that I excel at math and science, but English is definitely one of my weaker areas. I am interested in psychology and criminology. I find it extremely interesting to think about what leads a person to commit a crime. However, even with this interest I have no desire to be a police officer because I am not brave at all. I have thought about being a doctor, but my fear of blood definitely eliminates this possibility. While looking for a possible career, I pay attention to salary because I want to be able to raise a family and live comfortably. However, this attention to salary has limited some of my options. I enrolled in this course to figure out what I want to do with my life and hope that by the end of the course that I will have a better idea of what I should major in. |
AuthorI am a freshman at UNC Chapel Hill. ArchivesCategories |