Advice

Business Writing with Angie Rogers has been a really good class. Mrs. Rogers is a really good teacher and just a really nice person in general. I feel like I learned a lot that I will be able to use in the future. I guess the best advice I could give for this class is just to do all of the assignments. It may seem like there are a lot of them, but they're not very difficult and they really add up in the end. You can pretty much always expect to do well on the assignments as long as you just do them. Also, get to know people in the first few weeks of class so that you will be able to pick a good group of people to work with on your client project. It takes almost the whole semester to complete, so it's important to have responsible group members.

Ethics Research

My partners and I decided to research the recent controversy about Eliot Spitzer, the previous governor of New York. Spitzer was well-known for trying to put an end to unlawful activity on Wall Street, but recently his own wrongdoings were discovered. He was caught on a federal wiretap arranging a meeting with a high-priced prostitute. He apologized for his behavior and referred to it as "a private matter." He talked about how he had disappointed his family and the public. He never actually came out and said exactly what he was talking about. Apparentally, he was supposed to be the governor who brought ethics back to the state of New York. I thought it was also interesting how the the governor taking Spitzer's place was already admitting to his extramarital affairs at a press conference a day after taking over.

Response to "Ethical Lapses Distract U.S. Workers"

I think that it's really sad to hear that 73% of workers in America have encountered ethical lapses while on the job, but it's even worse that only 36% are even affected by them. When I hear things like this, I can't help but feel discouraged. Sometimes, I have to force myself to remember that there are good people and things in this world, even if it seems hard to believe. I think that the reason there are so many ethical dilemmas is because people have become too tolerant of them and won't stand up for what they really believe in. One reason for this may be that people fear getting in trouble or even fired from their job. Ethical lapses don't just affect a few people, but on average will affect multiple employees in various ways. People have enough things to worry about while they are at work and don't need the added stress that a situation like this creates. Ethical lapses in the workplace are not only detrimental to employees, but also to the company as a whole due to the low morale and non-unity they cause.

Writing on the Web vs. Writing on Paper

Writing on the Internet and writing on paper are very much alike, but are also very different. They are similar in that they both require you to understand the purpose for your document and your audience who will be receiving it. You also need to perform the same amount of research when writing on paper and the Internet. Organization and the use of plain language are very important for both mediums. Of course, it is always important to not have typographical or grammatical errors in any type of writing. Writing on the Internet and writing on paper are different in that writing on the Internet is more difficult because of the importance of getting your point across quickly. When transferring a document that was formerly on paper to the web, you might want to consider converting it to a PDF file. This will display the pages of your document exactly as they appear on paper.

Spring Break

Spring break was really nice this year. I didn't go anywhere exciting, but just went home. It was really relaxing, though, and went by so fast. It was good just to be with my family and play with my pets. I was kind of disappointed that the weather wasn't that great, though. My grandmother just had surgery recently, so I stayed with her for a few days and just kind of helped her get around. My boyfriend had also been in Turkey for a month, and he came home the last part of the break, so it was exciting to see him. My brother and his fiance came home for Easter, and my mom cooked lunch for the whole family. I also got to go shopping a bunch over the break, which was a definite plus. I don't know why, but for some reason when I got back, I was just not motivated to do any school work, which is not good. It feels like we should be out for summer break already. I guess we only have about four more weeks of school left from now, though, so I've just got to push through it.

"Lying on Your Resume" Response

I thought that this article was really interesting. I can believe that many people lie on their resumes, but I don't think that it's right. I don't see how some people think that they are going to get away with lying about big things, like having a master's degree. I can definitely see where people may feel that they need to tell "white lies" to make themselves a little more appealing to an employer. This would be especially true for someone that has been out of work for a long time and desperate to find a job. I didn't ever think about the fact that lying on your resume could hurt other people, but it makes sense. It could potentially keep people who are actually qualified for the job from getting it, which isn't fair. If you lie on your resume and get a job, you won't ever be able to live up to the expectations of your employers because the expectations will be based on false information. I think that it would be helpful for people who are not satisfied with their resumes to be informed about how to handle resume dilemmas in an ethical way.

Presentations

I thought that all of the presentations over the last few weeks were interesting and really fun to listen to. There were a few that stood out to me, though, and those were Casey's presentation on Zambia and Lindsey's presentation on Hershey's chocolate.

I thought that Casey's presentation was really interesting because I don't know very much about Africa and I've always wanted to go there. Her pictures were really pretty and they enhanced her presentation. She also knew a lot of interesting facts about her topic because she has been there.

