Author: r.allah

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.

 

Because it had been a while since I reviewed what was required to be an actuary and what actuaries do and because everyone who was familiar with Actuarial Science and everyone’s mother had told me that Actuarial Science was hard, I decided to join Baruch’s Baruch Actuarial Science Society to get a better general sense of what an actuary does and to figure out my plan to my career option. And golly gee willikers am I glad I did: all the claims that Actuarial Science is hard—which is mostly why I am decided on this major—were reaffirmed and greatly supported, and it has been stated in every other meeting that it would be best for any would-like-to-be-actuary-majors to start preparing for the actuarial exams in one’s freshman year, while one is not as busy as one will be in the following academic years.

As shown by the provided photo showing my ugly face, I recently went to the club’s Resume Review/Interview prep workshop-like-thing that was stated to be the prelude to the actuary Alex Zaslaviskiy’s continued Interview/Exam prep workshop-like-thing. By the by, purported by the club’s facebook page, Alex is the founder of the club and “[…] works at New York Life,[—a life insurance company that everyone and everyone’s grandmother would kill each other to work at—]and has firsthand knowledge of the actuarial interview process.”
Back to the resume/interview workshop, I believe it wasn’t a waste of my time, even though the majority of the information covered was definitely more valuable to those of the club who have already taken some of the exams or have completed some of the VEE classes that Baruch can’t offer to freshmen: I saw what a typical, rather a desired, actuarial resume looks like; I learned some useful interview skills; some more possible answers to the dreaded “So, what are your strengths and weaknesses?” question were provided; the requisite and desired actuarial skills have been expanded on; and pizza was given.

So, yeah, whereas doubtless few people are able to become an actuary without any which kind of help, I believe that joining this club, the club able to teach a very not-smart person like myself the basic steps to becoming an actuary, was a great choice.

A while back, I paid a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in order to draw some kind of inspiration for my college life, for honestly, I am quite the uninspired person. As I went through the exhibits, going over and studying all the paintings and sculptures that dare to be called such, naught seen did anything for me: they neither inspired me nor appealed to me nor even looked so sophisticated or so detailed as to be featured at such a well-renown museum—though I do indeed deny any claims that I have an artistic mind or that I am not one of the worst critics one can recall to have ever been.

However, near the beginning of the latter half of my visit—literally right as I was gearing to go—I came upon the painting featured in my photo, Jackson Pollock’s Autumn Rhythm (Number 30): a literal mess, and indeed a familiar face, or painting—whatever.

Familiarity is due to that I had once had the oh-so-blessed pleasure of having to study the painting during my senior year of high school, in my United States Government class—there wasn’t going to be a regents test for the class, so my teacher didn’t have any which reason to not do whatever he deigned. And as during my museum visit, I had bethought it little more than a mess only prized for humankind’s affinity for the bizarre and original.

However, after recognizing the painting and making the same conclusion about it, I once again made a hilarious connection between it and myself: I, like the painting, am a mess—in fact, in my youth, I was oft called a “hot mess” by my mother for my disregard for decent fashion and for, well, appearing decent. This painting, with its disorder—the painting which I did, and still do, proclaim literal garbage—symbolizes me, who am a walking, talking, surprisingly-still-kicking hot mess; and it convinces me that, since it could gain renown despite its weirdness and disorganization, I can “make it big” and gain fame—though I’d much prefer the former, for I despise attention. This weird manner of gaining confidence helped me regain however much of the confidence I got after y first acquaintance with it and, hopefully, will help me retain such throughout my college years.