Group Work

To start off, My Group Rocks!  I couldn't have asked for any better "team mates" to do all of these assignments and presentations with.  They all work hard and are brilliant people.

I've enjoyed the group work we've been required to do in MCOM 320.  Being able to successfully communicate with a group, then turn around and successfully communicate as a group to others can be a lot of work.  This skill, however, is so important in today's society and very important to learn.

As a group, Brethren has been able to grow close to one another, learning each others' strengths and how to best use the strengths we have.  By doing this, we can be as influential and effective as we can.  Granted, we still aren't professionals in the presentation industry.  The lessons we're learning as a group will help us so much in the future as we go off to our different careers.

Something I've decided I want to do in the future when I'm presenting is having someone video every presentation I give where it's appropriate.  Watching myself on GoReact helps me see how I can improve personally as well as how my group can perform better.  By doing this time and time again I hope to eventually be an expert at presenting in all types of settings including with a team.

Check out my teammates blogs listed below.

Derek Lambert
Kevin Egbert

Google Docs

I am a firm believer in Google Docs!  I believe they're the more excellent way to group projects.  Our group has been using Google Docs since day one, and I wouldn't do it any other way.  The project I found it the most useful with, besides this consulting project, was our chapter presentation.  We were able to create a slide show in which we could all add our input to the slides any time we wanted.

What I liked most about Google Docs in this assignment was the fact that we could all be sitting in the same room with this same document open while talking to each other and adding our ideas.  Sometimes it can be so frustrating being the scribe in the group that has to listen to everyone else give their two cents and expect you to write it down.  With Google Docs, we didn't have to worry about that at all.  Also, when we weren't all in the same room, it was very easy to use the chat rooms available. I'm definitely a firm believer in using Google Docs in group projects and assignments.

Briefing Article

I did my briefing article on the pros and cons of tapering quantitative easing.  I really enjoyed the things I learned, but I had the hardest time narrowing it down to one page.  Whenever I hear a one page paper is due I think it will be a piece of cake.  With this one, however, I found myself spending way more time than I even imagined.  I really enjoyed the research I did though.  

What I learned from this experience is that people don't want to read long detailed information in an article.  People want to understand the key points of a topic while still gaining a good knowledge of the topic.  Articles in newspapers could be much longer than they are, but the authors and editors have to cut out the fluff and focus on the main topics of something.  This helps people look at an article and want to read it, and want to keep reading it once they've started.

From this experience, I'm going to make sure that I think about this when writing any articles.  I know this will help me communicate much better in the future.

Evaluating Alternatives When Solving Problems

A wise man once told me, "The problem is not the issue; the issue is how you handle the problem." Each of us face problems in our lives, and each of us will continue to face many problems in our lives, especially in our careers.  It is important that we learn how to solve problems in order to make sure they don't become an issue.  Problem solving involves four steps.

1. Diagnose the Problem
2. Develop a Solution
3. Evaluate Alternatives
4. Implement Solution

I'm going to focus on the third step in this blog, "Evaluating Alternatives."  This step comes in after we've done all of our brainstorming, and we have tons of ideas out on the table.  In this step we need to narrow it down to one solution.  We first organize and refine the ideas we have.  This involves combining ideas that are alike and throwing away ideas that may go against company policy or budgets.  Next, we establish certain criteria such as saving x amount of dollars or bring in y amount of revenue.  We then weigh the criteria to determine which factor is the most important.  Last, we bring in the ideas we have and see how well they fit the criteria we've established.  This last step help us see any bias that may be involved.

I know that as I follow these steps the rest of my life that I will find problems becoming less of an issue and more of a common part of life.  After all, problems help us in life.  If it weren't for problems, we wouldn't have jobs. 

Group Presentation

I was very pleased with how Brethren presented chapter 8 today in class.  It was far from perfect, but I think all of us learned so much.  We practiced and practiced and practiced.  We had our time cut down to where we still had 15 seconds to spare; however, come time to present, we went over a little.  I know I got a little nervous and added just a little bit more to my portion of the presentation.

I also noticed that we were all so focused that we forgot to smile and have fun with it.  While we're trying to be professional, it's important that we also make sure we have fun and smile.  It's much easier to listen to someone who is happy, energetic, and smiley.  That's going to be one of my biggest focuses as I move forward and work on presentation skill.

Another thing I noticed is that I like to hold my hands together in front of me.  I actually had no idea I was doing this during the presentation until I watched it after and saw the comments on it.  I feel like practice is going to be the best way to solve that problem.

Overall, I felt the presentation accomplished what it was supposed to accomplish; learning.  I know that every time I present from here on out I'll learn more and more things.  This was a great opportunity.

