Wells Fargo Analysis

Wow, it was a crazy week getting the group business analysis finished. My group and I worked really hard and we were able to get it finished. While it was stressful and took lots of effort I feel like we learned from our experience. It was my first time writing something like a business report and it was an interesting experience. One thing that I noticed while writing the report was the importance of being direct. The report really wasn't the place to use really expressive language or words. It just needed to get the point across as efficiently as possible. Compared to a typical paper I would write in an English class it was pretty different.

The presentation aspect of the project was also a good experience. While we I made some small mistakes when presenting, I felt that I was able to get my point across to the class. Presenting for 15 minutes and then answering questions for another 5 seemed a little daunting at first, but I couldn't believe how fast the time flew by during our presentation.

While the project was tons of work, around 25 hours per person, it was a good experience and I feel like we improved our writing and presenting skills.

Flipcharts

I think that professor Middleton mentioned  during her presentation that most people scoff when they hear flip charts are still being used. I'll be honest and say that I was one of those people. I haven't really seen one used and in the day of tablets, smart phones and projectors I couldn't really see a use for one. As she taught the class and gave a quick presentation I was pretty surprised. I thought that the flip chart was a great way to engage the audience. Rather than reading a few key points on a PowerPoint I felt like watching her write down the material and various points really involved me in her presentation. I feel like I underestimated the effectiveness of flip charts and am excited to learn how to use them in my own presentations.

Library Research

I've always found research papers to be daunting. Spending time in library and hours scanning the internet really isn't my thing. Having Sister Camacho teach us how to do our research in an effective and efficient way was extremely helpful. I didn't realize that we had so many resources available to us for free. It's something that I am sure I'll use not only on this project but others to come. I feel much better about our paper with these resources at hand.

I also felt that Sister Camacho used many of the methods we talk about in class to effectively present material. It was easy to follow for the most part, and she kept my interest. While I sometimes whine or complain about the workload of the class, I feel that I am learning things that I will actually be able to use and implement in my future career.

Team Presentation

I felt that our team did pretty well for our first time presenting together. We were pretty nervous, but it worked out and we were all satisfied with our end result. That being said there were things that we could improve on as a team. I felt that as a team we did really well on our transitions. The transitions were smooth, planned, and kept the pace of the presentation at the right speed. One thing that our group could work on would be looking at the slides. All of us looked back at the slides to read the questions or answers that were given in class. It's a bad habit that we could all improve on.

As an individual I felt that I did well on my explanation of my topics and engaged the whole room. I had a few things that I want to work on but mostly my volume and positioning. Feedback I got on the video was that it was hard to hear what I was saying. Also I kind of stood at an angle rather than facing the audience straight on.

Overall, it was a great learning experience and I'm glad that we had a chance to practice our presentation skills.

Online Interview

I really liked doing the online interview. It was a new experience for me, and I feel like I should be prepared for online interviews, as they are becoming more prevalent in different industries. It has a different feel compared to a face to face interview. Position, space, and technical issues are things I'm going to want to try to figure out before the interview starts.

One thing that I would like to work on is making my answer more concise and direct. I feel like I sometimes am indirect or vague when I answer questions. I think to improve and be more direct I could come up with sample questions before hand and have answers ready and on hand.

Overall, it was a good experience and I'm glad I had the chance to do an online interview.

Kevin Egbert was my "Employer" -- 5

The hook

This week was my team's turn to present. While my team and I were preparing to present I realized how important it is to come up with a good hook. It grabs the audiences attention and provides a smooth way to get into the main subjects of the presentation. Understanding the importance of a good hook is one thing but coming up with a good one is a whole different story. I was pretty stumped when trying to come up with one for our team but luckily I have some great teammates who came up with a great one. What I found to be interesting is that I have started to notice that many of my professors employ hooks in their everyday class. When they have something interesting to say at the start of class it really draws everyone in and makes it so much easier to pay attention. I think everyone has been in either a sunday school class or academic class where the start of the lesson is lack luster and it makes it harder to pay attention or be drawn into the material. Coming up with hooks that interest the audience is something that I feel I could really work on and hope to improve while I am in this class.

