Month: November 2017

Since I didn’t have time to go to a career fair, I stopped by STARR to get my resume reviewed. Before going to the career center, I thought it was going to be extremely formal and judgmental, but when my appointment came I was so comfortable. They were very helpful in giving me advice on how to fix my resume. The person who helped me didn’t judge me on how bad it was before she helped me, and made sure it was exactly the way I wanted it. Also, she was really nice which I liked and made it personal by asking me questions about the things I’ve done that are on my resume as well as talked to me about my strengths to put on my resume.

All in all my visit to the STARR Career Center was a good one, and I’d visit again if i need to! 

I am currently trying to decide what career path I want to follow. I am very interested in science but business intrigues me as well. I was very excited to attend the career fair because I knew it would help me make my decision. I was blown away by the vast amount of companies there were, I did not even know where to start. Being able to learn about what certain jobs entail and how each company differs really gave me the insight I needed. I had the chance to speak to a representative from Friedman, she was really nice and she told me about her experience and why she choose her career.
The atmosphere was very professional and everybody was driven and focused. It was important that you came dressed professionally, with a resume, and with questions. It was a great opportunity and I’m glad Baruch holds such event. Everyone should take advantage of these career fairs.  

After creating a STARR account, I browsed through upcoming workshops and I found the LinkedIn 101: Profile Development workshop that was taking place on November 16th from 5:15 PM to 6:45 PM. I was particularly curious about LinkedIn and networking so I looked forward to attending the workshop. At the workshop, the speaker, Senesi Blake discussed the elements that are essential to a good LinkedIn profile. The LinkedIn profile should include a professional picture, your location, the industry you work in, your contact information, and a headline that is descriptive with keywords that addresses what makes you different or what you want to be known for. For the summary portion of LinkedIn, Blake suggested to include media and to write in a friendly tone. He also gave us questions to consider such as what our top skills, personal attributes, passions, career values, career goals, top career accomplishments were, as well as to state what makes us unique. To expand our networking space, Blake recommended endorsing others professionally, as they might endorse you too, as well as to only contact/connect with people who you know, have mutual connections with, or have worked with professionally, to join groups, and to stay active by updating your status. In addition, Blake addressed the differences between a LinkedIn profile, comparing it to an electronic flip rotary business card holder and a resume. Information on a LinkedIn profile can be expressed in a personable tone and be more general as opposed to the way information is conveyed on a resume. Attending this workshop was very helpful. I gained a good amount of insight on networking and the importance of connections. LinkedIn is a good resource for getting started on internships and you can even reach out to previous Baruch alumni who are working at a firm/for a company or in a field you are interested in and would like to acquire more information about.

The Baruch career fair has been an incredible and fulfilling experience for me. I was able to meet many employers of many major and minor corporations, and was able to receive a taste of how the hiring process worked. It was also an opportunity to showcase my communicative skills and provide others with my expertise and my perspective on many topics. I was able to interact with my Baruch peers and work with many staff during this event and it greatly helped me learn much more about career applications and the entire process. I learned that a good resume and a firm handshake can come in handy when introducing yourself. Additionally, I observed that first impressions are extremely important, so it would be very helpful to maintain a professional attitude when interacting with others throughout the event.  Overall, it was a fulfilling event for me as I was able to interact with others and learn more about the employment process.

I went to the career fair, but I forgot to take a photo of myself there. So instead of talking about my experience at the fair, I will talk about how I prepared for the fair. Specifically, I will talk about how I worked on my resume with a peer and friend of mine in order to make me more presentable to employers. I actually had zero experience writing a resume, before the career fair. I have worked 3 jobs, but all of them I obtained because I knew the owners of the restaurant or company. I have worked at 2 sushi restaurants and a swim instruction program.

My first draft was pure atrocity.

I probably should have read a few articles about how to write a professional resume before I started. It would have saved me the headache of comparing mine to my peer’s, realizing how awful it actually was. After I had worked through 2 more drafts with the criticism of my peer, I was able to hand employers copies of my resume with pride.

I went to the Majors and Minors Fair on the 9th of November. I went to explore what I should major in as I am still undecided. I thought I wanted to do Business Communications along wih something else. However double majoring seems difficult. I also learned that Business Communications is in the Weissman School, but I had already started my pathway to the Zicklin School. I may change my plan to minor in Communications and focus on something in Zicklin, such as Management. Overall, the fair helped me realize that my plan was incomplete and I have to put more thought into it. Everyone was nice, and wanted students to come to their departments. Although I didn’t get to every table, since come were really crowded, I have a better understanding of the requirements of most the departments. In the end, I was able to take a picture with the Beartcat along with Elizabeth.

I was unsure about what major and minor I should do so I went to the Majors and Minors fair on November 9th. There were many tables representing majors and Minors. I went to the Marketing table to see what kinds of Marketing there were. I took the Digital Marketing Sheeting and the representative of that table explained what kinds of skills I would learn. Then she handed me the Analytical Marketing sheet telling me that I should consider it to. I went to the arts table next to see what minors I should consider. The representative of that table of very nice and she explained what credits I would need for each one. I took the graphic design and visual arts sheets. I considered them because both would help with my Marketing major. I went around more and listed to the representatives of the Management table and Communications table. I was able to really see what majors I could consider.

The career fair was at the beginning of the school year and although most of the firms only hire sophomores and up, it was still really beneficial for freshmans to go. I was particularly interested in getting more information from the big 4 because accounting is a field that I’m interested in. Honestly, it was a very fun experience because we all got to dress up and look professional, perhaps act “professional”. As a freshman, I can see why going to these sort of events can be intimidating especially since we just started school not that long ago. However, I think the feedbacks you get from these recruiters will really help your confidence level and gain more experiences in the future. Many of the firms were very flexible knowing we were full time students. They pointed out that it is okay for us not to have a set schedule because we were only freshmans. I’m really glad that I went even though I was really nervous about meeting the recruiters. 

For any student going into business, their dream is to get into a top investment bank or accounting firm, it is for me at least. Receiving the email saying that I was accepted into a symposium at the top investment bank felt like an accomplishment for me. Not only was it on opportunity to network with people in business and other students, but it was a window into my dream job. I was going to the headquarters of my life goal. At the symposium, I got the opportunity to meet with students from other CUNYs and other Baruch students. It was interesting to see that students from Hunter or CSI are pursuing the same thing many Baruch students are, a job in the business world. At the event, we got the chance to hear from and speak to, Baruch alum who currently work at Goldman. Their departments ranged from Sales & Trading, to Tech, to Operations. Each one had a different story and each one has been working at Goldman for a different amount of time. One lady, graduated from Baruch and went straight into Goldman, and is still there after 30 years. Another, has been working for Goldman for only 3 months after graduating from Baruch this past June. Some of the things I learned at this event involved how to network, how to build the perfect resume, how to send to the perfect email, and etc. As much as I thought I knew about these things, I realized I still have a lot to learn. My favorite part of the event happened when they spoke about what it takes to get into a place like Goldman. Hearing the different ways the alum got into Goldman has really inspired me, and encouraged me. One guy said he got into Goldman because he talked to random guy in a suit on the subway. Others just worked hard throughout their years in college. They worked in as many internships as they could and made sure they stood out during the application phase for an internship. Speaking to these current Goldman employees and hearing how they got into Goldman, made me believe that I can get into Goldman someday and that it is no longer a dream, it’s a possibility.

P.s. I forgot to take a selfie, this is all I have.