Online Mock Interview

My online interview was great.  I definitely didn't perform as well as I would have liked to, but I learned a lot from the interview.   I’m amazed at how well role plays help me.  I always feel like I've got a good grasp on things until I do role plays.  This is when I realize I don’t have a great grasp on things, but I’m able to fix any problems in order to help me achieve my A-game. 

For example, I felt so prepared for this online interview.  I thought about potential questions and how I would answer them. I read over my resume. I reviewed the job description.  I felt very ready for the interview, and the interview was going well.  Then the question came . . . “Do you have any questions?”  I had completely failed to think of questions to ask.  I panicked, and I told my interviewer I did (because I knew I should).  I then looked like an idiot trying to think of a question after I had said I had one. 

A lesson was definitely learned.  These mock interviews really do help prepare for the real ones.  The more practice I get, the more familiar I’ll become with interviews, and the better I can prepare. 

Mallory Hansen interviewed me. 5

Letters

Letters were easy to write as a missionary when the only thing I had to worry about was....nothing.  I just wrote the name of who the letter was to, and then I would put my name at the end of it.  It would be nice if those were the only characteristics to worry about in a professional letter.

I've learned a lot over the last couple months about how to write to professional letter to someone.  I've learned that good news should be right at the beginning and easy to spot.  Bad news, however, should come later on in a letter as to make it a little more subtle.  By doing these things, you allow the right tone to be received by the reader.  If a reader sees bad news right up front, he or she is going to have negative feelings throughout the rest of the letter.  These characteristics are important to maintain good relationships with those you disclose bad news to.  Bad news is a part of life, but it doesn't always have to be a bad experience for those involved.

I know the knowledge I've obtained about how to write effective letters will help me immensely throughout life if I apply the principles I've learned over the last couple of weeks.

Tailoring A Resume

In my last post I talked about the importance of the appearance of a resume.  In this post, I'm going to write about the importance of tailoring a resume to each job.  I've learned SO much about this, and I know I still have a lot more to learn.  For the longest time I thought it was fine to have the same resume for every job I apply for.  While it's fine to have one general resume when going to a career for or other similar events, it's far better to make sure a resume is tailored around a specific job if we're targeting one.

For example, if you're applying for a job that's looking for people who are strong leaders, good team members, great communicators and positive, outgoing people, you don't want to focus your resume on how awesome you are at programming computers and how well you can analyze things.  You want your resume to reflect the attributes and skills they are looking for, because that's what they need.

From now on I will have a master resume that has all of my different experiences, attributes, skills, etc.  When I apply for certain jobs I will pick and choose from my master resume in order to match what they're are looking for.  I'm sure I'll find my self adding more and more to my master resume as I fill out individual resumes.  I know this will help me a lot as I prepare to start my career soon.

Resume Appearance

Resumes are the ticket to receiving and interview.  Many companies receive thousands of resumes over a short amount of time, and they don't have time to read through each of them carefully.  Recruiters who read over these resumes are looking for distinct features in a matter of seconds.  If a resume lacks something they're looking for, they might just toss it aside and never look at it again.  Just the layout and design of someone's resume could determine whether he or she receives an interview.  

A resume must appear easy to read.  The page shouldn't be loaded with as many words as you can fit, and it should have proper spacing as to say, "I'm enjoyable to read."  No one is interested in reading a document crammed with word.

A resume must be well organized.  This is something that is easy to spot by only looking at the resume for a few seconds. 

Last, a resume must also clearly present the subject . . . YOU!  This is why it's important to have your name right at the top as the heading.  A resume is an attempt to sell your skills, qualities and abilities with others.  People must clearly see this document is about you.

Someone could have great skills, experience and accomplishments that could be brushed right passed because they didn't take the time to make their resume presentable.  I believe taking the time to make your resume appear easy to read, well organized, and clearly present the subject will be the key to having it read more deeply and, hopefully, get an interview.

I'm going to work hard on making my resume more presentable in order to receive more interviews.  I truly believe this will help me a lot in my job searching.

Presentation

When it comes to selling a product successfully, many of us have heard of the three P's.  The three P's are Price, Product and Presentation.  Price is a factor that has to be calculated based on different facts and goals.  A product must satisfy the needs of consumers.  Presentation, however, is where it all begins. Presentation is key to raising money for a product.  In order for customers to buy a product, the product must be presented well to them through commercials and even the way the product is packaged.  Being able to present well is important in so many aspects of life.  It is the key to success.

This last week I've learned how important presenting is, mainly within the business world.  Even without presenting and being critiqued, I know I have a lot to work on with my presenting.  Being a successful presenter really comes down to doing the little things.  All of us have seen those people giving a presentation who don't stop shifting their weight back and forth or playing with their jewelry.  Sadly, almost all of us have actions we do when we're nervous without even knowing we're doing something.  

The problem this causes when we do these little things is we distract our audience from what we just spent hours preparing. Sadly, these people now have no idea what we're talking about because they can't focus.

