I am at an exciting point in my life. It has also been one of the most difficult. I am graduating from college in December with my Undergraduate Degree in Business Finance and a minor in Globalization Studies. It has been a long road traveled, and of course the journey doesn't end after I am handed my diploma.
The next step would seem obvious. Find a job. But is isn't that simple, at least in my case. I am not one of those fortunate people who have known since grade school what they want to be when they grow up. No, in my case options are endless. And in light of that I have been applying for every and any job that comes my way. My only requirements are that I make enough money that I can live by myself (totally over the roommate thing), that this job is located elsewhere in the world, and that I am continuing to learn new things. Oh, and I prefer not to sell insurance, but that's just me. Because I am open to almost any new experience with these small criteria, I have had a great amount of success at finding employers who are interested in me. I have interviewed with Aldi, Chase, Kimberly-Clark Corp., Freddie Mac, American Airlines, ArcelorMittal, the list goes on. I am no where near finished, but I can picture the finish line, and it is beautiful. I would say that I am about halfway. I am knee deep in interviews.
I look back a few months to when I first started this race. Interviewing was a frightening thought. I have had 2 long-term jobs for most of my working life and my interview experience was limited. But just like skydiving, it was something I had to do, and there was no turning around. Fast forward to today, and the interview process has become less of a fear and more of a habit. I have 2 outfits, a dress suit and a pants suit. I use my glasses to make me looker smarter when I think it will help. I have my little binder where a scribble some generic questions that make look and sound interested and intelligent. I think it is working because I have moved onto the next round of interviews with several of the companies I am pursing. The tricky part is know what they're going to ask, and how to answer each question so that I get across what my strengths are. It is these challenges I hope to address in this writing. I want to organize my thoughts as to what I think I can bring to any company. So here it goes...
To tell you a little about myself, I was born and raised in the Columbus, Ohio. I chose Ohio State University because my parents are alumni, it has a competitive business program, and it was an affordable choice. I put myself through school by working two jobs. I worked as a server at Bob Evans for six years and I am currently working as a server at The Cheesecake Factory, where I have been for three years. On top of working 2 jobs and going to school full-time, I was an executive member of Students for Recycling. I held the position of Vice President and Treasurer. Needless to say my schedule was tight. I learned valuable organizational and time management skills.
Through my coursework at Ohio State I gained an understanding of all areas of business, something I highly value. I had surprisingly extensive coursework in Accounting, to where I feel quite profit in that area. Finance has always been my favorite. I enjoy solving numerical problems where the solution has meaning to me. I like being able to look at an income statement or a balance sheet and understand what they say about a company. A balance sheet can tell you a lot about what kind of business the company is in, and where improvements can be made in the business strategy to get more efficiency and profit.
My Globalization Studies minor really helped my understand the global playing field when it comes to the business world. I learned about exchange rates and how they affect profits, especially for companies with global operations. I have a good understanding of how the advanced economies are able to be successful and why the less advanced economies struggle to compete. I also enjoyed learning how business practices and the way business transactions are handled differs from country to country. I am confident that taking this extra time to study globalization will benefit me in any career I pursue considering many companies operate on a global scale, and this trend is only increasing as technology and transportation improve.
What do I bring to this company? A willingness to learn and adapt quickly. I am eager to start applying what I learned in the class room to a real world setting. I am a diligent worker, who takes pride in being successful and being an asset to the company I am apart of. I am reliable. I am always at work on time, if not early. I don't believe in missing work because I know it means that others have to pick up my slack. When given an assignment I strive to produce work above what is expected of me. I take responsibility for my actions. If I make a mistake I don't let it ruin my day or my moral. Nothing good can come from sulking. I just try to learn from it and make sure that same mistake doesn't happen again. One of my best attributes is my ability to communicate well. As a leader, it has always been my experience that communication is the key. Effective communication enables everyone working for a common goal to improve on his or her part by getting other peoples' perspectives. In group discussion or case work that was usually my role, the facilitator of discussion. There has to be someone that keeps the ball rolling, that keeps a flow of ideas and questions working to solve the problem quicker. As a leader I think it is important to make decisions, but also be able to listen to what others around you are saying because they probably have ideas and experiences you never thought of. I enjoy working with people. Whether it be customers or coworkers, I am very comfortable talking and listening to the people I work with. I am a hard worker who is willing to learn an improve on any project that is given to me.
My biggest weakness is my inability to know when I am "in over my head", so to speak. I am the oldest of four kids in my family. At an early age I learned to be independent, and figure things out for myself. Although this has been beneficial in most cases, sometimes I take it too far. I don't get help when help would be useful. Instead I take it a step too far and end up overwhelmed. This hasn't happened often, but when I am taking on a new responsibility it has been an issue.
