I like the advice given about cover letters in this tutorial because it is being given by a hiring manager. It shows what is going on in the minds of people on the other side of the job hunting process and makes the advice credible. Many of the points were interesting things that I didn't expect. The example cover letter, for instance, seemed very blunt and over-confident to me. I never know where the line is between being confident and being too pushy when going through this job hunting process. I did take the advice in however, and the only part I disagreed with is the handwritten P.S. suggestion. I feel as though a P.S. on a cover letter is unprofessional, and with it being handwritten, it seems like you are scrambling last minute to write down one more thing to make them like you because you don't feel like what you have already typed is suffice.
The part that was most useful to me in this tutorial was the bulleted list of what format to use and what things to include in each paragraph of your letter. I will definitely go back to that advice and use it when I begin to draft my cover letter. I wasn't aware that cover letters are looked at after the person reads the resume, so I will now work on making my resume and cover letter extremely effective, so that when my future employer gets to my cover letter, it will be just as impressive as the resume!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Telling Stories and Mastering the Interview
An Interview Strategy: Telling Stories and Mastering the Interview
I agree with the advice in both articles. Some of the advice seems like common sense, but for the most part it was very useful in preparing for future interviews. I have never prepared stories to bring up during interviews and found that to be useful advice. Sometimes, when I leave an interview I think back to things I wish I had told them about my life. If I came prepared with different examples for different scenarios, it would probably eliminate those regrets. The section of these artices that benefitted me most was the preparation, presentation, perception outlook on an interview. The tips on being prepared physically and mentally are things I will definitely put into use in the future. Asking the interviewer what type of person they see filling the position is a good tip for ending an interview, as well. I think this shows that the person being interviewed is just as concerned with the well being of the company as the interviewer. Overall, I took all of these tips into consideration for preparing for my mock interview.
I agree with the advice in both articles. Some of the advice seems like common sense, but for the most part it was very useful in preparing for future interviews. I have never prepared stories to bring up during interviews and found that to be useful advice. Sometimes, when I leave an interview I think back to things I wish I had told them about my life. If I came prepared with different examples for different scenarios, it would probably eliminate those regrets. The section of these artices that benefitted me most was the preparation, presentation, perception outlook on an interview. The tips on being prepared physically and mentally are things I will definitely put into use in the future. Asking the interviewer what type of person they see filling the position is a good tip for ending an interview, as well. I think this shows that the person being interviewed is just as concerned with the well being of the company as the interviewer. Overall, I took all of these tips into consideration for preparing for my mock interview.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Rhetoric of MLK and Clinton
Persuasion techniques used by Martin Luther King and Hillary Clinton are used for speeches with similar goals by extremely different people. Hillary Clinton delivered a speech in September of 2007 regarding the Health care policies that she plans to implement if she becomes president. I personally do not care for another Clinton as president, but reading her speech even made me think twice because of her excellent use of rhetoric. Clinton uses pathos in her speech by telling a story of a married couple who have health problems and must sell their 30 year home in order to pay the medical bills. She introduces the topic in this way to get her audience to view healthcare from the perspective of one who supports her health care suggestions. Martin Luther King also uses pathos when he provides examples of what life is like for an African American during this time. Both of these examples provided in speeches appeal to the sympathetic and empathetic emotions of the audience.
Hillary uses ethos with a few small remarks about her husband. She indirectly reminds her audience not only of her own experience and accomplishments, but also of the fact that she has been a first lady and has experience in the White House. These remarks establish her credibility to the audience. Martin Luther King does this as well in the second paragraph of his letter when he states what his honors and leadership titles have been in his life.
Overall, Clinton's speech on the policy of universal health care is effective in persuading the audience, but not as effective as Martin Luther King, Jr.'s. MLK allows those who originally opposed his platform to become inspired. Those who have pre existing opinions of Clinton might not be as inspired by her speech. I, for example, have never cared for Hillary Clinton, and though her speech was convincing, it wasn't convincing enough to make me pro-Hillary. The letter from Birmingham jail is timeless and inspirational. The persuasion is written so well that one could find all three types of rhetoric in every part of the letter. Not being able to differentiate between these types is what makes his letter such an excellent piece of literature.
