Farewell...

 

Hello all or should I say goodbye? This will be my last weblog for the CMC as a Writing Intern, but if I am asked to continue writing blogs periodically as I continue throughout my career search I would more than happy to do so.

This has been a wonderful experience with wonderful people, but I would most definitely say that it went by entirely too fast. As soon as I finally get into the groove of things, it's all over. Go figure.

Thanks to everyone in the office for all their help. Whether it is a small or large question, no one was hesitant to assist me. You all know who you are. Thanks again!

Good luck in life and in love!

Clutch Time...

 

Today was a short day at the CMC. This is true because I had an appointment to take the Assessment Test with Statefarm Insurance. I wasn't at all nervous, just a little excited. For the time that I was in the office today, I made finishing touches on what I had of the Training Manual and completed my last article. Although there was alot more that I would have liked to do with the manual, I was unable to do so for numerous reasons.

Alot of Work...

 

I started on my last article Tuesday night, Money or Happiness? It seems to be going along quite well. I will be interviewing a few students and alumni in reference to this matter. As I believe I said earlier, this is a personal dilemma and I believe that this dilemma wouldn't seem as bad if students found that there was someone they could relate to. Nothing ever seems as bad when you know there is someone else who feels what you feel at equal or greater value.

In the CMC today I had alot of work to do. I received Heidi's email and I also met with Mary. I had prepared questions for her before hand in order to speed up the process. I suppose this helped.

The CMC also hosted a Summer Jobs Fest Job Fair. Im sure it was fun and exciting. Everyone wore lei's and although I couldn't attend due to the catching up of my training manual, I did take a short break to visit and see how things were going. Im sure it was a success.

Other than that, I will be leaving town for the weekend and hopefully by Monday I will be done with my last article and I will have the manual ready for revision.

Just Chillin�

 

 

Today was a rather laid back day at the CMC. I completed a few weblogs and looked over the training manual a bit more.

Mary also came into the office and we scheduled a meeting for Thursday. Technically, since all that I am waiting on is to speak with her, shortly after, the manual should be finished.

Looking and Thinking...

 

Today at the CMC I literally just looked at the Training Manual and thought about a few things. Not sure if I mentioned this before or not, but I emailed Tom, the Assistant Dean, about help with the what I should include on the Welcome Page. I also emailed Heidi about what it is that a GA does while in the Cyber Career Center.

Tom responded to my email and also included the General Standards of Conduct that an employee here at Old Dominion would have to follow. I think that this would be a great addition to the manual. Heidi also responded, but considering the question I asked would require quite a lengthy answer, she would need a few days. This is fine.

As a side note:

While in the office today a classmate from a few semesters ago came in looking for an internship. We spoke about school, jobs, etc. What surprised me was that she asked me if I would proofread her paper that was due within the next week. I told her I would. No problem.

It is a wonderful feeling to know that you have or possess something that is valuable to someone else. The beauty of having a skill is that the effortless task for you could be an overwhelmingly complex duty for another. This, I am very grateful for.

Revisions...

 

Revisions...

Today was simply a day of revising at the CMC. I completed my first article. It is entitled 'Job Fair: What Should I Say to Employers?' It encourages the job seeker to be confident and ask questions when they attend job fairs, so that they will not be disappointed with themselves afterwards. Tina revised this and I will have the final copy for her on Thursday.

In addition to this, she also looked over the manual once more and gave me suggestions. A positive characteristic about this internship is that although Tina and I have disagreements, I feel comfortable knowing that it is ok for me to voice my opinion, and in turn I am open to hers.  I know our discussions will only lead us to the best possible outcome of my projects. The perfect employer/employee relationship.

For the remainder of the day I worked on the revisions. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I would be asking Tina about writing an article of my own. She said that this was fine, so I will keep you updated on the progress of this.

Moving Along...

 

Today, instead of socializing before going into the office, I decided to just go straight in and use some of my extra time to do a job search. I have already began to apply to jobs, but I have been leaning towards the bigger companies. Today, I will search for smaller companies and find more local listings.

Following this, I began to look at my manual. I prepared it for Tina to look at, but she wasn't in the office today. My meeting with Mary also could not take place, because she will be out of town until Tuesday. In the meantime, I will be working on my article about the job fair. I was thinking of building the article around the concept of relocation issues and which companies are willing to assist a prospective employee. But I am not sure as of yet. But what I do know, is that for my last article I would like to write about recent graduates who have problems deciding what is more important when deciding on which job offer to accept; money or happiness? Of course Ill have to ask Tina to approve this before I begin.

As a side note: I have also been looking into freelance writing, I feel as though it is a good option but not something that I would want to do full-time. I guess one could say it is a good way to save money up for a rainy day. 

