Over and Out.

So, we are finally finished with a semester that I thought would never end, and I couldn't be happier. I couldn't be happier because this was one of the hardest semesters I'll ever have. I look back on this semester though and can only think of positive aspects of my experiences in business writing. This semester in this specific class has perhaps been one of the most practically applicable that I have ever had. My advice to future students involves the main items of hard work and appreciation.

First, I recommend hard work to the future students of this class. If I had not taken this class seriously, it would have been one of the least rewarding classes ever, but since I put in hard work, I reaped benefits that will help me for a long time. Hard work is especially crucial with regard to the client-based project. Working with a real client will be one of the strangest experiences you will have in a class in college but perhaps one of the most beneficial as well. This project gave me an idea of somewhat how the real world will be because we constantly met deadlines and had to communicate with our client and Angie. The most important aspect of hard work was in the proposal and final project. All students need to take this extremely seriously because the product the class produces will likely be put in use in the real world.

The second piece of advice is to attempt to appreciate this class while you are taking it because you will appreciate this class, the only issue is whether you will appreciate and apply it now or later in your life. This course is one of the most practical classes I've ever taken. Especially in the project, try to appreciate the class because the more you appreciate it, the more you will want to get involved and in turn, the better you will do.

This class is rewarding and applicable. Use it to your advantage.

Already The End of The Semester?

Here I am with two weeks to go in probably my most difficult semester in college, and I've made it. Surprisingly enough, I'm not too stressed about the rest of the semester or exams either. I may only have two exams as I should either exempt or not have to take the other four. Even with these two exams, I won't need very good grades on either one to get an A in each of these courses.

This semester has certainly been hard. Between academics and extra-curricular activities, I have almost always been busy doing something. I'm glad that it is winding down and that I won't have to stress out over studying for finals.

Looking back on my Business Writing class, I enjoyed it much more than I expected. The client-based project offered a unique experience that other courses cannot match. The class activities were also not nearly what I thought they would be. I figured that we would just type business documents the entire time in every class, but this class was certainly one of my most enjoyable classes this semester, if not my most enjoyable class. Blogging has been fun this semester, and I look forward to keeping it up in the future.

Employers Study Applicants' Personalities? Of Course They Do.

After reading this article, I was not surprised at all. Perhaps this is because I have just gone through a lot of interviews and group interviews and have always seen the importance of working well with others.

Many of the employers with whom I interviewed required me to take a personality assessment prior to my interview and asked me questions based on my various answers to the survey. Another employer invited me to a group interview in which we were instructed to sit in a waiting room with associates from the company when we arrived. We later learned that the company judged part of our performance based on how well we interacted with their current associates.

Making sure that a potential employee will work well with the current ones and will have enough zeal and passion to perform his/her job well is crucial in today's competitive job market. Thus, the findings of this article were not surprising to me, but rather, they were expected.

Dual Coding Theory

Employing the use of dual coding theory is perhaps one of the best methods to use in advertising. Dual coding theory uses visuals to trigger the memory of a brand or product. One of the most famous uses of dual coding theory has been used for over fifty years. The Coca-Cola Company has used their contour bottle design extremely widely to represent the entire brand.

According to marketers, this design is the most widely recognized brand in the world. According to accountants, this design is worth over a billion dollars. The benefits of dual coding theory is seen in Coca-Cola as well as in many other brands such as Hardee's. Dual coding theory is certainly helpful to the remembrance of a specific brand or product.

Group Work

My group for the project has been extremely easy with which to work. We have had a few minor miscommunications, but overall, everything has run smoothly.

This experience for me has reinforced the importance of everyone doing a part of the work in a group. When one person falls behind, the entire group can be at a loss. A sense of unity is a great aspect to have when working in a group. For example, in my proposal group, one person found that his part would be much more difficult than we all had expected. Since our team promoted unity, we all divided up the work again and helped him along with his portion.

Another Free Post With Internships on my Mind

About a month has passed since my last free post, and I've still got internships on my mind. Only this time all of the interviews are over, and I am waiting.

I took part in about six interviews for internships this coming Summer, and each of them had varying results. Two employers told me that they probably weren't even going to hire juniors but rather just wanted to see good candidates to keep in their books for next year. Two other employers told me that seniors had precedence over juniors and that my interview performance was great, but my internship prospect is solely contingent on seniors taking internships. One employer offered me a job and is currently looking for openings within the company, and I turned one employer down because I did not want to work for a company with a reputation that is less than par.

