For many people graduating college means never being involved with their school again. People graduate, move away, and don’t really care to stay involved. In other cases there are situations where people do want to stay involved but their college does not offer any opportunities for them to get involved. I have only been a graduate for a little over a month, but I was already offered opportunities to attend and participate.
Next week Berkeley is having a career convention for graduates. During this time people can attend, see other graduates, explore careers available and talk to different vendors. This will be held during the activity period at the Garret Mountain campus. I am very excited to see everyone at Berkeley. I miss everyone at the Student Development department as well as everyone that I have worked with.
Another exciting activity that’s coming up is Career Day. Career Day is a modified Career Fair where instead of trying to find a job, students are there to learn about jobs, interview practices, find out what employers are looking for and maybe they will get lucky and find a job. Many people have misconceptions about job fairs thinking that you go there to find a job. Sometimes this does happen but Career Fairs are there mostly for networking opportunities. You meet employers and make possible connections with people that may be useful to you.
I am really excited about this Career Day because I am not only trying to go there as a graduate but as an employer as well. I got an e-mail from Mr. Wood, who is in charge of Alumni relations that this event will be going on and if you are an employer you can also have a table. I have e-mailed him last week and once this week but I have not yet received anything back yet. I will try to call him today or tomorrow to see if I can get a hold of him through the phone. My company is currently looking to put together a new management team and we are looking for well rounded people with a strong business mind and someone who likes working with people. This Career Day event would be a perfect place to start my search.
I also need to call Berkeley to find out about my diploma. It has been over a month since I have graduated, but I haven’t heard anything from the school yet. I knew that it was going to take a while because they need to confirm that you have completed all the requirements, but I’m not sure as to how much longer this will take. I did receive a great letter from one of my loan company though! It said that because I have achieved above a 3.5 GPA I do not have to pay off my loan! How great is that? That must have been the best letter that I have received all month. It pays off to pay attention and do well in school. It saved me about $4,000.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Interviews
As I wrote in my last blog you go through a lot of changes during college but you go through more changes even after college. Some change is voluntary and some change in inevitable because you have to adjust to the change of environment around you. You get to meet many different people and you notice the different types of qualities in people.
Being in a position in my new job where I hire people on a weekly basis I get to see many different faces and personalities. Being exposed to so many different people you get to compare them to one another and pick out people you like versus people who would not fit in with your company. The thing that I pay attention to the most is people’s interview skills and how they can maintain a conversation. Let me tell you, it is amazing what you come across!
Some people that I interview I would never even guess they graduated from college. They are sloppy, no manners, thinks their doing you a favor and just act ridicules. In my opinion this not only makes them look bad but also the college that they graduated from. Coming from Berkeley I have a full understanding of the interview process, the possible questions that may be asked and I know to prepare for an interview and not just show up. Berkeley not only taught me how to interview but they also were there for me to do mock interviews if I needed it. They would role play with me and ask me questions an employer would so that I wouldn’t be so nervous.
Some of the things I see is people coming to an interview in sneakers, not groomed, don’t know how to answer questions or don’t even bother brining in a resume. Once I asked a girl a question and she sat in front of me for at least a minute unable to tell me 3 positive qualities about herself. I remember in Placement Seminar we had to write out all the good and bad qualities about ourselves and how to make the negative stuff sound good. For example, when you want to say that you like having your way, of course you wouldn’t say that. Instead you say that you are persistent and you like to get your idea across.
I am so happy that Berkeley was able to provide me with out of college experience in college. Watching some people today makes me feel very good about my skills and I can feel confident that I stand out when I go into an interview. The best part is that even though I have already graduated I can always go back and practice with a counselor. They will even edit my resume for me if I need it. How cool is that???
Being in a position in my new job where I hire people on a weekly basis I get to see many different faces and personalities. Being exposed to so many different people you get to compare them to one another and pick out people you like versus people who would not fit in with your company. The thing that I pay attention to the most is people’s interview skills and how they can maintain a conversation. Let me tell you, it is amazing what you come across!