Time to Wrap Things Up!

 

Today was a good day at the CMC although it was a little cold again, I shared a few laughs with Heidi and Jen. Everything went pretty much the same, I worked on the Training Manual, spoke with Tina today about changing my schedule (which she proudly did), and reminded me that the semester was drawing near and I should begin to finishing things up and doing my portfolio. Tina also gave me a deadline on my article. Which is great, I love deadlines! A vast majority of writers work better with deadlines.

I feel as though I have completed at least 70-75% of the manual. I just have few things that I need to speak with Mary about. I plan on emailing any questions to her, with the hopes that it will be more convenient. I also suggested a meeting time so that we could discuss the questions. Hopefully, this will help also.

I also spoke with Alice today. She told me how good of a job I was doing on the manual (smile�thanks) and asked me if I had heard from any of the jobs at the fair. I told here that I had heard from State Farm Insurance and that I was a little skeptical because I didn't think that the job description fit me quite well. She also asked me had I applied to any jobs as of yet, I told her no, but I was looking at a few prospects. I also told her of my problem of thinking and comparing really hard before I apply because I feel as though I want to apply to the 'right' job. She told me that I should apply to any jobs that I may consider because this of course will increase my chances of finding a career. She says she will ask me again next week how many jobs that I have applied to since we spoke today, and I will be ready.

What I've Done...

 

I guess one could say that today was a rather quick day at the CMC. I was only there for an hour and as I mentioned before today is the day I met with Tina to go over what I have done so far with the training manual. She had good things to say, but also gave me advice about some things that she felt I may need to talk to Mary about. This is true, I most definitely need to speak with Mary. Other than that, that was basically all for today. Me and Tina also spoke about the amount of time that I had remaining here at the CMC. Only 4 weeks! Time to get on the ball!

As a side note:

I'm unsure if I mentioned this before, but the Annual CMC Etiquette Dinner was yesterday. I was definitely upset that I didn't get to attend (due to work). I was looking forward to the dinner, learning etiquette, and of course networking with some of the numerous employers that attended. Tiffanie told me what a wonderful time that I had missed and that I would have had lots to write about. Go figure.

Terrible...

 

 

Today was a TERRIBLE day at the CMC. It was a beautiful day outdoors, so I didn't have to worry about being cold again, but I had bigger things to worry about. I wasn't able to log onto the computer system and really needed to work on my manual today, and the sadder thing is that I didn't save it on my jump-drive so in order to truly get anything done, it is very necessary that I find a computer.

I explained to Tina and she helped me find a computer. With only a little over half an hour left in the office, I would most definitely need to get to work immediately. So, I rush to open a document that isn't there. I spent the remainder of my time using the search engine hoping that it would turn up my work, which it didn't.

To make a long story short, I didn't get anything done today, or Monday, considering that my work is now non-existent. But oh well, I'll just have to do it again. No worries.

 

Cold...But Busy

 

Today was a COLD day at the CMC. Due to this, I was very uncomfortable. I didn't want to wear my coat in the office, because not only is it entirely too large, but it also very unprofessional. So�I just sucked it up and continue on with my work.

When I arrived at the CMC, I spoke with Tina. She asked what I would be working on today. This is nothing out of the ordinary because she normally asks me this, and for the past few weeks I give her the same answer. 'Working on the training manual and the stock articles'. But mainly the training manual, because there are still some things I am unsure about when it comes to the stock articles, but I suppose I have been too busy and excited about the training manual that I haven't given the articles much attention. Although I am looking more so into the professional field of writing, such as proposals, manuals, etc, I also understand that I am a writer, and I should and would expect myself to be able to write anything. I have definitely put off this project for too long, its time to get-it-together and get started.

Tina also asked me if I would show her my progress thus far with the training manual. I really hadn't started the actual manual itself, but I had tons of notes. These notes were composed of my thoughts about content, format, etc. I was more than pleased to put some of them together and the results. After working on this for a while, I had begun to notice an issue. The tone didn't sound quite right to me. I thought, should I make this reader-friendly or should I approach it from a more concrete standpoint? After debating with myself for a while, I came to the conclusion that I would make the manual more comforting. The individual who will be filling this position will more than likely nervous about starting the new job; so the last thing that they need is a complex manual filled with hard, intimidating information.

So�I worked on this the entire time I was in the office. Hopefully after it all done I can show you guys an excerpt. We shall see�

 

Spring Job Fair...

 

Today was a LONG day at the CMC, or should I say at the Ted. Although the Annual Spring Job Fair didn't start until two-thirty, I arrived at the CMC around eleven-thirty. From there, Tina and I proceeded to the Ted.

