Parachute 2011 Chapter 7-8

Summary


Negotiating your salary after a successful interview.

Bolles's first tip in chapter seven is to always discuss salary after the job has been offered, never discuss salary prior to that moment. The next piece of advice that I found interesting is to never be the first one to mention a salary figure. Bolles states that the first person who breaks this rule usually losses the negotiation. Another important rule is do your home work. Go out and gather as much information as possible on salaries for your desired position. It's best to be prepared with this information in the event your employer decides to low ball you with his or her first offer.

Chapter eight opens up with the topic of career testing and how career assessment test do not describe the individual rather it describes the family of people you pertain to. One of the things to remember while taking these online self assessment tests is to always keep in mind that these tests are all flawed in one way or another. When analyzing the results, you have to process the information as a suggestion or an opinion, nothing more. A career change starts with finding out what you want from a career. The biggest difference in obtaining a new career is passion and enthusiasm. The best career is a career that uses your best transferable skills. Do not go by your friend's suggestion when choosing a career. The best way to find out if a career suits you is by trying it out. One has to make up their own mind about a career, go out and ask people about careers that interest you, gather information on your own and decide for your self.



Exercise

This exercise asks the reader to draw a picture of their ideal life. In the picture one has to draw your ideal location, the people you want in your life and a dream job. The exercise emphasizes that you use your imagination and not to allow reason to influence your drawing. When done with the drawing you will have a clue of where you need to aim your life towards. The exercise is simple and effective when done honestly..

Preparing for the Mock Interview

 Company Info

For today's class we were asked to research a prospective job that we are interested in and gather as much background information on the organization as possible.

For my research I chose Williamsburg Charter High School. My future goal is to become a New York state certified teacher and move to becoming a college professor. I believe that working in a charter school will help me transition to teaching at the college level in the future

The Williamsburgs charter High School opened in July 2004. WCHS is a performance based school which places high standards on their students and staff. Charter schools run smaller classes which allow the teacher to provide their students with an individualized experience.

Position Info

Global Studies I & II- Global Studies is based on the idea that the study of history is more than just days, years, and people.

Job Interview Tips

http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco20045.htm

The first tip provided at this website is one of the most important and overlooked tip for most interviewers, which is "Learn about the organization." I know from personal experience I rarely did any research on an organization before interviewing. I solely depended on my general knowledge  of the job I was applying for, which was generally vague because of the lack of research.

http://www.best-job-interview.com/interview-checklist.html

This website provides a general outline of the dos and don'ts of interviewing. I feel this would serve as a good check list to look over before heading out on your interview.

http://www.quintcareers.com/interview_question_database/interview_questions_1.html

This website provides sample question of typical interview question most interviewer ask and provides sample answers. The website points out that the only way to prepare for an interview is by doing research on the company and preparing yourself to answer questions on how you would be a good fit for that organization.

http://www.askmen.com/fashion/fashiontip_400/434_dressing-for-a-job-interview.html

I find this website to be more of a marketing tool for high fashion, but provides tasteful advice in setting a first impression.  

http://www.education.com/reference/article/job-interviews-business-casual-wear/

This website focuses on the different attire for the different career fields. The website provides several examples in tailoring your attire according to the organization, this very useful advice.

http://www.best-job-interview.com/job-interview-clothes.html 

This site is more of a check list to help ensures good first impression at your job interview. The site provides a brief outlines on how to prepare your self prior to the interview.


Reaction:
 After completing my research I realized how vital and necessary job research is. While reading the several websites, I realized how careless I have been in the past about the whole job interviewing process. I spent most of the time asking questions that I thought the interviewer wanted to hear rather then question that would help me decide if the position suited me in what I was looking for. As for the topic of dressing up, the website reinforced some of the things I already new and provided me with a few things that I used to overlook. I must admit there were times where my shoes where not polished or maybe even scuffed. My research reminded me of how the little things can set you apart from the group. At the end of the day, interviewing is about making a statement "I'm the Best forget the Rest!"
 

Parachute 2011 Chapter 5-6

Summary:


Chapter five begins with the reminder that your resume alone cannot land you a job. A common mistake committed by most job hunters is solely relying on mailing and emailing resume in hopes of landing a job. Bolles stresses that a resume is a small part of the job hunting process. In order to be a successful job hunter ones has to be versatile, one cannot rely on one method for landing a job. Throughout the chapter Bolles outlines several alternatives to the resume. He primarily focused on using contacts for landing interviews. Bolles expands on the importance of using contacts to increase your chances of landing a job. Much of the advice given by Bolles are very simple and are usually overlooked by most job hunters. The advice I found most useful in chapter five is the information on who can be considered a contact. My list of contacts was considerably shorter than the one Bolles presented. Bolles advice on contacts has open my eyes on who I can use for job leads . The advice in this chapter is very simple, in order to increase your chances in landing a job one has to expand the list of people you use for job leads.



Chapter six covers job interviewing skills and the approaches that should be used while interviewing. The chapter begins by discussing how one should look at job interviewing. Bolles makes a good point when he describes job interviewing as dating and not a test. From my experience, I always made the mistake of looking at job interviewing as a test rather than a chance for me to evaluate the environment and the position being offered. During the interview Bolles suggest that one should follow the 50/50 rule while conversing, which means that you should only be speaking half of the time. This will prevent you from speaking too much and possibly damaging your image. Another important part of job interviewing is doing your research on the organization prior to the job interview. This will show your prospective employer that you are thorough and motivated about landing the position. The most important piece of advice that Bolles provides in this chapter is the reminder that job interviewing is not a science and what worked at one job interview might not work at another.

