First-Year Seminar FMA

Starr Career Center

I went to the Starr Career Development center for help on my resume. I have never actually written a real resume, because I have never had a job (I only turned 18 this August, so I never had to pay for myself).

This was a real issue, because insofar as I am aware, I am supposed to put down professional experience on my resume, so before I went to Starr, my entire resume had my name on it, and that was pretty much it. I did pass high school, but I haven’t passed college (yet), so even my educational section was lacking.

This meant, that to the best of my knowledge, no serious company would hire me, and I hardly wanted a job at a place such as a pizzeria. My aims in life is a bit higher than that. I was stuck.

Luckily for me, according to Starr, I could put a lot more than that into resume. Things include extracurricular (I did go to philosophy club in high school), accomplishments, professional experience, etc.

Content wise, Starr was really helpful.

People wise, it was rather nerve wracking. Mainly because everyone at the front desk looked and talked like they were bored out of their minds. Probably because they were. I can’t imagine they get much variance in their jobs. The actual teacher was nice though, so bad first impressions aside, I did enjoy it as much as I could enjoy a class on writing resume’s.

All in all, it was not a bad experience, and I would recommend Starr.

Major/Minors Fair

I recently decided to go ahead and take a trip with a friend to Baruch’s majors and minors fair. This was a small get together where there were multiple professionals and departmental heads all together for the purpose of speaking to the students and see what careers they could make out of their majors. This fair is great for people who don’t have a direction in mind for where they want to go with their careers and college education, but also great for people who do know what kind of degree it is that they are pursuing. The majors and minors fair shows you the many, many different majors and minors that Baruch has to offer within its 3 specialized schools, and what kind of career you can create out of those degrees. For myself, I knew that I wanted an accounting degree, but I was a little unsure of what specific career would come out of obtaining such a degree, and what the differences were between the different kinds of jobs I could apply for with this degree in my credentials. Thanks to the career fair, I got to see the different kinds of jobs I could get with my soon to be obtained degree, what kind of positions I could obtain with it, and the courses I would have to take in order to fulfill the requirements for that degree while I am here at Baruch.  I also got to search around for what kind of minor I would end up taking as well. Because of the fair, I was able to find many different minors that I could take, and even some that I could take that would actually help and relate to my major, enhancing the education I would be getting here so that I would be better equipped once I entered the work force. Thanks to this fair, my career path became more clear and I have a better understanding of what to do during my time here at Baruch.This image requires alt text, but the alt text is currently blank. Either add alt text or mark the image as decorative.

Writing Center

I took a little trip to the Writing Center here at Baruch so that I could get some help with an important paper I had coming up. Although I never really seek others help for my papers and generally do well on them, I said to myself that it couldn’t hurt to go and see what they had to say, especially since the time I would spend with them would just be wasted with me doing nothing productive. I went to the smaller Writing Center desk inside of the library, where they only do walk ins, and just sat down to talk about my paper. They asked me some questions, such as what my paper was about, what was my topic and what the general direction of my paper would be. I gave them the rubric of my paper, went a little into detail with what my planned topic was, and they helped me out along the way. They gave me a few hints and edits on my paper here and there, and also showed me what I should improve on to make my paper better, and what I should place less importance on or just remove completely. They also showed me other resources that I could access to better my paper other than the place I was at, such as the online help feature so that someone could review your paper online, with no need to come meet in person, which is something that I definitely plan on using in the very near feature the next time I want a second opinion on my paper. The Writing Center made lots of small edits on my paper that helped me make my overall good paper, into a great one that I felt covered all bases and went above & beyond expectations.

Networking 101

We were not allowed to take pictures during the workshop. I decided to go to a Networking workshop for my third enrichment workshop. I chose this instead of other because I wanted to have an idea of the technical aspect of this essential skill and practice. I enjoyed going to the workshop because the information was straightforward and helpful. Although we started later than expected, we managed to complete the workshop. It was Networking 101, therefore we only got an insight of what this practice is about. We were provided a manual that had all the information from the Power Point presentation for us to focus exclusively on the content. We discussed how to take advantage of networking opportunities and how not to make it awkward. We received some advice from people who knew about the topic. The course was taught from our perspective, meaning it focused on what we as students can do when any networking opportunity comes, and how to behave. Another activity we did was to prepare a personal pitch, I had never done one. It was difficult at first but then we managed to design it pretty well. I still think I need to come up with something good when the time comes to introduce myself to someone I could network with. Also, by going to this workshop I realize how many opportunities and workshops Baruch has to offer, and how I do need all these workshops because otherwise I would feel pretty lost in the professional world. I am looking forward to attend more workshop because even if they are short and focus pretty much on technical aspects, they can open paths to more knowledge and to build confidence on me that I could probably survive, again the professional world. I am really glad to attend a school that concerns about this, and I am willing to take full advantage of these opportunities. Something I would have liked to do more during the workshop is to actually practice how a networking interview would go, because again, as they were explaining, is really hard to achieve goals from one appointment and the wrong impression could significantly decrease my chances to build a strong network connection with someone else. Another important thing I learned is the power of Linkedin. I had never considered to create a profile before attending the workshop because I had not understood the potential this social network has to build networking connection. I guess I will attend a workshop that teaches me how to properly created a profile, to avoid any mistakes and wrong impression and expand my networking opportunities. Again, I am aware that I still have many workshops ahead to learn and develop better skills that would allow me to succeed in professional fields.