Hillary uses ethos with a few small remarks about her husband. She indirectly reminds her audience not only of her own experience and accomplishments, but also of the fact that she has been a first lady and has experience in the White House. These remarks establish her credibility to the audience. Martin Luther King does this as well in the second paragraph of his letter when he states what his honors and leadership titles have been in his life.
Overall, Clinton's speech on the policy of universal health care is effective in persuading the audience, but not as effective as Martin Luther King, Jr.'s. MLK allows those who originally opposed his platform to become inspired. Those who have pre existing opinions of Clinton might not be as inspired by her speech. I, for example, have never cared for Hillary Clinton, and though her speech was convincing, it wasn't convincing enough to make me pro-Hillary. The letter from Birmingham jail is timeless and inspirational. The persuasion is written so well that one could find all three types of rhetoric in every part of the letter. Not being able to differentiate between these types is what makes his letter such an excellent piece of literature.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
As a 31 year old...
When I think of how long 10 years is, it doesn't seem that long away. However, I then think about what I was like as an 11 year old and how different I am as a 21 year old, and I realize how drastic my life has changed since then. My life is going to be completely different in 10 years, and I have no idea where I will be or what I will be doing. All I do know is...it is going to be big.
When I get out of college, I want to take a year off and live out west as a medic in a national park or do medical missions in a third world country. After that I would like to go to MUSC and get my Physicians' Assistant degree. Therefore, in 10 years I will hopefully be established in a PA job at a hospital saving up money to travel. I would like to have a husband, 2 or 3 children, and 2 dogs. I don't know if I want to stay in South Carolina, but wherever I live needs to be near the mountains. My ultimate goal is to live in other third world countries to help others. I have always had a passion for internationally making a difference. I just don't know what age I will be there and whether or not I will have a family before or after I go.
To be honest, I usually hate answering questions of where I will be in 10 years. I am a sole believer that what I am supposed to do in life will all fall into place at the right time. I have always been a "go with the flow" kind of person, so planning out my years and painting a picture of me as a 31 year old really contradicts who I am. Instead of concentrating on where I'll be and who I'll be with and what I'll be doing, I would rather concentrate on what I think is the most important thing in life, and that is who I am. I want to be someone who is confident and strong in my faith, someone who unconditionally loves others, and most of all, I want to be a person who makes a difference in others lives.
So when I am 31 years old, I picture myself looking back at the past 10 years and thinking, "I wouldn't change a thing."
When I get out of college, I want to take a year off and live out west as a medic in a national park or do medical missions in a third world country. After that I would like to go to MUSC and get my Physicians' Assistant degree. Therefore, in 10 years I will hopefully be established in a PA job at a hospital saving up money to travel. I would like to have a husband, 2 or 3 children, and 2 dogs. I don't know if I want to stay in South Carolina, but wherever I live needs to be near the mountains. My ultimate goal is to live in other third world countries to help others. I have always had a passion for internationally making a difference. I just don't know what age I will be there and whether or not I will have a family before or after I go.
To be honest, I usually hate answering questions of where I will be in 10 years. I am a sole believer that what I am supposed to do in life will all fall into place at the right time. I have always been a "go with the flow" kind of person, so planning out my years and painting a picture of me as a 31 year old really contradicts who I am. Instead of concentrating on where I'll be and who I'll be with and what I'll be doing, I would rather concentrate on what I think is the most important thing in life, and that is who I am. I want to be someone who is confident and strong in my faith, someone who unconditionally loves others, and most of all, I want to be a person who makes a difference in others lives.
So when I am 31 years old, I picture myself looking back at the past 10 years and thinking, "I wouldn't change a thing."
