Downplaying Job Hopping

I read an article on how to downplay job hopping on your resume. This article caught my eye because I have had many jobs for short periods of time due to school and demands on my schedule beyond the importance of part-time jobs. I have always wondered if these circumstances would affect my selection for a job. I have been worried that my work history might appear as though I have a low commitment to my job.

This article tells you to downplay these short work periods in several ways on your resume. It tells you to summarize yourself as well as your employment experience, focus on skills over tenure, and emphasize increases in responsibility so that it appears that your work changes were worth it.

I appreciated this article because its tips did sound like they would be a creative rewording of something that could perhaps give you a disadvantage in the job selection process. However, I am not sure how much it actually applies to me after reading it. I feel like it was meant more for those who are changing jobs within their career field as opposed to insignificant part-time jobs as a teenager. Thinking this way makes me wonder if my own job hopping will truly have an effect on my career or not.

Acing a Phone Interview

I decided to read this article because I am planning to acquire a job far away from home, which may make a face-to-face interview problematic. It was a helpful by describing four concise points that are important for succeeding in the phone interview.

It had some pretty surprising information, though. I was wondering why the number one phone distraction would be flushing toilets. Who goes to the bathroom while they are having a phone interview? I also did not understand why anyone would eat while they were having a phone interview.

I had never thought about preparing in advance and taking notes to use in an interview. I had always considered the fact that it is good to do your homework before any interview. But, that makes me think that there is a huge advantage to having a phone interview. It would be so much easier to sound credible and knowledgeable for the job. Also, I found it interesting that a follow-up letter is positive for a phone interview. I never thought it would be as formal as a face-to-face interview in that respect. I will definitely be able to use these hints to make a positive impact on a future interview.

There was not anything I particularly disagreed with. Although, I was concerned that it could be a large problem using a cell phone in the interview. I do not use a land line for anything, and I am aware that many do not use them at all, too. I understand that signal problems and such are not good for interview communication, but in the modern, technologically driven world, it seems that use of cell phones for all phone conversation is common. That made this tip somewhat disconcerting.

Ten Years

My life ten years from now. Wow. There is a lot to think about. At this age ten years is a long time. I read somewhere once that today's college age students' life choices change more than any other age including the first three years of their life. Me...I've always sort of known what I wanted to be. I am on the road to becoming that I suppose. So, ten years from now I will be 30 years old. I will hopefully be married and contemplating children, that is, if i do not have any already. I will finally be past the awkward internship/entry-level position and be heading toward the real development of my career as an architect. I am not sure exactly where the setting of my future life will be. That has yet to be decided. All I know is it will most likely be away from here. Not that I do not like this area, but I just feel like my career and life will be more exciting in a different type of place. I'd like to say that I know more of my wishes for the future. I guess particulars I do not usually plan in full. I sort of like to take the details of life as they happen. One thing I can say is that I am pretty certain I'll be happy with whatever happens. After all, if I weren't at least optimistic, how would I achieve any of my goals?

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is the 2nd generation of the web. It is not so much a invention as it is an evolution. It refers to how all the different developments forged in the web have molded and changed communication, authorship, and identity. With things like Second Life and Wikipedia people can change their own identities, becoming new "false" identities (Second Life) or making up information about their own backgrounds to make them significant (Wikipedia), unavailable previously to modern life. This forces a learning curve on those wishing to enter the workforce. Workforce 2.0 has to be able to adapt to new developments almost retroactively. This allows someone to advance faster, making entry-level positions and technical expertise battle years of experience and hard work. Workforce 1.0 will have to learn to update to keep up with Workforce 2.0, or it will end up like old software...unusable. We will have to rethink everything because of this. Identities changing. Ownership becoming more and more public. The ability to change everything becoming more and more available. Where will the lines be drawn? If there are lines drawn, will new problems arise faster than these lines can keep up. What if we leave opportunity boundless? Web 2.0 changes business, dating, memories, identities, government, crime. How do we keep up?

The Particulars of Kyle

Hello, my name is Kyle. I am a senior majoring in architecture and minoring in business administration. I was born in Anderson, SC. Yes, I did not go far from home to go to college. Although I was looking at many other schools, I could not afford to go out of state. Plus, I was too lazy to fill out many applications. College has taught me much involving work ethics, however. While still lazy, it is only when I really have time to be lazy that it comes in effect. I have become extremely interested with architecture and the theories/practices behind design in general. I have always been an ambitious person who is eager to succeed in everything I do. Architecture is no exception. I am striving to be a famous architect one day. It may never happen, but I am not going to give up on that possibly irrational thought until I have been kicked so far down I can never get back up. Hopefully, that will never happen. I just want to make something (a building, a sculpture, a lamp) that is studied. If that does not happen, I plan to give back by teaching and writing. As I wrote earlier, I am extremely interested in design theory. I believe in furthering the discipline of design through experiments with aesthetics, materials, and rash change. If I become even a tiny bit successful, it would be insane not to write a book about it. How can anyone expand an idea without collaborating with others? In order to jump on this "train of success" I plan on graduating in May, moving to a big city (New York, Boston, San Francisco, etc.) and working for about two years while I mature personally and professionally, and then going to Graduate School for a Masters in Architecture. I plan on attending an Ivy League School such as MIT, Penn, Yale, or Columbia. Right now, however, I am working hard at school while still enjoying my life as a college student. I love Clemson and have many friends here. Growing up will be scary, but I'm to the point where I have to be ready for it, or, at least, pretend I am.