Week 4 Reflection - Nice Work If You Can Get It

I really enjoyed getting to learn more about resumes, cover letters, and memos this week. Being able to understand the best way to present ourselves in those professional documents allows us to have the best foot forward heading into interviews. One of the most interesting things we did this week that really sticks out in my mind is when we googled ourselves. I had never really put much thought into what information shows up and in what order. The tips and tricks to help control our online “resumes” was definitely something new for me to consider and use as I go forward. Something I would like to learn more about is how to approach online job applications, especially online applications that are used to automatically sort candidates based on previous experience and other information. Websites like usajobs.gov are completely based off of this type of process and offer a huge variety of jobs that some of us may want to apply for some day. Like I say in my title, any job is “nice work if you can get it,” and I believe that this week has definitely puts us on a path towards preparing ourselves to meet that success.

Week 3 Reflection - Is There An Internship for Creative Title Writing?

Without a doubt, the internship panel was the most memorable part of classes this week. I really enjoyed getting to hear about the wide variety of experiences within the different internships, especially Kerr's international internship. To really take this look into internships to the next level, I would love to know more about the various selection processes that students have gone through. When applying for the two previous internships I have been a part of, I went through very different selection processes. Having knowledge of the scope of generally used processes and types of interviews and requirements we might encounter would be very beneficial to us as we continue to seek more opportunities like these in the future. When thinking back over the things we heard from the students that participated in the internship panel, there was one experience that I really enjoyed hearing about and has stuck with me. Even though Jackson's internship turned out completely opposite of what he expected, he was still able to take that experience and make the most out of it for himself. He even walked away with job offers for positions that I'm sure he more than likely would not have been on the employer's radar for, had he not been placed in that internship. Kudos to Jackson for having a positive attitude about the situation and reminding us that a lot of times life turns out completely different than what you planned for, but you just have to roll with it and make the best of every opportunity!

Week 2 Reflection - Opposites Attract

Even though we had a short week due to Labor Day, I still gained a lot from what we covered in Professional Development this week. I really enjoyed working with Johnston on the paired personality project. Because our Jung Typology results were almost completely opposite, these differences were easily seen when we worked together. One of the most interesting and fun parts of this activity for me was how well Johnston and I worked together. Both being extroverts, we weren't afraid to throw our ideas on the table. Without any other overlap in our personality types, we were each able to bring different things to the table. While my approach was more straight forward, Johnston was able to bring in creative aspects to our promotion plan for the Carnival of Clubs. With this compatibility, the one thing that I would really like to dig down and find out more about is if there is a specific personality pairing that is most effective, and if so, what pairing is that?

Week 1 Reflection - ESTJ All Day Every Day

Even with only two class periods under our belts, Professional Development has already shown me some exciting areas to explore within the professional side of the agricultural communications field. When we took our Jung Typology tests to discover what type of personality we have, I was not at all surprised with my results.  I am, and will always be, an ESTJ through and through. One thing that I wish I knew more about in regard to this topic, is how to effectively utilize the advantages my individual personality type brings. Additionally, discovering how to work with and overcome the challenges that arise within my personality type would be beneficial to my personal and professional development. The final bit of information that I am curious about and would like to see classroom activities on, is how different personality types work together and how to handle situations in which you are working with someone who possesses a very different set of personality characteristics.  With all of that said, the typology activity was clearly a memorable activity for me and I am looking forward to seeing what is next!