Mock Interviews

Interviews have always been something that made me nervous. From interviews with ecclesiastical leaders to job interviews, I always get nervous. I was pretty happy to hear that we would be practicing interviews in class, and I hoped that I would be able to come away with some new insights. After the class was over I really felt like I had some great feedback to work with and new ideas from my group.

One thing that I noticed that I need to work on is making my answers more concise and to the point. During my mock interview I tended to go all over the place. Giving a more concise answer will help me to be more clear and memorable. I think I can prep more answers to questions to help myself to be more direct.

I also found that I tended to use a ton of filler words. It's something small but during a interview longer than 10 minutes it becomes pretty distracting. Instead of using filler words I'm going to try to pause and take my time.

Overall, I really liked the mock interviews and I feel like it was a great way to see where I can improve.

Interviews and Resumes

The guest speaker that we had in class this week was incredible. I currently am in the process of looking for a job, and she really helped clear up a few things that I've had questions about. I feel a little more confident and hope that I will be able to land a good job or internship for the summer. One thing that I found really helpful was, preparing questions to ask the interview beforehand. I always had a tough time coming up with decent, legitimate questions on the spot in interviews. Researching before the interview and asking questions would show that you are already committed to the company.

I also found her advice on thank you letters very valuable. I had thought that thank you letters were really only something you sent to your grandmother after birthdays, but it is a great gesture and I could see myself sending one after a good interview.

I hope that I will be able to effectively apply these and other concepts that we learned in class.

Hooks!

This week we had multiple topics that were our focus as a class. I found that many of them culminated into one idea. Stand out and grab their attention. When it came to preparing presentations, handouts, or even our valentine dance handouts, it was so important to stand out to the audience. While it doesn't seem like a deep or profound idea and is rather obvious, it is so important. We had a little competition with the dance handouts. All of them were designed really well and were great, but the ones that did the best really were able to catch the audiences attention in just a few seconds. All of the groups that presented this week had different hooks that engaged the audience and made them want to listen.

While making a presentation informative and well researched is extremely important, without a great hook your audience will not listen to what you have to say. I feel like it was a great concept to learn in class, and I hope to be able to use it well in my future career.

Networking

Networking is not something that I expected to be going over in class, but I am really glad that we did. Looking back on all of the jobs that I have worked up until this point have all been through networking. While I knew how important it has been to network for the little summer jobs that I've done, I never really thought seriously about networking in a profession. Hearing about the different stories from classmates and our professor made me realize that I am already behind on networking for my future career. I'm currently planning on going into information systems and am hoping to find an organization that holds events where I can start networking and hopefully find a good starting job.

What also struck me is how important it is to never stop networking throughout not only a career, but a lifetime. I know of friends and family that have changed career paths multiple times and having different connections in different fields would be extremely helpful. I am excited to get started and hope to be successful in my networking endeavors.

Table Manners

I'll be honest, when we started having a discussion on table manners in class, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Memories of all those etiquette dinners I had at youth camps came flooding back, but I really couldn't imagine it being much of problem in the business world. After class, I returned back to my apartment to grab some lunch before I started on my homework. My peanut butter sandwich was great, until my roommate came in and started to eat his own lunch. I'll start off by saying he is a great guy. I've gotten to be pretty good friends with him and we hang out often. However, he has, hands down, the worst table manners I've ever seen. To the point where I can still hear him chewing his food in the next room, no joke. I couldn't help but laugh at my arrogance for dismissing what we learned about in class as trivial. This small experience made me realize that I really need to pay attention to how I present myself. I could be just as bad or even worse than those around me and not even realize it! I'll be making sure to check myself on my manners from here on out. Even something small as table manners can drastically change the way we perceive those around us.

First Week in MCOM

What I learned in MCOM this week was that I have quite a bit of work ahead of myself. We had to write a formal letter to our professor and when I was doing so I realized how often I rely on Google, word processors, and other means to understand grammar principles and punctuation. To be honest I was a little embarrassed at how poor my letter was, but I am hoping to use that as motivation to move forward and work hard in the class so that I can become a better writer.

I also learned how important the class will be for my future. I was just taking it to get the class out of the way early but I am starting to feel like it will be a class where I learn things that will benefit me throughout my career. I wouldn't want to be in the position I am in now trying to apply to different companies with poor writing abilities and I'm hoping that I can solve those problems by the end of the semester.