Going to the MOMA

For my final blog post on the academic section, I chose to go to the museum. I was asking my friends for museum recommendations and they all suggested that I go to the MOMA or Museum Of Modern Arts. Entry was free with student ID so how could I not go. Going to the Museum of Modern Arts was a new experience for me because the last time I went to a museum was in elementary school and I could not remember anything about that trip. I was looking at paintings on the 5th floor of the MOMA. The 5th floor has many pictures from the French. So the first picture that really interested me was a picture from Henri Matisse. The title of the picture is Interior with a Young girl from 1905-06. The picture was a intimate scene of his daughter. Such a simple scene was painted so nicely and had a lot of messages. The next picture that really interested me was a picture by Georges Braque. The picture is titled The Large trees from 1906-07. Georges Braque had a goal of making more vividly colorful images of nature. He painted some trees near the Bay of Marseilles. Again, we see such a simple image turn into something complex with colors popping that gives us many messages. The final picture that interested me was by Andre Derain titled Charing Cross Bridge from 1905-06. In this picture, Andre Derain drew the London Sky with very dramatic color. In the summer of 1905, he developed this bright palette while painting along Henri Mattisse in France. They both produced the most radical canvases to date. Going to the MOMA made me realize that painting to me is really relaxing. I went by myself and stayed for almost an hour. During that hour, I was just reading the paintings and their history. The history behind some paintings were really interesting. For example, some paintings from the holocaust were interesting because those painters were there and encountered what was happening in the world at that time. This MOMA experience makes a part of me wanting to take an Art class next semester because I realized that painting isn’t boring. Painting is a way to express one persons feelings and stories. I’m really interested to see what other painters stories are so i’m seriously considering taking an art class next semester.

Linkedin Workshop

I went to the Linkedin Workshop today 11/27 from 12:30-2:30 at the Newman Vertical Campus room 3-215. I found this workshop through the Baruch Student Life website. I was really interested in going to this workshop because I knew very little of Linkedin and wanted to know more about it. All i knew before hand was that it’s a profile where employers look and determine if they should hire you or not. This workshop was an explanation of Linkedin and how to improve your Linkedin profile. So the first things they talked about is the purpose of Linkedin. I learned that Linkedin is kind of like a social media site that helps people network professionally. This site lets you find business, peers and clients. So the first thing they talked about on how to improve your Linkedin account is to update your profile and take a good picture. Post a professional picture with you smiling with no colored background. The picture is important because it shows what kind of person you can be. The next way to improve your Linkedin profile is to make your own custom URL. The main purpose of this is to make yourself easier to find. Next tip for a better Linkedin account is to ask for recommendations. They compared it like a restaurant. No one would go to a restaurant with no reviews at all. People would go to restaurants that have many reviews and good ones. So they encouraged us to ask colleagues, supervisors, generally anyone you worked with for recommendations. They can go a long way even if it’s just one. Another way to use Linkedin to it’s best advantage is to not only follow people you know, but follow people you don’t know and join groups. This is all about networking and part of that is meeting new people that you can help and that can help you. Lastly, they said to stay active on Linkedin. For example, post your own content. Overall this experience was a good one for me. I never really used Linkedin before but now, I am probably going to give it a shot. Going forward, I learned that Linkedin is a great way to find jobs through networking and learned some few tips on how to make my profile a standout one. With these tips that I learned from the workshop, I will use them to the best of my ability.

Career: Attending an On-Campus Recruitment Workshop

A while ago, on October 31st, I decided to attend an On-Campus Recruitment workshop under the now-revealed-to-be false assumption that “on-campus” specifically meant that the workshop was for ordinary part-time jobs and that, by attending, I’d be eligible to get a job, which I did and do somewhat desperately need in order to prevent myself from falling prey to the ever-increasingly-likely chance that I shall become the bum I know I am most likely to be and to be able to raise the social status I have within my family from “the guy who mooches off them” to “the guy who’s less likely to mooch off them.”