Upon arriving at the Ted I was somewhat overwhelmed at how many booths there were. I knew there were going to be over 170 employees attending, but I didn't realize how big it would actually be. I can honestly say that I was excited. Excited about seeing the turnout, interviewing employers, and looking at some prospective employers for myself.

The first business of the day was the employee luncheon. I didn't have any responsibilities here, but I wanted to just comment on a few things. First of all, the speaker, who is also the new ODU football coach, was great! Since I also played football, flag football of course, I felt as if I could relate to what was being said. In addition to this the CMC staff was recognized for all the hard work that they had put into the job fair. I am proud to say that I am a part of the team.

Following the luncheon of course was the job fair. I didn't start immediately, but for the most part when I wasn't busy I occupied the information booth. Here I answered any questions that the students, alumni, or employers may have had.

Before interviewing the employers, I wanted to come up with a way to make this task more organized. What I mean when I say this is that instead of just stopping at booths randomly, I decided to make a list. On this list I would choose an employer for each college/major. For example, I spoke with Northrop Grumman for the College of Engineering and WSKY-TV for the Communications majors. Of course there were some employers who didn't exactly fit into any of the categories, but I didn't let this keep me from speaking with them also. As a matter of fact, those were the ones that I would personally consider because there isn't exactly a large demand of technical writers out there. For this matter, I spoke with Apex Systems Inc. Although they were not looking for a technical writer, they were very helpful by referring me to a company that possibly would be looking for a technical writer. Thanks.

Overall, I enjoyed my time at the Job Fair. It is a very beneficial event for students, alumni, and employers. I would most definitely recommend that if you haven't attended one yet, you should begin preparing now for the next fair.

As a side note:

Well�as I walked around the fair today, I had to take a seat every so often because unfortunately, I wore heels, which in turn weren't at all comfortable. So�as piece of advice, make sure you wear something comfortable, but professional, because due to this, I felt as if I didn't completely take advantage of all that the fair had to offer.

Back To Work...

 

First I will begin with Spring Break then I will tell you how my day went in the office. During the week, and especially last night, I spent a lot of time revising and working on information for the training manual. It took ALOT more time than I expected. For the majority of the time I worked on the 'Contents' page. I figured if I complete the contents page, then the actual manual should be a breeze. I see the Contents page as an outline so to speak. While working on the page, I also read over some of the tasks that the GA (Graduate Assistant) would be performing a few times so that I could better understand what is exactly that the GA does. This also took more time than I thought. I found myself having a hard time understanding the handouts. Which I find to be ironic since it's my job to make it understandable. Funny.

Today, my three hours in the CMC passed rather quickly. The first thing that I did was check my email. Here I found a forward from Tina about how some students pay thousands of dollars in order with hopes to receive an internship. Wow. In my opinion, that is most definitely crazy. I do understand that we pay for an education and how some would just see this as an addition to one's education, but on the other hand I don't see why a student would considering paying when most colleges offer this service free of charge. To each his own I suppose.

In addition to this I spoke with Tina about what my responsibilities at the Spring Job Fair would be. This is one of the largest and most important events that the CMC hosts annually and I am excited to be a part of it. Honestly, I am somewhat nervous about speaking to the employers, but I am sure ill be ready. I just have to give myself a pep talk. (Smile) My responsibilities for this fair don't differ much from the responsibilities that I had at the Diversity Fair, but this time I plan on taking more initiative and taking advantage of this opportunity. I will be creating questions, but not just any questions, but questions that will be assets to my stock articles. The perfect plan.

Today, while in BAL I noticed that there were no flyers for the Spring Job Fair, so I volunteered to put some up after my time here in the office was done. I know its only two days before the fair, but every little bit helps.

That was basically it for today, tonight I plan on creating my questions and working on the manual a bit more.

 

Spring Break...

 

Today, although I was only at the CMC for an hour, I felt like I did make some progress. I saw Mary as soon as I arrived at the CMC and we went over some of the questions, which is wonderful, because now I can begin to move on to the next step in my writing process.

Mary and I also visited eRecruiting so that she could help me to better understand a concept that I would be addressing in the manual. While showing me this, we came across a Junior Technical Writer job that was available in the DC area. I immediately became excited because not only did I find a job opening for a technical writer, but it was also close to home. Im not a fan of the city or the city traffic for that matter, but I understand that anything worth having and depending on how badly one wants it, sacrifices must be made. So, I do plan on applying for this job, and I will keep you updated.

I also attempted to work a little on the stock articles today while in the office. But for some reason, I couldn't motivate myself to do this project, but nevertheless Im sure I'll get it done.