My favorite employers so far have been Dixon Hughes, Milliken, and Cherry, Bekaert, and Holland. I believe that I would enjoy working for any of these three companies in my internship. Milliken has already offered me a job once they find an open place for me that meets what I want, and the other two have invited me back for office visits but have not yet contacted me with a solid yes or no. Thus, this week I am left with the prospect of having three great internship offers, which could pan out to be only one. This week will not only be nerve-wracking due to two tests and a proposal due this week but also due to waiting for responses on these two interviews.

I certainly hope that I can attain a solid internship this Summer that hopefully leads me into a job in which I am content. Maybe by the next time I've got a free post, I'll know and can blog about which internship I chose and why I chose it.

Interview Reflection

At this point in my life, being able to perform well in an interview is crucial. Since I had already had six interviews with accounting firms in the two weeks before I had my interview with Ms. Rogers, I went into the interview feeling quite prepared. Still, this interview taught me that even though I had been through many interviews directly before this one, remembering all of the aspects of an interview can be quite difficult even for very prepared people.

Before the interview, I was required to write a cover letter, which I had never done before this semester. Writing the cover letter showed me how to exemplify professionalism and be diplomatic. This interviewing process reassured me that being about fifteen minutes early is beneficial, even if the interviewer is not yet ready for the interviewee. While in the interview, I was also reassured that making a list of practice questions is quite helpful also because a few of the questions I practiced were actually asked in the interview.

Overall, this mock interview experience provided me with feedback and information on what I need to work on in order to become more effective in the interviewing process. While I already knew most of what I experienced from either prior knowledge or interviewing experience, some aspects were completely new to me.

Most Memorable Presentation

The presentation that I remember the most from all of the ones I saw was Mike's presentation about climbing. I've always been interested in activities in the outdoors such as hiking, spelunking, and mountain biking, but I've never heard much about climbing.

Mike's PowerPoint was extremely well-organized. His slides were parallel, and with his speech, they made sense. Mike did not just read the slides out to the class, but rather he expounded upon what he wrote in his bullet points.

Mike's interpersonal communication skills also made his presentation memorable. He was poised and kept speaking smoothly throughout his presentation. Mike even got his audience involved in his presentation, which essentially forced many people to pay attention to what he had to say. Needless to say, Mike's presentation overall was enjoyable, and being that I was interested in what he was saying and how he was saying it, I took more away from his presentation than any of the others in class.

Internships Already?

Coming into college, I had no idea that I would be searching for a summer internship almost a year in advance, but a few weeks after I returned to Clemson, I had to start looking and interviewing. Internships are on my mind because for the last few weeks, interviews, meet-and-greets, and office visits have consumed my life outside of class and homework.

The skills that I'm learning in English 304 have been very pertinent and helpful so far. Thus far, I have had six interviews, each with a social the night before them, as well as one office visit. I think that I should be able to get an internship in Accounting that I want due to my strong resume and my social skills.

The ideal internship for me would be in Greenville, South Carolina, close to where I live. The reason that I would like an internship there is because I could live at home or in Clemson or even both during the summer months. I would also like an internship that pays well, solely because I believe that I should be able to get one of these internships.

My interviews, socials, and visits have all been rather successful, and I think that I should be able to get the kind of internship for which I am looking. Being this close to the real world is a little overwhelming at times, hearing recruiters talking about hiring for full-time positions after completing internships, but I think that I will be able to handle myself.

How do I sell myself?

The articles that caught my eye contained information on selling yourself to a potential employer. The first article, entitled "Selling Your Accomplishments: A Consultant's Resume Makeover," showed the situation in which applicants find themselves. Applicants should write their resumes with a purpose. This purpose should be shown throughout the entirety of the resume.

The second article I read was called "How to Pinpoint Accomplishments That Will Make Your Resume Shine." This article provides tips on what to put in a resume. It says to not be modest and to check your performance as well as results. This article shows applicants how to make themselves desirable to potential employers.

