Farewell Mentee's & Good Luck

Mentees,


It has been a pleasure meeting and blogging with all of you for these past few weeks. Thank you for your input and for opening our eyes to new and great ideas on job searches, graduate school applications, interviewing, and critical thinking.

We hope you've taken a lot from this experience and we just wanted to wish you lots of luck with the rest of your UCF careers and with whatever endeavors you choose to have after UCF.

Diversity & Creativity 3/1/12-3/15/12

It's pretty cool to make up a "Brand Called You" and those are the exact things that employeer's or graduate school's are looking for. They are looking for that creative, new individual to bring new innovative ideas to their company or school.

Everyone knows when you hear "Ba da bop bah bah...I'm lovin' it" it's Mcdonalds. Going along with a "Brand Called You" what would your unforgetable catchy tagline be for a "Brand Called You". Essentially that's what employers are looking for because after interviewing multiple applicants, the one they choose have something that paticulary stood out to them.

Also list any other creative ideas you have to make yourself stand out.

Critical Thinking and Interdisciplinary Problem Solving 2/23-3/1

Branding Yourself

With our interdisciplinary studies degree, we will have to be able to explain how our educational background will be beneficial to prospective employers. This exercise can help us to better express ourselves incorporating our interdisciplinary assets.



1. Read The Brand Called You http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/10/brandyou.html

2. After reading the article, reflect on who you are and incorporate into what you are

3. Please prepare an ‘advertisement’ (ie Tag Line- this one should be a hint as to, What you are) for this assignment you cannot be human, you can be an inanimate object (ie ruler, rubber, toy), a living thing other than human being or animal (ie oxygen/air, plant). This assignment should be not longer than 1 page and again should include at least two of your interest areas.



Use problem solving skills and approach this as an interdisciplinary thinker.


Branding yourself piece:



* What insights have you gained from this reading?

* How has this exercise helped you intergrate and understand how your areas/interests relate?

3: Interviewing, Networking, Follow-Up 2/16-2/23

Interviews, Networking and Follow-ups.

These are three very important aspects that incorporate them self into just about any position that you will apply for. I am sure we all here have had an interview for one reason or another. They have the potential to make or break your acceptance to the program/job/anything. Therefore it is safe to say that we should all have the skills needed to properly execute any interview thrown our way. To help better our skills you should complete the Perfect Interview activity located on the UCF Career Services website.

Networking is also a HUGE part of our life. Either for professional or academic purposes, networking has the ability to open and close doors. The common phrase "Its not what you know but who you know" can be a bitter reality for a lot of people. An employer would much rather take the word of a friend/colleague over some words that you through down on a piece of paper. Networking also has the beneficial possibility to invite you to new places you did not know about. A good mentor/colleague can offer you positions and opportunities that you did not even know existed.

Following up on a position is another key piece in the success puzzle. If you really want something you are to show your employer that you are passionate about the position. One of the best ways to do that is by following up on your application. We are all busy people and your potential employer is definitely not the exception. Follow up with a call or e-mail to remind them how good of a candidate you are. It will keep your application from sinking to the bottom of the pile.

Pick about 5 from the following to respond to:

• What did you learn/take away from doing the Perfect Interview activity?
• What are some things to avoid saying/doing during an interview?
• What are some good elements to say/do during an interview?
• How could interviews vary depending on the position that you are applying for?
• How will you explain your degree to your future employer?
• How will you work on improving your network?
• What skills will you implement on your next real interview (denote your dream job/gradschool)

feed the fish

Cover Letters, Resumes & the Modern Job Search 2/9/12-2/16/12

It’s Week Two Mentees!!!

We’re all in college for one common goal and that’s to graduate and get a job and hopefully make a difference wherever we work. Sometimes your first impression may be your last impression so it’s important that you make a good one.

Whether you going to graduate school immediately after graduation or you are going into the working world, it is important to know how to present yourself. This week is all about cover letters, resumes, and job searching.

Review the Career Services website and see what is offered there to help students (note links for Undergraduate Students and Non-Traditional Knights). List some things that will help you on your job search or some things that will guide you to getting into your graduate program. Provide a link to your dream job or graduate program.

• What should you include/exclude in a cover letter?
• Is sending a coverletter via email enough?
• When do you call, email, stop-in, or stalk (just kidding) for an interview?
• What are some ways your resume can highlight your interdisciplinarity?
• How do you conduct a job search (or graduate school search) in our modern climate of internet and email?

Welcome CornerStone Students! 2/2/12-2/9/12

Hey everyone. I am Andrea Scott and I look forward to graduating this May from UCF. Go KNIGHTS! (U CAN FINISH) I describe Interdisciplinary Studies as "the degree for people who can't make up their mind" because I have changed my major many times. Those majors now make up my areas of study: English Language Education, Sociology, and African American studies. I was born and raised in Delaware (yeah, "Del-a-WHERE?") I moved back to Orlando most recently the Spring of 2007. Be encouraged, the IDS degree makes us diverse and interesting students. My goal is to be like the teacher from Freedom Writers.

 

Hey there everyone. I am Benjamin Germain and am pretty excited to be graduating May 5th. I obviously go to the University of Central Florida and am studying Interdisciplinary studies. My two concentrations being Life and Biomedical sciences, Behavioral and social sciences, and my minor in Cognitive sciences. Through this I am hoping to further expand my degree into behavioral neuroscience. I work full time cooking at a restaurant in the Hyatt and play for the UCF men’s ultimate Frisbee team. I love science and plan on making it my life. If anyone has any questions especially pertaining to any form of science I am your guy. I’m always looking to learn more so if anyone has a cool article or "TED" like video share it with us.

 

Hello Cornerstone students! My name is Chanel Jemmott and I am graduating from UCF in May. My areas of study are Commerce, Letters & Modern Languages and I have a minor in Education. I am originally from Queen’s New York but I came to Florida in the fifth grade. I’ve moved around a lot though living in Pompano Beach, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach but I moved to Orlando in the of summer 2007 and have been living here ever since. I wasn’t an Interdisciplinary Studies major right away but I went from Molecular and Microbiology to Nursing to Elementary Education to English Education and now I’m her. I have so many interests such as Music, Art, Digital Media, Real Estate and Reading so when I heard about the opportunity with Interdisciplinary Studies to combined many of the things I love together and get a degree that doesn’t restrict me so much I was thrilled. I really wish there were more degrees that allowed you to explore and further all of your talents and interests as Interdisciplinary Studies does because it makes you well rounded and you stand out from the norm. I plan on teaching in a high school English class after I graduate and I plan on being the teacher who just doesn’t teach you for the class but teaches you for life.

 

Yo! I am Trung Nguyen,I "Should" be graduating from UCF this may with a degree is Interdisciplinary Studies focusing on health science and Behavioral and social science.I was born in Vietnam and raise in Louisiana and Florida. I am the oldest of three kids in my family. Majority of my life i grew up in winter park where I attended Killarney elementary, Lee middle and Edgewater high school. I choose this major because it i did not want to take bio-chem to finish my degree in biology. After I graduate I plan on going to work for millenium pharmacy as a pharmacy rep.

 

Well we’ve introduced ourselves, now let us know a little bit about you like...

• What did you think you were going to be when you were little and what do you want to be now?
• Describe your life ten years from now?
• What is your favorite and least favorite class here at UCF?

 Have fun with it and let us know whatever you want!