Yesterday, I attended a Starr Career Center Resume workshop. Before having my resume reviewed and carefully scrutinized, I personally thought it was thorough. However, development coach Michelle had pointed out there were a few flaws that would likely get my resume piled into the ‘disregard’ pile for hiring managers. Firstly, she mentioned that the font was quite disengaging, and it was hard to read at times. I used a smaller font in order to pack as much info in as I could. This was also another issue she mentioned: I included a lot of irrelevant information from high school. Some of this irrelevant information included some awards I won and other non-employment information. She pointed out that for professional career-oriented resumes, work experience should precede academia. Furthermore, I completely forgot to add the fact that I am bilingual, which is a great skill to have for prospective employees. While it is not a sole factor for employment, she mentioned that one’s marketability goes up with knowing a second language fluently, Bengali in my case. In addition, I lacked formal work experience- I was an intern at a non-profit, and I also included my experience with entrepreneurship. She advised that I look for other internships relevant to the field I’d like to pursue. Ultimately, my resume needed lots of improvement, and I honestly didn’t mind at all. I was glad that she pointed out these discrepancies. With my new and improved resume, the chance that my resume will get shredded up by a hiring manager has decreased.
Author: f.rafi
A Trip to the MoMA
It’s quite rare to scroll through Instagram without seeing any posts featuring the MoMA, so I decided to set out and determine what the hype was all about. I rushed out of English class today with my friend Afnan and headed towards the 6 train. A few stops and a ten minute walk later, I was at the MoMA. I headed inside and asked about ticket prices. To my amazement, admissions were free for CUNY students. After leaving my bag at the check in area, I headed to the second floor. The MoMA is vast, as there are 6 floors to explore. With time to kill and a curious outlook, I looked around.
On the second floor, there were various sculptures. One bronze sculpture caught my eye, as it was in a really abstract and abnormal shape. Wall upon wall with paintings, there was truly a piece of art for people of all preferences and interests. One particular piece of art that I found interesting was the The Lidless Eye by Adrian Ghenie. I would describe this piece as, for a lack of a better description, trippy. It conveyed a base painting of a silhouette, topped with various other pictures within the frame of the silhouette. Despite my limited time, I also checked out The Persistence of Memory Salvador Dalì. For most of my time there I accompanied my friend Afnan, who was taking various pictures for an art history assignment.
While I wouldn’t go on my own free time, I can definitely see why many people enjoy the MoMA. The layout of the museum was extremely spacious, and the staff there were helpful and courteous.
Finance and Economics Society GIM
Today, I attended the first general meeting of the Finance and Economics Society. During this meeting, the president, Isabel, and other key speakers introduced the FES as a gateway to higher level networking and professionalism. The club is open to anyone with a general interest in finance, even without the thorough knowledge of the field. Around a hundred students attended this meeting. Isabel and other speakers had emphasized the club as a means of further solidifying ones interest in finance, and applying that interest into numerous projects and activities. As a part of this club, one would engage in numerous activities geared towards finance. For example, one example project they described entailed doing a full analysis on the company Kohl’s, from analyzing their revenue and activity per quarter to other aspects. The real-life application that this club entails truly interested me. The FES also has this amazing mentorship program wherein 8 students are selected for personalized guidance and mentorship. I believe this program lasts for 6-8 weeks, and I am very inclined towards applying. The FES also offers invaluable professional guidance and advice, such as perfecting resumes.
At the end of the presentation, one of the presenters incited a team building activity that she once partook in at a networking activity at Goldman Sachs. The objective of this activity was to acquaint yourself with 9 other students (for a total of 10 per group), and to build the largest tower of spaghetti with a marshmallow on top. Resources were quite limited, as each group had roughly 8 pieces of spaghetti and a measly piece of tape, and of course the marshmallow. This activity truly bound my team and I together, as we each were engaged in a common activity and goal. Though we didn’t win the contest, were acquainted with each other very well and created new lasting friendships.
The FES has a vast network of alumni who are now working at top financial institutions, such as JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs. What’s best about this is the fact that these alumni still stick close to the club, and offer their guidance regarding their professional careers. This invaluable network of individuals, along with the student body of the club, truly embody the values of the club: comradery and professional development. Despite working full time, many of these alumni still find the time to get together with club members for lunch and coffee and strive to help in any way they can. I hope to one day be able to contribute in a similar way.
