Mock Interview

Interviews are an extremely important part of the job application process, so it was very beneficial to be able to do a "mock interview" for this class. Interviews give the employer a chance to see the personality of the applicant as well as their ability to think on their feet. They are a one time opportunity to make a favorable impression on the interviewer and can either make or break your chance of getting hired.

Having a mock interview not only gave me the chance to practice my interview skills but also provided me with feedback with ways to improve and things that I was doing well. This was really helpful because you do not get this kind of feedback when you are doing real interviews.

Even though this was just a pretend situation, I still got nervous beforehand! I think the interview went well though, and I was very appreciative of Angie's comments. One thing I realized I need to work on is to really prepare myself for the interview. I often go with the mindset to just be myself and that I'll be able to "wing it", but in order to have a good interview I do think you need to be prepared for the kinds of questions the employer is going to ask you as well as be up to date with information on the company.

Fall Break

I have not had a chance to do my interview yet, so this week I decided to write about my fall break. I went to Asheville, NC with my mom for the first time. It's a really cool city, only about 2 hours away from Clemson, but it is completely different. It's very artsy with a lot of cafes, unique boutiques, and stores. The architecture there is beautiful, they have a lot of old historic neighborhoods and buildings. We also got a chance to tour the Biltmore which is so huge it looks like a castle. There's a 3 mile driveway from the entrance to the actual house, and it's very scenic with trees and streams all around it. Overall it was a great fall break, nice to take a break from doing school work and relax for a little while.

Class Presentations

I really enjoyed the diversity of the 5 minute presentations from our class. It kept it interesting, and I feel like I got to learn a little more about everyone. I especially liked Stacey's about her hometown of Boulder. I have never been to that part of the country before but have heard rave reviews about it so I loved getting an insider's take on it. It seems like a beautiful town with lots to offer. I also enjoyed Sal's presentation on masonry. It was something I knew very little about so it was interesting to learn more. The pictures he included of his work were amazing, it definitely shows he has a lot of skill.

My Weekend

For this week's free topic I thought I would write about my weekend since it was really good and a much needed break from my stressful week. I had a bunch of friends come down Friday night for the Virginia Tech game, so it was great to see and go out with them. I'm a part of the organization Feel Good, which is dedicated to ending world hunger. They raise money by selling grilled cheeses in exchange for donations. We had our first grilled cheese stand this Saturday at in the Greek Quad and had an awesome turn out. We raised a lot of hunger and awareness about our cause so it was great. I also had a lot of fun tailgating so despite the loss :( it was a great day. Today I've just been doing the massive amount of work that I have this week before fall break. Doesn't it always seem like all your work is due at the same time?? Other than that I'm getting really excited for our 1 day break, it'll be nice to relax even if its just for an extended weekend.