As a side note:

Next week is Spring Break, and although I wont be in the office, I will be working on my articles and the training manual. I'll try to keep you update on my progress. Take care.

 

Networking...

 

Today was a rather easy day. I attended the Job Fair Fashion Show that was created and conveyed by the CMC. I figured I would be required to go, so it wasn't that much of a surprise. I liked a lot of the suits that the CMC displayed and overall I thought they did a good job.

Another thing that I wanted to mention was the fact that all of the awards were being won by engineering students, this bothered me a little. I feel as though the CMC has ALOT to offer for all majors of all colleges, but I suppose the message isn't exactly getting out there. Honestly, I learned of the CMC on my own, during freshman year. I didn't actually have a representative come to one of my classes until the spring semester of my junior year. But having the rep come did help out alot because there were plenty of things that I didn't know. And I knew there would be plenty more to learn.

As a side note:

I began my 'networking' profile. I think it's quite an interesting resource, Im looking forward to completing my profile so that I can get started. Ill keep you updated.

 

Week 4

 

Today was a rather busy day. I am expecting to have plenty of busy days up until I have completed the articles and the training manual. I didn't meet with Mary today, so instead I submerged myself into the training manual for the next two hours.

While I had this opportunity I looked over the changes that Mary may have made to the handouts. I noted any questions I may have had so that we could discuss them at our next meeting. In addition to this, I began to group similar tasks together, omitting the less important ones. If I didn't omit something, I would simply combine it with another task/subheader that I felt it would be better suited for. That is all that I did today with the actual textual information. I could only go so far because I still needed to speak with Mary, and I also have a few questions in mind for Alice.

As I mentioned in another blog, having ALL of the CORRECT information is very vital when writing something such as this. Next, I looked over Reporting Technical Information, one of my old textbooks, to get some ideas going for structure and layout and also to brush up on my writing strategy.

For the remainder of my time at the CMC, I attempted to do a little research on my first stock article topic 'Summer Interns'. I browsed around a bit, but I didn't have much luck.

As a side note:

This past weekend while surfing eRecruiting, I came across something new. The Network Experience if Im not mistaken. Good stuff. I'll speak more about it later.

 

Short Day...

 

Today, I was only at the CMC for an hour, so I didn't get much done. I asked Tina about the stock article and I spoke with Mary about the manual. I also found out that I would have to do four articles instead of one. Go figure. But I'm up for the challenge.

I can get started on the manual sooner than I thought, Mary had the revised handouts ready for me today. I also asked her that if she found some spare time, could she think of 'FAQ's' that she made have had when she begun at the CMC, so that I could include that as a section in the manual. So far, so good.

MY Career Management...

 

 

Today when I arrived at the CMC I was expecting an email loaded with tasks that would be due next week. But�there wasn't one. I immediately assumed that since I do have a stock article due on Friday and my first meeting with Mary was today, I suppose the CMC felt as if I had enough work to do already.

In all honesty, I am not exactly sure what a stock article entails. Tina did show me an example, but I'm still not sure as to what a 'stock' article is. What is its purpose? What point does it try to make? Instead of just asking, I decided to "google" it. This didn't help because the search results only told me what I had already conjured up on my own. The results were either about stocks, articles, or an article about stocks. Go figure. If I don't come to a better understanding by tomorrow, I will just have to ask someone, so that I can get started.

As for my meeting with Mary, everything went rather smoothly. After looking over my handouts that I had been given last week, to begin, I asked Mary if she would also look over them. I asked her to see if there was anything important that the handouts didn't address, so that she could make note of it. She would also let me know if there was something that may need to be omitted. I felt as if this was the perfect first step. One cant begin to write a training manual or anything other document without first having all the information needed. There's nothing more frustrating than unnecessary writing.

For the remainder of the day I thought heavily about how I would form the 'contents' page, how I wanted the header/subheaders to be, and numerous other things�

As a side note:

Stephanie, one of the workers at the CMC asked me if I had any prospective employers in mind for after I graduate. I can honestly say that I do know what I want to do (which is, technical writing) after I graduate but I don't know where I want to do it. Ill keep you updated as I search.

 

Busy, Busy, Busy...

 

Hello all. This week has been as I stated in my previous blog has been a hectic week. On Tuesday when I arrived at the CMC I had completed all of my tasks. So, on Thursday all I would have left to do would be to set up an appointment with Mary, the Internship Coordinator for the College of Arts and Letters, so that I could begin on a Training Manual for her position. This purpose of this manual is to hopefully make things easier for the CMC and for the individual that will be taking over.

