Fall Semester Students

Best advice: find group members that you will work well together! The client based project is a good project for students because it is much like a project that would be done in job outside of school. The best part of this class is working with different people to complete a final project. I enjoyed this class because I enjoyed being around my group members. Our group was able to have fun while getting our work done. When working with not only your group but the other groups, suggest ideas but be open to other ideas as well. It is important to meet all of the project deadlines and make sure that the other groups can rely on you and visa versa. If you can succeed in being reliable and easy-going but productive, you will do very well on the client based project!

Free STYLE

This week we have another free topic to choose for our blog.
I think my positive experience in this class this semester is a worthy topic. At the beginning of the course, I thought the class was going to be overwhelming with all the deadlines for projects. However, throughout the semester I was able to keep up with the projects for both my individual work and group work. Angie definitely made the class run smoothly and always had a positive attitude about any of the assignments. When a professor is approachable and easy going then that makes the class so much more enjoyable. I appreciate all the feedback and effort she put into each student. I also enjoyed coming to class everyday to talk to my group members. We were able to work together, get our work finished, and laughed through it all. I will definitely recommend this class and my professor to anyone!

Personalities for a Particular Job

The article mentioned several approaches of hiring employers depending on their personalities. Some of the ways sounded grueling but other ways did not sound so bad. I think the worst process for an employee was the process to get hired by Lindblad Expeditions. I understand that the people who work on the cruise company need to treat the customers well and have the best customer service, but the DVD sounds very intense. However, it does sound like a good idea to show the people applying for the job what they should expect so that they are not mislead. I think the neatest approach was done by the KaBoom company. The company makes products for children, and therefore, the people who work their need to be easy going and creative. A company like KaBoom does not want someone that is very formal and who can not relate to children. I think KaBoom would be an interesting place to check out, and it would be fun to see how they create the children's playgrounds. I think I would probably fit in a place that has a more easy going atmosphere rather than a more formal atmosphere.

The Advertising Business

I was reading the Shape and I found several advertisements that captured my attention.
The first article is an advertisement for Wheat Thins. The company directs the attention to women in efforts of promoting its snack. In the advertisement, A women is smiling looking off in the distance with several wheat thins in her hands, and the caption of the ad says
"A girl's gotta
dream
share
have a taste
defy
eat"
In addition at the bottom of the page, it says "Wheat Thins. The thin little crackers that are big on taste."
In the Dual Coding theory, it describes how the most effective system to use is both language and pictures. I feel that the magazine article is appealing to the eye, however it is nothing special. It does not really make me want to run to the store at this moment and buy some Wheat Thins.

As I continued to skim through the magazine, I found an advertisement for REI. It had an interesting approach to capture the readers. They directed their attention in this advertisement for both males and females. The backdrop is a beautiful nature scene with white capped mountains with greenery surrounding them, and also it includes a male and female running on a dirt path up the one of the mountains. The words on the page are descriptive and give an alternative outlet in place of a couple of minutes of speed dating. The slogan for REI is "Out is in." I think this is an effective ad that captures the audience's attention. As a reader of Shape, the companies want to attract people that love the outdoors and would like to adventure. I believe this advertisement adapts the Dual Coding Theory to the product that is being sold (which in this case is the actual REI company) more effectively than the previous ad for Wheat Thins.

Group Members

My group has been wonderful. We have worked well together and have completed all of the tasks smoothly up to this point. We only had communication problems once, and it was not a really big deal. I had volleyball practice in the evening and my group was going to meet right after it. The problem was that I had to get to the library at 7 but my practice at Fike got over at 7 . I figured that if I was a little late it would cause too much of a problem, but when I got there I couldn't find my group. I emailed everyone and apologized. Joel had computer issues and the rest of the group did not actually have the meeting when they saw I was not there. It was the day before the proposal was due, and luckily we were pretty much finished except for the conclusion. The next day in class we finished our conclusion and submitted our proposal. In the future, I am sure we will work a little better to communicate and fortunately this time it was not too important. I do not believe any other problems will occur in the future.
JenniGray, Joel, and Justin are all easygoing, but at the same time hardworking and determined. As a group we have a good time and laugh a lot while getting our work done. They have been wonderful group members, and I think it has been a great experience. I look forward to working with them for the rest of the semester.

