What to do before entering the workforce...

 

 

It's Time to go to Work…

 

 

There are certain things that must be considered before entering the workforce. There can be a lot of factors such as inexperience. Being nervous can definitely make your first time entering the workforce difficult. Entering the workforce does not have to be a difficult process. All you have to do is prepare yourself for the job. Certain important factors you must regard is first building your brand. Building a personal brand involves more than just removing incriminating Facebook 'pics' from college frat parties. You have to blend your personal life with your professional life and live your career for example; you can post articles relating to your field of interest. You want to make sure you are following and being followed by industry experts.

Another way to prepare yourself is by having experience through an internship. It is all about seeking out companies you actually want to work for and offering your services on projects you might actually have experience in. You must also understand that social media is a great tool to use. LinkedIn and other sites offer great access to career opportunities. You never know who will reach out to you, but navigate carefully. We tend to share a lot of information on Facebook and other sites, and not all of it is appropriate for employers. Sanitize your sites before your job search.

Get real, because most likely you are not likely to land your dream job right out of college. In fact, your first several jobs are stepping stones. Learn from each experience what you like to do and what you don't. Luck does have something to do with it, but not as much as you think. Those enviable graduates who secured a job did something right: they knew someone who gave them their first break, they had an internship which gave them valuable real-world experience, or they happened to be at the right place at the right time. Vary your job search tactics. Have more conversations with people in your desired field. Don't just ask for someone to give you are break. Prove you are the person worth investing in.

Having experienced this internship, I have learned how important it is to prepare yourself for the times when you will actually find yourself going into the workforce. Being a part of the Information Center has given me so many advantages to prepare myself to start working. Things such as chances to network, accumulating new skills, and an introduction to the field's culture and etiquette will bring me to understand how the workforce may be.

Making mistakes at Work

“ Everyone makes Mistakes…”

 Making a mistake at work can be a serious deal. It may affect a relationship with a client or even cause a legal problem. When this is the issue, the outcome of that situation comes down on you and no one else. Simply correcting your mistake and moving on may not be an option. When you make a mistake at work your career may depend on what you do next. 

"So, what is left to do when you do make a mistake at work?"

           Well, when your superior has told you about your mistake or you have found out by your co-worker, it is best to first admit your mistake. It is not wise to try to hide your mistake because all that does is makes you look worse, especially, if someone else discovers it and you could be accused of a cover-up. The next act you can pose after you have admitted your mistake is present your boss with a plan to correct the error. Before going to the boss, come up with a solution along with alternatives for your boss to consider. Once you know what the solution is present it to your boss, having a clear plan.

The best thing to not do in this whole situation is to NEVER blame anyone else. It never helps to point fingers at others, even if they do share responsibility for the mistake. In the end, each person will be held accountable for his or her own actions. The Last thing you can do is apologizing for your mistake, even though it does not change the outcome of your error. Take responsibility but don't berate yourself for making it, especially in public. If you keep calling attention to your error, that is what will stick in people's minds. You want your boss to focus on your actions after you made the mistake, not on the fact that it happened in the first place.

            Working with the temporal system at the information center has maximized the potential of errors to occur among the employees. Making a mistake at the information center is serious deal especially when making reservations. When reservations are being made through the phone it is very important NOT to book a reservation on the same day at the same time of another reservation.

When a situation like that occurs, then the repercussions of that is having to call the customer who made the reservation last and have to explain to them why they would have to cancel there event. Situations like that can never happen and when it does it has the ability to destroy the relationships that we have with the clients, which is not acceptable at all. Mistakes are not needed at the information center.

         

The Student Center

What goes on in this place?

Student Center, through its services, programs, and dynamic facilities, provides a welcoming and inclusive sense of place where all commuter and resident students, faculty, staff, alumni, and visitors can come together to exchange diverse ideas. The Student Center fosters student involvement, community, and learning through recreational activities, cultural events, social programming, and leadership initiatives.

The Student Center is always busy on the week days and there is always something new going on in this place. As an employee at the information center, I see a lot of things that go on in this place. The cliques in the Student center are endless. We have the ping pong-ers, the gamers, the loungers, the bowlers, the mentors, and the stairway lovers. It is not my job or hobby to meddle in people's lives but understanding your environment at your job can be a benefit to you. Knowing my environment allows me to know the community in which I work. In the student center, we have several activities that go on here, such as, meeting that take place in numerous rooms, bowling, table tennis, gaming, lounging, the eating of meals, the sleeping in the lounge and the faculty work in offices that go on. Most times, there are also fundraising that goes on.

On the third floor, there is the ballroom, where several Shepherd program board events go on, as well as big events that the town may have that may hold 350 people. Many students abundantly enjoy those events.

 On the second floor is the Game zone, well you can just call this the hang out zone. The Game zone area allows students and non-students to come and savor the moments with their friends. Many reservations are processed in the game zone due to the fact that it is an active area where bowling, billiards, machine games, and several conference rooms. Usually, when no parties or program board events are going on the 'gamers' like to play their computer games and brag about how they are better than one another. It is there hangout spot.

On the main floor is the Ram's Den. In the Ram's Den are many activities that take place. There are two food areas and a lounge for students to relax. Most of the time, students are either eating or doing homework. Also located in the Ram's Den is the information center where students receive all types of information, reserve conference rooms and sign out table tennis paddles. Other offices that are in the ram's den are the student affairs office and the program board office. On certain Fridays', program board hosts 'late night in the zone' with different event themes each time. This event allows student to engage with each other and connect on a social status.