I am looking forward to working on the manual and can't wait to see what I can make of it. I see this as a perfect opportunity to not only build more experience, but a chance to really display my skills. This task is the perfect jump-start I need to make me more comfortable with my profession. To begin, I looked over a few handouts that Tina had given me to sort of familiarize myself with what I would be doing. Reading over the handouts, I wanted to imagine myself as the Internship Coordinator, or better yet, imagine myself as the individual that would be taking over the position. What would I want to know? I feel as if the individual taking over the position has enough worries without having to worry about not being able to comprehend the Training Manual.

In addition to the Training Manual, I was instructed to write two paragraphs; one for students and one for alumni, both addressing the Career Tool, eRecruiting. Although this task may sound simple but it all reality it wasn't. Within this paragraph, I was told to give a basic overview of the Career Tool, and considering eRecruiting isn't exactly what I would call 'basic', I found it to be a challenge. I would have asked for more help concerning this task, but I am so caught up over this 'independent' notion that I would prefer to do it all myself. Technically, I don't have a choice considering that Jason is now gone, but I don't see Jason leaving as being a bad thing, because this gives the CMC more time to focus on me and making this experience benefiting.

 

A Little About Me...

 

Hello all, I finally caught up with my weblogs, so you should be seeing a lot more postings from me. Since beginning my internship things have been a little hectic. In addition to the internship, I work 30+ hrs a week at the local Navy Exchange and of course attend ODU full-time. So, as one can see my schedule is chaotic, and just like any other typical college student, I always need to find time for fun. I don't want to start things off by being too personal, but I would like to mix-it-up a bit so that you will get a better understanding of me not only as an intern, but also as a person. Hopefully, you can relate to an experience or two of my own.

Today, the CMC overwhelmed me with work. I was in the office for three hours, and I felt as if I didn't get anything done. Well�for the most the majority of my time was spent walking back and forth from the OCCS. For some reason, I couldn't log into my work account. Technical difficulties? Human error? Who knows? The important thing is, is that it is now fixed.

 

Interesting...

 

Today was an interesting day at the CMC. A lot happened and a lot changed. Luckily, I checked my email this morning (which I normally don't do) to find out that Tina would not be in today due to a meeting. I was told to meet with the Head Supervisor, Alice. I was a little nervous at first, bur I figured it wouldn't be too bad concerning Jason would be there also.

Upon, arriving there I looked over the CMC website a bit before my meeting with Alice. I try to visit the site whenever I find some free time, due to the vastness of the website; I always find something that I didn't notice before.

The first thing that Alice told me was that Jason would no longer be with us because he had decided to go to law school. I was happy but at the same time a little disappointed that he wasn't going to be there anymore. He had been an intern before, so I would always ask him questions about his experience and things that I should do. He was a great help.

Alice also talked about the projects that she had in store for me, and opened the door for me to suggest any projects that I may think are more relevant to my career goals. This was very considerate of her. Overall, the day was rather short, but as I said earlier, a lot was discussed. I am looking forward to see what happens as things progress.

 

Challenge #1...

 

Today actually starts week three. I haven't written much as you can tell but a lot has happened since then.

Last week, I, along with my supervisor, Tina, and fellow intern, Jason, attended the Regional Diversity Fair. This caught me by surprise because I wasn't expecting to go anywhere and I really felt underdressed.  In addition to this, I had no idea what I would be doing, but oh well, here goes!

Upon arriving at the Ted, Jason and I had the choice of either taking pictures or interviewing employers, and being a little on the nervous side I volunteered to take pictures. Little did I know that later I would be interviewing and Jason would be taking the pictures. Go figure.

Overall, I think I did well with the interview�the only thing that seem to present a problem was trying to write, listen, and respond all at the same time. This is definitely something I need to work on, so for the next fair, I'll be ready.

Day One...Lets Go!

 

Let's see. Where do I start? Well� I am overly excited with the challenges that face me as I take on the Writing Intern position here at the ODU Career Management Center. I know I have a lot to work on before I venture out onto the work scene and hopefully this internship will give me just the boost that I need.

Today was the first day of my internship and I can honestly say that I am eager, but at the same time a little nervous. Eager because of course this is a new experience, I finally landed an internship and Im ready to go. And Im nervous because of the some of the challenges and demands that the CMC requires of me somewhat pokes at a weakness of mine.

Just as a majority of others all over the world, I am shy. No, I wouldn't say that�not shy. Just terrified to speak in front of an audience. Due to my accent and social variation, I sometimes feel as though I don't speak clearly enough and because if this I lack confidence. But this is hopefully the last time I will mention this as my weakness, because my intentions are to use this as a motivation to grow out of the anxiety.