The STARR Career Development Center Cover Letter Workshop was the only good option I had: it fit nicely into the long break last Tuesday. However, it also turned out to be very helpful. I have only  written one cover letter before and it was not even for myself, so this workshop pointed out all the things that I had done wrong. Originally, I just looked at the formats online of cover letters and tried to follow along the lines of what others had written.

One of the things I did wrong in my letter was that I did not restate the contact information in the conclusion. I thought since the contact information was already in the heading, it would be repetitive to restate. One girl pointed this out in the workshop, but the presenter told us it was to make things as clear as possible and that it was a formality that should still be followed. Another thing I failed to do was ask for an interview or state that I was looking forward to an interview. I thought it would presumptuous to assume I would receive an interview, but I learned in the workshop that this is one of the main points of a cover letter. What I should have done in my cover letter was include my interest for an interview in the conclusion. We learned that bullet points can be used in a cover letters and that we should not restate what was already said in the resume. Overall, we were taught about the goals of a cover letter, the three paragraphs it should be formatted in, and the formality that it should be written in. A helpful tip that was given apart from the cover letter was to create a real voicemail and not let it stay with the machine.

It was a thursday. November ninth. Six days after my older sister’s 20th birthday, she was in Arizona for a presentation just four days ago. She was back by now. She showed me a picture of her with a cactus they had a lot of those there.

I did know what to expect of the careers panel, because there is an entire facebook event dedicated to it. It would be a career panel of baruch alumni who work in the field of finance. They did not even all work on or near wall street itself, but I guess the name just relates to the finance aspect of their jobs and its relation to wall street. I am considering following the path of some of these panelist and also working in wall street related field. So I thought this would be a good chance to see some steps I may need to take to be successful.

The panelist started off by all telling a little about themselves. All of them, but one were relatively young having graduated in the last 20 years. One lady had graduated in 1990, so was a fair bit older than the rest. Another panelist told about his original plan to become a rapper, and his transition to finance after that failed. He started his own financial management company so he deserves some props. Many of them tried a different field first and later switched to their current profession. A younger female panelist started as an accounting major, found it boring and became an investment banker. Another asian gentleman, who talked very quietly, did very poorly in high school and was still able to succeed in finance, because he liked the creative aspects of it, and the math as well.

Much more was explained, and the panel was very interesting and insightful. The main take aways was “perseverance” as one of the panelist pointed out. The panelist emphasized taking full advantage of all baruch had to offer. And so, I will.

 

Having improved my writing and attended a club without a hitch, I set out on giving myself a bit of a challenge. Luckily, the answer came to me almost immediately as I sat at my desk thinking about which STARR workshops to attend in order to improve my skills. It was the first listing on the website: a workshop on how to make small talk with colleagues. Even luckier for me, I could actually use this workshop to improve my communication skills, which was one of the few areas in which I was lacking. I knew that I was shy when I talked to people, and most of the time, they initiated conversations with me rather than the other way around. I hoped this small talk workshop would change that.

I registered for the workshop that occurred on November 8. That day, after a long day of classes, I set out to find the workshop. It was actually easier than I thought, with signs posted everywhere. I went into the room on the second floor, and unsurprisingly, there were a lot of freshmen also doing the same thing as me – signing up for the workshop for their freshman seminar signature.

Having signed myself in, I watched the presenter go around the room and shake hands with everyone, introducing herself as she went past. When she came around to my seat, I turned to her, shook her hand, and introduced myself. After a quick round of small talk, I learned the presenter’s name, Dr. Ellen Stein.

Dr. Stein then started the presentation by telling us how to initiate conversations and how to keep them going. Non-controversial topics were good conversation starters; politics, religion, and money were not. The presentation consisted of activities, including another round of small talk where I also learned the names of the two people sitting next to me, Thomas and Dan. It was not as scary as I thought. Dr. Stein continued, talking about how small talk opportunities such as business parties could advance our career prospects, including on the subway. She told us about how she made a friend in Japan 20 years ago just because the other person had been reading a book in English.

Before I knew it, the workshop was over. Not a bad conversation for a controlled setting, I thought. But could I do it in public? We’ll have to see, I surmised as I walked to the subway, alone, in the rain.