These articles are particularly of interest to me as I'm applying and interviewing for internships for next summer. Because of my resume, I've been offered interviews from almost all of the employers to whom I submitted my resume. Due to my interviewing, I've even already found out that one employer wants to hire me for next summer and two others want to have me visit their offices. Every interview so far has been very successful, partially due to my strong resume. Tips such as the ones offered in these articles provide information that can be extremely beneficial for a long time to come.

Interviewing

This is the article that caught my interest: http://www.careerjournal.com/jobhunting/interviewing/20060509-needleman.html

This article is titled "A Job Hunter's Guide to Recruiter Code Words." It contains information about the different code words that recruiters often use in their everyday language. These code words can be rather useful in deciphering what interviewers want to hear in an interview. The article went on to say that recruiters often note these words or acronyms at the top of resumes during interviews, which can make or break a job for a potential employee.

Some of the aspects that stuck out to me were that interviewers do not want interviewees to talk excessively. The article recommended saying a few sentences to answer each question but not much more than that. Of course, the article said to dress nicely and be confident, but among all these negative notes for job candidates, a few positive abbreviations exist. Terms such as WD, or walking description, which refers to a person who is exactly the kind of person for which the company is looking.

This article and interviewing in general is extremely important to me, especially at this specific time in my life. I attended the career fair last Wednesday and spoke with a few employers, and I have applied for interviews with companies online. This coming week, I have three interviews for internships next summer, and I have two interviews the next week. These next two weeks will be tough to get through, but learning about how to interview is a positive aspect that has benefits for a long time.

My Life in Ten Years

In ten years, my life will be very different than it is currently. When I get out of college, I want to go to three years of law school and specialize in tax law. I may want to continue for one more year and get an LLM, which would allow me to deal with more legal matters. After law school, I would like to move back to Greenville, SC and live there. I've lived in or around Greenville the majority of my life and think the upstate of South Carolina offers a balance that cannot be seen many other places.

In the year 2017, I will be thirty years old. I would like to be a practicing tax attorney and certified public accountant and be will established at my job. I think I want to specialized in doing real estate planning and tax law. I hope that my life can be almost completely financially sound in ten years, which should be rather achievable.

I would like to have a family by the time that I'm thirty. I'd probably want to have a few kids by then too. I want to be close to my family and not work all the time. I would like to be active in my family members' lives and be available for them. I think that I will stay close to my current immediate and extended family also.

The most important aspect of my life in ten years will still be my faith in God. Without my faith, I have nothing. I would like to still be active in my church and possibly still attend the same church. My faith is the only part of my life that will keep the other parts balanced.

This is how I envision my life in ten years. I may change my major, again, or not pursue law school, but whether I get to this exact point in my life or not, I know that it will be fun.

Web 2.0

This video takes much of the changing world of the Internet and shows exactly what all this change means for us. This change makes the Internet even more of a useful tool in the business world, but the change comes at a price. The cost of the new XML coding for web pages that makes them so much more useful exists in the workforce. The workforce must be proficient in using electronics. Web 2.0 is not the only aspect that is making huge strides in technology in the business world. Other technologies also contribute to today's ever-changing business world.

The implications of Web 2.0 are huge. Since Web 2.0 drastically made the Internet and electronic communication more widely used in business, being able and willing to use new technologies in today's business world is imperative. Those entering the workforce will have to know how to use the newest technologies as will the people in the existing workforce. The existing workforce will have to be willing to learn about new technologies such as Web 2.0 in order to maintain its jobs.

When the video says we will have to rethink everything, I think it is alluding to the constant changes business and technology undergo every day. Since these changes are happening so fast, we have to make quick adaptations and learn new technologies a lot. Almost no one in the workforce is exempt from adapting to these new technologies. Technology, such as Web 2.0, are making the business world more efficient and more effective.

Introduction

My name is Thomas Godwin, and I'm a Junior majoring in Accounting. I'm from Greenville, South Carolina, and have lived in South Carolina my entire life. My hobbies include mountain biking, hiking, and tennis. On campus, I'm involved with the prelaw society, supplemental instruction, Reformed University Fellowship, and a few other organizations.

When I graduate, I plan to take the CPA exam and go to law school. I haven't decided where I want to go, but I do know that I want to stay in the Southeastern area. Right now, the only two schools I've even considered are Wake Forest and USC. When I graduate from law school, I want to be a CPA/Tax Attorney. I've always liked working with numbers and problems, and I think this profession would give me a great opportunity to do so.