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!