On Tuesday, the 14th of November, 2017, I had a lot of fun failing my philosophy exam. As I walked out the lecture room dispirited, I suddenly realized  I have another blog due. I didn’t even have to check the assignment before being completely lifted out of depression because I knew I was in for another very educational learning experience. After asking around, I found out that I was supposed to go to some Career Workshop event. “Great,” I thought, “we’ve finally moved on from theoretical self-discovery activities to the practical big mula opportunities.” I couldn’t wait to apply the social skills I learned from blog 1 and appreciation for geometry I obtained from blog 2 to good use! So anyway, I walked into the STARR office for this imaginary walk-in resume workshop, and using the valuable communication skills I learned from freshman seminar, immediately struck a conversation with two(!) people at the same time!  We talked about how the ceiling, how little squares tiles cut to perfection are gathered together to form this indescribable yet beautiful geometric arrangement. Then, we talked about how the room utilized calculus concepts of optimization to maximize the volume and minimize surface area to accommodate the most people per cubic unit. Finally, we moved on to the “meat,” how the body of a resume should consist of patterns and main ideas of equal length, with font sizes changed here and there to keep the interviewers awake. I learned that resume building is more than a literary technique; it also requires mathematical accuracy. I walked out the workshop a different person, with more appreciation of the hidden subtleties in not only major assignment/activities but also in my daily life. Dang, just realized the blog has this word count feature, pretty neat. Phew, finally hit 300 words, thanks for reading.

On Tuesday, November 7, I went to the STARR Career Development Center. I signed up to the cover letter workshop.  Where students learned the importance of a cover letter, as well as how to make one. A cover letter is a one page statement that should demonstrate to an employer that you have certain necessary skills and strengths for a specific organization and a preferred position. We learned that in a cover letter that you should make it clear what your intended job will be, the skills you have gained to help you in this job, and that you will be a valuable asset to the organization or company.

Towards the end of the meeting, the advisor split us into many different groups and gave us three sample cover letters. The assignment was to read through all three cover letters and to decide which one would be the best. Every group picked the same cover letter, number 3, because it was the most formal lone. It addressed the employer respectfully and clearly articulated his skills and valuableness in the specific position he was applying for. The 3^rd letter also emphasized how appreciative he was that the employer gave up his time and consideration.  The other two letters were horrible in comparison. Both cover letters were extremely unprofessional, not even addressing the employer by his name, and were extremely short. They did not emphasize the assets they would have to the company and one even suggested that the he would schedule the interview.

I learned a lot from this workshop.  I learned what a cover letter is, as well as its importance for applying for jobs. I learned how to format and how to professionally address and employer and how to list my skills that I have learned from previous jobs. It wasso fun!

Last week on November 7th, I attended a cover letter workshop held by the STARR development center with a couple of members of our FRO class. Although I already kinda knew most of the information they were giving us because of a career preparation class I took in high school, it was still very informative and helpful to be relayed the information again. We went over a few types of business correspondence. We went over the format of a cover letter, an informational interview request, and a followup letter. We went over examples of good and bad versions of each. They gave us packet to keep with all this information that I will refer back to in the future. I learned that cover letters should never be too general but that I can save a general format for myself and just slightly tweak each letter before I send them to prospective employers by customizing some information about the company. I learned the importance of telling prospective employers what I can do for them and not what they can do for me. I also learned that a cover letter is not always required when a resume is requested. I learned this when I asked if a resume is requested, should I automatically attach a cover letter and the answer was no. I asked because I was recently given an internship opportunity that requested I email a resume and I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss out because I didn’t send a cover letter when I was supposed to.

In general, I enjoyed the workshop and it opened my eyes up to what the STARR development center can do for me. In the future, I will be using their resources and professional opinion for things such as reviewing and refining my resume.

On October 7th, I attended the Cover Letter workshop, administered by Starr. The workshop helped myself and others  complete a cover letter to help gain interest in the business field. The workshop was run by Ricki Weitzen, who currently works in the Starr Career Development Center.

The workshop was filled with helpful information and lots of participation from everybody involved. We watched Ricki and her partner run through a PowerPoint presentation on everything you need to know about writing a successful cover letter for your resumes. We went through what is and what isn’t good examples of a cover letter and how each cover letter could be improved. Then we took notes and listened to Ms. Weitzen talk about, what should be included in each paragraph of a cover letter. The first paragraph should be discussing the position that the person is applying for and how you heard of the job opening or business. The second paragraph should be explaining the career you will be taking and how you feel suited at the company. It should also include your own achievements, training and work experiences in the past. The third and final paragraph of the Cover Letter should be asking or requesting an interview in a formal way, and thanking the employer for their consideration.

This workshop really helped me in a significant way because I have a resume, but I really was confused on how my cover letter should be done and what should be included in it. From all the information and help from Ms. Weitzen and her partner, I feel ready and confident enough to complete my cover letter for my own resume. This workshop is one of many that I will be attending in the near future. I highly recommend other students to go to Starr if anybody has any problems regarding to their careers.