Working and being a part of the Student Center has allowed me to know the purpose of the building and a way to know and familiarize myself with this kind of environment.

Professional work experience

Professional Work Experience

“Internship counts as professional experience"

Professional work experience refers to experience working for organizations within your chosen profession based on your qualifications. Professional work experience provides many benefits; giving you skills and experience that will allow you stand out to potential employers as well as helping you choose the right sector to work in. Having a professional work experience equips you with certain soft skills such as team working, communication skills and commercial awareness, all of which are sought after by employers. Employers value competitive advantage and that's what work experience gives you.

One of the great things about gaining work experience as a student is that it gives you the chance to try things out to see if they suit you. If you want to find out what a company is actually like to work for, or what doing a certain job is like, having that professional work experience gives you the chance to experience this - for a week, a fortnight, a summer or even a year. Plus, some long-term internship can lead to full-time employment.

Some may think there is a standard to having a professional work experience and ask the question, what does my experience qualify? Paid or unpaid, part or full time, if You can show how the work you've done gives you the skills and experience needed for the job you want, then include it as a professional work experience.

"Every little thing counts, even your professional demeanor matters..."

Professionalism and ethical behavior in the workplace can benefit your career and improve your working environment. . I have been learning through my internship that being professional means being trustworthy, competent, respectful, empathetic and acting with integrity. The things that are required from a professional staff member at the workplace are self-respect and accepting personal responsibility. It is important to not handle personal interest at "work" and also keep inappropriate language out of the workplace.

            I learned through this internship that there are boundaries when I am working such communicating clearly. I also try to keep my personal information strictly confidential and especially not feeding into office gossip. Getting emotional baggage out of the workplace is a must and it requires work-life balance. It is not wise to mix the personal and the workplace together. All these little factors contribute to what it means to be professional at the workplace. This internship has been teaching how to behave professional. It is a great tool to obtain.

what do you want to be when you grow up?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

 When I grow up I want to be a marketing and communications director. “What exactly is that?” Marketing and Communications director supervise and direct the workflow of marketing, advertising or public relations by assigning job tasks, facilitating interdepartmental communications and managing external communications. Marketing and communications managers work at both poles of their job title, as well as where marketing and communications duties meet. The marketing management side of the job may affect the development and refinement of marketing goals, pricing strategies, promotional activities and branding in consultation with marketing staff and clients. Directing market analysis and research to identify trends and opportunities is another marketing job duty. There are many responsibilities to this job and the qualifications are very important to be able to handle these duties. The minimum education and experience for a marketing and communications director According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a position as an advertising or public relations manager requires Bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, marketing or business related field, a Minimum of 10 years experience in marketing communications in high tech and/or medical industry and a minimum of 5 years experience managing a marketing communications team.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

To be a marketing and communications director, it is imperative to demonstrate the appropriate and qualified skills for this career, such as:

•       Demonstrates creative and critical thinking skills
•       Professional and positive approach, self-motivated, team player, dynamic, creative with the ability to work on own initiative.
•         Exercises a high degree of tact and diplomacy
•       Project management and Analytical skills
•       Business related computer skills including knowledge with PowerPoint, Excel and Word.
•        Technical Skills
•       Non-verbal communication skills and leadership skills
•       Researching Skills

The Information Center has allowed me to work on the skills, which are vital for the career that I want to enter in. This Internship is teaching me the right skills and fundamentals to reach these goals. On a day-to-day basis I am learning how to be a good communicator. These skills teaches me how to pass on information along, how to make good relationships, and shows me how to make peaceful communities. The Information center allows me to get what I need. If I can effectively communicate what I need or want, I am more likely to be successful in getting it. Effective communication also helps me to convince others to agree with me in a persuasive setting. Communication skill is very essential because it usually makes or breaks your career. If I can't communicate effectively, people won't listen to what I have to say and I will have very limited career options. Through the tasks of filing papers, making phone calls and handling customer complaints and questions, my internship has done a great job teaching me the basic skills I need to enter into the career field I desire.


http://www.nonin.com/JobPost.aspx?ID=141
http://education-portal.com/articles/Marketing_Communication_Manager_Job_Description_and_Requirements.html

Organization Skills

Organizational Skills

I would have to say that among other skills I obtain, that organizational skill is a great ability to acquire. The capability to organize is very useful to master and is amazing to have if gifted in it. At the information center, I have the opportunity to engage and perfect that skill. Organizational skills allows me to determine the supplies I need, how to arrange files and whom to contact for specific information.

 

Organizational skills are a prerequisite in any organization.

These skills are highly sought after and no organization look forward to recruiting a candidate who does not possess the same because employees that possess organizational skills work systematically in an organization and achieve results as planned. Even if there are unforeseen occurrences, they manage to pull through still.

 

Managers who work with employees will often organize the work of employees to keep them busy, especially those that require a lot of direction, like file clerks or contract workers. Having good organizational skills is about making the best use of your time. Being organized reduces the amount of time you have to dig to uncover important business information. Everyone should obtain this skill.

 

Organizational skills gives me the self-discipline measures that is needed. It also helps me to acknowledge a purpose each day. These skills allows me to focus towards higher goals in life. Organizational skills is something everyone should be talented in, especially working in an informational-based center.