Weekly Reflection #4: October 17, 2016 (Make-up)

            The two events that I attended were “Interview like a Pro” and a session with a board of visitors who answered questions and spoke about their previous experiences that led them to their success.  I chose to attend these two events because they each provided information regarding career’s after college, which I think many students take for granted.  There are many ways that a student can prepare for joining the work force after graduation while still in college; some opportunities can even arise that allow you to have a job waiting for you upon graduation.  I wanted to attend these events to gain valuable information that can give me an advantage when searching for a career.  At the interview event, the most important thing that I took away probably would be the list of traits that employers look for the most.  It really stuck with me when the presenter told us that employers can hire a lot of people just based on qualifications alone, but the factors that separate those who are just qualified and those who would be successful are actually the personal traits of the interviewee.  Both events were very informative, however I took away more tips and tricks from the board of visitors’ event, because they were actual people who were important in their careers, and had very valuable advice as to how they got in their position.  A few of the visitors gave some key points of advice that generally every other visitor agreed with.  One point made by David Roberts was to volunteer to do the jobs that nobody else wants to do.  He said that this is important because one, it will help you discover things about yourself, such as what career family you like, and two, this mindset will open up many more doors to you than other people have.  Take any job even relatively interesting to you, or maybe take on you have no interest in.  You never know when and where you’ll discover your passion.  Another key point was brought up by Michael Stutts was to not pursue a career that you can’t see yourself in fifteen years from now.  Nearly everyone’s goal in a job or career is to work their way up the management chain, and increase their income.  If you are thinking of starting a career, but when you think about it, you couldn’t see yourself doing it in five years, don’t even begin to pursue it.  Make sure that the career you finally choose is your passion, and you will be okay working in this field until you retire.  Another tip given by Rick Brajer was actually told to him by a mentor, who said that “you will be fired twice in your life.”  This advice may seem cruel or harsh when first heard, but the underlying meaning of this statement is to prepare you for failure, because at some point in their career, everyone is going to fail.  The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that unsuccessful people take criticism as an insult, and don’t learn from failure.  These two events have helped me tremendously in my career exploration process, and I am looking forward to where the rest of this class takes me.