Last Day of Class for Career Development

It’s mid semester, and that means my one-credit Career Development class is over. During our last class we shared information about our career field such as world trends, workplace challenges, and the need for continuing education. Listening to my classmates speak made me stop and think outside the world of computer programs and become aware of other fields like the medical and industrial fields. I noticed some trends with our contrasting fields, changing technology being the most prominent commonality.

Every week we worked on a different aspect of the job search process. We created resumes, cover letters, and references; last week we went through mock interviews. What I found the most helpful was looking at a list of typically asked interview questions and preparing answers for them. It gave me time to think through my answers and get feedback on my responses to those questions. I feel much better prepared for an interview now.

There were two things our instructor had us repeat everyday and we are not allowed to forget it: Customize and Sell Yourself.

Week in Review: A Reflection of September 26 – 30, 2011

This week I realized there are only a few more classes left until two of my one-credit classes are done. After that I start a two-credit class, Beginning Photoshop. I’m also more than halfway through my self-paced Excel course.

My self-paced Excel course was very challenging at first. I’m used to a more traditional style of learning that takes place in the classroom. With the self-paced course I’m using a book and online project simulations. It was a new way of learning for me. I could move through material as quickly or as slowly as I wanted to. I liked that. However, there’s a lot of information to take in for each lesson plan. But this week things are finally clicking for me, and I enjoyed completing this last lesson plan, and I even got it done ahead of schedule. So, what I learned this week is to just hang in there when something is difficult. Lots of things are difficult but very few things in life are impossible.

Besides learning the software program thoroughly, I’m gaining some useful transferable skills. I’m developing problem-solving skills, self-motivation, and organizational skills. These are the kind of skills any employer would like to have in their employees. We talked about transferable skills in my last Career Development class session, so I’ve been thinking about them lately and how I can convey them to future employers.

When I’m done learning Excel in mid October I will begin the self-paced Access course. This will also be a challenge. In a way I think it’ll be easier, because I am more comfortable with this learning format. It’s good to learn new things and new ways of learning new things.

Career Development Class

After grabbing a slice of pizza from the cafeteria (Yay for free pizza night!), I headed over to my first Career Development class session. It felt odd to sit at a table after two semesters of sitting in front of a computer for all my classes. Being in the IT-Web Developer/Designer program, I’m on the computer all the time.

In this class we’ll be learning about marketing: marketing ourselves! We do this through our resumes, cover letters, how we answer interview questions, and even how we present ourselves through social media.

What I’m really looking forward to learning about is how to find employment. We were already given a list of ways to find jobs including ones in the hidden job market. Networking is a huge part in finding jobs you can’t find on the Internet or when there is a lot of competition for a position. We’re going to learn all the ways to network effectively. Most people have heard of networking and its importance, but I think it’s somewhat unclear how you go about networking and who your network is.

I’ve got a lot of homework to do before next Thursday’s class. I’ll be reading two chapters out of our textbook and there are some assessments to complete. One of them is finding a job posting for the career field I’m in. We’ll be using that for tailoring our resumes. It’s an eight-week class so there will be a lot of information to absorb in that time, but it’s such an important thing to know how to present yourself. The potential employee that gets hired is the one who is the best prepared. They have a polished resume, a portfolio in hand, and have a solid answer for every interview question that is asked.