The next step would seem obvious. Find a job. But is isn't that simple, at least in my case. I am not one of those fortunate people who have known since grade school what they want to be when they grow up. No, in my case options are endless. And in light of that I have been applying for every and any job that comes my way. My only requirements are that I make enough money that I can live by myself (totally over the roommate thing), that this job is located elsewhere in the world, and that I am continuing to learn new things. Oh, and I prefer not to sell insurance, but that's just me. Because I am open to almost any new experience with these small criteria, I have had a great amount of success at finding employers who are interested in me. I have interviewed with Aldi, Chase, Kimberly-Clark Corp., Freddie Mac, American Airlines, ArcelorMittal, the list goes on. I am no where near finished, but I can picture the finish line, and it is beautiful. I would say that I am about halfway. I am knee deep in interviews.
I look back a few months to when I first started this race. Interviewing was a frightening thought. I have had 2 long-term jobs for most of my working life and my interview experience was limited. But just like skydiving, it was something I had to do, and there was no turning around. Fast forward to today, and the interview process has become less of a fear and more of a habit. I have 2 outfits, a dress suit and a pants suit. I use my glasses to make me looker smarter when I think it will help. I have my little binder where a scribble some generic questions that make look and sound interested and intelligent. I think it is working because I have moved onto the next round of interviews with several of the companies I am pursing. The tricky part is know what they're going to ask, and how to answer each question so that I get across what my strengths are. It is these challenges I hope to address in this writing. I want to organize my thoughts as to what I think I can bring to any company. So here it goes...
To tell you a little about myself, I was born and raised in the Columbus, Ohio. I chose Ohio State University because my parents are alumni, it has a competitive business program, and it was an affordable choice. I put myself through school by working two jobs. I worked as a server at Bob Evans for six years and I am currently working as a server at The Cheesecake Factory, where I have been for three years. On top of working 2 jobs and going to school full-time, I was an executive member of Students for Recycling. I held the position of Vice President and Treasurer. Needless to say my schedule was tight. I learned valuable organizational and time management skills.
Through my coursework at Ohio State I gained an understanding of all areas of business, something I highly value. I had surprisingly extensive coursework in Accounting, to where I feel quite profit in that area. Finance has always been my favorite. I enjoy solving numerical problems where the solution has meaning to me. I like being able to look at an income statement or a balance sheet and understand what they say about a company. A balance sheet can tell you a lot about what kind of business the company is in, and where improvements can be made in the business strategy to get more efficiency and profit.
My Globalization Studies minor really helped my understand the global playing field when it comes to the business world. I learned about exchange rates and how they affect profits, especially for companies with global operations. I have a good understanding of how the advanced economies are able to be successful and why the less advanced economies struggle to compete. I also enjoyed learning how business practices and the way business transactions are handled differs from country to country. I am confident that taking this extra time to study globalization will benefit me in any career I pursue considering many companies operate on a global scale, and this trend is only increasing as technology and transportation improve.
What do I bring to this company? A willingness to learn and adapt quickly. I am eager to start applying what I learned in the class room to a real world setting. I am a diligent worker, who takes pride in being successful and being an asset to the company I am apart of. I am reliable. I am always at work on time, if not early. I don't believe in missing work because I know it means that others have to pick up my slack. When given an assignment I strive to produce work above what is expected of me. I take responsibility for my actions. If I make a mistake I don't let it ruin my day or my moral. Nothing good can come from sulking. I just try to learn from it and make sure that same mistake doesn't happen again. One of my best attributes is my ability to communicate well. As a leader, it has always been my experience that communication is the key. Effective communication enables everyone working for a common goal to improve on his or her part by getting other peoples' perspectives. In group discussion or case work that was usually my role, the facilitator of discussion. There has to be someone that keeps the ball rolling, that keeps a flow of ideas and questions working to solve the problem quicker. As a leader I think it is important to make decisions, but also be able to listen to what others around you are saying because they probably have ideas and experiences you never thought of. I enjoy working with people. Whether it be customers or coworkers, I am very comfortable talking and listening to the people I work with. I am a hard worker who is willing to learn an improve on any project that is given to me.
My biggest weakness is my inability to know when I am "in over my head", so to speak. I am the oldest of four kids in my family. At an early age I learned to be independent, and figure things out for myself. Although this has been beneficial in most cases, sometimes I take it too far. I don't get help when help would be useful. Instead I take it a step too far and end up overwhelmed. This hasn't happened often, but when I am taking on a new responsibility it has been an issue.
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