A Better Chance Workshop

Ms. Adalisse Rodriguez, hosting the workshop today,  looked at the room filled with ABC scholars and professionals and started the conversation with CONVERSATION. Within a 5 minute time frame, I had the chance to get to know the other scholars and professionals around me, not including the lunch where I met some awesome people for the first time. It was fun but not easy starting off with "Hi, my name is John!"I expected that it was not going to be easy but stepping out of my comfort zone will always help with present and future interactions with people. All it takes is a little practice. After our fast encounters around the room, Ms. Rodriguez elaborated on how we were networking with each other. In the future because of the friendships I made, I can help my new friends and they can help me with possible job opportunities and quite frankly anything that comes into our lives.

We were scheduled to talk about revising our resumés but never did I think that professionals that review resumés on a daily basis would help me revise my own. "One page length. Clearly label the sections. Quite honestly, make it easily to read." Visual appearance is key because companies review a plethora of resumés every minute so the initial thing they look at is presentation. That's half the battle! 

Lastly, the professionals conducted mock interviews but started with a deceptively hard question: "Tell me about yourself." Where to start… Where to start. What do I talk about? What am I passionate about? A little preparation would not hurt before answering this question. But simply introduce yourself: What's your name? Where do you go to school? What are your accomplishments? Then elaborate about what your passionate about. Enthusiastically giving the interviewer background information first and then telling the story of what your passionate about not only presents the interviewer with your background but creates an impression in his/her mind of who you really are. 

I had a great time meeting new people today and learning new life skills.

I would personally like to thank ABC and Morgan Stanley for hosting and sponsoring this memorable and informative seminar!