News of the Week

Last night I found out some very good news. I have been going back and forth what I want to do when I graduate, and recently I have decided I will go to grad school and get a PhD in sports psychology (instead of the other direction which was physical therapy). I have talked to professors at Clemson about their suggestions for this narrow field, and they do not really know much about the sports psychology programs. I did not get much feedback or positive information from any of the professors which made me nervous. What if this is not a good field or career? I have thought about it alot lately and decided I'm going to stay on this track for graduate school.
Anyway, I was talking to my parents last night on the phone and they said they ran into my high school club volleyball coach (who also coaches at a college near my hometown) at dinner. They were talking about me, and my parents mentioned I was interested in sport psychology. She was so excited to find this out, and said that is exactly what they need for the athletes at that college. She basically told my parents when I finish school that she would hire me and/or help me find a job. WHAT A RELIEF! That made my week! It's good to know people care and want to help out :)

Interview Reflection

I had my interview with Angie on Wednesday, October 10. I have never been in a real interview, so this was a good learning experience. I did not know what to expect before going into the mock interview. Impromptu speeches are not one of my strengths. I was unsure of questions that would be asked to me during the interview, but I tried to think of some of my good and bad characteristics and past experiences to apply to possible questions.

The mock interview was a good opportunity for me to practice describing my strengths and weaknesses while applying it to a specific job or graduate program. I realize I said “um” before answering most of my questions. Before my next interview, I will try to review questions and practice in front of friends. My mock interview was brief, and I realize that a real interview will be more in depth and longer. I hope that I will be able to use this practice with Angie to improve my interview skills in the future

Class Presentation

I enjoyed listening to all of the presentations because each person got to share a little about themselves in a creative way . I liked Cassidy's presentation because I love animals, and I think that CAWS is a wonderful program. I am not involved in the organization but I appreciate all of the work that the members of this club do for the animals. I wish I could own more cats, dogs, horses, you name it, but time and money as a college student get in the way. I love when I am able to go home to my house and play with my 3 dogs and 2 cats. I loved the pictures that Cassidy had on her handouts. I am a sucker for kittens and puppies :) GREAT JOB on the presentation! I might join CAWS senior year when I return from studying abroad so way to get the word out there!

Lesson Learned

Today in my anatomy class we learned about a highly invasive breast cancer study done in California. The study ultimately pointed out the negative effects of using plastic bottles. They found that the dioxins released from the plastic in the bottles cause cancer. Clear plastic Nalgene water bottles and disposable water bottles that are frozen are not healthy for you or when left out in the heat. When the water has been frozen and then unfrozen, the plastic is broken down and then releases dioxins. However, white Nalgene water bottles are approved and acceptable. The next time you think about freezing that plastic watter bottle, think again! You can use an alternative method in order to keep yourself healthy and reduce the risk of cancer.

Resume Link

I read two articles from careerjournal.com that gave helpful tips about resumes.
The first article I read was "Tricks of the Trade: Writing a Good Resume" by Joshua Lipton. The article was short but included information about including sport on a resume. A former coach, Roy Blitzer, did not like that someone included intramural sport on his or her resume. I disagree with this decision. I know that it could appear to be a hobbie, but intramural sport is an activity that allows for a person in college to play sport who were not on the NCAA Division I, II, or III team. Some people do not have the time or may not qualify for the NCAA so they play sport to involve themselves with the college. I also disagree with this decision because students are still responsible to organize their time to play the games and use social qualities such as good sportsmanship in competition. I personally think that intramural sport should qualify in the category of activities or other experience on a resume.

The other article I read was "Smart Resume Advice: Fewer Words Say More" by Perri Capell. The article says to keep the resume brief. The article emphasizes to write about the desired goal that the person wants in the job. The author recommends that when creating a resume to not discuss past jobs that a person does not want anymore. In class, Angie advised us about similar things to do and not to do in our resumes.

Steps of an Interview

In this website, there are suggestions on how to have a successful interview:
http://www.careerjournal.com/jobhunting/interviewing/


One article, "Is Hiding Your Wedding Band Necessary for a Job Interview?" that caught me by surprise was the one that we mentioned in class about wearing a wedding band in an interview. Previously, I have never considered this to be of much importance but I guess it is important to some business and corporations. Although it might be a good idea to take your wedding band off for the interview, I would probably keep my wedding ring on my finger. Personally, if a company was judging my marital status for a job then I would probably not want to work at that place.

Another article, "Four tips for Acing Interviews by Phone", mentioned several ways to have a successful phone interview. The suggestions they give for success are minimize distractions, sharpen your verbal skills, prepare in advance, follow-up with a letter. I think these are all valid points and would personally rather like an interview by phone than by person. My mind goes blank in stressful situations and then later I think of good things to say when I am rethinking the event.