Some people that I interview I would never even guess they graduated from college. They are sloppy, no manners, thinks their doing you a favor and just act ridicules. In my opinion this not only makes them look bad but also the college that they graduated from. Coming from Berkeley I have a full understanding of the interview process, the possible questions that may be asked and I know to prepare for an interview and not just show up. Berkeley not only taught me how to interview but they also were there for me to do mock interviews if I needed it. They would role play with me and ask me questions an employer would so that I wouldn’t be so nervous.
Some of the things I see is people coming to an interview in sneakers, not groomed, don’t know how to answer questions or don’t even bother brining in a resume. Once I asked a girl a question and she sat in front of me for at least a minute unable to tell me 3 positive qualities about herself. I remember in Placement Seminar we had to write out all the good and bad qualities about ourselves and how to make the negative stuff sound good. For example, when you want to say that you like having your way, of course you wouldn’t say that. Instead you say that you are persistent and you like to get your idea across.
I am so happy that Berkeley was able to provide me with out of college experience in college. Watching some people today makes me feel very good about my skills and I can feel confident that I stand out when I go into an interview. The best part is that even though I have already graduated I can always go back and practice with a counselor. They will even edit my resume for me if I need it. How cool is that???
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Life and Motions
This morning I woke up at 5am with the worse sore throat ever. Because I work at my own convenience I decided to not go to work because I want to rest and get rid of this sore throat. Now that I have had some extra time, I have decided to reflect back on my college career and give people some advice.
The number one thing that hit me the most is how many changes you go through not during college but after college. Throughout your education even though you are on your own you are still sheltered by the people around you. The best way for me to describe this is through different bodies of water. For example when you are in high school it’s like you are in a fish bowl. You meet different people, you still live at home, you get fed on time, people clean up your messes, look out for you, take care of you etc.
When you reach college you are now in a pond or a lake. You get to meet a larger variety of people, you have more freedom of where you can swim, you don’t have as much restrictions, more options are available to you such as clubs, organization etc but you are still pretty sheltered by the people around you. Sometimes environmentalists come in to clean up lakes and ponds to make the water better, sometimes they come in and put more fish in. Similar things happen when you are in college. You have tutors to help you, recruiters bring more students in for you to meet and there is help everywhere in case you need it.
When you finally graduate college and you are done with your education you have finally reached the ocean. Now you are free, happy, think you can do anything and then reality hits you that you are on your own. There is nobody there to hold your hand and you hit the survival of the fittest instinct. You have to learn to control your own time, be responsible on your own, take care of yourself and make things happen for yourself. You have the whole ocean available to you but where you go and what you do is up to you. You just have to be very careful where traps and dangers are lurking.
The changes that I noticed in myself after graduation are amazing. I have met a lot of great people that have rubbed off on me which helped me change my personality and perspective on life. I was never a fan of change because I like things organized but I realized in real life there is no such thing as no change. Change happens every day and you have to adjust in order to survive. I have definitely become more independent and can make my own decisions much better.
Many times your personality doesn’t fully develop until you move out of the house and you are in a totally different environment. Being around people you know and family you tend to act a certain way but being around new people you also act different. When you spend enough time with new people and don’t have to meet certain expectations of people you know, you change your perspective on things and your personality. Your priorities shift where what once was important no longer is and what once wasn’t important now is.
In a nut shell there are many changes awaiting you when you graduate college. Sometimes people don’t believe a thing until it happens to them but this is something that I have experienced firsthand. As much as I don’t like change it’s something I had to adjust to and just go with the flow. College is an adventure but life after college is an even bigger adventure! Just think, it’s like having the WHOLE ocean to explore!!!