Lindsey's presentation was equally as interesting as Casey's and was very unique. I've never been to Hershey, Pennsylvania, but it seems like it would be really fun, from the way Lindsey talked about it. The most interesting part of her presentation, to me, was when she taught us how to taste chocolate. I never even knew that people did this and that it was so similar to wine tasting.

I really enjoyed all of the presentations. They were a nice break from normal class.

Mock Interview Reflection

This past Wednesday morning, I had my mock interview. I have to admit, I was kind of nervous because I didn't really know what to expect and I've never had a "real" job interview before. Mrs. Rogers made me feel really comfortable, but I realized that I need to learn how to get over my nervousness because I feel like I didn't do as well as I could have because of it. I think that I also could have done better if I had been more prepared. I should have researched the graduate program I was applying for more before the interview so that I could better answer her questions and have questions of my own for her about the program.

I'm glad that I was able to have this experience because now I know what kind of questions to expect in an interview. Mrs. Rogers also informed me of a lot of important information about graduate school, which was really helpful. Even though I feel like I didn't do very well, it was a good learning experience, and I'm glad that it happened in a safe setting rather than in a real job interview. Hopefully, when I go to my real interview for graduate school in the future, I will be able to do well because of this experience.

Tanner

Since we can write about whatever we want to for this week, I'm going to talk about my dog, Tanner. One day, instead of going to the Clemson football game, my boyfriend took me to Anderson and surprised me by getting me a Golden Retriever puppy. We spent the whole afternoon buying supplies and toys for the dog and the rest of the day playing with him. At first, he was very scared of everything and would always want to hide under the bed or in his crate, but he is a lot better now.
Tanner has a beautiful, gold coat and sad little puppy eyes that make me want to melt when he looks at me. He has one white spot on the top of his nose and really, really soft ears that I love to pet. He loves to play catch with his tennis balls and take long walks. He likes to play with all other animal friends that he meets and wishes that he had a permanent play mate, since I am in class all day. He loves to get attention and is very jealous when someone else is getting more attention than he is. We have been trying to teach him some tricks, but so far he has only learned to "sit." Tanner helps to relieve my stress and is always a lot of fun. I love my dog!

Cover Letters

The use of a cover letter is very important when trying to provide information about yourself to possible employers. These articles on cover letters give a lot of good advice about how to write a proper cover letter. One article discussed how cover letters are limited in value because they are only read after the employer has found interest in a resume. The article also says that the cover letter should not be about you but should be about the company. The second article discussed when you should use a cover letter. Your cover letter should be specific and personal and identify what you can do for the company and what the company will need to do to buy your product. It's important to write a basic cover letter structure, but don't send the exact same letter to each company.

I'm not sure if I agree with the Postscript Technique article. I've never heard of anything like this before, but then again, I don't know much about cover letters. It seems kind of weird, though, to use a P.S. in something professional like this.

The most helpful part of the tutorial, for me, was the Cover Letter Checklist because it was brief, concise, and got to the main points of what's important when writing a cover letter. I think that I will review this checklist when I am writing my cover letter for my mock interview.

I also thought that the article about the Testimonial Cover Letter Technique was really neat. I think that it would be much more beneficial to employers to hear about how great you are from someone who knows you rather than from yourself. If I had a testimonial, I would use it in my cover letter for my mock interview.

Interview Articles

The first article that I chose to read to help me with my future interviews was "How to Deal With Interview Stress." I thought that this article would be really helpful for me, personally, because I worry and stress way too much about stuff. The article provided a few simple techniques that can help to calm the nerves before and during an interview. The author says that you should not arrive to an interview too early or too late. Arrive about ten minutes before an interview so that you don't have time to sit and worry, but you're not so late that you're racing in the door. The author says that another way to relieve stress is by visualizing yourself succeeding in your interview situation which will give you confidence for when you are in the real interview. It's also very important to stay relaxed while in an interview. To achieve relaxation you should breathe deeply and slowly, speak slowly and pause for breaths often, and remember to smile! Finally, if you find yourself in a panic during an interview, just pause for a second, take a deep breath, refocus, and remind yourself that you can do this.