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Web 2.0...Becoming More than Just a Machine
After watching the YouTube video "The Machine is Us/ing us," I realized how much and how rapidly the internet has become such a vital part of our lives as humankind. It is actually slightly alarming to think of how dependent our culture is on technology and internet access. This title alone shows us that something we were capable of creating is now vital for the creation of every day tasks, business transactions, medical treatments, and life in general. Even though the web is a product of our intelligence and creativity, it seems like we are teaching it to have a mind of its own...and that is scary.
This new, technologically advanced web can extremely influence one who is ready to enter the workforce. For example, being technologically literate in our generation will further one's career from the very start because of the growing demand of new technologies and the ill-educated business owners of older generations. These older populations in the workforce were not given the opportunity to learn how to work with certain technologies, therefore they turn to our generation for help. Those ready to dive in to their careers have the advantage of doing extensive research on different businesses and jobs of interest, a luxury that was not possible in the past. A negative influence could possibly be caused by the most popular sites today: Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube. Questionable pictures and messages on profiles from the college years come back to haunt certain young adults when and increasing amount of corporations and businesses are checking facebook stats before hiring.
Web 2.0 has not only changed for people ready to get a job; it has changed the current workforce as a whole. New technologies have taken work to an entirely different level, with more access to information, more advertising to the global community, and more services and actions made possible only because of these machines that we've made. Is this a positive or a negative aspect of life? It depends on who you ask. I believe that every fire starts with a flame, and at the rate our world is going, every technological advance is just pouring on the gasoline. We need to go back to the pre-internet, pre-cellphone, pre-digital days and rethink what life was like. The phrase, "we will have to rethink everything" shows that as time passes, we have let our works, ideas, privacy, morals, and work ethic gradually slide down as we adjust to the next new thing.
But no one wants to rethink everything, because no one has time for that.
We'd rather a machine do our thinking for us.
This new, technologically advanced web can extremely influence one who is ready to enter the workforce. For example, being technologically literate in our generation will further one's career from the very start because of the growing demand of new technologies and the ill-educated business owners of older generations. These older populations in the workforce were not given the opportunity to learn how to work with certain technologies, therefore they turn to our generation for help. Those ready to dive in to their careers have the advantage of doing extensive research on different businesses and jobs of interest, a luxury that was not possible in the past. A negative influence could possibly be caused by the most popular sites today: Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube. Questionable pictures and messages on profiles from the college years come back to haunt certain young adults when and increasing amount of corporations and businesses are checking facebook stats before hiring.
Web 2.0 has not only changed for people ready to get a job; it has changed the current workforce as a whole. New technologies have taken work to an entirely different level, with more access to information, more advertising to the global community, and more services and actions made possible only because of these machines that we've made. Is this a positive or a negative aspect of life? It depends on who you ask. I believe that every fire starts with a flame, and at the rate our world is going, every technological advance is just pouring on the gasoline. We need to go back to the pre-internet, pre-cellphone, pre-digital days and rethink what life was like. The phrase, "we will have to rethink everything" shows that as time passes, we have let our works, ideas, privacy, morals, and work ethic gradually slide down as we adjust to the next new thing.
But no one wants to rethink everything, because no one has time for that.
We'd rather a machine do our thinking for us.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Intro blog
My name is Casey Tucker and I am from Greenville, SC. I have lived there my whole life with my parents, 1 brother, 1 sister and my dog, Buddy. I'm a junior at Clemson and my major is Preprofessional Health Science. I want to take a year off after college before I go to graduate school and either teach English or provide medical care in a third world country or be a medic in Colorado through Americorps. I would then like to go to Physician's Assistant school at MUSC. My hobbies include the outdoors, hiking, camping, rock climbing, music, and hanging out with friends. I spent this past summer in Africa doing mission work and plan on going back as soon as I get a chance. My email is caseyt@clemson.edu if anyone needs anything for class!
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