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Reading Response Week 1

Wed, 06/13/2007 - 23:56 — rkottke
After looking through the content of The Thomson Handbook I found a lot of interesting information and it looks like there is a lot of good stuff to look forward to learning in this course. Actually this book looks like it could have came in handy a couple of years ago right when I started college. It has a lot of useful information like how to site MLA and APA. It also has interesting content on revising, editing and proofreading which is something that I think a lot of people have problems doing especially with their own work. Overall this book looks like it is going to be really useful and I have already learned a lot from it by reading chapter 12. This afternoon I started my job search and after reading this chapter it did clarify a lot of stuff for me. When doing any job search you really have to know if you are qualified for the job and if the job is right for you. Until reading chapter 12 I didn't know exactly what a cover letter was or what was included in a cover letter. After reading over all of the information it clarified a lot of my questions and will really help me when I go to write my cover letter in the rear future. I have already prepared a resume but I already have some revisions that I can think of to make like changing some headings that were mentioned in the chapter, the layout and design of my resume, and the visual attitude. I really have a new appreciation for the visual attitude of documents such as resumes after reading the chapter. I really think that this class is going to help me advance and be ready to start a formal career search and lead me to be ready for graduation. I believe that the skills and techniques that I am going to learn in this class will help me in all my classes for the rest of my college career and when I get a job.

Comments

Thu, 06/14/2007 - 09:23 — blakngold703
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Reading Response #1 Reply

Going along with what you are saying, it is essential to know if you are qualified for a job. I also started my job search and after exploring some websites, I did not realize how specific you have to be when looking for one. I saw a lot of postings looking for a candidate who is efficient in only a couple of things. This may help explain why so many people do not like their jobs, their just doing the same thing over and over again. I also agree with your statement about the cover letters. I too did not know anything about them until the beginning of last semester. When I would search for jobs through the CCO, many companies were asking for cover letters. I cannot tell you enough how dumbfounded I was. I am sure this course will turn that around sooner than later.

Thu, 06/14/2007 - 11:51 — rkottke

Reading Response #1 Reply

I know when I was searching yesterday for a job I typed in internships as a search in the Chicago land area but a lot of the jobs that appeared in my search seemed to be a lot more then just internships. Some jobs that came up needed to have 2-5 years experience and have high computer or finance skills and I knew that I could not truly be qualified that well for a job like that. Even though they were jobs that interested it and I would like to do a bit more research about. I guess some of those job postings are looking for people who have already graduated college but are still looking for an internship like position. Going will the information about the cover letters... I have never been asked for a cover letter before so it should be interesting to learn how to write one. It will be nice going into my junior year and having a completed resume and cover letter to hand out at career fairs and interviews.
Thu, 06/14/2007 - 16:43 — jtirrell
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RE: Reading Response #1 Reply

As you've noticed, there are different kinds of internships, including those that are for people who already have a fair amount of experience. It is common for prestigious finance or law firms, for example, to award low-paying or unpaid internships to experienced people, because such positions can be very valuable in getting a full position later with the same company or even with another company. I believe the recent film The Pursuit of Happiness touches upon this issue. (I haven't seen the film. Maybe someone else can confirm or deny this.)
Thu, 06/14/2007 - 16:58 — rkottke

Reading Response #1 Reply

Yes, I have noticed this while doing my searches. But I have found a good internship to use for this class. That I would be better qualified for. The film The Pursuit of Happiness does touch on this topic and it is an unpaid internship that he gets in hopes of getting a full time job after the internship. I highly suggest that you see that movie! It is very good!
Thu, 06/14/2007 - 22:31 — squasny
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Pursuit of Happiness

I just recently watched the movie a few days. It was a great movie. I highly recommend it. It made a great impact on me. The internship was for six weeks, and it was unpaid. It was a way for the interns to stand out in hopes of getting offered a full time position after the 6 month internship. In response to your post, the movie does touch on the topic. An unpaid internship can be very hard on people, but it is a great way to show the stand outs, and the ones that want the job bad enough to go without pay or benefits for a short term time period.
Fri, 06/15/2007 - 10:50 — amwillis
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Reading Response Comment

