This week a topic that stuck in my mind is PAR stories. These stories are methods by which a person can use to highlight attributes that they have, these are more effective than simply stating that an attribute is had. This is because a PAR story will show how a certain person acted in a certain situation proving that the person can think on the go and they really have the skill. This week I saw that a PAR story is the best way to answer a question in an interview.
We had a chance to do some mock interviews in class and while I was interviewing two of my colleagues I felt like the better way to sell your skills is through a PAR story. There was a stark difference between an answer that was simple and was simply stated and an answer that was illustrated by a specific story.
A PAR story is comprised of three parts, a problem, an action, and a result. In the problem part a problem is presented, in the action section, as would be expected, the action that took place is presented, and thee logicality continues to the result section where you relate the result of the action that took place that is related to the initial problem.
Honestly before learning about these stories this week I knew that it was better to answer questions by means of a story. However, now I know that there is a structure that should be followed to ensure that stories are used well.
As a result I will take some time before each interview that I have to draft some PAR stories in a way that they will be able to relate to the specific job that I am applying for. I feel that by doing this I will be able to better sell myself during an interview.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Sealing the Deal
This week we had a wonderful guest presenter come and talk to us about interviews and applying for jobs and internships. One counsel that I enjoyed was about the preparation that should be done before an interview, specifically that we should go into any interview with questions that we want to have answered. This makes sense to me for two reasons; first, you will know what kind of company it is that you are interviewing with and you are able to get your mind in the right place that you are thinking about how it would be to work in the company; second, you will be a better listener because it will seem as though you weren't listening if your question was answered during the actual interview.
Preparing for an interview is extremely important because you want to present your best self meaning you have to be sharp. One way that I prepare for an interview is think about what I would be able to do in the company to be able to add value to their team. Once I figure this out I will focus on these things during the interview so that the interviewer can see that I am not some random guy who wants to work in the company.
In order to better myself in interviews I will spend more time thinking about questions that I want to have answered, I will also be sure to research to see if I can find some projects that are being worked on so that I will be sharper and one step ahead of the competition.
In order to better myself in interviews I will spend more time thinking about questions that I want to have answered, I will also be sure to research to see if I can find some projects that are being worked on so that I will be sharper and one step ahead of the competition.
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Spacing, Who Needs It?
This week was all about written messages, specifically how to write and design your page so that it is appealing so that it has a higher chance of being read. One thing that stuck out to me was that everything that you do to the page visually including the use of white space will make writing either more or less inviting to reading depending on how well the page is designed so this is what I will write about today.
As stated about what is referred to as white space in a document many times is seen as lazy because whoever wrote the piece didn't want to fill up the page. This mindset is not a correct one. As we spoke in class white space should be used strategically so as to help the reader read the message. Contrarily if too many words are used in a given space the page gets really hard to read and can make even the most patient reader not want to read what is written, this is called grey space.
The reason that I bring these two points up is because I feel it is the most overlooked part of writing, many times people want to just write and not worry about what it looks like, I do this to. This tendency has been created because many of us up to this point have written because it has been an assignment and really no matter what our writing would be read. The reality is that this tendency needs to be changed because we are all getting to a time that our writing will now be overlooked if it is not structured well or if it is hard to read.
To fix this in my writing I will focus on the elements of spacing that are in my writing, especially the use of white space or the presence of grey space. Doing this will help me not just think about what I am writing as I have done in the past but also think about how the reader will perceive my writing and whether they will want to read it or not.
As stated about what is referred to as white space in a document many times is seen as lazy because whoever wrote the piece didn't want to fill up the page. This mindset is not a correct one. As we spoke in class white space should be used strategically so as to help the reader read the message. Contrarily if too many words are used in a given space the page gets really hard to read and can make even the most patient reader not want to read what is written, this is called grey space.
The reason that I bring these two points up is because I feel it is the most overlooked part of writing, many times people want to just write and not worry about what it looks like, I do this to. This tendency has been created because many of us up to this point have written because it has been an assignment and really no matter what our writing would be read. The reality is that this tendency needs to be changed because we are all getting to a time that our writing will now be overlooked if it is not structured well or if it is hard to read.
To fix this in my writing I will focus on the elements of spacing that are in my writing, especially the use of white space or the presence of grey space. Doing this will help me not just think about what I am writing as I have done in the past but also think about how the reader will perceive my writing and whether they will want to read it or not.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Sliding in to Home
Home base is the desired end point for baseball players everywhere, when they get started on their journey around the bases all the see is home plate and how they can get there. This vision is all great and dandy for those of us who play baseball, but when I think of home I think of my safe place.
A home in presentations, as we learned in class, is some sort of something that the presenter does because they are nervous or just because it is comfortable. Most of the time time little "home plate" action is not a very big thing that is done but it is big enough. The reason that I bring this up is that many times when I am watching a presentation I notice these sorts of repetitive things that the presenter does, and a majority of the time it is distracting and I see that it makes the presenter's message lose some of its importance.
After learning about this, I started looking at myself when I present things, I actually had the chance to do this the very next day in my Portuguese class. Something that I noticed is that I have an action that I do when I present, most of the time I will clasp my hands in front of me because I don't know what to do when I present. As a result of this perception and lesson in class I am going to really pay attention to what I do when I present, I feel that if I notice things now and I practice presenting now I will be more successful in my career and my future employer will be able to be sure that I won't blow a potential deal because of a lack of credibility caused by a lack of good present skills.
A home in presentations, as we learned in class, is some sort of something that the presenter does because they are nervous or just because it is comfortable. Most of the time time little "home plate" action is not a very big thing that is done but it is big enough. The reason that I bring this up is that many times when I am watching a presentation I notice these sorts of repetitive things that the presenter does, and a majority of the time it is distracting and I see that it makes the presenter's message lose some of its importance.
After learning about this, I started looking at myself when I present things, I actually had the chance to do this the very next day in my Portuguese class. Something that I noticed is that I have an action that I do when I present, most of the time I will clasp my hands in front of me because I don't know what to do when I present. As a result of this perception and lesson in class I am going to really pay attention to what I do when I present, I feel that if I notice things now and I practice presenting now I will be more successful in my career and my future employer will be able to be sure that I won't blow a potential deal because of a lack of credibility caused by a lack of good present skills.
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