The number one thing that hit me the most is how many changes you go through not during college but after college. Throughout your education even though you are on your own you are still sheltered by the people around you. The best way for me to describe this is through different bodies of water. For example when you are in high school it’s like you are in a fish bowl. You meet different people, you still live at home, you get fed on time, people clean up your messes, look out for you, take care of you etc.
When you reach college you are now in a pond or a lake. You get to meet a larger variety of people, you have more freedom of where you can swim, you don’t have as much restrictions, more options are available to you such as clubs, organization etc but you are still pretty sheltered by the people around you. Sometimes environmentalists come in to clean up lakes and ponds to make the water better, sometimes they come in and put more fish in. Similar things happen when you are in college. You have tutors to help you, recruiters bring more students in for you to meet and there is help everywhere in case you need it.
When you finally graduate college and you are done with your education you have finally reached the ocean. Now you are free, happy, think you can do anything and then reality hits you that you are on your own. There is nobody there to hold your hand and you hit the survival of the fittest instinct. You have to learn to control your own time, be responsible on your own, take care of yourself and make things happen for yourself. You have the whole ocean available to you but where you go and what you do is up to you. You just have to be very careful where traps and dangers are lurking.
The changes that I noticed in myself after graduation are amazing. I have met a lot of great people that have rubbed off on me which helped me change my personality and perspective on life. I was never a fan of change because I like things organized but I realized in real life there is no such thing as no change. Change happens every day and you have to adjust in order to survive. I have definitely become more independent and can make my own decisions much better.
Many times your personality doesn’t fully develop until you move out of the house and you are in a totally different environment. Being around people you know and family you tend to act a certain way but being around new people you also act different. When you spend enough time with new people and don’t have to meet certain expectations of people you know, you change your perspective on things and your personality. Your priorities shift where what once was important no longer is and what once wasn’t important now is.
In a nut shell there are many changes awaiting you when you graduate college. Sometimes people don’t believe a thing until it happens to them but this is something that I have experienced firsthand. As much as I don’t like change it’s something I had to adjust to and just go with the flow. College is an adventure but life after college is an even bigger adventure! Just think, it’s like having the WHOLE ocean to explore!!!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Changes
Have you had a chance to look at the new Berkeley website and see all the changes that have been going on? I haven’t been on the Berkeley website for a while because I graduated and no longer need to log into blackboard. The other day I finally made my way to the website and I was all confused where to go! EVERYTHING is different but it’s a good different. I love the new colors they used and the way they organized everything in order to make navigation easier for the students and potential students.
When I started to explore the website I realized that Berkeley used its current students to use on the website, not models! How awesome is that the school can be proud enough of its students to use them? When I realized that I started looking through all the different pages to see where my face would end up! I saw the blogging picture every time I moved from page to page and it made me laugh every time because it was me everywhere I navigated.
Another change that I noticed is that I now have different Berkeley Blackboard access. I can no longer view things that are going on at the campus such as activities announcements, classes available, advisement, financial aid etc. All that I can view now is announcements from career services, the student self service to view my past payment history and grades, e-mail and the community tab. I was a little disappointed about this because I love seeing the activities on campus that I could possibly attend. Instead I e-mailed Ms. Young and asked her for the calendar of events. This way I can stay updated and pick which events I want to attend even though I have already graduated.
When I started to explore the website I realized that Berkeley used its current students to use on the website, not models! How awesome is that the school can be proud enough of its students to use them? When I realized that I started looking through all the different pages to see where my face would end up! I saw the blogging picture every time I moved from page to page and it made me laugh every time because it was me everywhere I navigated.
Another change that I noticed is that I now have different Berkeley Blackboard access. I can no longer view things that are going on at the campus such as activities announcements, classes available, advisement, financial aid etc. All that I can view now is announcements from career services, the student self service to view my past payment history and grades, e-mail and the community tab. I was a little disappointed about this because I love seeing the activities on campus that I could possibly attend. Instead I e-mailed Ms. Young and asked her for the calendar of events. This way I can stay updated and pick which events I want to attend even though I have already graduated.
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