Adivce for Future Projects

My advice for future classes with projects is to start early. That's what my group did and we were done with the proposal about 1.5 in advance. This was a lot less stressful than it could have been and we were able to come out with a great proposal that ended up winning. To accomplish this we met once a week starting after the project was assigned and worked on it a little bit each time. Our group members were very responsible and we always did what we were assigned each week. Being able to count on your group members is huge, so do your best to be someone that others can count on.
I really enjoyed working on our project, and I think having such an awesome group made the difference!

Late Blog- Free Response

Out of all my favorite holiday's, Christmas has got to be my favorite. I love going home to see my family and friends and celebrating this time with them. I think it is really fun to get presents for people and watch when they open it, especially if it is something you know they are going to like. This year my boyfriend and I are making each other our Christmas presents. I think this makes the gift all the more special when you know the person has put a lot of time and thought into what they are making you. However, the one person I have a really hard time buying a present for is my dad. He never really wants anything, because whatever he wants throughout the year, he buys for himself. Thus, this makes it difficult to buy him a present that he will enjoy. I know though that its the thought that counts- but really, you can only have so many pop sickle stick picture frames and packs of golf balls. This year's Christmas is going to be great though, and I can't wait to go home and enjoy it with my family!

LATE BLOG: DUAL CODING

One example that I can think of for the dual coding theory is the commercial for pepto bismal...
They have old people signing and dancing around and it's really funny! Anytime I see or hear of pepto bismal I think of that commercial. This was probably the idea behind the commercial because the company knew that people would find it comical and remember it. One can see this especially during the Superbowl. People always remember who had a commercial during those few hours and from what I understand people pay big money to get a spot during the breaks. This is probably because so many people are watching and everyone always loves to talk about the commercials afterward, so they feel the need to remember them. Timing and content are the biggest playing cards that companies have to sell their products and it seems that these are the most successful products probably in part to the dual coding theory.

Employers Study Applicants' Personalities- Thoughts

I thought this article was really interesting. I guess I have always thought that working with well with people is important, especially the people that work at your main job. However, I don't guess I ever thought that employers would go that far. I remember in high school when we would take personality tests, and when we got the results we would go a informational meeting on how to read them. They told us that we may even consider putting this on our resumes. I can remembe thinking that this really was not that important; after reading this article, I now think otherwise.
I do think it is a little unfair to try and put applicants through some sort of "test" though. I can understand why a company would do it, but it also seems to me that when one is aplying for a job, they are probably under quite a bit of stress. Therefore, they may react differently than they normally would. I also think that people can learn to work well with others, they just need a situation to be presented. I guess the counter argument to all this is that if before hand you know that someone is going to work well, due to the applicaiton process, then you do not have to worry about any personality complication with them. I guess there are two sides to every story...

Group Work

My experience with group work thus far has been a really positive one. I feel that our group works well together, and we have all been responsible and done our portions of the proposal well and turned them in on time. We have not really had any miscommunication. I feel that our group is relaxed and focused. If someone could not make a meeting and re-scheduling was not an issue for other members in the group, there were no hard feelings and the person who was absent was just filled in through email and caught up at the next meeting. I thought it was really helpful that our group had a weekly meeting time. This allowed us to get started early on the proposal and get it almost completely done a week ahead of time. The weekly meeting time was decided upon early on and proved to be worth it.
Callie in particular did a great job with the web design and had three templates for us to choose from on practically our first meeting. Laura was diligent with the agendas and is great at making sure everyone has what they need in terms of information about the meetings, etc. Jessica was always taking notes and did a great job preparing the minutes for each meeting. Danny was helpful in proof reading and always was willing to help out where he could.
Overall, I think we have a great group, and I look forward to continuing to work on this project with them!

This post is a day late....

I am really excited for this weekend. I am going home to Chattanooga, TN, for a race called the Head of the Hooch. Our races will take place on Saturday and then the rest of the team is going back to Clemson. I am going to stay in Chattanooga and visit my family and boyfriend. My younger brother is in the school play, and I am excited to see it. My sister, who goes to school in Chicago, is coming in for the play because she was very involved with the plays when she was in school. I am really excited to see all my family and spend some time at home.

I can't really believe it is almost November! This semester has gone by fast! I am excited to see what the AHF chooses as its Web design- this project is the most meaningful assignment I have ever done associated with school. I think it makes a huge difference knowing that the work we have done does not only count towards our grade, but will make a difference in another person's quality of life.

Mock Interview Reflection

I thought the mock interview was really helpful in preparing for life after college. I have never had to interview for a job before so this whole experience was new for me. I find it is relatively easy for me talk to people, but the added pressure of them having your fate in their hands makes it a little more challenging. This opportunity was a great experience and great preparation for our first steps into the "real world".

I think I did relatively well in my interview. I tried to answer questions honestly in order not to misrepresent myself. I did not feel as though the questions were too challenging, and if the real interview is like this, I have confidence that with a little more practice it would go very well.

I think I could have answered some questions a bit more concisely, as I felt sometimes I talked a bit too much and drew out my answers longer than they needed to be. I also would try to be more prepared with questions to ask the interviewer.

Overall, I am thankful for the experience, and I think it will pay off in the long run.