Parachute 2011 Chapter 3-4

 
Summary

     Chapter three details the ups and downs one encounters when job hunting. The first part of the chapter deals with rejection shock. The reality is when job hunting, you will hear several no’s before you finally receive the “yes” you’ve been looking for. Bolles details the best and worst method to use when searching for jobs. I was a little shocked to see the internet as one of the worst ways to look for jobs, But after further research, it makes perfect sense, because of the large amount of people that utilize this method. The internet is very impersonal and provides few options that allow you to stand out above the rest. You will have to depend on shear luck that your resume gets picked out the bunch. One of the best ways to land a job, and my personal favorite, is your social network. I feel the best way to gain an edge on landing a job is by knowing someone on the inside who can help push your resume to the top of the pile.


     Chapter four focuses on the preparation needed before going on a job interview. The chapter focuses on the dos and don'ts of job interviewing. One major point that Bolles emphasizes is the importance of a thank you letter after every interview. Whether the interview went well or not one should always write a thank you letter afterward. Leaving a good impression always provides opportunity in the future. The next topic Bolles expands on is the developing and strengthening of your social skills. His main focus is becoming comfortable with talking to people about your passion. In order to become a successful interviewer you have to become a good talker and be able express your passion in a confident and concise manner.


Exercise Reaction

     The exercise found in chapter 4 begins by creating a "Can't do" and "Can do list" that requires you choose from a large list of skills descriptions and then asks the reader to place each skill in the appropriate column. Once done with your list, you are asked to choose your top five skills and give examples of how you used these skills in the past. I feel this exercise is great for resume building, it allows  you to reflect on what you do best and prepares you with the tools needed in order to elaborate.

Cover Letter and Resume writing

Cover Letter Writing

http://jobstar.org/tools/resume/cletters.php

      This first website covers the essentials in cover letter writing. The information on this website primarily focuses on the importance of tailoring your cover letter for your audience. Your cover letter is your introduction and is what will either get your resume read or tossed. So it is essential to write a strong cover letter in order to get your resume read. Jobstar.org provides  you with several outside links which can be beneficial when writing a strong cover letter.

Resume Writing 

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/681/01/

http://web.mit.edu/career/www/guide/resumes.html

For my research on resume writing I chose Purdue and M.I.T. as my preferred resources. I chose to go with these educational institutions because they tend to go into great detail on the subject matter. The Purdue website provides an exhausting amount of information on the subject of resume writing. M.I.T. only provides a summarized version of what Purdue elaborates on. The primary focus on both websites is to tailor your resume's focus to the position you are trying acquire. Every website that I visited during my research harped about the extensive research needed before applying for a position. These are just some of the many important factors in resume writing that I noticed across the board. For more in-depth information feel free to visit the web site and good luck creating those resumes.

Personality Assement

Personality type INTJ.

Qualitative analysis of your type formula

• slightly expressed introvert
• moderately expressed intuitive personality
• slightly expressed thinking personality
• moderately expressed judging personality

The Myers Briggs assessment is shockingly in line with my perception of my self. The assessment shined a light on some of my weakness and some of my strength. Most of the career choices were fairly accurate, but could use some fine tuning.


When I came into class and looked at the board and saw the words extrovert and introvert, I automatically new that I would fall under the introverted category. The one good thing that I got from the class and the assessment, is now knowing that being introverted is not necessarily a bad thing. When you watch TV, they only show the negatives that comes from being introverted, its usually portrayed by a nerd who has no girl friend and an obsession with some type of video game. I never seen or heard of an introvert being talked about in a positive light. So I never looked at the word introvert as being something positive or functional.


The career assessment had some interesting choices for me, some that I agreed with, others that made me cringe at the sight of their names. Most of the careers chosen for me were in the science and computer science fields. When I saw this, I wasn't surprised because I always had an interest in these field but there are some aspects of these careers that I dislike. One of my biggest complaint is the tediousness of computer programing. I am more interested in the outcome of the program then the process in creating it. I feel that those kind of jobs require you to be completely isolated. The idea of that life styles fails to excite me. Another thing mathematics is something that is not a raw ability and I'm the kind of person who likes working with my strength and developing them, rather then strengthening weakness and being OK at them.

http://keirsey.com/4temps/mastermind.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator
http://www.mtnmath.com/whatrh/node98.html
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes3.asp
http://typelogic.com/intj.html

Parachute 2011 Chapter 1-2

Summary:

Chapter One of “What color is my parachute” looks at the job market from a very different perspective. Bolles points out while jobs are being lost there are always jobs being created and in turn vacancies due to various reasons. The First chapter of “what color is my parachute" helps one realize that there are jobs out there, you just have to know how and where to look for them.

Chapter two introduces the reader into the most critical part that seems to be the theme for this book. Bolles asks the reader to look within yourself and ask yourself what truly makes you happy. The purpose of chapter two is to get the reader to begin the process of self evaluation. Bolles sends a clear message that in order to become an effective job hunter, one has to be motivated about the job they are pursuing. The key motivator for job hunting should be the desire of landing that job that embodies your passion and dreams.

Exercise Reaction

In chapter two, Bolles ask some general question in order to help narrow down the confusing question of what is my passion. Bolles provides nine broad categories and asks you to choose one that would best describes the “footprint” you want to leave in this world. While reading through the categories the one that jumped out at me was the category "Mind." This reflects my interest in providing knowledge for others. This small exercise has helped me narrow down a list of career choices and has allowed me to become a bit more focused.