I agree with you about Pursuit of Happiness. I loved the movie! Much of the movie had a lot of leanring lessons. Somesometimes to get to the top you have to start at the bottom and maybe not get paid. But if you are highly educated and know what you are talking about, then when it comes time you will be eligible for the high paying job. Many of the people in the real world that have big time paying jobs had to start at the bottom and work their way to the top. You are not always going to go out and find a job that is your dream job right from the beginning. But eventually if you work had enough then you will be able to get to the top. Alayna Willis
Fri, 06/15/2007 - 22:55 — rmarschk
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unpaid internships

I think that it can be a good opportunity to take a very low paying or unpaid internship but there are much better things out there. I think for most people it would be more beneficial to look around a little more and find an internship that is paid. I know there are accounting internships that you can get that are unpaid. I also know that if you put in the time and effort though you can find internships that pay as much as $25 - $30 per hour. I think that it is well worth the time to research and find companies that do pay their interns well.
Fri, 06/15/2007 - 14:58 — Suchet
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comment

I agree with the person when they say the Thomson hand book is a very interesting book. By looking at the table of contents you can tell that there is alot of things in this book that you can learn. It’s not only teaching us how to write resumes and cover letters, but it also tells how to site our sources in the proper manner such as the MLA and the APA format. It also talks about how we can revise and edit and proof read our essays or resumes. On the other hand it also tells us how we can read and write emails purposefully and how we can do networking with others on the Web. So I think this is a real good book for people who would like to learn more about professional writing in the business world.
Fri, 06/15/2007 - 22:59 — rmarschk
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Text book

I think that this text book may be one of the few that I actually keep at the end of the course. This text book is more of a reference book than a text book. As someone said before it has everything laid out very nicely in the table of contents. It is a great resource if you are looking to do anything from site sources to understanding grammar and mechanics. This would be a good book to keep with you at your office when you go out into the working world just as a quick reference if you need it.
Fri, 06/15/2007 - 21:36 — nlievens

Reply to Reading Response #1

I totally agree on your comment about job searching. I tired to be as specific as I could in my searches but I still came up empty. I am well aware of the jobs I am qualified for and what is right for me, but actually finding a job in my field seemed impossible. None of the sites provided gave me anything close to what I wanted, so I eventually had to go to a website exclusively related to my career (Turf Management). I have also written resumes in the past and as you pointed out I can see places were I can improve their overall look.
Fri, 06/15/2007 - 22:20 — kmayes
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Reading Response # 1 Reply

I totally agree that the Thomson Handbook is interesting and helpful. This book is not dull and it relates to real life situations as far as applying for a job is concerned. I also noticed the requirements of the job in the job ads. I then decided to make sure the position interested me enough to apply, I also tried to assure that I qualified. I also appreciate the visuality of the resume also, I just recently realized how important it is. This class is definitely worthwhile and will prepare us better for the what the future might present.
Fri, 06/15/2007 - 22:22 — kim19
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Reply to Reading Response 1

I agree with what you have said; the information in this book is very useful, especially when starting your college career. I am happy that I am taking this course as I enter my sophomore year because the information covered will help me in many courses. I also agree that it is important to find a job for which you are qualified. I had to search very hard to find an internship that I qualified for due to my age. Although they can be hard to find, applying for the right positions often produces more results than just applying to all positions. Also, the information covered will be very useful. I also have already made a resume but I look forward to the pointers on formatting and cover letters.

Fri, 06/15/2007 - 23:26 — lalewand
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Reply to Reading Response 1

You are lucky you are taking this class going into your sophomore year. I am entering my senior year and finding that most of this information would have been useful a lot earlier. I remember trying to find positions for internships and having to learn a lot of this on my own.
Sat, 06/16/2007 - 08:25 — Ddgr22
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Reading Response #1 Reply

I think that this book could have helped me when I started college as well. Till this day I still struggle with how to cite information in MLA and APA format, and don’t understand why there is multiple ways to cite references. Furthermore, the content on revising, editing, and proofreading could have come in handy as well. I hope that after this course I will have been able to improve in these areas. In addition, I think that having a clear understanding of these basics will ultimately help us as we look for jobs and begin to write professionally in the future.
Sat, 06/16/2007 - 22:26 — kim264

comment

I agree that I could do a better job during my past college years if I knew the information given in this book. I could focus on this book more seriously than any other text books since it was telling all about practical writing, which will be used in my career life. I have already composed my resume but there were quite many areas to revise after reading this book. I believe that this course is going to be very practical and useful helping me to be ready to jump into the business world after graduation. I aslo appreciated for the visual parts of documents. It has clarified the rest of the questions left in my head about how resume should look like.