One thing I'm going to start doing as I prepare my presentations is imagine over and over again myself giving the presentation.  If I do this I feel like I'll get a grasp of where I want to go.  I don't want to just prepare my material and say I'll do this and say that, but I want to actually imagine being up there and being asked possible questions that may come and where I want to stand.  

If there's anything in this life that will help me be the most successful I can be, I know it's being a great presenter.

Patience

Never in my life have I spent so much time studying grammar.  Looking back on my first post, I can't believe how far I've come since then.  I was so overwhelmed with sentence structure.  However, I can finally distinguish the difference between a phrase and an independent clause.  I can also tell whether a sentence is simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex.  While I know I am still far from perfect when it comes to grammar, I know I've improved immensely.  Tomorrow I get to see how well I actually do understand grammar.  

If there's anything I've learned over this last week it's that I need to be patient with my learning.  Most of the time I want to learn something and know it perfectly without studying.  Some people can do this; I, however, can't.  I've noticed, especially when it comes to grammar, I need to be patient and really understand the basics. By being patient, I don't get stressed out and overwhelmed.  When I get overwhelmed, I lose focus and find studying extremely miserable and useless.

Let's be honest; school is not "fun."   No one is in school to have a great time.  We don't, however, have to be miserable.  I catch myself being miserable a lot of the time.  By being patient and really understanding what we're here for, we can find learning enjoyable. When I change my mind set to where it should be, I find things easier to learn.

Positive Communication

Sometimes we may hear someone say something very rude or even something negative about life, and we think to ourselves, "Wow! That person is so negative!" However, when we respond to and email or text of someone, say, asking for permission to do something and we respond by saying "No. I'm sorry", we would never think of ourselves as being negative.  While we may not be negative by responding that way, our tone is negative.  This kind of response isn't even rude; it's more or less a natural response.  To have a positive tone one might respond by thanking that person for asking permission and encouraging him or her to continue asking for permission in the future. 

This idea had never really occurred to me.  However, when I think of myself being the one to ask permission, I would much rather have a positive response to my request.  A positive response lets me know that I did the right thing by asking permission, and the person I asked isn't annoyed by me requesting permission.  

When I have bad news I’m going to start working on responding positively rather than naturally which often times can be negative. 

Here a humorous way to give bad news in a good way. Enjoy:)

Communication is Everything

Communication is a major part of every aspect of life.  It's literally in everything we do.  As I reflect on my morning I see how critical communication is.  The following are examples of my communication before I even sat down in class today:

1.     I kissed my wife good bye as she left for work to show her that I love her.

2.     I responded to a text from a group member to let him know I would print off a paper.

3.     I got frustrated with the jeep in front of me who wouldn't turn right at a red light when there weren't any cars coming.  (Sometimes it's best when people don't see or hear our communication to them)

4.     I put my hand up to thank a driver that let me cross the street.

5.     I gave knucks to a friend – who was on his phone communicating with someone else – to say hello without actually verbally saying "Hello."

Communication helps us express how we feel and what we want or need.  When searching for jobs or when we're already in a career, the way we interact with teams, managers, bosses, and clients is important.  With many people we need to learn about them and their beliefs and customs before we can effectively communicate with them.  If we don't take the time to do this, we may give a thumbs up to a Middle-Eastern client to let him know everything is great, while, to him, he's seeing the middle finger up.  Understanding our audience is crucial to being an effective communicator.

For me, I'm going to start focusing on different aspects of communication.  When others speak to me, I'm going to critique (not out loud) their communication to me.  Also, when I speak, I'm going to critique myself and really focus on whether I'm communicating clearly and effectively.  By doing this, I know I'll improve my skills of effective communication.

First Week Back

This first week back in school has been a week full of learning.  However, it's not exactly the type of learning I was expecting to have.  It's been more of a humbling type of learning about myself and my knowledge. I've learned the following this week:

·         I've forgotten almost every principle I use to know about accounting now that I'm in a 400 level accounting class.

·         I have a very small knowledge about the Doctrine & Covenants compared to what I thought I did. 

·         I have no idea what the difference is between a simple and a complex sentence. 

·         I have absolutely no knowledge of how to blog. 

I'd like to refer to and focus on bullet point number 3.  Why can't a sentence just be a sentence?  I've got a whole lot to learn about sentence structure, punctuation, etc.  I know it will be very important for me to be successful in not only finding a job, but also being successful in my career.   

Some of the ways I'm going to attempt improving these weaknesses is first, studying them and learning the different types of sentences structures and the components within each sentence.  After that I'm going to bring that knowledge into the different things I read such as magazines, newspapers, Facebook posts and whatever else I read.  I want to be able to break apart sentences until I understand what the different components are in different sentences. Hopefully by doing this I can improve how I write and speak in my everyday life.