The second article that I chose to read to help me with future interviews was "How to Answer the Toughest Interview Questions." The first tough interview question is "Where do you see yourself in five years?" The best way to answer this question is to talk about your values. Discuss things that are important to you professionally, but don't get too detailed about your specific career plan. Prepare in advance for the "salary question" and decide on a range before an interview. When an interviewer asks you why they should hire you, make sure that you are confident and honest about your abilities, but try not to come off as boastful. The author also says that you can prepare for this question by practicing in front of the mirror. If an interviewerer asks you the "seemingly silly question" like "If you could be a fruit, what kind would you be?", don't panic! Remember that there is no "right" answer to these types of questions. The author says that interviewers usually ask these questions simply to see how you react under pressure and handle the unexpected. It's not important what type of fruit you pick, just choose one that helps you to appear favorable.

I thought that both of these articles were very helpful and provided great advice for the interviewing process. I will definitely have to think back on this information before my mock interview!

Persuasive Communication

I decided to compare and contrast Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, Letter From a Birmingham Jail with President Bush's State of the Union Address, specifically where he speaks about education. President Bush first builds his ethos in his speech when he says, "I was proud to work with members of both parties: Chairman John Boehner and Congressman George Miller..." He then uses pathos when he makes comments that evoke laughter. President Bush uses logos in this speech when he talks about what needs to be done. He says that "We need to prepare our children to read and succeed..."
In Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, Letter From a Birmingham Jail, he builds his ethos when he writes about how he "has the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference..." He uses pathos when he tells "his fellow clergyman" that they are "men of genuine good will and that their criticism are sincerely set forth..." He uses logos in his letter when he talks about the four basic steps for any nonviolent campaign. Martin Luther King, Jr. intertwines the ethos, pathos, and logos really well in this letter, which is what makes it such a great piece.
I didn't think that the guest presentation was very persuasive at all, so I can't really compare it with President Bush's State of the Union Address or Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, Letter From a Birmingham Jail.


http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020129-11.html

10 Years From Now...

It's really hard to imagine myself being 30 years old and what my life would be like then. Ten years from now seems so far away, but time really does fly. Hopefully, by the time I am 30, I will be married and having children...I've always wanted to have four kids. I pray everyday that if God does bless me with children, that I will be the best mom that I can be to them. I want to live in a nice house, not too big but not too small, with a lot of land so that I can have some horses and lots of other animals. I don't care very much about having really expensive things, so as long as I am comfortable and have the basic necessities, I will be happy. Hopefully, I will have some kind of career in social work where I can work with children. I'm really passionate about all children having the same opportunities and that no one of them should ever have to suffer because of things they cannot control. By the time I am 30, I would also like to have gone on missions to Africa (and many other places) to give aid/food to those who are in need. I feel so blessed to have been given so much and it just seems so unfair for other people just like me to not have hardly anything at all. I have a lot of work cut out for me within these next ten years and the rest of my life, considering that I practically want to save the world, but even just helping one person makes all the difference to me.

"The Machine is Us/ing Us"

I believe that the title of the video "The Machine is Us/ing Us" is attempting to make a point about the large impact that computers make on virtually everyone's lives today. The computer/internet is no longer simply a place to find information but is a connection between anyone, anywhere, and at anytime. The video brought up the very point of what I am doing at this very moment. We can each make blogs and write our thoughts about anything and post them to the web for anyone to see. This was not possible in the past because one would need to know complicated codes in order to put information on the internet. It is becoming easier and easier for people to stay connected because of the advancement of the computer/internet. I think that Web 2.0 is beneficial to people entering the work force because those looking for a job can simply post their resumes to the internet and wait for employers to call them. For example, my brother just graduated a few weeks ago, and he posted his resume on a certain website. He was already receiving calls the next morning asking for him to come in for an interview. Web 2.0 affects people who are already in the work force by allowing them and their fellow co-workers to also stay connected with one another. This is sometimes not a good thing, though, because their interaction becomes much less personable when they are only communicating through mediums such as e-mail. I think that when it says that "we may have to rethink everthing" that it is referring to the fact that the the possibilities of technology and, specifically, computers and the internet are constantly changing, either for the good or bad, depending on how you see it.

About Me!

Hi! My name is Holly and I am a junior Sociology major with a minor in Education. I am from Spartanburg, SC and have a brother who is 26 and a sister who is 24 and they are both getting married in a few months! I just recently decided to change from an Elementary Education major because I decided that I didn't want to be a teacher. I have always had the desire to help people, though, so I thought that social services might be something that I would want to do. I love to hang out with my friends and boyfriend and getting involved with things at church. I also love to shop, read good books, cook, and play with my pets. I'm kind of nervous about taking this class because I don't feel like I am a very good writer, but hopefully I will improve this semester. See y'all tomorrow!