Resumes and the job world

After watching the presentation in class today by Angel Wood about resumes, cover letters and jobs. A few fundamental worries have arisen: my interview track record, the quality of my resume, and my public speaking skills.

Good thing they're not outside.

My interview track record has been quite embarrassing. My first interview was rescheduled, throwing me off guard and leaving me ill prepared in the face of my first job. Luckily for me, it was only a fast food job and my best friend talked the manager into hiring me. My second interview was a group interview that was more of a "get to know you" session than an actual interview. Though my social skills nearly cost me that one too. Interviews make me feel small and unintelligent, rendering my speech as complete gibberish.

Up until recently my resume was filled with projects I worked on but no one really understood as well as five years at a fast food restaurant. My past job left me the option to remove some projects or remove my non-relevant work experience. I decided it was time to leave KFC in the past. I still feel like in the job world there will be tons of people with more impressive resumes than I have. Which is why I plan to go to graduate school. Education cannot beat out real-world experience, but it can prove that I have specialized in something.

"I'm a sexy beast!"

The last of my worries, in reality the biggest worry, is my lack of public speaking skills. For years I have tried to gain some communication skills by presenting in class, communicating with friends, and even going to group counseling. But nothing has seems to counteract the feeling of a thousand eyes judging me as I speak. The key to all good speakers is confidence, but confidence is not easy to fake. 

In a health lecture a few semesters ago, the professor stood in front of the class and declared that the key to confidence is looking in the mirror every morning and telling yourself that "I'm a sexy beast!". I have yet to prove or disprove this theory.

Resumes and cover letters is a hard topic to really have fun with. The presentation had good quality, but most of the things in it I already knew. To better improve the lecture, I would bring in past CS students who have gotten real-world jobs and have them show their resume and explain the process they went through to get their jobs. It would be a large help to get tips from someone who has graduated and gotten a job using the same techniques we have to.