One more article that I read gave suggestions on answering questions about your weaknesses. "How to Answer Questions About Your Weaknesses" gives pointers on how to be successful in answering these awkward questions. The author says to mention a weakness that can be an asset to the company. Several other ways are to cite a lesson learned, cite a corrected weakness, cite a learning objective, cite an unrelated skill deficit, deflect, and address the unspoken question.

I agreed with these articles and believe that reading them will help me in my future search for a job. It is amazing how much a person must pay attention to the little details while searching for a job.

My Life at a Glance

Where might I be in 10 years? What will happen in my future? Those are questions that I ask myself frequently. I have an idea of my future, but for the most part I am very uncertain of the path that is ahead of me. However, I have faith that I will be satisfied in the end.

First, I will tell you a little about my education background. I plan to finish my undergraduate degree next spring at Clemson and receive a B.S. in psychology with a minor in sociology. At this moment in time, I will either apply to a sport's psychology graduate program or to a physical therapy program. In either program, it will require me to have several more years of education. Therefore, I plan to continue my education for the next four to five years. I do not necessarily want to be studying for many more years, yet I know that continuing my education is a wonderful opportunity and will guide me to a successful career.

My future career goals are fairly basic. I hope to be satisfied, successful, and established. I am not sure where I will end up, but as I mentioned before, I will most likely focus my career with something to do with exercise and psychology. I am interested in athletics and working with people, therefore I know that this is the right field for me to pursue.

Personally, I know that in the next 10 years that I will have life changing experiences. As many typical young girls, I have dreamed of "the wedding." However, I am in no hast to actually get married. I would like to get married and have several children, but I plan for that to be down the road. I would ideally like a larger family since I have always enjoyed growing up in a big family. I guess that will be decided in the future also.

Another personal goal that I wish to achieve is to travel all over the world. I am fortunate to have already traveled to Germany, France, Switzerland and Luxembourg( each for a day), Ireland several times, around the United States, and soon Australia. I love to take random road trips and explore or travel overseas. I am always up for an adventure and to discover different cultures.

Finally, I hope to maintain a strong relationship with my family in the future. I have two wonderful parents, an older sister, older brother, and a younger brother. My siblings and I have always supported each other, and although we are not perfect, we have remained close up to this point. I hope that our relationships continue to grow as we get older. I want to be able to share all of my accomplished goals with them ten years from now. I hope they to support me all the way for as I will be for them.

Machines vs. Humans

Questions:
What do you think the title of the video means? How does Web 2.0 affect someone who is ready to enter the workforce? How does it affect people who are already in the workforce? What do you think it means when it says that we will have to rethink everything?


Answer:
Computers and the internet are amazing technological advances in our lives! In my opinion, the video, "Web 2.0...The Machine is Us/ing Us," means we have become so dependent on computers on a day-to-day basis that we would not know how to deal without them. A person whom is about to enter the workforce needs to understand the importance of working with computers. The internet is a quick easy way for people to send out job applications and other personal information to businesses. A person entering the workforce may be interested in sending out a resume or memorandum, and by sending the information through email, then it is guaranteed to get to an office before mail from a post office. The person sending a letter through the mail carrier might miss out on an opportunity, while another person may gain the opportunity by chosing to send his or her information through email. The web is a wonderful place for networking. Web 2.0 is a place where people are linked from all over the world. People in the workforce should be comfortable with using a computer. Today, if a person does not understand and keep up with the technological advances, then he or she will be left behind. Many business have access to the internet which allows for more efficient communication. People are able to get work done at a faster rate. However, the problem that exists is that because of the advance communication, we should be careful of what can be accessed. We have to be careful of our privacy. We have to think about identity theft, stalkers, plagiarism, etc. The internet is an amazing resource, but we just need to pay careful attention to the information that we let the world access.
I enjoyed the way the professor created the video. He did a good job proving his point about the good and bad aspects of the internet.

The Beginning

Hey Everyone! I haven't ever written a blog before so this could be interesting...
Well for starters, I am a junior from Summerville, S.C. This is my second year at Clemson and I am loving it! My first year of college I attended Presbyterian College, where I was recruited to play volleyball. I still keep in touch with many people from PC, and some of them are my best friends, but I just decided I would like to go to a bigger school. When I started at Clemson I wanted to meet people, and since I have been involved in athletics for awhile, I randomly decided to walk on the rowing team. I am no longer rowing this year, yet my rowing teammates are also some of my closest friends. I am not sure what I want to do in the future, but I am leaning towards doing something with psychology and more specifically sports psychology. I am also considering physical therapy, occupational therapy, or Physician's Assistant. Currently, I am planning and getting things ready to study abroad in the spring in Australia. I am so excited for this amazing opportunity!