So, yeah, going to the workshop then would have been somewhat a waste of time, if not for the additional information covered within the presentation. For example, one of my biggest questions regarding job hunting was covered: whether it would be overkill to send a thank you email after a job interview or a job fair or whatever else to the person to whom I’d spoken, so as to better my minuscule chance of getting a response back; and the answer to that question is that, no, sending a thank you email is not overkill, but rather the recommended action to undertake a day after an event.

To speak with respect to how this workshop will help me with my career path, I gained interview insight, was reminded of some helpful interview tips, and confirmed the best amount of time to be early to an interview, 15–20 minutes.

 

Baruch Voices

For my career blog, I decided to go to Baruch voices. Baruch voices is an event where freshmans just like me get a chance to present their monologue in front of their peers. I decided to go because I wanted to hear different monologues. I wanted to see the different stories everyone has to share and the different backgrounds they come from. I went into Baruch voices a little late so they already began their monologues. That’s why I only took a picture of my hand with my name on it. So, the first person I listened to speak talked about how 9/11 affected his family and made non muslims racist towards muslims. It was a strong monologue because he was facing racism everyday. People were calling him Osama and he was getting picked on at school. The second person I heard from was talking about moving to America and being lonely. He came from China and had no friends because he didn’t know how to speak English. It got really sad when he was talking about how when he moved from China, he left his parents behind in China because they were giving him the education he needed to pursue his dreams in America. The third person I listened to was rapping about fake friends. He was rapping about how one of his best friend betrayed him and was talking trash about him behind his back. The rap was really emotional for him because you can tell he was really in to it. The fourth guy I listened to was the most funny. The 4th guy was talking about a spongebob episode indirectly. He mad it seem like it was his life and it was through his point of view, but in the end it took a huge turn and everyone knew that he was talking about a spongebob episode. It was really funny because throughout the whole speech, he was really serious until the end. The final person I listened to was talking about how the 5 dollar box in Popeyes meant the world to him. He said if there was no 5 dollar box then life would be useless to him. I relate to that because I always get popeyes when they have that deal but when they don’t, I have nothing to eat. Overall, my experience there was pretty cool. I got to know some peoples back stories and listened to some really interesting monologues.

Writing Center Session

Around three weeks ago, I visited the Main Writing Center at room 8-815 on the Newman Vertical Campus. I had to schedule the appointment a week prior to my meeting and I was very surprised at how quickly the available spots filled up. It seemed to me that the Writing Center and its resources are in high demand by other students, and so I believed that my meeting with them will help me write and improve the essay I brought. My English professor required my class to consult the Writing Center for a critical analysis essay we had and I wanted to check out the center regardless so I was able to kill two birds with one stone. Thankfully, the session was quite beneficial. The 50 minute meeting started out with both me and the staff member (Sasha Graybosch) reading the draft of my essay and annotating. Afterwards we exchanged our opinions and observations on my draft. She noticed significant things about my essay and gave good feedback from a third person perspective that I would not have noticed on my own. I told her the struggles and worries I had about my writing and we attempted to tackle it together. One aspect I had trouble with for example, was forming a connection between the literature and society, as was a key component of the essay. Sasha and I discussed possible ideas and came up with a few strong ones I could use. At the end of the session she filled out a report about what we covered during our session and she emailed that to my professor for proof and also to myself so I will not forget my progress. After the Writing Center session, my essay took a drastic turn and was changed a lot. However, it helped make it stronger and of higher quality. Meeting with Sasha was incredibly helpful and I plan on returning to the Writing Center in the future for any assignments I experience difficulty with.

STARR Workshop

Recently, I attended a workshop that was hosted by STARR careers.  It was called “Let’s Get Started: Building Blocks for First and Second Year Students.”  At first I was a bit hesitant about going to this workshop because I felt that I had already knew enough about this school and about the resources that were available to me.  However I decided to go anyways as it couldn’t hurt to find out more.

At first, I was a few minutes late so I was a little hesitant in walking in.  A few other of my peers also showed up and so we all walked in together.  The speaker welcomed us in warmly and filled us in the few minutes we missed.  I had found out that there were much more resources that are available on campus to help settle on a major.  I learned that talking to a professor in that field often helps because they might have past experience working in the jobs that we are seeking ourselves.  Their insights can settle any wavering thought between majors or even convince us why not to pick that job.

Another thing that I learned was that making a LinkedIn will be beneficial when applying for jobs and internship.  A lot of information that is not on our resume appears on our profile and it sheds a light on our personality that may not be seen during the interview.  Also, we have to make sure that nothing inappropriate is posted or even shared to any of our social media accounts.  Anything that is public can be found by future employers and seeing a picture of us drinking or anything else bad won’t be seen positively.

Overall, it was a pleasant experience because I had also learned that my peers were stuck in the same place I was in.  The other students had some sense of what they wanted to do but was not sure of the first steps to take.  I had thought that most of the other students at this school would already have their paths planned out but it was reassuring that they did not.